Hidden Leaf, Hidden Talents 58

I watched Tsunade's expression shift into full mission mode as she turned toward Aya. "How many shinobi are we looking at inside the outpost?"

Aya didn't hesitate. "Twenty-three."

Twenty-three. That's a decent chunk of people for what looks like a supply depot. I glanced back toward the cluster of buildings we'd been observing. From our current position, tucked behind some weathered rocks about two hundred meters out, the place looked quiet enough. But twenty-three bodies could make things complicated fast.

"What about patrol routes?" Tsunade continued.

"There's movement around the perimeter," Aya reported. "Two-man teams doing circuits around the base. I'm estimating every thirty to sixty minutes based on what I've observed."

Tsunade nodded. I could see her thinking. No, more than thinking. Working through something.

"Alright," she said finally. "Here's how we're going to handle this. Sakumo and I will infiltrate the outpost. Our job is to locate and destroy their storage areas and any supply caches we can find."

She gestured toward the rest of us. "The rest of you will maintain overwatch positions. I need you monitoring for incoming reinforcements or any unexpected movement. More importantly, I need you to secure our escape routes so Sakumo and I can extract cleanly and move on to the next outpost as quickly as possible."

Fair enough. Though twenty-three people...

"Twenty-three is a lot of bodies," I said, voicing the thought. "Might be worth using my clones to draw some of them away from the outpost. Make your job easier."

Tsunade glanced at me, and I caught a flicker of approval in her expression. "Not a bad idea," she admitted. "But I want to save that approach for the second outpost."

"Why's that?"

"We don't know what we'll face at the other outposts," she explained. "Your clone strategy could be exactly what we need for a tougher target. Better to save that card for when we really need it."

"Besides," she continued, "it's not like Sakumo and I are planning to fight all twenty-three head-on. This is an infiltration mission. With just the two of us moving quietly, our chances of getting in and out undetected are actually higher than if we brought more people."

Fair point. More bodies meant more chances for someone to trip up, make noise, or get spotted. Keep the infiltration team small and fast.

Tsunade turned back to Aya. "I'm putting you in charge of the rest of the squad while we're inside."

Aya straightened slightly. "Understood."

"Don't be shy about relying on Shinji," Tsunade added with just the hint of a smirk. "He's got useful skills for this kind of work."

I rolled my eyes. Thanks for the vote of confidence, sensei.

Aya’s mouth ticked up, just for me. “I will.”

Sakumo shifted, a quiet tap of the scabbard against his back. “Time window?”

Aya closed her eyes. “Closest patrol passes our side in… two minutes. After that, you have twelve before the next lap hits the east fence.”

“Good,” Tsunade said. “On my mark.”

We flattened behind a low fold of ground while the two-man patrol trudged past, boots gritting on old gravel. One had his flak vest undone at the throat, sweat darkening the fabric. The other fought a yawn and lost. They murmured about ration stew and a letter from home. And they kept walking.

“Go,” She breathed.

The group split naturally. Tsunade and Sakumo melted away toward the outpost, disappearing into the shadows without so much as a whisper. The rest of us circled around to find a better observation point.

We ended up on a small ridge that gave us decent sightlines of the outpost and the surrounding area. The position was concealed enough to keep us hidden but elevated enough to spot trouble coming from multiple directions.

Aya settled in next to me, pulling out what looked like a hand-drawn map covered in scribbles and markings.

"Okay," she said quietly, spreading the map between us. "I've plotted out three potential escape routes for when Tsunade and Sakumo finish their mission."

“Primary route,” she said, pointing with two fingers across the ridge line that ran like a spine north of the outpost. “Fastest, least turns. We follow that ridge for five hundred meters, drop into the gully behind those birches, and cut south at the dry creek until we hit the game trail that leads back toward our next objective.” She traced the path again so the other jonin could picture it. “It’s the fastest if nothing goes wrong.”

“Secondary?” Scarface asked, keeping his voice calm, eyes on the yard.

