Whether animal or human, anyone who completed the transformation gained the ability to hide in shadows.
They could also move freely through the shadows.
This ability was both discreet and convenient, making it especially useful for gathering intelligence over long periods.
By now, the people Hinata had sent should have hidden themselves in the Daimyo's shadow, watching him every moment of the day.
Within the Hidden Leaf Village, practically anyone with good sources had already caught the scent of war.
What the Konoha High Command had not expected, however, was that the Land of Lightning would make a move before the Hidden Leaf Village was ready.
Reports from their spies indicated that Kumogakure had been frequently redeploying its shinobi lately, as though something major was about to happen.
Just yesterday, Kumogakure had dispatched a force to an unknown destination.
It was not a small unit of a few people or even a dozen, but a force of several hundred shinobi.
And from the looks of things, those several hundred shinobi were only the vanguard.
A day later, after inquiries through multiple channels, the destination of that force was finally known!
It was the Land of Water!
"What the hell is wrong with those idiots in Kumogakure? They're actually sending troops to the Land of Water?"
Hinata naturally connected this development to the Daimyo's recent order to attack Kirigakure.
Don't tell me the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning planned this together?
On closer consideration, that did make sense.
After all, the Daimyo had ordered the Hidden Leaf Village to attack Kirigakure because he wanted it wiped out. There was no doubt about that.
But in the Daimyo's eyes, as two of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the Hidden Leaf Village and Kirigakure should have been fairly close in