Emerging Outline

The morning fog was thicker than usual. The forest beyond the valley entrance was almost swallowed by white, even the tree shadows blurred into a haze. Ryan stood at the edge of the camp, staring silently into the mist. He knew weather like this was ideal for concealing tracks and following targets. The traces left behind last night had not completely vanished; if he followed them, he might uncover more.

He strapped his twin blades to his back and traveled light, carrying only a small amount of dried rations and a water pouch at his waist. Before setting out, he checked the barrier and traps to ensure the camp could not be easily breached in a short time. Then he entered the woods along the direction he had marked yesterday, his footsteps light and steady, his breathing nearly soundless.

The forest path in the fog was damp and muddy. Leaves and vines hung down to his shoulders, cool with dew. Before long, he found fresh traces within a patch of low shrubs—a broken branch was smeared with pale green mucus, its scent identical to that of the wrapped stone. He crouched to inspect it and found that the edges of the mucus had already begun to darken, indicating it had been left last night, or even earlier.

Following the trail, the terrain gradually rose, and the light filtering through the fog became a dim grayish white. Ryan slowed down and maintained Zetsu, blending his presence into the surrounding environment as much as possible. When he reached a naturally formed stone slope, he heard a faint scraping sound, like claws sliding across rock.

He lowered his body and slowly approached the source. A squat figure vaguely emerged from the fog ahead, moving slowly along the stone slope. Its movements were strange.