At the border where Land of Fire met Land of Hot Water, a detachment from Konoha was stationed there. Because the camp lay near the sea, the rain here was far heavier than the steady drizzle deeper within Land of Fire. Raindrops struck the ground and burst into splashes, making it look as if rain fell from both sky and earth.
Strong winds carrying the downpour swept across the camp without pause. They snapped the Konoha Flag straight in the air, and the tents rattled loudly under the wind and rain. The sound never seemed to stop.
Inside one tent, the stove burned warmly. It pushed back the night darkness and drove away the cold in the air, leaving a faint and steady heat. The tent felt almost comfortable compared to the storm outside.
Two figures lay on beds beside the stove with their eyes closed, sleeping peacefully. Two other figures sat by the window, standing night watch. Their posture was relaxed but practiced.
When Danzo Shimura had first come to the border camp, he brought four squads of Root ninja. When he returned to Konoha, he took two squads with him, leaving only two squads behind. That was the current strength guarding this area.
The two night watch ninja lifted a pot of hot liquor from the stove and poured it into bowls, producing a soft HualaLa sound as it flowed. Steam rose at once, and the mild scent of alcohol reached their noses. Both of them narrowed their eyes slightly in enjoyment.
"Good liquor," the female Root ninja said after taking a small sip. Her tone carried rare satisfaction.
"This is a local specialty bought in Land of Hot Water," the male Root ninja replied with a grin. "If Danzo Shimura hadn't sent word that we can head back to the village tomorrow morning, I wouldn't be sharing it with you." His personality was clearly more open and casual.
In truth, Konoha Ninja had three major prohibitions. The first was against luxury, the second against indulgence in sex, and the third against alcohol. Yet ninja were still human, and they needed ways to release pressure.
If no one ever crossed those lines, places like FUNFUN Street would not exist near Konoha Village. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi in his youth had been well known for frequenting such places. For Root ninja in particular, failing to vent accumulated negative emotions could slowly damage their mental state.
Even so, while drinking in secret, the two did not neglect their guard. The tension between Kumogakure and Konoha was high, and neither of them would gamble with their lives. Caution was still a habit drilled into them.
"Don't drink too much," the female ninja said quietly. Her eyes flicked toward the tent entrance as she spoke.
"It's fine, the Sensory Barrier is active," the male ninja replied. He sounded tired of the harsh border life, and knowing they could return tomorrow made it hard for him to hold back his mood.
Hearing that, the female ninja did not argue further. She simply set her bowl down and rested her hand nearby. Her expression remained alert despite the warmth.
pata… pata...
A sound like rain sliding off the eaves and shattering on the ground reached their ears. It was not a strange sound in weather like this. Under normal circumstances, neither of them would have cared.
Yet the female ninja suddenly felt uneasy. She frowned and looked carefully outside the tent. All she could see was raging wind and rain, with mist blurring everything, and the Sensory Barrier gave no warning at all.
What was wrong, exactly? Was something missing, or was something extra present? The feeling refused to fade.
After a brief silence, she scanned the outside again and reached out to push her companion. "Xing, something feels off," she said in a low voice. Her hand pressed against him with a bit more force.
In the next instant, she felt the resistance vanish. A dull thud followed, then another. The sound was heavy and wrong.
She turned her head in reflex and saw her companion collapse to the side. His head, still wearing a faint trace of joy, slid away and hit the ground, bouncing with a crisp series of sounds like a kicked ball, leaving a streak of blood behind.
In that brief moment, she finally understood what was wrong. There was no sound of breathing, the breaths were far too faint. In the tent, four people had been present, and now only she remained.
There was also a thin scent of blood, growing stronger with the wind. It did not come from outside the tent. It came from within.
By the time she realized this, it was already too late. A wet slicing sound rang out. A cold flash crossed the light inside the tent, and droplets of blood splattered against the canvas.
Dressed in black robes, Ryuji Hyuga hung upside down above them. He pulled his joined index and middle fingers out of the female ninja's head, a thin blade of Chakra condensed along his fingers. His expression was calm and indifferent.
"Root ninja really are still less sharp than ANBU," Ryuji Hyuga said softly. His gaze flicked toward the two beds behind him. The two figures there had also been pierced through the head and had long since gone silent.
The sound the female ninja had heard earlier was not rain at all. It had been the blood of those two dripping onto the ground. If they had not trusted the Sensory Barrier so completely, they might have noticed something sooner.
But who would have imagined that Ryuji Hyuga could block perception entirely? Even Pain had to avoid Konoha's barrier. On the way here, Ryuji Hyuga had spent another thousand points to enhance the perception-blocking effect of the Shadow Robe.
In terms of infiltration, only a very small number of people could compare with him. His methods left almost no trace. The border camp never had a chance.
"What a waste of a puppet," Ryuji Hyuga said, looking regretfully at the headless corpse. He sealed it into a scroll, then used Mental Puppet to take control of the other three bodies. The ability could not stop decay, so if the corpses were not turned into proper puppets, they would rot soon.
Without Toneri Otsutsuki's massive Tenseigan, he could not control nearly a hundred puppets like that. His current limit was ten puppets at most. And Hiashi Hyuga was still alive, and controlling a living person alone took up five slots.
"Still, it's enough," Ryuji Hyuga said quietly. He looked at the three human puppets kneeling on one knee before him. He issued an order for them to imitate their actions from life and wait for further commands.
Then he silently recited in his mind, "Manifestation, Otsutsuki Ruins." A mechanical voice sounded in response. [Please input coordinates]
"Coordinates, underground one thousand meters, east longitude 119 degrees 17 minutes 13.202 seconds, north latitude 54 degrees 12 minutes 12.115 seconds," Ryuji Hyuga recited. It was the agreed location between Kumogakure and Konoha. His tone was steady and precise.
[Please input layout] the voice prompted again. Ryuji Hyuga thought carefully as he described it. "Five-layer underground palace structure, cannot be probed by perception, each layer requires absorption of Chakra to open, deeper layers require more Chakra. At the entrance, leave a Ten-Tails stone statue with a base carved with inscriptions left by 'Otsutsuki Cloud Style,' the content of the inscription…"
He refined the image in his mind, adding details several times. At last, the system stopped asking questions. [Cost 13000 Reality Points, confirm manifestation?]
"…" Ryuji Hyuga's eye twitched. "How much did you say?" This was the first time he had manifested such a large project. The system repeated the cost without emotion.
"Are you trying to drain me dry on purpose?" Ryuji Hyuga took a breath and asked internally, "What if I only manifest the overall structure and entrance, along with the entrance details, and require massive Chakra extraction to open it?"
[Cost 3000 Reality Points, confirm manifestation?] Hearing this, Ryuji Hyuga's eyes flickered. He thought for a long time, recalling the Shadow Robe and how the system, while ruthless, always delivered results that matched his needs and even added extra details.
"Nothing gained without risk," he said at last. His pupils tightened as he spoke in a low voice. "Manifest."
[3000 Reality Points deducted, Remaining Reality Points: 10651] The moment the prompt sounded in his mind, Ryuji Hyuga felt a tremor beneath his feet. The ground itself responded to his decision.