The forest was thick with damp mist that morning, a vast white haze spreading through the trees.
The sun was still below the clouds, though a few faint rays filtered through the gaps and shone down on the earth. At that moment, the forest was utterly silent.
A tiny insect clung to a tree trunk, its delicate wings damp with mist and unable to fly.
It could only wait there quietly, catching its breath until the sun came out and dried the moisture from its wings. Then it could find somewhere else to stay.
"Flap, flap—"
Just then, a bird much larger than the insect swooped down from the sky and snatched it up in one peck.
The insect had no chance of resisting in the bird's beak. It could only keep flailing its legs beneath it, but to the enormous bird, that was nothing more than a dying struggle. It was useless.
"Crack!"
The bird landed on a tree trunk, ready to enjoy the tasty morsel it had found so early in the morning.
Just as it was about to feast, a faint sound suddenly disturbed the quiet dawn. It jerked its head around and looked toward where the noise had come from.
The insect dangling from its beak slipped free by accident. It hurriedly beat its wings, vanishing somewhere out of sight.
The bird paid it no mind, merely tilting its head as it watched the place where the sound had come from.
In the forest, the dense white mist seemed to part gently. Beside the dark tree trunks, black figures gradually appeared.
"Be careful. We're already close to Konoha. Don't let them discover us because of some stupid mistake!"
A figure among the emerging crowd of shadows lowered his voice and scolded them.
Hearing him, one of