“Longer, but quiet. Follow the creek bed south. It’s soft ground, but the water sound covers us and it’s screened by growth. Good if someone starts sweeping the ridges.”

“And emergency?” Ponytail said.

Aya's expression grew more serious. "This one's for when everything goes wrong." She traced a path that seemed to loop back on itself before heading toward what looked like rough terrain. "It's not pretty, but it'll get us out if we're being actively pursued. Lots of cover, but the going will be slow."

I studied the map, noting the detail she'd put into marking potential hazards, cover points, and what looked like alternative paths within each main route. She really went all out on this.

"Good planning," I said. "You've been busy."

She looked pleased at the acknowledgment. "I wanted to make sure we had options. In reconnaissance work, you learn pretty quickly that plans have a way of falling apart."

"Been there before?"

"More than I'd like," she said with a slight grimace. "My first few missions... let's just say I learned the value of backup plans the hard way."

“We all screw up eventually. Part of learning.”

"Right. Still, I'd rather learn from other people's mistakes than keep making my own."

She folded the map carefully and handed it to me. "Can I count on you to scout these routes with your shadow clones? I'd like confirmation that they're all clear before Tsunade and Sakumo finish up."

I took the map, noting all the detail she'd crammed into it. "Yeah, you can count on me."

She smiled. "Thanks. I know this is technically my first time leading, and... well. Having support makes a difference."

First time leading? No wonder she seems a little tense. I glanced at her sideways, noting the way she kept checking our surroundings even while talking. Responsible, but maybe trying a bit too hard to be perfect.

"You're doing fine," I said. "Better to have too much of a plan than no plan at all."

I formed the hand seal for shadow clone jutsu. Three copies of myself popped into existence, always felt weird that moment when you're suddenly looking at yourself from multiple angles. The clones knew what they needed to do, obviously. Same brain and all that.

Actually, calling it "knowing" wasn't quite right. More like... they just did.

"You take the primary route," I instructed one clone quietly, then pointed to the others. "Secondary route. Emergency route. Look for patrol patterns, potential ambush spots, anything that might complicate a fast extraction."

The clones nodded and took off.

Aya settled in next to me, adjusting her position to watch the outpost. Scarface was checking his equipment. Shoulders had his eyes on the perimeter, scanning for movement. Ponytail was... doing whatever Ponytail did.

"How long you think they'll need?" Shoulders asked quietly.

Scarface glanced over. "Depends. Could be quick if it's just supply caches sitting in the open. Could be longer if..." He shrugged. "Lot of variables."

"Guards could be off schedule," Ponytail added. "Or there could be more inside than Aya sensed."

"Twenty-three's already a lot," I said.

Aya looked up from her notes. "I'm confident in the count.”

Scarface nodded. "Sensor intel's usually solid. It's everything else that gets messy."

Nobody disagreed with that. Though nobody really responded either. I got the feeling they were used to operating with incomplete information and random variables, working around problems as they came up. Experience, maybe.

I leaned back against the rock, trying to get comfortable. Waiting. Always the worst part of these things.

At least it's nice out. The sun felt good, not too hot. Bit of a breeze. Would've been perfect for... I don't know, reading or something. Maybe some sake. Instead I'm crouched behind rocks waiting to see if we need to run for our lives.

Aya was watching the outpost, eyes focused on the buildings. Scribbling notes every few seconds. Guard movements, probably. Or maybe just keeping busy.

The other jonin were doing their thing too, Scarface checking his gear for the third time, Shoulders still scanning the perimeter like something might sneak up on us.

"How's it looking?" I asked.

"Patrol just finished their loop," Aya said, still watching the outpost. "Right on schedule. Well, close to it. Forty-seven minutes since the last one."

So they're consistent. Or trying to be, anyway. Could mean good discipline. Could mean they were just following orders. Either way, predictable was... predictable.

