There was a small fishing village by the sea.
Ken Aburame released a swarm of tiny insects to determine how many Mist Ninja were in the village.
After the first batch of insects returned, Ken Aburame did not know how to put it and could not help pushing up his sunglasses.
Kawadera Uchiha asked, "What is it, Ken? Are there too many Mist Ninja?"
Ken Aburame said, "There are five households in that fishing village. My insects sensed... every person in all five households has chakra! Could all five households be Mist Ninja in disguise?"
Kawadera Uchiha thought for a moment, then said to Kureya Inuzuka, "Have Brownmaru identify the scents nearby. Five households—could the Mist Ninja have killed them all?"
"Alright."
In the dead of night, everything was silent save for the sound of the waves.
Brownmaru jogged along the shore like an ordinary stray dog, sniffing as he went.
More than five hundred meters from the village, Brownmaru stopped and let out a low growl.
Kureya Inuzuka heard it immediately from afar.
"Kawadera, Brownmaru found something unusual!"
Once they drew close, Kawadera Uchiha could smell the faint stench of corpses even without Brownmaru.
To hide directly north of Konoha's main camp, this Mist Ninja squad had actually slaughtered the entire fishing village and disguised themselves as fishermen. Within his mindscape, Tobirama Senju said, "Kawadera Uchiha, you seem a little uncomfortable. Your sense of morality appears to be higher than I imagined."
"I'm not uncomfortable. Killing civilians is perfectly normal for ninja."
Leaving his mindscape, Kawadera Uchiha said to the others, "I'll infiltrate and investigate the Mist Ninja's strength and gather intelligence."
After choosing his angle, he advanced toward the fishing village from the direction with the fewest windows facing him.
Beyond the wooden lattice outside a dormer window