In a forest near the Land of Fire's border with the Land of Rice, a six-man Cloud shinobi squad advanced cautiously. All six wore specially made clothing.
Unless someone examined the area closely—or had a visual Kekkei Genkai—the men were hard to spot in the vast forest.
The man at the front was a sensor-type Ninja whose perception was far sharper than the others'.
"Captain, no enemies detected. We're about to enter the Land of Fire."
"Good. Stay alert. Konoha probably never dreamed we'd enter the Land of Fire this way.
Once we cross the border, our plan will have succeeded."
"Konoha may be strong, but it only has so many Ninja. It can't seal off the entire border. If we spread out enough, we're bound to find a gap in its defenses."
"Well said. That really is one of Konoha's weaknesses, and there's nothing it can do about it." A voice suddenly sounded among the squad.
"Exactly. The Raikage discovered that weakness long ago."
As he spoke, the Cloud shinobi realized something was wrong. That was not how anyone in their squad talked.
They sprang forward and spun around, sending Kunai and Shuriken flying from their hands.
A Ninja in a Uchiha uniform stood there, smiling at them.
The Concealed Weapons had already reached the man's face, yet he made no move. The Cloud shinobi brightened. Whatever his strength, killing a Uchiha would be a major achievement.
Then something terrifying happened. Every weapon passed straight through his body, as though the man before them were only an illusion.
The newcomer was Kenichi Uchiha.
"Heh. Disappointed? Get ready. I'm coming for you."
Kenichi charged. One of the Ninja drew a Kunai and rushed to meet him.
"You must have used some trick to dodge those weapons. Let's see you shrug