Cipher

The mission objective was to kill the Sunagakure spy, San-Dan-Kun, without alerting anyone.

Byakuya felt this was a deliberate attempt to inflate the mission's difficulty.

Since San-Dan-Kun was already a Sunagakure spy embedded within a sensitive unit like the Border Guard, why not simply expose his identity and eliminate him openly?

Before he had made contact with this Border Guard unit, that was indeed what he had thought.

However, after being captured and dragged away by the unit's ninja, he immediately realized that a covert execution of San-Dan-Kun was the best approach. Root most likely knew the full story but had omitted it from the mission briefing...

Because the captain of the Border Guard was none other than him.

If they were to announce that San-Dan-Kun was a spy, the other members of the Border Guard would surely be gripped by panic.

If their captain was a spy, wouldn't their own fate be nothing but death?

No one would dare gamble on how the village higher-ups would handle it; what if they were all killed just to cover up such a shameful scandal? Or what if they were branded as having been corrupted by San-Dan-Kun into rogue ninja?

It would be better to go all the way down the dark path and defect to Sunagakure; that would likely be a way to survive.

"The mountains are so dangerous, do your parents really feel safe letting you come up here to gather herbs?"

San-Dan-Kun sat inside the cave, a campfire burning as he roasted the leg of some unknown animal. Grease dripped into the flames with a sizzle, and the entire cave was filled with the aroma of meat.

Byakuya acted as if he were trembling with fear, too panicked to speak.

The Konoha ninja sitting next to San-Dan-Kun laughed, "Don't be scared, kid. We're ninja from Konoha, not like those Sunagakure ninja. We won't kill you. If you have anything to say, just tell our captain."

Another man burst into laughter, "Look at how scared this kid is; he only dares to look at the captain, not us."

Byakuya had already observed the number of people in the cave: eight in total, all exuding a dangerous aura. San-Dan-Kun, by contrast, appeared mild-mannered, wearing a face that looked completely harmless.

"You, you, and you—go out and scout."

"Oh, come on, Captain. Sunagakure is as timid as a mouse; they wouldn't dare attack Konoha. The higher-ups in the village are really something, sending us to this godforsaken place."

"If I sent you to the Cloud Ninja front lines, you wouldn't be happy about that either."

San-Dan-Kun said sternly, "Stop fooling around and get to work."

Seeing that their captain was about to lose his temper, the three men dared not delay any longer. They grabbed the weapons they had left lying on the ground and ran out of the cave.

"What is your name?"

"Sa... Sasuke."

San-Dan-Kun guided him with a gentle, spring-breeze tone, "Sasuke, where is your home?"

Byakuya seemed less afraid now. He steadied himself and pointed casually, "Cross those two mountains; my village is at the foot of the hill."

"Does the village have a name?"

"Bear Village."

"That's a nice name."

"Because bears often run into the village. My uncle died at the hands of a bear."

"My condolences."

"Can you let me go? I'm too clumsy; I haven't even gathered any herbs worth selling yet. I'm afraid I won't make it home before dark."

"Are you short on money?"

"Everyone in the village is short on money. With money, we can go to town to buy salt. The price of salt has gone up again."

San-Dan-Kun pulled a stack of money from his robes and, without even counting it, shoved it into Byakuya's arms, "Kid, this money is all yours. Can you take me... take him to your village?"

Byakuya acted as if he had no guile, his face lighting up with joy at the sight of the money, "My mom and dad will be so happy when I bring back this much money! Take who? Who is going to the village?"

"This Lord."

The Konoha ninja sitting beside San-Dan-Kun stood up and grabbed Byakuya by the collar, "Let's go. This Lord's time is very precious."

The man caught a signal from San-Dan-Kun's eyes and gave a slight nod.

Meanwhile, Byakuya's true body was hidden in a lush, leafy tree, watching that ninja and his Shadow Clone leave the cave.