One of my clones dispelled itself, sending back memories of the primary route. Clear path, no unexpected obstacles, and importantly, no signs of enemy activity. The route looked solid.

"Primary's clean," I reported to Aya.

She nodded, making another note. "Good. How much longer for the other two?"

"Give it another few minutes."

The second clone's memories hit me as I spoke, secondary route also clear though there were a few spots where the forest cover thinned out more than Aya's map had indicated. Nothing that would compromise the route, but worth noting for timing purposes.

"Secondary's good too," I said. "Fair warning though, there are a couple of spots where we'll have less cover than your map shows. Not a problem, just something to keep in mind if we need to move fast and quiet."

"Noted. I may have been overly optimistic about the forest density in that area."

Better to know now than find out when we're running for our lives.

The third clone took longer to complete its circuit, which made sense given that the emergency route was the most complex and winding of the three paths. When its memories finally reached me, I was relieved to confirm that the route was viable, if challenging.

"Emergency route's clear," I reported. "It's going to be rough going if we have to use it, lots of uneven ground and some tight spots, but it'll work if we need it."

"Perfect." Aya lowered her note and checked her timepiece. "Tsunade and Sakumo have been inside for about fifteen minutes now."

Still well within normal parameters for this kind of mission. Though I had to admit, part of me was eager for them to finish up so we could move on to the next phase. Sitting still was never my favorite part of fieldwork.

Scareface caught my attention with a subtle gesture, pointing toward the outpost's main entrance. I followed his gaze and spotted movement, another patrol team emerging for their scheduled circuit.

"Right on schedule," I muttered.

The first shout came thin through the trees. Then the alarm—shrill, ugly, bouncing off the walls of the outpost and skittering through the pines. We all flinched like someone had cracked ice against the back of our necks.

‘Did she get it done?’ I thought, and then corrected myself. ‘She’s with Sakumo. The real question is whether she hit the extra objectives too.’

Aya’s head snapped toward the sound, eyes narrowing. “Eighteen,” she said. “River shinobi, moving fast. They’re chasing Tsunade and Sakumo.”

Nobody said anything for a moment. Shoulders muttered something under his breath, couldn't catch what but it didn't sound happy. Ponytail started checking his kunai count. Again. Scarface just kept staring at the outpost.

Eighteen. Against the five of us.

Well, four of them and me, really. Though I wasn't sure that distinction mattered much right now.

I could see it in their faces. That look people get when they're doing math they don't want to finish. They were already thinking about... well. How to make it count. Buy Tsunade and Sakumo time to get clear, take down as many as possible before—

'Really not that deep, guys.' Part of me wanted to say something. Tell them they were overthinking this. That it'd be fine as long as I was here. But saying that would just make me sound like an arrogant chunin who didn't understand what eighteen jonin could do.

Better to show than tell.

"We should set up an ambush," I said instead. "Further down the line. Force them to come at us through a chokepoint."

'Preferably past the spots where I planted my insurance policies.'

Scarface nodded grimly. "Better than meeting them in the open."

We moved fast, pulling back to a position with better cover and sightlines. The others were already positioning themselves, checking angles, preparing for what they probably thought would be their last fight.

I settled behind a cluster of rocks, trying to look appropriately tense while internally counting the seconds until—

The world exploded.

Not metaphorically. Actually exploded.

The ground jumped. Trees bent wrong. Everything got loud, then louder, then just noise. Multiple blasts, one after another, overlapping until it was just one continuous—

I hit the ground, pressing against the rocks. Everyone else did the same. Basic survival instinct kicking in.

Debris started falling. Stone chunks, wood splinters, bits of... well, bits of things that used to be something else. Probably.

When the worst of it passed, I looked up. The four jonin were staring at where the explosions had come from, faces cycling through confusion and shock.

Scarface's mouth was hanging open slightly. Which was... not an expression I'd expected to see on his face.

"What the h e l l was that?" Shoulders' voice sounded distant and distorted, broken up by the constant ringing in our ears.

