Uchiha Ran and Uchiha Ryūka did not waste time along the road wildly speculating about why the Scorch Release user Pakura had appeared near the Land of Fire's border.
In a time of relative peace, crossing into another country to carry out a mission was never complicated in principle—if you were caught, a brief clash would usually make everyone's intentions crystal clear.
Along the way, Uchiha Ryūka completely dropped the aloof, icy demeanor she usually maintained back in the Uchiha compound. Instead, she chatted nonstop with Ran the entire journey.
She enthusiastically told him that this Pakura was rumored to be a true beauty—a rare one at that.Despite growing up in the harsh environment of the Land of Wind, she supposedly didn't have the rough, weather-beaten skin common among Sand ninja. On the contrary, she was said to look fresh, radiant, and strikingly delicate, and was extremely popular within Sunagakure.
Ryūka even joked that if Ran happened to think Pakura looked good when they met her, they could just make up an excuse, work together to capture her, and bring her back to the Uchiha clan—
—to become Ran's very own captive bride.
Ran neither agreed nor disagreed.
After all, Pakura was a shinobi who possessed Scorch Release, a Kekkei Genkai. From Ran's perspective, such opponents weren't exactly easy for the Sharingan to deal with. Her signature technique, Steam Kill, was a large-scale area-of-effect attack—precisely the kind of overwhelming power that countered the Uchiha clan's preference for precision and fine control.
Of course, "countering" was always relative.
Wide-area attacks forced the Uchiha to fight carefully, but at the same time, the Uchiha's three-tomoe Sharingan made enemies hesitant to act recklessly.
In the end, ninja battles were wars of information—unless one side possessed truly crushing power.
Thinking about Pakura and Sunagakure, fragments of Ran's limited memories surfaced.If he remembered correctly, it would be within the next year or two that the man hailed as the strongest Kazekage would be ambushed and killed by Sasori of the Red Sand—
—and his disappearance would become one of the sparks that ignited the Third Great Ninja War.
"…This is bad," Ran muttered inwardly."Am I about to get dragged into something huge?"
Yet almost immediately, his thoughts drifted to the zanpakutō at his side.
Well…If it really was a ninja war, maybe that wouldn't be so bad after all.
When Uchiha Ran and Uchiha Ryūka finally reached the border, a Konoha intelligence operative immediately appeared before them and began reporting the situation.
"Pakura was previously sighted near the border, but she quickly returned to the Land of Wind's desert," said the masked ninja. "An Aburame operative attached kikaichū to her during the initial encounter. We've confirmed that she did not return to Sunagakure. She's deliberately avoiding us—or rather, whatever she's doing requires remaining hidden from Konoha."
"Don't overthink it," Ryūka said coldly. "Just capture her and interrogate her properly."
"…Wouldn't directly capturing her risk triggering a conflict between the two villages?" Ran asked, sounding almost naïve.
Ryūka burst out laughing.
"You really are fresh out of the Academy. Looks like border protocol wasn't fully covered, huh?" she teased. "Teaching rookies like you is my favorite part—very fulfilling."
She then asked the key question.
"Can you locate Pakura precisely—especially after she entered the Land of Fire?"
"Absolutely, Ryūka-sama," the intelligence ninja replied. "The Aburame clan's kikaichū are already at work. They activated the moment Pakura was first detected. But… there's only one chance. I'll go contact the Aburame immediately."
"One chance?" Ran murmured as he watched the scout hurry away. "So once the kikaichū lead us to her, they'll be destroyed…"
Seeing Ran still piecing things together, Ryūka quickly explained the Aburame clan's tracking methods.
It was, in fact, one of their most common techniques.
As everyone knew, the Aburame clan specialized in controlling insects.
Within their system, scent signals between mother insects and offspring played a crucial role.
These scents weren't just a means of communication—they were the foundation of the Aburame clan's tracking capabilities.
Large numbers of insects lived inside Aburame clan members, but the mother insects never left their host's body.
When detached offspring insects attached themselves to an enemy, they released a unique scent that transmitted warning signals—allowing Aburame clan members to pinpoint the enemy's location.
At the same time, the offspring insects would act according to instructions received from the mother insects.
The scent-based communication system was far more complex than a simple signal.For the Aburame, it was a high-precision biological network.
Mother insects could adjust the type and concentration of scent to convey different information, while offspring insects relayed data such as enemy numbers or chakra levels back to the host.
Because of this, the Aburame clan was highly valued on the battlefield.
However, once a shinobi realized they were being tracked, they would immediately inspect their body and eliminate any foreign organisms or objects.
That was why kikaichū tracking typically only worked once.
"By the way, Ran," Ryūka suddenly said after finishing her explanation.
"Yeah, Ryūka-nee?"
"I suspect Pakura isn't the only Sunagakure ninja out here. When you're with me on this mission, stay alert. I don't want to go back carrying only your Sharingan to apologize to Mikoto-san and Fugaku-sama."
She spoke with concern—then deliberately turned her head away.
Ran grinned and teased her."Ryūka-nee, are you worried about me? Daijōbu. I don't like raising death flags, but I'll say this—once this mission is over and we're back, let's—"
"—Let's go eat a big meal."
"Go by yourself," Ryūka snapped. "I'm not going with you. Come on… we're heading to the Aburame camp. Time to move."
She flicked her hair and dashed off toward the tents without waiting.
"Ryūka-nee, wait! Also, tsundere characters are totally out of meta now!"
When Ran finally followed Ryūka and the masked scout into the tent—
—he suddenly began carefully examining the tent from top to bottom.
"What is it, Ran?" Ryūka asked.
"Ryūka-nee, weren't we supposed to meet the Aburame operative? I don't see anyone here. Did he step out?"
???
Suddenly, Ran felt someone tap his shoulder.
A voice spoke right beside his ear.
"An Uchiha, huh? Even the Sharingan couldn't notice me?" the voice said irritably. "Tch. We Aburame might have low presence, but I saw the moment your pupils changed when you noticed me."
"…Ah—sorry about that, Aburame-senpai," Ran replied awkwardly. "I'd heard your clan has low presence. When I spotted you immediately, it felt kind of off… so I pretended not to see you."
The Aburame finally spoke clearly.
"Name's Aburame Mukura. Our presence is low, not nonexistent. You don't just miss us standing right in front of you. You little Uchiha brat are pretty irritating."
"My bad, my bad! Mukura-senpai!" Ran raised both hands in a half-hearted apology.
The Aburame stared at him.
…Yeah.Definitely irritating.