He didn't know exactly what would happen, but he would find out soon enough.

Outside the cave was a forest filled with wild beasts and venomous insects; the path was extremely difficult and rugged.

After the two figures disappeared into the woods, San-Dan-Kun walked out of the cave again, took two more men, and followed them silently.

If I kill the entire Border Guard, does that count as eliminating the target without alerting anyone?

With his current strength, that was a pipe dream.

The fact that those people had made such arrangements meant they must have sensed something.

The danger of this mission lay in the fact that it was easy to be cut down by Konoha ninja as an enemy.

He dispelled the Shadow Clone.

In an instant, the clone's memories were all absorbed by the true body.

Byakuya quickly digested the scenes from the cave and thought to himself, There are bad people in Konoha, to think they would let a Sunagakure spy serve as the captain of the Border Guard.

Not long after, San-Dan-Kun led the Konoha ninjas back to the cave and recalled those on patrol, causing the guard unit to relocate immediately.

Their movements were all exposed to the sight of Byakuya.

To avoid the sensory-type ninjas within the guard unit, Byakuya had selected a spot that was practically a blind spot.

The large tree where he hid was located behind a massive boulder, his eyes positioned just slightly higher than the rock, allowing him to catch a glimpse of San-Dan-Kun and the others.

If San-Dan-Kun is truly a spy for Sunagakure, then this cave must have long been known to Sunagakure, and it is also the place where San-Dan-Kun controls the guard unit. If he were to change the camp location on a whim, with other Konoha ninjas "monitoring" him, it would be difficult for San-Dan-Kun to communicate with Sunagakure.

I suspect San-Dan-Kun will use the excuse of scouting for enemy intelligence to return to the cave, leaving behind clues for the new camp location for the guard unit.

Or, he might think my Shadow Clone was an attempt to flush him out, believing Sunagakure wants to speak with him, and because it is inconvenient to pass messages in front of Konoha ninjas, he is forced to use such desperate measures.

In the worst-case scenario, this guard unit has already become Sunagakure's, making the mission tricky.

Regardless of the situation, Byakuya only needed to plant Explosive Tags in this cave.

If San-Dan-Kun fell for the trap and returned, he would blow him to bits.

If he didn't fall for it, there was still plenty of time for the second Fate Choice, and that old schemer Hiroya hadn't specified a deadline for completion.

Byakuya could always seek another opportunity.

In any case, having his main body engage in a life-or-death struggle with San-Dan-Kun was out of the question.

To be able to hold the position of a guard unit captain, no matter how much of a waste San-Dan-Kun might be, he couldn't be that incompetent.

That would run contrary to the path of caution he adhered to.

Evening approached.

Wearing the Shuten-doji mask and a black trench coat, he buried the Explosive Tags from the Space-Time Scroll into the cave.

He then left a Shadow Clone to hide in the depths, while his main body returned to his original position to crouch and wait for the outcome.

He didn't know how long he had waited; Byakuya gazed at the stars in the night sky, estimating it to be around eleven o'clock at night.

It was at this moment.

A figure arrived outside the cave.

He carefully observed the movement nearby until he was certain no one was following him, then stepped into the cave.

"Hmph, still using these outdated methods? Aren't you afraid of being discovered by the Konoha ninjas?"

Byakuya's Shadow Clone seemed to merge with the darkness, his voice raspy: "Even if it is an outdated method, you still came."

San-Dan-Kun said angrily: "Do you think I had a choice? Those damn Konoha guard unit ninjas—two of them have started to suspect me. If this goes on any longer, I'll be exposed sooner or later. Tell me quickly, when can I return to the village? I miss my child."

Immediately following this.

San-Dan-Kun's expression changed in horror, and he turned to run.

The order of the conversation was wrong.

They should have exchanged the code first to confirm each other's identities.

But the person hiding in the cave had no intention of using the code at all.

As such, this was a trap.

He had fallen for it.