Forest of Death, around the air drop point. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting mottled patches of light and shadow across the ground.
The air was filled with the scent of soil and decaying leaves. The occasional birdcall drifted over from afar, only to be swiftly swallowed by the deathly silence.
Uchiha Itachi crouched on the branch of a massive tree, his body completely hidden behind the dense foliage.
His Sharingan was already activated, tomoe slowly turning within his crimson eyes as he vigilantly scanned the surroundings.
Kabuto Yakushi lay on a thick horizontal branch beside him, idly playing with a small white snake in his hand.
Inuzuka Hana crouched within the bushes beneath the tree. Haimaru lay at her feet, its nose constantly sniffing the air, ears pricked as it caught every sound around them.
Inuzuka Hana's ninja hound, Haimaru, carefully sniffed around the ground for quite some time, then raised its head and gave a few soft barks at Hana.
Inuzuka Hana patted Haimaru on the head and lowered her voice as she spoke to Itachi and Kabuto in the tree:
"Haimaru says it can't smell any other teams. We should be the first ones here."
Itachi nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the distance.
The moment she finished speaking, a clear bird cry rang out from the sky.
All three looked up at once. A massive, strangely shaped bird was flying toward them from the distant horizon.
Its entire body was black, its lines sleek and sharp, casting an enormous shadow beneath the sunlight.
This was no ordinary ninja bird. It was Ink Eagle, the latest creation combining Konoha's research division with the Super Beast Scroll.
Ink Eagle circled through the air once, its sharp eyes locking onto the valley below.
Its talons tightly gripped