The Forest of Death was swept by a chilling wind. Its towering canopy blocked out most of the sunlight, and giant trees stretched on one after another. Without some special skill, tracking an enemy through this kind of terrain was incredibly difficult.
But it wasn't difficult at all for Inuzuka Hana. She raced along with her Ninja Dog, yet even at full speed, she was still a long way behind the person who had dared to cross the barrier.
She couldn't help wondering: if even she, using a Mimicry Technique to run on all fours, was having trouble catching up, would she be able to defeat the person once she caught up? She was only a Chunin, after all.
Then came a tremendous crash. The birds living in the forest scattered into the sky, and clouds of dust rose with leaves and wood chips.
Inuzuka Hana's heart tightened. She couldn't withstand that kind of destructive force.
"Woof, woof..." Her Ninja Dog barked.
"What? You're saying that person's scent has stopped? Is it getting closer to us?"
"Woof."
After communicating with her Ninja Dog, Inuzuka Hana felt something was off. Her dog told her that the scent that had crossed the barrier and run all the way here had not only stopped, but was growing stronger.
The scent wasn't growing stronger because it was coming closer to them. It was spreading outward from a central point in every direction.
Daring to venture forward little by little, Inuzuka Hana found the site of the explosion.
"Oh no, we've been tricked!"
All that remained at the explosion site were scraps of wood and metal, along with several scrolls radiating chakra. They seemed to have powered the entire contraption, but there wasn't a person in sight.
The scent of Hyuga Hinata they had been tracking came from a pale purple coat. The blast had flung it onto a tree branch, and its hem was beginning to burn.
"Let's go back and report to Lord Hokage. The enemy didn't leave this way," she said.
Inuzuka Hana wasn't the only one pursuing the contraption. Anbu were after it too. They were a little slower, but more professional in handling the scene. A few minutes after Hana returned to the Hokage Building, they brought the wreckage of the entire device back there.
"Where's Might Guy? Did he catch the real enemy? Should we go help him?" After settling her exhausted Ninja Dog, Inuzuka Hana hurried back to the Hokage Building. Her job was to patrol near the barrier, and now that something had happened, she needed to be proactive.
"The barrier's been breached in more places than just those first three. More and more spots are being broken through, all with these strange devices," said a ninja with a Senbon between his teeth.
"Get some rest. Once we figure out where the enemy escaped, we might all have to head out together," another Chunin said with a grin, patting Inuzuka Hana on the shoulder.
Although the Uchiha Clan was gone, Konoha could still field plenty of ninja in the short term. With nearly the entire Hyuga Clan mobilized as well, they had enough people to handle even twice as many unidentified objects breaking through the barrier.
In reality, Uchiha Jie had already left the village with the first batch of flying objects he had made.
"The Inuzuka Clan sure is a nuisance, but they'll never guess I have a secret weapon like this! Hahaha!"
Inside a spacious carriage, Uchiha Jie and Hyuga Hinata sat facing each other.
Hinata had changed into a white robe. Her outer garment had been used as bait earlier, and she had even cut off a little of her hair, leaving it looking rather disheveled.
They hadn't forced their way through the barrier to leave. Instead, they had strolled right out through Konoha's main gate. The newly appointed head of the Security Force was personally leading the guards there, along with a Jonin from the Inuzuka Clan.
Whether you were leaving by carriage or on foot, you had to undergo a strict inspection.
"Stop! You're being inspected!" The newly recruited Civilian Chunin and Inuzuka Claw stopped the carriage.
"Sir, why are you checking people all of a sudden today?"
The driver often traveled between the capital of the Land of Fire and Konoha, so he was something of a familiar face. He pulled the reins, climbed down from the carriage, then lifted the curtain to reveal Uchiha Jie sitting inside.
"Where are you going after leaving Konoha?" asked a Chunin from the new Security Force, stepping forward.
"I'm going to the capital of our Land of Fire to buy some building materials and renovate my house in Konoha," Uchiha Jie said, handing over his travel permit as he spoke.
The Chunin nodded. The permit was genuine. It had been signed by the former Security Force chief from the disbanded Uchiha Clan, rather than the current one, but most villagers in Konoha still carried permits like this.
"Kuromaru, go!"
After the papers were checked, they had to undergo an inspection by a Ninja Dog. Inuzuka Claw's massive one-eyed dog stood nearly as tall as a person. It bared its teeth and circled the carriage before letting out a low growl.
Uchiha Jie frowned. With so little time, all he could do was completely cover Hyuga Hinata's scent with strong perfume. But the smell was far too pungent for a Ninja Dog.
"You're a grown man. Why are you wearing so much perfume?" Inuzuka Claw pulled a bottle of medicine from her pocket. As she carefully rinsed her Ninja Dog's nose, she signaled the other ninja behind her to be on guard.
"Well, I sell perfume..." Uchiha Jie feigned ease, taking out several clear little glass bottles and shrugging.
The Chunin came over, picked up one of the bottles, unscrewed the cap, and sniffed it. It was perfume, all right. The scent wasn't strong; it carried a faint floral aroma.
It was high-quality perfume.
"Then tell me, how exactly do you make perfume?" she asked, still taking her job seriously. Inuzuka Hana nodded along beside her.
"Uh, that's kind of a trade secret." Uchiha Jie scratched his head. "I can't tell you the details, but the general process goes like this."
"The scent you want determines the kind of essential oil you need to prepare. For example, the mint scent I'm wearing now comes from soaking fresh mint leaves in alcohol for a few days, so the fragrance can be extracted."
"Then you filter out all the impurities to get the precious essential oil. Finally, you mix it with alcohol in the right proportions."
"That sounds pretty simple," Inuzuka Claw said. "You're not trying to trick us, are you?"
"Sir, I wouldn't dare. It sounds simple, but if you want to make a popular perfume, you need just the right formula. A scent that's a little too strong is too much, and one that's a little too faint is useless."
Uchiha Jie had no idea how to formulate perfume. He could only make a few simple poisons. But the Chunin beside him clearly wasn't taking the matter too seriously, and with her changing the subject, this checkpoint became much easier to pass.
"Oh, Claw, it's his trade secret. We shouldn't pry. Besides, you've got Kuromaru standing so close that his nose is getting more and more uncomfortable."
The Chunin first had Inuzuka Claw take Kuromaru aside, then leaned over to peer into the carriage. She called over a Hyuga ninja wearing a Forehead Protector and had him thoroughly inspect the carriage with his Byakugan. Then she gave them the go-ahead.