Following All the Way

"Keep two kilometers back and follow them."

Tsukimi formed Hand Seals, and a swarm of Shadowkhans emerged from the shadows. The Ninja Tribe was the most versatile of the nine corps, skilled at stealth, reconnaissance, and tracking. They had even mastered housekeeping. There was almost nothing they couldn't do.

Even Jade swore by them!

At a thought, the Ninja Tribe split into two teams. The smaller team tracked the Sunagakure transport convoy. Its cargo trucks couldn't move quickly, so Tsukimi and his two companions would have no trouble keeping up.

Most of the Shadowkhans went with the second team. They spread out in a fan and searched the mountain road ahead inch by inch, checking the brush, cracks between rocks, and roots of ancient trees for hidden traps or sensors that might endanger the three of them.

They had come too far to let Rasa get an early warning and run. That would make the whole trip a waste.

After a short wait, the Sunagakure convoy finished its preparations and set out from the valley. Dozens of trucks rumbled over the muddy ground. Security was tight: two teams of Sunagakure guards flanked the convoy as it headed toward Mount Tenmoku, deep in the Land of Rivers.

Tsukimi and his companions suppressed their Chakra fluctuations as much as possible and began following the convoy. Using the mountains and dense forest for cover, they stayed two kilometers back, at the very edge of their tracking range.

The deeper they went into the Land of Rivers, the thicker the forest grew. Towering ancient trees overlapped above fallen leaves that carpeted the damp ground. Mosquitoes swarmed. A strange smell, cold and sour with a hint of rusty metal, replaced the fresh forest air. It grew stronger the closer they came to Mount Tenmoku.

About two hours later, the Shadowkhans scouting ahead sent back a signal: the convoy had stopped. Tsukimi immediately raised a hand, and the three of them halted in the shadows. He took over a Shadowkhan's vision and looked down at the road ahead.

Two Sunagakure guards stepped out into the middle of the road. They took out a wooden staff and slowly swept it across a stretch of road that looked perfectly ordinary, as though moving something invisible aside. Their motions were smooth and practiced. Before long, the convoy started up again and passed through.

Once the convoy had cleared the area, Tsukimi and his companions hurried forward under cover of the trees. He sent the Shadowkhans to investigate, and their search revealed the deadly trap.

The brush beside the road was strung with translucent threads almost impossible to see. Thin as cicada wings, they blended into the forest shadows. Their ends were anchored firmly to tree trunks, stretching across the entire road.

The threads were coated in a nerve toxin. A touch would let it seep through the skin, paralyzing the victim's nerves and leaving them unable to move.

Worse, the poisoned threads were not merely a weapon. They were connected to a simple Chakra-triggered mechanism that would send an alarm to Mount Tenmoku Base if disturbed.

Without touching the threads, the Shadowkhans circled the area, marked the traps, and relayed their positions to Tsukimi.

"What a vicious setup. It's meant for anyone following the convoy," Kurenai whispered, so close that her breath brushed Tsukimi's ear. "If we'd gone straight in, they would probably have spotted us."

It was underhanded, all right. Exactly what Tsukimi had expected from Rasa.

The three abandoned the road, climbed the higher slope, and skirted the brush before returning to the road and resuming their pursuit.

A few more miles on, the Shadowkhans signaled again. They had found another mechanism.

Several palm-sized miniature Puppets sat in cracks along a gray rock face beside the road. Their shells were almost the same color as the stone, making them easy to miss. Tiny holes covered them, allowing them to detect Chakra fluctuations nearby.

These Puppets were not built to attack. Their sole purpose was to monitor the area. The moment they sensed unfamiliar Chakra, they would sound an alarm and send a signal to Mount Tenmoku.

Through a Shadowkhan's eyes, Tsukimi saw the answer clearly. Every Sunagakure guard flanking the convoy wore a black accessory that suppressed their Chakra fluctuations, allowing them to pass safely.

Tsukimi was privately relieved. Rasa had almost caught them out. Thank goodness they had not tried to slip into the convoy. Without those accessories, all three of them would have been exposed the moment they passed the rock face.

"Stay away from the rock face. We'll take the high ground on the other side." Tsukimi issued orders to the Shadowkhans, then quietly told Orochimaru and Kurenai. The three slipped into the forest across the road and went around the sensing Puppets.

The rest of the route was riddled with alarms of every kind: toxins buried beneath fallen leaves, Sensory Barriers wound around treetops. Every trap had been placed to catch infiltrators, often in the trickiest spots. Without the Shadowkhans scouting ahead, an ordinary reconnaissance team would never have reached Mount Tenmoku. They would have tripped an alarm long before.

Kurenai gazed toward the distant convoy, her expression grave. "Almost every part of this supply route is rigged. Rasa's experiment must have reached a critical stage. He can't afford any interference."

"All this security means we've hit a nerve," Tsukimi said with a shrug, his tone light.

The more Rasa wants to keep us out, the more certain I am that we came to the right place.

The night slowly faded. By the time dawn broke, the mountain road had reached its end, and the imposing mass of Mount Tenmoku finally rose before them. As they entered the area, the smell of toxin and rust in the air became unmistakable. Its acrid stench hung over the entire base.

Orochimaru stood silently in the forest at the perimeter, his curiosity undimmed. He wanted to learn everything he could about Rasa's Living Puppet experiments. His golden, slit-pupiled eyes remained fixed on the mountain ahead.

Ahead, the transport convoy carried torches and escorted its cargo-laden trucks through the mist at the foot of the mountain, making its way into Mount Tenmoku.