Emergency Mission

"Gather here in ten minutes. Anyone who fails to arrive on time will be treated as a deserter."

Tianyi's heart tightened. He immediately followed the members of his squad, Blue Bird, and swiftly dispersed toward the supply point at the edge of the cave.

He quickly checked his standard ninja tool pouch:

Kunai, shuriken, wire, explosive tags, smoke bombs, signal flares, a basic medical kit, Ration Pills...

Ten minutes, not a second more or less.

Nearly thirty elite ANBU members gathered once more in the center of the cave like phantoms.

Their formation was orderly, and not a sound could be heard.

"Move." Captain Elephant spat out two words, his body transforming into a black shadow as he took the lead.

He vanished into an entrance to one of the passageways at the top of the cavern.

Immediately afterward, every member of the Fourth Division entered the passage in squads, silent yet incredibly swift.

After leaving the underground cavern, the group did not take any conventional route. Instead, under Captain Elephant's lead,

they plunged straight into the deeper reaches of the Forest of Death, then raced northeast along an extremely concealed

forest path lined with anti-surveillance barriers.

Everyone traveled at full speed, pushing tree-hopping to its limits.

Their figures left blurred afterimages among the moon-dappled trees.

They traveled, and kept traveling. Other than necessary chakra recovery and minor adjustments to their direction, the team never stopped.

There was only the howl of wind past their ears, the faint tremble of branches and leaves beneath their feet,

and the nearly synchronized, suppressed breathing of their companions.

The silence of the entire team was itself a signal—the mission was no trivial matter, and time was pressing.

After roughly half a day of such intense travel, dawn began to brighten the horizon.

Captain