Before anyone could figure out an answer, two shapes came through the smoke. Tsunade and Sakumo, moving fast. Well, fast-ish. Not their usual speed. Tsunade had blood on her forehead, and Sakumo's sleeve was... torn? Burnt?

They looked like they'd been too close to something that exploded.

Which, yeah.

Clone memories hit me then. All at once, like they always do. Eighteen River-nin, moving fast, surrounding Tsunade and Sakumo from everywhere, basically. Getting close. Too close. My clones had waited until the last second to detonate. Maybe a second too late? Or early? Timing had been...

Well, almost perfect. Almost.

Most of the River-nin were gone. Just gone. But the timing had been tighter than I'd wanted, and even Tsunade and Sakumo had caught some of the shockwave. Internal injuries, probably. Nothing that would kill them, but...

Three River-nin had been close enough to Tsunade and Sakumo to survive the worst of it. They were down but not dead, kneeling in the debris like broken toys.

Aya was already doing her sensor thing. "Three left," she confirmed. "The rest are gone."

The other jonin looked at each other. Relief, maybe some satisfaction. They headed toward the three survivors, kunai already in hand. No discussion was needed, they all knew what came next. Time to finish what the explosions had started.

I created a clone and sent it toward Sakumo. "Help him out," I told it quietly.

Tsunade was already working on herself. Green chakra around her hands, dealing with whatever damage she'd taken internally.

I stopped next to her. Close enough to help if she needed it, but not so close that she'd take a swing at me. Since, technically, it was my explosions that had banged her up in the first place.

She might be a little... touchy about that.

I hesitated for a second, then figured I should probably ask anyway. "You okay, sensei?"

She turned her head, dust still in her hair, and gave me a smile that could have passed for kind if it wasn’t sitting on her face. “Well? What do you think?”

I froze. There’s a difference between Tsunade scowling at you and Tsunade smiling at you. One promises broken ribs, the other promises something you won’t understand until after it’s too late. I took a step back.

"It was an accident," I said quickly. "I mean, the timing was off. I'll do better next time. Promise."

Before she could say anything else, the others came back. Aya, Sakumo, and the three jonin, all looking satisfied with their work. I was surprised to see Sakumo with them. Guy was injured and he still went to help with the cleanup? Though I guess that explained why it had been so quick.

I glanced at my clone, who was supposed to be healing Sakumo. The clone just shrugged at me with this helpless expression, like 'what was I supposed to do, argue with him?' Then it went back to trying to patch up whatever internal damage Sakumo had taken.

A few minutes passed in silence before Tsunade finally broke it. "Alright, let's move to our next target."

And we were running again.

Still dark, which made everything... well, everything sucked. Hard to see where I was going, hard to tell how long we'd been moving. Time got weird when everything looked the same.

Could've been an hour. Could've been longer. My legs were definitely feeling it by the time we stopped.

I was breathing harder than I wanted to admit. Not exactly the cool, collected image I was going for.

We'd reached another outpost. Smaller than the first one, tucked into a cluster of rocks that probably made it harder to spot from a distance.

"Aya," Tsunade said, not even winded. "What's the situation?"

Aya closed her eyes, concentrating. Doing her sensor thing. After a moment her eyes snapped open, and she looked... confused? Surprised?

"Six shinobi in the outpost," she said. "No patrols around the perimeter."

Scarface frowned. "That's it? Trap?"

"Could be," Aya said. "It's... unusually quiet."

Tsunade shook her head. "Commander Minoru probably started another engagement. Pulled half their forces to the front line to deal with our main force."

That made sense. If there was fighting elsewhere, they'd need everyone they could get.

"This is our chance," she continued. "Aya, I need exact positions on those six. Sakumo and I will handle them. The rest of you focus on the supplies. Find their caches, burn everything that looks important."

Simple enough. Though 'important' was kind of subjective when everything was fair game.

