Splitting Up

When the three returned to the abandoned shrine where they had made camp, Inuzuka Go was lying sprawled on the ground, a glistening string of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Haimaru raised his head warily. Seeing that it was them, he let out a low whine in greeting, then relaxed and lay back down.

"Hey, wake up."

Yusuke gently nudged Inuzuka Go's calf with his foot.

He'd figured out how to put Haimaru to proper use: a guard dog to keep watch for him.

Inuzuka Go jolted upright and rubbed his bleary eyes.

"Captain? Is it morning already? Huh? When did you guys... Where'd this little squirt come from?"

He suddenly noticed the red-haired little girl Yusuke was holding by the hand.

Her small face was smudged with dirt, and she gazed at him timidly with a pair of big, dark eyes.

"Found her on the way. She's an orphan from the Uzumaki Clan, named Kushina."

"Things have changed. The mission is over. We need to take her back to Konoha's main camp right away."

Yusuke had no intention of explaining the details.

Hyuga Aya was already silently packing up the makeshift tent and putting out the traces of their campfire, her movements brisk and efficient.

"Huh? We're going back already? What about the fighting?"

Inuzuka Go scratched his messy, spiky hair, looking completely bewildered.

But when he saw Yusuke's expression and Hyuga Aya already at work, he swallowed the rest of his questions, sprang to his feet, and quickly joined in.

"Sure thing. Going back to camp sounds good. You can't even get a hot meal in this godforsaken place."

Haimaru stood up too, shook out his fur, and sniffed around Kushina's feet.

The little girl shrank back in fright and clutched Yusuke's clothes.

"Don't be scared. Haimaru doesn't bite people he knows." Inuzuka Go grinned, baring two rows of white teeth.

The strange man's expression only seemed to frighten Kushina more.

The four of them hurried through the charred earth and crumbling walls in the deepest darkness before dawn, making their way back to Konoha's frontline camp.

By the time they arrived, the eastern sky had just begun to pale.

Yusuke took Kushina straight to the Combat Readiness Department.

When Yusuke and the others walked through the door, the Combat Readiness Commander frowned.

"Why did your team abandon its mission and return in less than a day?"

The Combat Readiness Commander demanded an explanation.

Yusuke didn't panic in the slightest. "I need to take this child back to Konoha first."

"She's an orphan from the Uzumaki Clan. Before I left, Lady Mito asked me to keep an eye on the clan's people."

"If anything happened, I could bring some of the Uzumaki back first."

Yusuke invoked Mito Uzumaki's name without hesitation.

The Combat Readiness Commander looked troubled. He glanced at one of his subordinates, who immediately understood and left the department for the Command Base.

Inside the Command Tent.

Shimura Danzō listened as a member of the Combat Readiness Department reported in a low voice. His single eye glinted ominously in the shadows.

"A little girl from the Uzumaki Clan showing up at Konoha's main camp for the first time—and he's the one who brought her back."

Danzō tapped his fingers against the armrest, producing a dull knock.

"Could something else have fallen into his hands, too?"

He looked toward the Combat Readiness Department and sneered inwardly. He wants to return to the village? That suits me perfectly. If I strike within the village's sphere of influence, it'll be easier to cover my tracks and distance myself from it.

"Approve Yusuke's request. Have him escort Kushina Uzumaki back to Konoha ahead of the others."

Danzō instructed the messenger ninja standing nearby. "After all, protecting the orphan of an ally is Konoha's responsibility."

Yusuke received the official notice while in the tent temporarily assigned to his team.

The little girl was ravenous and munched rapidly on small bites of dried meat.

Haimaru stared at her with drool hanging from his mouth, while Inuzuka Go looked mournfully at Yusuke. The food had all been "requisitioned" from him.

Yusuke studied the order scroll, stamped with the seal of the Hokage Assistant, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Danzō had agreed far too readily. The process had gone so smoothly that there hadn't been a single obstacle or delay.

Something's off. This isn't like that old bastard Danzō.

He stowed the scroll without showing what he was thinking, then spoke to Hyuga Aya, who was checking her ninja tools, and Inuzuka Go, who was still sulking. "Get ready. We leave at seven and head back to Konoha."

"Awesome!" Inuzuka Go cheered. Haimaru barked along with him, clearly eager to get back to his doghouse.

Hyuga Aya simply nodded. Her pale eyes swept over Yusuke's face, as if trying to read his thoughts.

It was morning, and a thick fog shrouded the camp.

Yusuke's team set off with Kushina, heading silently toward the camp's exit.

Just as they were about to pass through the checkpoint, Yusuke stopped.

He turned to Hyuga Aya and, with an utterly casual expression, reached out and patted her lightly on the back twice.

The gesture looked just like he was brushing dust from her clothes after the march.

"Be careful on the way. Stay alert,"

Yusuke said calmly.

But the instant his palm touched her back, a thread of chakra flowed discreetly.

An "I was here" mark made from the Flying Thunder God Formula was instantly imprinted on Hyuga Aya's back.

Hyuga Aya's body stiffened for just a moment, so slightly that it was almost imperceptible. Her pale eyes darted toward Yusuke.

Then she replied in a barely audible voice, "Understood."

Inuzuka Go was busy cheerfully greeting a familiar guard on duty and didn't notice the brief exchange at all.

Kushina clutched Yusuke's clothes nervously, her little face tense with unease about the journey ahead.

After running two and a half li, Yusuke stopped first.

Once he sensed that no one was following them for the moment, he halted the team.

"Change of plans. We'll split up."

"I'll go ahead. You take a detour, and we'll meet up later."

Using the fog for cover, Yusuke moved over to Hyuga Aya and Inuzuka Go.

"Captain, are you going to... act as bait?" Inuzuka Go immediately understood, worry in his eyes.

"I'm drawing out the snake—and testing them."

"If no one blocks the road, that's the best outcome. If someone does..."

Yusuke didn't finish, but the killing intent in his words was unmistakable.

Hyuga Aya nodded without a word and quietly took Kushina's little hand.

The girl looked up at Hyuga Aya, then at Yusuke. She seemed to sense the tension in the air, but only bit her lip in silence.

Inuzuka Go thumped his chest. "Don't worry, Captain. I know the western route like the back of my hand! I'll get them both back to the village safely!"

Haimaru gave a low bark of agreement.

Yusuke quickly formed hand seals and performed the Shadow Clone Technique. Three shadow clones appeared.

The clones immediately formed hand seals as well, and with a transformation technique, swiftly changed into the likenesses of Hyuga Aya, Inuzuka Go, and Kushina Uzumaki.

The two groups split at the fork in the road.

Hyuga Aya, Inuzuka Go, and the real Kushina quickly disappeared down the path to the southwest.

Yusuke, meanwhile, led the three nearly perfect shadow-clone impostors onto the main road stretching east, walking at an unhurried pace.