Night.
Kurenai's squad and First Squad didn't continue traveling. Instead, they stopped to rest in an unnamed forest at the northwestern edge of the Fire Country.
A campfire crackled quietly, sparks drifting upward as the flames nipped at the dry wood.
The orange glow flickered across the faces of Yūhi Kurenai and Kaito—both assigned to the second half of the night watch.
Around them, the forest was silent. Darkness seeped between the gaps of the trees, wrapping around the campfire like a shroud.
Beside the fire, the others slept soundly in their outdoor sleeping bags, blissfully unaware of the world.
"Genin Kaito," Kurenai said, poking at the fire with a branch.
"May I ask you something?"
Kaito blinked, instantly wide awake—but his expression softened a moment later into quiet sorrow.
"Kurenai-sensei, perhaps you don't fully understand my situation yet."
"If I could avoid making mistakes, I wouldn't still be stuck at the genin rank."
"Who in the village doesn't want to become a chūnin?"
Without village certification, no one could step into the core of Konoha. Even academy instructors and exam proctors had to be chūnin at minimum.
It was a measure of the village's trust.
Kurenai glanced at him, then back at the fire.
"With your chakra control, mistakes shouldn't happen—not at all. What I've seen from you looks almost like the false performance of an illusion."
During the day's travel, Kurenai hadn't slowed even once. When they reached the campsite, aside from Kaito and Nawaki, everyone else—Genma, Duy, and Ryūun—was trembling from exhaustion.
Even Kaito, after using Life Return to force sweat from his entire body, finally showed signs of fatigue…
But Kurenai, watching closely, saw the truth.
That fatigue only appeared in the final two to three minutes before they stopped.
Kaito smiled helplessly.
"Thank you for the compliment, Kurenai-sensei. But whether an illusion is 'false' depends entirely on the caster."
"For example, the Kurama Clan's bloodline ability—they can turn illusions into reality."
"You know quite a lot." Kurenai raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected a kid to know about their fading genjutsu clan. "Then what do you think of the Yūhi clan?"
"Not bad," Kaito said honestly.
"But not good enough."
"Compared to a bloodline clan like the Kurama, you fall short."
"That's true…" Kurenai sighed.
"It's a pity no one in the Kurama clan awakens the bloodline anymore. They'll likely dissolve and merge into the village before long."
Small clans survived by producing talent. Without that, they collapsed under the weight of finances and dwindling influence.
Once, even the Senju had been a great clan—until they dissolved, leaving only the clan compound behind.
Now the major clans were the Uchiha, Hyūga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and the rising clans like Sarutobi, Shimura, Mito Mon, and the Sleeping Division.
The rest—Inuzuka, Aburame, Shiranui, Moonlight, Hatake, Morino, Namikaze, Yamashiro, Kurama, Yūhi—were minor clans.
Families like the Kitada siblings, though both ninja, had no clan backing at all. Their only path was to work hard for themselves.
Clans like Mitarashi, Katō, and even the Yūhi were already preparing for eventual dissolution—unable to sustain the cost of continued existence.
Clans paid land tax.
Clans provided resources to their members.
Clans bore the burden of nurturing talent.
Without talent, dissolution was inevitable.
Kurenai reminisced about her childhood. Back then, her father was not yet clan head. She hadn't understood why he had exiled clan members with no ninja aptitude…
But when she grew up, she understood.
"Kaito," she said suddenly. "What do you think of Ryūun? I heard you're still single…"
The moment the words left her lips—
Kaito's face turned rigid.
He shot to his feet.
"I think… I just heard a trap mechanism trigger somewhere. Please excuse me, Kurenai-sensei!"
Before she could answer, he disappeared into the darkness.
Kurenai stared after him, then let out a quiet, helpless laugh.
Perhaps… their fates just weren't aligned yet.
The sky-blue sea stretched lazily beneath the morning sun.
Two wooden boats rowed steadily toward the Land of Whirlpools.
The boatmen—men who made a living ferrying travelers during wartime—rowed with all their strength.
A one-way trip cost only a thousand ryō.
Two boats: two thousand.
Cheap, considering the era.
"We only take you to Uzushio," one boatman said nervously. "If we meet any shinobi along the way… please protect us."
Kurenai smiled reassuringly.
"Mist-nin and Cloud-nin aren't participating in this war.
And our route toward the Whirlpools is considered low-risk on both land and sea."
Ryūun proudly nodded beside her.
"My teacher is a Konoha jōnin!" she said, patting her chūnin flak jacket.
"And I'm a chūnin too~"
"That's reassuring," the boatman said with a simple grin.
"A chūnin that young… rare sight."
On the other boat, the boatman chatted with First Squad. When he learned the rest were genin, he deflated a little.
Kaito leaned against the ship's railing, salty breeze brushing his cheeks.
His gaze swept the calm sea ahead—and unease tightened in his chest.
Too smooth.
Way too smooth.
Feels like someone prepared a cage just waiting for us to step inside.
Two days of travel brought them past a border patrolling squad—no issues reported.
The Konoha sea outpost had also seen no movements from the Land of Water.
After arriving at a coastal village, they asked for boatmen. Several fishermen volunteered; two were chosen.
The purpose was simple: conserve chakra.
A long sea journey was no place for reckless chakra expenditure.
Then it happened—
The air shifted.
Moisture thickened.
A faint, pale mist began spreading across the water's surface.
The boats kept moving, the shinobi now noticeably more alert—but not alarmed yet.
After all, ocean weather changed often.
"…Why is there fog at this hour?"
"I've rowed this route for years. Never seen fog here."
The boatmen's murmurs struck Kaito and Kurenai like a thunderclap.
If an Uchiha had been present—with Sharingan awakened—they would've seen it immediately:
This mist wasn't natural.
It brimmed with Water Release chakra.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!" ×2
The sea vanished into white.
The trap had sprung.
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