We nodded and moved toward the outpost. Simple plan. Sometimes simple was better than... well, whatever the alternative was.

Once we got close, we split up. Cover more ground that way. The jonin went their direction, I went mine. Standard search and destroy.

That's when I saw it.

Scarface had grabbed someone. Civilian, looked like. Older guy, probably a worker or something. He looked terrified. Scarface was asking him about storage locations.

The civilian was stammering, pointing toward a building with shaking hands. When Scarface got his answer, he just... shoved the guy aside. Hard. Left him on the ground, whimpering.

I watched it happen and felt...

I don't know. Something. The guy was just a civilian. Probably didn't even want to be here, just trying to survive. But this was war. And we had a job to do.

Still felt unnecessary though.

I created four clones and sent them out. "Burn anything that looks important," I told them quietly.

Fifteen minutes later, we were already moving again. No one chasing us, no alarms, no complications. The outpost was behind us, probably still burning.

Quick and clean. Just the way I liked it.

The next outpost was Suna territory. Land of Wind. Which meant more running to get there, and my legs were definitely feeling it by now. Young body or not, there were limits.

This one played out similar to the last. Quick destruction, grab what intel we could, and get out.

Except this time, something went wrong.

"Large group incoming," Aya said suddenly, voice tight. "Multiple squads. They're returning."

Scarface tensed. "How many?"

"Forty, maybe more," Aya said, her eyes still closed in concentration. "Hard to get an exact count, they're spread out, but definitely a lot of them."

I heard Ponytail curse under his breath. Shoulders was already checking his weapon pouch, movements quick and jerky.

"Forty?" Scarface's voice cracked slightly. "We need to move. Now."

Whether the main battle had ended or they'd figured out someone was hitting their supply lines, we didn't have time to find out. Either way, we weren't sticking around to ask.

"We've done enough damage," Tsunade said. "Mission's complete. Time to head home."

Home being our outpost. Wherever that was from here.

Aya took point, leading us away from the incoming Suna force. She kept using her sensors, adjusting our path constantly. The Dampening Tags were still working, helping us stay hidden, but the Land of Wind was mostly... well, wind and sand. Not a lot of places to hide.

It wasn't long before they picked up our trail.

"They're following," Aya said. Unnecessary announcement, really. We could hear them behind us.

I cursed under my breath and started making clones. Two, three at a time. Every few minutes, dropping them behind us as we ran. The constant chakra drain was slowing me down, making my steps heavier.

Then Tsunade just... picked me up. Princess carry. In front of everyone.

Could this get any more embarrassing?

"Keep making clones," she said, like this was totally normal. Then, quieter. "Second-gen only. Too many eyes around."

Right. Couldn't have witnesses reporting impossible things back to their villages.

So I kept churning out clones, dropping them behind and around us. Every time a group of Suna-nin got too close, I detonated one. It didn't take long before the desert turned into noise. Explosions hammered the air. Sand thrown high enough to blot the stars. Every blast dug a crater into the dunes, shockwaves slamming against our backs, my stomach lurching each time. The world narrowed to running, detonating, running again.

I lost count of how many. Ten? Twenty? More? Every time I thought it might be over, Aya would murmur “still behind us,” and another group of Suna-nin would rise out of the dark. Then another explosion, another crater, and we’d keep moving.

I don’t know how long it lasted. Time blurred, melted by sweat and ringing ears.

When Tsunade finally set me down, the ground under my feet was darker, softer, the soil of the Land of Fire.

Silence. No dust trails behind us. No more pursuers.

I turned to Tsunade and Sakumo. Both looked rough, pale faces, dry lips, bruises across their arms and necks. All of us marked by the night's violence, like the desert had taken a piece of us. And the others weren't there at all.

My voice scraped out, “Where are the others?”

Even as I asked, I could feel it starting. Clone memories pressing against my skull, trying to force their way in. Flashes of sand and blood and—no. I clenched my teeth, pushing back against the flood of images, forcing myself to keep them buried in some dark corner where they couldn’t reach me.

