Dampness, mud, and danger entwined like vines through the mangrove forest near territory under Kirigakure's effective control. Tangled aerial roots reached into the murky water, forming a natural maze. Hatake Sakumo's squad slipped silently through it like four blades melding into the shadows. Muddy water had long since soaked their high-top shinobi sandals, its sticky drag a constant presence, but the four used precise chakra adhesion to silence every step.
"Halt." Sakumo lightly clenched his right fist. The squad instantly froze, disappearing behind a clump of enormous ferns.
Veins surfaced like fine circuits around Hizashi's pure white eyes. "Eight hundred meters ahead, where the river branches meet. A temporary wooden platform. Five Kirigakure shinobi: three Chunin, two Genin. Active communications equipment on the platform. Triggered warning traps underwater to the southeast and northwest."
"Objectives: destroy the communications node, eliminate the guards, recover intelligence." Sakumo's voice was low, without a wasted word. "Shinji, feint from the front. Create confusion and draw their fire. Miwako, infiltrate underwater on the left flank. Silently disable the northwest trap and eliminate its sentry. Hizashi, monitor the entire area. Mark target positions and chakra cores in real time. I'll circle behind, seal off their escape routes, and provide support. Execute."
The moment the orders were given, all four moved like parts of a precision machine.
Shinji drew a deep breath of air heavy with decaying vegetation and moisture. The single tomoe in each eye quietly spun. Rather than charge straight ahead, he used the mangroves' tangled terrain to approach swiftly in a zigzag. At roughly a hundred and fifty meters from the platform, the ideal range for his attack, his hands flashed through hand seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!"
More than a dozen blazing balls of fire wrapped around shuriken screamed through gaps between