Deep in the forest, Aburame Torune knelt on one knee, a summoned beetle resting in his palm.
The beetle's body glowed faintly, and it spat out a scroll.
A moment later, the light faded, and the beetle dissolved into a wisp of black smoke.
Torune unrolled the scroll, his gaze sweeping over the writing as his brow furrowed.
"They're cautious. He went straight into the sky." His voice was low, as though he were talking to himself.
He stood and gave a hand signal. A Root ninja stepped out of the group, took a blank scroll from the scroll pouch on their back, and spread it on the ground.
The ninja took out a brush and painted on the scroll, then formed hand seals a moment later.
The ink on the scroll began to glow. Black birds emerged from the paper one after another, spread their wings, and rose silently into the night sky.
Dozens, then hundreds, spread in every direction like a cloud of black mist.
"The aerial reconnaissance net is deployed. As soon as he lowers his altitude, we'll spot him." The ninja's voice was hoarse and flat.
Ten kilometers away, Tianyi hovered above the clouds. He raised a hand and tapped his goggles. "Wang Qiang, reposition the satellite and send me a live feed."
"Roger." Wang Qiang's fingers flew across the keyboard. The Sky Eye-7 satellite adjusted its angle, its optical lens turning toward the area Tianyi had designated as its infrared scanner began sweeping every heat source on the ground.
The satellite's live feed flickered across Tianyi's goggles.
He saw the black birds, densely packed and circling silently through the night sky.
His gaze settled on one man standing in the center of the group, his entire body enveloped in densely layered chakra, as though he