Tsunade didn’t stop her hands from glowing green across her chest. “They didn’t make it. Suna-nin got them.” Flat words, as if any more detail would only make it worse.

Her tone was so casual. I got why she said it that way. Dwelling on details wouldn't bring them back, wouldn't help the people still here. But…

I forced myself to focus on what I could still control. The immediate stuff. People who were still breathing. I looked at Sakumo, using the distraction. Blood at the corner of his mouth, more seeping through his shirt. How much blood I couldn’t tell, but it wasn’t good.

I created two clones immediately, gesturing toward Sakumo.

The clones moved without a word, green chakra already forming around their hands.

Four people. Aya and three jonin, just... gone.

Aya. Her smile when she'd handed me that map, covered in all her notes. The way she'd asked if she could count on me, and I'd said yes. Confident, like it was easy. The world tilted. I swayed, then dropped to one knee, suddenly dizzy. Was I dizzy? Everything felt wrong.

"You okay?" Tsunade asked, looking over at me.

I pushed myself back up. "Yeah. Just tired." Which was... mostly true. Tired, dizzy, whatever. "I'm fine."

I fumbled for something to do with my hands, some way to keep busy and not think about what had just happened.

"Focus on her instead," Sakumo said quietly to my clones, nodding toward something behind him.

I froze. Her?

For a second I thought he was delirious from blood loss. Making jokes or hallucinating or something. Then I saw what was lying on the ground behind him.

Aya. Alive. Barely breathing, blood pooling beneath her, but her chest was still rising and falling in shallow, desperate gasps.

The clones were already moving before I could even process what I was seeing, green chakra forming around their hands as they rushed to her side.

Sakumo sheathed his sword on his back. "Unfortunately, I could only save her," he said quietly.

I understood what he meant. During all that chaos, the explosions, the running, the fighting, Sakumo had been trying to save people. But even he had limits. Two hands meant he could only carry one person, carry Aya to safety while still fighting.

The next several minutes were tense. Aya was in bad shape, really bad. Multiple injuries, internal bleeding, barely conscious. And her left hand was just... gone. My clones started working on stopping the bleeding, but Tsunade quickly moved over and took charge, her superior medical skills immediately apparent. She directed my clones to assist while she handled the more complex procedures, stopping the arterial bleeding from the severed hand, stabilizing the internal injuries. I helped with Sakumo while keeping one eye on Aya, watching for any sign that she might not make it.

Finally, Tsunade sat back on her heels. "She's stable. Still needs more work, but the immediate danger is past."

"Can she travel?" Sakumo asked.

Tsunade glanced over at Aya. "I've stabilized the worst of it, but she's lost a lot of blood so we'll need to go slow."

Sakumo nodded. "Then we head back to Kawazumi outpost."

Kawazumi outpost. If he hadn't said the name, I wouldn't have even known our base had one. Just went to show how much attention I'd been paying to the details.

We started running again. Two more hours through the night, heading toward what should have been safety. Home base. Hot food, actual beds, maybe some time to process what had just happened.

Should have been.

We came to an abrupt stop at the top of a ridge, and I just... stared. Couldn't quite process what I was seeing.

In the distance, the Kawazumi outpost was on fire. The whole thing was engulfed in flames, orange light dancing against the darkness.

I rubbed my face with both hands. 'Are you kidding me?'

……

A few days earlier—

Rain came down hard in Amegakure. The Iwa-nin pulled his cloak tighter, water already seeping through the fabric. His partner walked beside him, both of them trying to ignore the stares.

Civilians lined the narrow streets. Poorly dressed, most of them. Hungry-looking. And when they saw the two strangers, they spat. Not subtly either, right in their direction, expressions twisted with open hostility.

The Iwa-nin kept walking. Getting into fights with civilians wasn't why they were here.

