A steel train raced along the tracks, a long trail of white steam streaming from the short, thick smokestack on its engine.
An uninhabited wilderness stretched around it, brown and green overlapping beneath a backdrop of distant mountains.
This passenger train was speeding from the eastern border of the Land of Night toward Nightview City in the west. Aboard were diplomatic delegations from several small countries. Its mission was to deliver them safely to Nightview City for closer international cooperation with the Land of Night.
To keep the delegations safe and prevent anyone from sabotaging the cooperation, a guard force of roughly thirty had been stationed aboard the train.
The Land of Night's ninja aren't anything special.
Clinging to the sheet-metal roof, the stowaway Yarubo crawled as nimbly as a gecko, his entire body covered by a black cloak. A mask concealed his face, leaving only a pair of kind-looking eyes gleaming with smug satisfaction.
A closer look would have revealed that his body was completely transparent, blending into the dark surroundings atop the engine without leaking even a trace of chakra.
Under these conditions, even a sensory ninja would have struggled to detect him.
As a bounty hunter who had roamed the underworld for years, he had an exceptionally high mission completion rate. He had disposed of plenty of problems for his employers, earning the favor of many.
And so, this time, he had taken on a high-risk mission involving the Land of Night alone.
There was only one objective: sabotage the cooperation between the Land of Night and those small countries, eliminating their diplomatic delegations if necessary.
Although that could not truly end their cooperation, his employer's demand was simple: delay it as long as possible.
An excellent bounty hunter, Yarubo suspected that this cooperation threatened the fundamental