"Something's wrong. These Kirigakure ninja are only trailing behind us, like they're trying to drive us back to the village. What happened? Could it be..."
Shirakumo Hayama's face darkened. He was not a prodigy ninja like Hatake Kakashi, but anyone who had survived on the battlefield until now was no slouch.
The Kirigakure ninja's intentions were almost obvious at a glance, yet the truth beneath them was like a thick fog, leaving them bewildered.
Suddenly, a piercing cry shattered the air. The elite Ninja Hawk, famed for its silence, dove straight toward Kakashi's team below.
"That's Ninja Hawk Number Three, practically the finest Ninja Hawk in the village. Why would it suddenly come here? Is it urgent intelligence?"
Hyuga Yun quickly reached out and caught it. When the distant Kirigakure ninja saw this, their expressions changed drastically, and their barrage of shuriken grew even fiercer.
"I'll cover you. Hurry and see what the message says. Deciphering a code at a time like this won't be easy."
When Hyuga Yun opened the message, what met his eyes was not the expected coded intelligence, but a single simple sentence.
Yet that one sentence made cold sweat stream down Hyuga Yun's back. He looked with difficulty toward Kakashi, who was covering the rear, before his gaze finally fell upon the bewildered Rin. He spoke softly.
"Word from headquarters. They intercepted an anonymous report. They... the Kirigakure ninja implanted the legendary demon, the embodiment of chakra, the Three-Tails, into someone else."
"To control the Three-Tails with a seal upon reaching the village and destroy the entire Hidden Leaf Village, that person is..."
With a crack, lightning flashed, jolting the stunned Rin awake. Those eyes filled with killing intent were staring fixedly at her, while the seal on her lower abdomen grew increasingly scorching.
Kakashi's