Uninvited Guest

Just as Terumi Mei and Ao were conversing, a puddle of water on the ground outside the tent slowly sank into the soil and vanished.

Ao, inside the tent, did not notice this anomaly, but a strange look flashed through Terumi Mei's eyes.

"Senior Ao, I am already aware of the intelligence regarding Uesugi Shinji and Kisame Hoshigaki. It is getting late, so you should head back to rest early; we must begin our journey first thing tomorrow morning."

Hearing Terumi Mei's words, Ao nodded, exchanged a few polite pleasantries, and then rose to walk out of the tent.

After Ao left, Terumi Mei formed a single hand seal to perform the Body Flicker Technique, unexpectedly leaving the tent as well and disappearing into the unknown.

On the edge of the encampment, the tent belonging to Uesugi Shinji's squad was pitched.

Because they were to depart for the Forest Fortress early the next morning, Kisame and Rin were both resting in their respective tents, while Uesugi Shinji, whose turn it was to stand guard, sat by the campfire with his eyes closed to conserve energy, all the while secretly keeping watch on the surroundings.

This had been the habit of the trio for several years of missions; as long as they were in the field, regardless of their status, one person would always be responsible for keeping watch, even if there were other ninjas from their village nearby.

Just then, a beam of white light suddenly shot toward the back of Uesugi Shinji's head, seemingly some sort of hidden weapon.

Uesugi Shinji's eyes snapped open, his head tilted slightly, and the white light grazed his cheek by a hair's breadth before burying itself into the ground.

Uesugi Shinji swept his gaze toward the ground, only to see a thumb-sized water stain on the dirt; the white light from just a moment ago appeared to be nothing more than a small water sphere.

This doesn't look like an ambush; it feels more like an attempt to grab my attention, Uesugi Shinji thought to himself.

He had already sensed a sneaky figure in the woods, and the other party must have come specifically for him. Although he did not know the stranger's identity, Uesugi Shinji decided to see what their purpose was.

With a slight flicker of his figure, he vanished from his spot and slipped into the woods. Before leaving, he threw two pebbles to wake up Kisame and Rin, who were resting in their tents, signaling that he would be away for a moment.

"Ah, geez, what is Shinji doing? I thought I'd be able to get a good night's sleep today."

The flap of Kisame's tent lifted, and a blue-skinned head poked out. He looked toward Rin's tent not far away and called out, "Rin, same old rules—let's play rock-paper-scissors to decide who takes the temporary watch!"

After Kisame finished speaking, he realized there wasn't a sound from Rin's tent, and he soon discovered that she was no longer inside either; she must have followed Uesugi Shinji out.

Because Rin's Kekkei Genkai allowed her to hide within light and shadow, her movements were silent and soundless, and Kisame had not even noticed her departure.

Seeing this, Kisame shook his head and sullenly pulled his head back into his tent.

Tonight, there were no dark clouds to obscure the moon, and the bright moonlight spilled into the forest, making visibility far greater than on an average night.

Uesugi Shinji moved unhurriedly in a direction away from the camp. Not far ahead of him, a slender figure was also moving rapidly—the same ninja who had used the water sphere to catch his attention and lure him out of the camp.

At the same time, a black shadow followed him from behind at high speed, hugging the ground and merging directly into his shadow; this shadow was none other than Rin, who had followed him after noticing the disturbance.

Uesugi Shinji continued to pursue the figure ahead for about a kilometer when a dazzling white light suddenly appeared before his eyes.

It turned out that ahead of the woods lay an open lake, which looked like a reflective mirror under the moonlight, appearing quite striking in the dark night. At this moment, Uesugi Shinji finally saw the true appearance of the person who had lured him here.

It was a slender youth wearing a Kirigakure ninja uniform, looking no more than ten years old. His snow-white hair emitted a faint silver glow under the moonlight, a faint smile played on his delicate features, and the pupils of his eyes were an unusual grayish-white.

In this era of constant war, there were countless young ninjas who stepped onto the battlefield at eleven or twelve. While it was rare for a ninja under ten to be away from the village on a mission, it did happen from time to time.

"Hozuki Mangetsu?"

Uesugi Shinji's expression remained unchanged, but he felt a hint of surprise in his heart; he had not expected the person who lured him out to be this young genius who was quite famous in the village.

Although Hozuki Mangetsu was young, rumors held that he was the most gifted ninja the Hozuki clan had ever produced, and he had even developed the clan's most bizarre secret technique, the Hydrification Technique, to an entirely new level.

Hozuki Mangetsu grinned, "That is This Humble One."

Uesugi Shinji glanced at the serrated teeth in the other's mouth, which were identical to Kisame's, and asked calmly, "Your purpose?"

Hozuki Mangetsu's smile did not fade, and he habitually licked his lips with his tongue, "I heard that your Ice Release does not come from a Kekkei Genkai, but was created by fusing Wind Release and Water Release. I wonder if you could let This Humble One witness it?"

Hozuki Mangetsu seemed very interested in Ice Release, but Uesugi Shinji felt that the other party had not sought him out merely out of interest.

From the other's gaze, Uesugi Shinji faintly caught a glimmer of anticipation.