Hikaru hadn't forgotten for a second that someone was watching him.
For an ANBU operative, being tailed meant one thing: you were doing a terrible job.
And judging by how those watchers behaved, there was a high chance they were connected to this case. If that was true, Hikaru had no intention of letting them slip away.
They hadn't appeared in the original story—sure. But for all he knew, Naruto's "savior halo" had simply carried him through so smoothly that these people never got a chance to show their faces before they were… quietly erased by time.
Hikaru remembered this mission. Naruto had taken it.
And Naruto's luck—aside from the first thirteen miserable years—was basically absurd after that. Once the wheel turned, it turned hard. So for Naruto, this mission had gone off without a hitch, aside from a little trouble inside the lizard's belly.
"The only pity is… that idiot tore the scroll."
Thinking of Naruto's original solution made Hikaru sigh. Wasteful didn't even begin to cover it.
He shook his head and forced himself not to dwell on Naruto's antics. Right now, his priorities were clear: find the scroll, and figure out who the hell had been watching him.
He did have a guess.
What if the people tailing him were actually Shouqi City's remaining descendants—survivors of the old regime?
Shouqi Castle was dead. If he'd died full of resentment—watching his homeland swallowed and his rule extinguished—then the last thing he would want was for someone to retrieve the scroll and set the summoned beast free.
That left two logical choices.
One: hide it in his own grave. The dead were treated as sacred. Grave-robbing wasn't unheard of, but it was rare.
In this world, disturbing the sleep of the dead was somehow seen as more disgusting than killing the living.
Hikaru had never understood which idiot decided corpses mattered more than breathing people… but at the moment, he was grateful for that absurdity. It made a grave a far safer hiding place.
Two: hide it inside the castle.
But that was even simpler. The "castle" was the summoned beast's body. Entering it was the same as stepping into its stomach. Anyone who went in was effectively being eaten—who would have time to search for a summoning scroll?
In the original story, Naruto found the scroll inside the lizard's belly.
But if you added the existence of watchers—and assumed they were Shouqi's leftover heirs—then another possibility formed:
Maybe those people had guarded the scroll while they lived. And when they could no longer hold out, they tossed it into the lizard's stomach… and died there themselves.
Hikaru remembered the bones in that place—armored warriors reduced to dry skeletons.
If that was the truth, then Hikaru needed to meet these watchers even more.
"Kakashi," he said once his thoughts were in order, "go back and rest. Tomorrow, we start the operation."
"Yes, Captain." Kakashi stood immediately, clean and decisive as always. But he hesitated just a beat. "How do we proceed?"
"Simple." Hikaru's voice stayed even. "After we confirm a few things, we go straight into the castle."
"If we're lucky, we won't even need to enter."
"I understand." Kakashi didn't pry. He turned and left. "Then I'll head back, Captain."
The door clicked shut softly behind him.
Hikaru was pleased.
Whether it was trust in his leader or simple disinterest, Kakashi's lack of pointless questions suited Hikaru perfectly.
Hikaru rose, slipped on his mask, pushed open the window—and jumped.
If he'd made a decision, he wouldn't drag his feet. Whether the watchers were exactly what he suspected didn't even matter anymore.
Watching ANBU wasn't a smart move.
He didn't know where Shouqi Castle's grave was, but he did remember one thing: outside the city was a graveyard. And it was one of the places where the watchers' reactions had been strongest.
He moved fast. In a little over half an hour, he reached the cemetery.
And along the way, that faint, lingering gaze locked onto him again—clearer than before.
The closer he got, the heavier it became.
"As expected," Hikaru thought coolly. "So there really is something interesting buried here."
At first, he'd wondered if some secret organization was conducting research in the area.
But he'd already swept the region with his perception. There was no hidden base. No underground lab. Nothing.
He'd also probed the watchers' chakra.
At most, jōnin-level reserves. The rest were mostly chūnin and genin.
That kind of lineup was annoying, but manageable. Hikaru was confident he could handle it.
It would be troublesome. He'd probably need Sage Mode.
But so what?
"If paying a small price gets me a summon whose size is likely comparable to the Sannin's… then no matter how you look at it, it's worth it."
He slowed, lowered his presence, and stepped into the graveyard.
Whether by design or coincidence, towering trees stood thick around its edges, blocking the moonlight cleanly. The cemetery was pitch-black, not a trace of light slipping through.
All he could hear was the distant, mournful cries of animals—and the wind scraping through branches with a sound like weeping.
Dust hung in the air. Rot and ruin clung to everything. Even for someone like Hikaru, the place felt… uncomfortable.
He drew a slow breath, ignoring the stench, forcing his mind to settle.
He didn't believe in ghosts. He didn't fear them either.
But the atmosphere was undeniably oppressive—especially now that the owners of those hidden gazes were starting to approach openly, no longer bothering to hide.
"Done playing tricks?" Hikaru spoke at last.
This time, his voice carried none of its usual warmth. It was cold, edged, and it echoed through the cemetery.
Paired with the low moan of the wind, it made the darkness feel even heavier—like the whole graveyard was pressing down.
A moment later, a man's voice answered from within the black.
Middle-aged. Deep. Flat with indifference.
"Sir. This is not a place you're allowed to enter."
"This is the graveyard of Shouqi City's warriors. A shinobi like you coming here is an insult to them."
"Leave."
Hikaru's lips curved slightly beneath the mask.
"And if I don't?" he asked. "Or… you answer a few questions, and then I leave?"
"Then," the man said, voice dropping like a blade, "we'll settle it with blood."
…
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