Coming from the North

Yamada Soji's incompetence in ninja arts manifested in every conceivable way.

It wasn't just taijutsu or ninjutsu... his spatial awareness was equally far from being the boy's strong suit.

Therefore, Soshi, having poured most of his energy into his conversation with Doctor Usami, could not possibly have noticed the surveillance within the camp—even though, subjectively, he had long guessed that Director Inoue would plant ears and eyes there.

However, looking at it from another angle, the very reason Soshi openly cozied up to Usami Hanbei was because he knew full well that it didn't matter if he was under surveillance.

--The cooperative relationship between the boy and Inoue Hisahide was, by nature, a secret that could not be known to outsiders.

Furthermore, Director Inoue, who was attempting to wash his hands of his past and ride the winds of the new generation's reforms, needed to foster closer ties with young opinion leaders like Soshi and Usami.

Thus, not only would he not interfere with the boy's actions, but he would even provide assistance and protection when necessary.

Yet, since Director Inoue had sent people to monitor him in secret, he surely had other, deeper motives...

Beyond patching the holes and covering for Yamada Soji's methods, the Director, who held the "traitor" identity card, had to ensure he wouldn't be used as a stepping stone by the boy due to an associate's betrayal!

This hidden piece, inserted into the frontline medical team, was his final insurance policy against any eventuality.

Should Yamada-kun's actions diverge from Director Inoue's interests, this observer could act as the executor of the Director's will, using third-party interference to steer matters toward the outcome he desired!

All these things were the calculated plans of a man dwelling in the shadows.

Director Inoue had made every preparation, determined to achieve his goals while taking advantage of the old dean's support for the front lines!

However, against the backdrop of increasingly intense conflicts between ninja villages, no one could say for sure whether tomorrow or an accident would arrive first.

As a red signal flare suddenly burst into the sky above the camp, the entire transport unit immediately entered a state of high alert!

Upon receiving the signal of an enemy attack, Soshi, acting as a guard, didn't even have time to bid farewell to the pleasant Doctor Usami before immediately throwing himself into combat mode.

He reached into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out the glass fibers used as casting materials, tucked them into the lining on the back of his tactical gloves, blew a whistle according to the pre-arranged signal, and charged toward the direction indicated by the flare!

The boy's pace was not fast.

But unfortunately, the incident had occurred very close to his current position!

Consequently, even after Soshi broke through the perimeter and entered search mode, he still found himself waiting in vain for other support squads to arrive!

Meanwhile, the evening forest cast large, web-like shadows that looked like a devil's claws, spreading without restraint...

The disadvantage of being deep behind enemy lines alone intensified the sense of horror as ghostly shadows loomed everywhere!

So much so that with every step forward, the boy had to wage a fierce battle against his own physiological instincts!

The excessive secretion of adrenaline caused Soshi to hear both the chirping of insects and the thumping of his own heart. He felt as if the branches beneath his feet had suddenly turned into a mountain of blades; every step he took brought a phantom, stinging pain!

The abnormal excitation of his sympathetic nervous system led to increased perspiration, and within seconds, his neat, clean combat uniform was completely soaked through.

Soshi began to feel a soreness and numbness in his fingertips... the chaotic electrical signals in his brain left his sharp mind a complete blank.

But in the end, the boy did not allow himself to be swallowed by the emotion known as fear!

--The glass fibers piercing his skin from the inside of his gloves diluted his rookie nervousness with pain!

Soon after, his breathing rhythm gradually stabilized, and his bodily functions returned to normal as oxygen supply was restored.

And as Soshi's meticulous cognitive abilities came back online, he quickly noticed something strange during his advance.

...The mottled shadows in the forest did indeed render an uneasy atmosphere, but this was not entirely a product of his own psychology.

Judging by the depth of the shadows and the shape of their edges, these intricate projections were clearly being interfered with by an external force!

Although, with his current perspective, he was unable to judge whether this influence stemmed from ninjutsu or genjutsu, when it came to secret arts involving shadows, there was likely no one in the entire ninja world with more authority than the Nara Clan!

"So... is this the work of Master Motochika?"

Soshi couldn't be sure.

But after this thought occurred to him, the boy felt a measure of relief.

After all, if Master Motochika could still maintain a secret art of this scale, it proved that the high-end combat power of the transport unit had already intervened, and the changes in the overall battle situation were still under the control of this leading jonin!

The debuff of fighting alone was thus dispelled.

The extremely lopsided Soshi finally regained some confidence, his movements becoming more decisive and fluid.

However, just as he pushed through the layers of obstacles and finally arrived at the engagement zone, 500 meters from where the signal flare had been launched, what met his eyes was not a scene of clashing blades and bloodshed.

Beneath several thick cedar trees, four masked men wrapped in black tight-fitting gear had their arms spread wide to their sides, pinned firmly against the dark brown trunks in a posture resembling a chest-expansion exercise.

There were no ropes or similar items on the surface of their bodies, but dense, intricate shadows acted like invisible chains, tracing complex outlines over the men in black.

When Soshi arrived at the scene, Master Motochika was standing in front of one of them.

He saw him holding a hand seal with his left hand, while his right hand flicked a finger, easily removing the man's mask from a distance, revealing the terrified and helpless face beneath.

Only then did Soshi realize that the men in black were completely locked down by the Nara family's secret arts, not just in their limbs, but even their mouths.

Until the caster gave permission, the only thing these people could do was move their eyeballs.

The boy's gaze immediately drifted to the pupils of the other three, and after confirming there were no "colored contact lens" experts among them, Soshi sighed with a complicated expression.

--Clearly, Yamada-kun, who had spent so much time building up his mental state, had missed his chance to show off his skills.

By the time he arrived at the scene, the jonin leader had already finished handling everything, pushing the situation directly into the cleanup phase.

"Motonari-sensei..."

Although Soji was certain that Nara Motonari had detected his presence well in advance, he still followed protocol by announcing his position before leaping a few times to land steadily about four or five meters away from Motonari.

"Yo, Soji. I didn't expect you to be the first one here."

Nara Motonari did not turn his head to look at the boy, nor did he show the slightest surprise at his student's arrival.

His gaze swept over the attacker, eventually locking onto the forehead protector with the arrow symbol that lacked a bottom closure: "Let me test you. Which ninja village does this mark belong to?"

"That should be the symbol for Takigakure, Sensei." Soji was not a hopeless academic failure like Naruto; he gave the answer immediately after a symbolic glance.

But Motonari-sensei's question was not mere idle chatter.

Using this as a starting point, the lethargic, sickly-looking middle-aged man spoke again: "Then do you know the specific region where the Land of Waterfalls is located?"

"It is said to be a mysterious hidden village concealed by waterfalls—on the map, it is located to the north of the Land of Fire."

"Indeed... yet now, they have traveled such a long way to reach the banks of the Amber River in the southwest. It is truly baffling."

Motonari used his Shadow Secret Technique to pry out the fake tooth containing poison from the captive's mouth, then released his control over the man's head.

"Although asking this violates the professional ethics of a ninja, I will say one more thing—who hired you to attack the Konoha transport team?"

"I... I don't know." The man in black spoke with a stutter, trembling uncontrollably.

Motonari-sensei had no intention of making things difficult for the man.

With a wave of his hand, his mottled shadow snapped the man's neck instantly...

Splattered blood landed on the side of the second Takigakure ninja's face, quickly diluted by the sweat pouring from his skin.

"This is troublesome. Do you happen to not know either?"