The Land of Rain. Small country, wedged between three powers that could crush it without thinking twice. Fire Country to the east, Wind Country to the south, Earth Country to the north. All of them bigger, richer, stronger.

Trade was minimal here. Agriculture even worse. While Fire Country enjoyed fertile lands and prosperity, Rain Country survived on whatever scraps it could get from the endless conflicts around it. Mercenary work, mostly. Assassination contracts. The ugly jobs nobody else wanted to claim responsibility for.

Which was exactly why they were here.

The tavern looked like every other building in this place, dingy, rain-stained, forgotten. Inside wasn't much better. Rough patrons filled the tables, some obviously shinobi, others looking like drunken missing-nin who'd given up on life. The bartender was behind the counter polishing glasses. Looked bored.

The moment they stepped inside, conversations stopped. Then the laughter started.

"Look what crawled out of the mountains!" a drunk at the bar slurred, raising his bottle.

"Damn right!" another drunk bellowed, raising his mug. "What's the matter, boys? Can't find any caves to hide in?"

The first voice wheezed with laughter. "Probably got lost looking for rocks to eat!"

"Hey, stone-heads!" a third patron chimed in, clearly encouraged by the others. "Your little pebbles won't help you in here!"

"Mountain rats!" someone else shouted, and now half the tavern was laughing. "Should've stayed in your holes!"

The insults kept coming, each one accompanied by more laughter. The Iwa-nin felt his partner tense beside him, hand drifting toward his weapon pouch.

"Don't," he said quietly. "We're here for business."

They approached the counter. The bartender continued polishing his glass, acting like they didn't exist.

"We're here to commission mercenary work," he said.

The bartender didn't look up. Kept polishing. The crowd behind them kept laughing.

His partner stepped forward, face flushed with anger. "We're talking to you."

Still nothing. Just the sound of cloth on glass, over and over.

Finally, the Iwa-nin reached into his cloak and placed a pouch of money on the counter. Heavy pouch. It hit the wood with a solid thud.

The bartender smiled. Still didn't look at them, but his hand moved beneath the counter. Something clicked, and a door creaked open behind him.

He went back to polishing glasses like nothing had happened.

The crowd kept jeering as they walked through the door.

Inside, a familiar figure waited. Murase. Every major nation's spy network knew that name. Hanzo's right hand, the man who handled Amegakure's less official business arrangements.

"Gentlemen," Murase said, gesturing to chairs across from his desk. "I understand you have a proposition."

The Iwa-nin sat down, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. "We need someone eliminated. Konoha's regional commander."

Murase didn't react. Just nodded like they'd asked him about the weather. "Such requests require... significant compensation."

That's when the real negotiation started. And it went badly from the beginning.

Hanzo's terms were massive. Enormous payment in ryō, more than they'd expected to pay. A mutual defense pact in case Konoha retaliated. Trade agreements heavily favoring Ame. Shared access to several of Iwa's mines.

"This is extortion," his partner snapped, shooting to his feet.

Murase shrugged. "Hanzo-sama anticipated that someone would come knocking when one side in the war started losing. The terms reflect the... complexity of your request."

They left fuming. Said they'd relay the terms to their superiors.

After the door closed behind them, a shadow moved behind Murase.

"Going after Konoha seems risky," the figure said. "What makes you think Iwa won't just abandon us if Konoha comes for revenge?"

Murase leaned back in his chair. "Hanzo-sama knows best. The operation will be disguised as missing-nin work. Allows us to publicly condemn the 'unauthorized' action while secretly benefiting. Keeps diplomatic channels open if things go wrong."

The shadow remained silent for a moment. "I hope you're right."

"Hanzo-sama usually is."

The next day, the two Iwa-nin returned. The agreement was finalized.

—

And that's how the outpost ended up burning.

All I could see was the flames in the distance, orange light against the darkness. Our base, our supposed safe haven, reduced to a bonfire.

I rubbed my face with both hands. 'Are you kidding me?'