Deadweight

"Captain, what do you think of this place?"

Inside a cave, Shiranui Genma pointed at the map and asked Uchiha Sou. Might Guy and Anko watched curiously, craning their necks.

"This spot."

Uchiha Sou furrowed his brow as he studied the map. After a moment, he spoke.

"I'm a little concerned. This place is an important enemy stronghold. Even if it isn't, its location means there are probably quite a few enemy forces stationed there."

The village Shiranui Genma had picked was in an excellent location. Its high elevation made it ideal for scouting from above, and an important highway ran nearby.

But that was exactly the problem. The location was too good, and it made Uchiha Sou uneasy.

Several days had passed since they finished off those Mist Ninja Anbu. During that time, they had continued advancing according to plan while also searching for other teams.

There was no denying how useful the Byakugan was. Thanks to Hyuga Tetsu's Byakugan, they had repeatedly slipped past Mist Ninja patrols with superior numbers.

Every now and then, they could also ambush a smaller group of Mist Ninja or one that had gotten separated.

But they hadn't been as lucky as they'd been when they first entered enemy territory. So far, they hadn't run into another Konoha team.

That was to be expected, though, and Uchiha Sou wasn't surprised. Still, they'd been in enemy territory long enough. It was time to find a suitable place.

This time, Uchiha Sou planned to let everyone in on the whole story, at least enough for them to understand what they were doing.

"Do we really have to make such a big deal out of picking a place?" Anko looked the map over for a while, then muttered, "Even if there are people there, can't we just take them out?"

"Do you want to be surrounded by Mist Ninja at every turn?" Though she'd spoken quietly, Uchiha Sou had still heard her. "There are only eight of us. Have you thought about what would happen if we ran into a large force?"

Anko pressed her lips together, then fell silent. She wanted to say that if Uchiha Sou hadn't forced them all into one group, they could've operated behind enemy lines in disguise.

According to the original plan, they were supposed to sneak carefully into a major city controlled by the Land of Whirlpools, then gather intelligence and carry out sabotage when the opportunity arose.

After all, they'd chosen young people like them not only because they were capable, but also because children were easier to disguise!

"Let's keep looking." Uchiha Sou rubbed his brow in frustration. "You should go look after Uchiha Shizuka instead of wasting time here."

But the moment he thought of Uchiha Shizuka, he felt a headache coming on again.

The woman was in terrible shape. If things continued like this, Uchiha Sou wasn't sure she'd make it.

It wasn't as if he couldn't tell that Shisui hadn't been very shaken by the death of that Uchiha Makoto fellow.

That meant his Mangekyo awakening was probably connected to this woman named Uchiha Shizuka. From what Shisui had said, she was his older sister.

"She was his teammate and his sister, and she even risked her life to save him. No wonder he awakened the Mangekyo!"

Now that he understood what had happened, Uchiha Shizuka had become extremely important. The problem was, the woman looked like she was on the verge of dying, and he didn't know what to do.

If she really died, wouldn't he be held responsible?

The original story had never actually said what happened to her, but she had clearly died. Now that he'd gotten involved, things were bound to be different.

"After all, everyone in the Uchiha Clan except me is crazy!"

Uchiha Sou thought this over with a troubled look. Shisui was worried about Uchiha Shizuka too, but he was also leaning over the map and studying it.

After all, this was connected to him. If he wanted things to improve for his sister, he felt he needed to understand the situation better before making a decision.

"Captain, may I ask you something?" Shisui finally spoke after thinking for a long while. "What exactly are we supposed to do? We're all in this together now, and I think knowing the full situation will help us make better decisions."

Shisui's words immediately caught everyone's attention. Anko Squad, in particular, turned to look at him.

Uchiha Sou had been so secretive and told them so little that they couldn't help being curious.

"All right. Since you've all been wanting to know, I'll be direct."

Uchiha Sou rubbed his brow, then spoke with a resigned sigh.

"We're in enemy-controlled territory, with no reinforcements, no supplies, and no source of intelligence.

"We also have an important mission to carry out, one that could very well get us killed. So what do you think our best option is?"

Everyone except Genma began to think about Uchiha Sou's question. But before they could dwell on it, he spoke again.

"The answer is simple. The people of the Land of Whirlpools, who have long hated Kirigakure, are our best allies.

"If we can earn their trust, they'll be able to keep us informed about Kirigakure's movements and provide us with supplies.

"But the key question is, how do we earn their trust? We need enough people.

"And don't underestimate them. They can't fight the Mist Ninja, but when it comes to sabotage in other areas, they have a clear advantage over us!"

Uchiha Sou paused. The others' eyes began to brighten as they slowly understood the meaning of his plan.

They hadn't considered relying on ordinary people. In fact, they'd practically overlooked them entirely!

But now that they thought about it, what these people could provide was almost unimaginable.

They might not be able to fight the Mist Ninja, but they could sabotage facilities, find hidden bases, and provide all kinds of intelligence. That was certainly within their abilities!

At that moment, Anko Squad and Might Guy were completely fired up, while Shisui's eyes gleamed.

But it didn't take long for them to frown. They understood why Uchiha Sou had forced them all into one group.

There was still one major problem: they didn't have enough people.

"So we need more people?" Anko was surprisingly clearheaded. She kept an eye on Uchiha Shizuka as she asked from where she stood.

"Right. But I think we should find a suitable place first."

Uchiha Sou nodded, then glanced at Uchiha Shizuka, who was still unconscious.

"She's in terrible shape. We need to find a way to treat her properly, but it's a shame we don't have a medic. If only we did..."

"Huh? A medic?"

Anko paused. Then she seemed to think of something and immediately exclaimed, excitedly,

"I know a place where we might find a medic—and more of our people, too!"

"Hm?" Uchiha Sou paused, then asked in confusion, "Where?"

"A prisoner-of-war camp!"

Anko laughed loudly, feeling she'd finally gotten one over on him.

"You're such an idiot. Konoha has taken so many Mist Ninja prisoner, so of course they've taken plenty of our people prisoner too.

"If we just rescue them, we'll have more people, and we can check whether there are any medics among them!"

The moment Anko finished speaking, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Several people had drawn in sharp breaths and were staring at her blankly.

Confused, she frowned and asked,

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"..."