The forest along the Land of Iron's border was exceptionally quiet beneath the morning mist.
A merchant caravan of four carriages moved slowly along the muddy dirt road, their wheels crushing gravel with a monotonous clatter. The drivers were wrapped in heavy cloaks with their hat brims pulled low, looking like ordinary traders who traveled between nations year-round.
Inside the third carriage, Hyuga Xiao sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
There was no trace of the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead—it was an illusionary disguise simulated with Tenseigan Chakra. The real Curse Mark had long since been suppressed to near disappearance by the power of the Covenant Stone Fragments, leaving only a faint burning sensation beneath his skin to remind him of the shackles that had yet to be fully removed.
"We're still two days from the Iron Country Capital."
Kurenai Yuhi sat across from him with a parchment map spread across her hands. She had changed into a dark purple traveling outfit, her long hair tied into a neat ponytail. Three specially made kunai hung at her waist—weapons Xiao had tempered with Tenseigan Chakra, capable of briefly severing chakra flow.
Samui leaned against the other side of the carriage, wiping down her short blade. Ever since being rescued from the Root Laboratory, the Hidden Cloud kunoichi's eyes held something more—no longer mere transaction and cooperation, but an almost obsessive devotion. From time to time, she looked toward Xiao, complex emotions hidden in her gaze.
In the corner of the carriage, Clone Shisui sat quietly.
This product brought out of Orochimaru's Laboratory now possessed his own consciousness. Xiao had not erased his memories, merely carved a mark of loyalty into the depths of his soul with the Tenseigan. Shisui's Sharingan was at the one-tomoe stage—a defective version Xiao had