Eyes in the shadows

On the way from the Cliff Stronghold to the Hagoromo Clan Territory, Setsuna lay on Shogatsu's back with a sour expression.

His two little legs dangled at Shogatsu's waist, swinging restlessly.

Shogatsu hitched Setsuna higher on his back and continued toward the Hagoromo Clan Territory.

Setsuna had finally figured him out. Hagoromo Shogatsu seemed good-natured, but he was actually incredibly stubborn.

When Setsuna had proposed returning to the Hagoromo Clan Territory alone to find Izuna, Shogatsu had stopped him with that gentle yet unquestionable manner of his.

"The territory's barrier formation has been activated, and the clan leader isn't familiar with your chakra. You don't have Hagoromo blood, and your chakra signature hasn't been registered with the barrier. The moment you enter the territory, you'll be teleported straight into the Trap Zone. It's dangerous there."

Setsuna had stopped in his tracks.

The Trap Zone. What did that mean? Explosive tags, poison spikes, the Intangibility Maze-the Fuma Clan's elite ninja were still trapped in there. If he went in with this tiny five-and-a-half-year-old body, he would be blown to pieces.

"So," Shogatsu had said, turning around and crouching with his back to Setsuna, "I happen to be going to report the battle to the clan leader and confirm our next strategic objectives. I'll take you with me."

"No need." Setsuna had snorted and turned to leave.

Then he had been grabbed by the arm and hauled right back.

Before Setsuna even had a chance to struggle, he had been pressed onto that not particularly broad back.

This damned five-year-old body.

Still, Setsuna had to admit that being carried on someone's back was a little more comfortable than being dangled by the arm. At least it was much better than being carried around like a kitten by Izuna.

"Hmph."

Setsuna had rested his chin against Shogatsu's back and stopped struggling.

Shogatsu had left Gengetsu in charge of guarding the stronghold and the Cliff Settlement.

Then he had instructed a messenger to have people from the Fourth Settlement come collect the prisoners.

Only after watching the messenger disappear into the distance had Shogatsu stepped onto a tree branch with Setsuna on his back and sped toward the Hagoromo Clan Territory.

Mountain wind swept down over the treetops, making Shogatsu's sleeves flap sharply. Lying on his back, Setsuna felt the adult man's body heat through the gray-blue fabric and caught the faint scent of medicine on him.

Setsuna spotted the Hagoromo Clan Territory from far away.

The thatched roofs and wooden watchtowers nestled quietly in the valley. Cooking smoke rose as usual, and the torches on the watchtowers burned as usual.

It looked no different from when they had evacuated that morning, as though the Fuma ninja's invasion had never happened.

Hagoromo Shogatsu, however, stopped.

He suppressed his chakra as much as possible. A thin veil of his presence wrapped around him and Setsuna, reducing their presence to a minimum as he slipped into the shadow of a massive tree.

Setsuna understood his intention.

The fall of the Sixth Settlement meant that a huge gap had opened in Hagoromo territory's defenses against the Fuma Clan.

If the clan territory fell as well, Hagoromo's lands would immediately shrink by a third.

The Third and Fourth Settlements, originally logistics hubs, would be exposed to the enemy's assault and become the new front line.

Their supplies and grain would become the top targets for every invader.

Even if the Fuma Clan had no intention of expanding its territory and only planned to grab the grain and retreat, this place was far from safe.

Setsuna quieted down. His little legs stopped swinging, and he pressed his body close against Shogatsu's back.

He held his breath and pushed his Sharingan's visual power to its limit.

One, two, three... ten.

He could see a total of ten Fuma Clan ninja within his field of vision.

Two scouts were moving slowly around the outer edge of the clan territory.

At the farthest reaches of his vision, three chunin-level sentries were spread across the towering treetops, each watching a different angle.

In the forest near the territory's entrance, three jonin and two chunin stood by, waiting for their companions to come out and tell them what was happening inside.

Every one of them held a weapon, blade tips angled slightly outward, ready to enter combat at any moment.

They were all on high alert. They were fighting on someone else's home ground, after all, and the Hagoromo main force could return to reinforce the territory at any time.

Lying on Shogatsu's back, Setsuna leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I saw ten."

Shogatsu tilted his head slightly. "Fifteen. There are another five hiding in the shadows. One of them is only a hundred meters from us."

Setsuna went rigid.

Shogatsu lifted his chin, indicating a seemingly ordinary patch of shade ahead and to the right.

A ninja crouched among the protruding roots of a massive tree, his body blending perfectly into their contours.

He was concealed too well. He remained motionless, even timing his breathing to the rustle of wind through the leaves, his chakra suppressed to a minimum. If Shogatsu hadn't pointed him out, even the Sharingan's motion perception would have failed to pick him up.

Setsuna felt a chill crawl through him.

This really was different from the game world.

In the game's dungeon missions, every guard post was marked, with red dots clearly visible on the radar.

The designers wouldn't put enemies in blind spots-not everyone was Hidetaka Miyazaki.

After all, players were there to have fun, not get ambushed. Even if a few enemies lurked in corners, an obvious attack warning would pop up just before they struck, giving the player time to react with a QTE. It was only there to build tension.

Those patrolling NPCs in the game had limited vision. As long as you stayed outside their cone of detection, they wouldn't notice you even if you crept right up behind them.

Enemies in games were designed for players to kill and blow off steam.

But this place was different.

Every enemy here was a living, breathing person.

They had to complete their missions while also protecting their own lives, so their tactical arrangements would be more devious than anything in a game dungeon.

Besides, these Fuma ninja most likely already knew that the Uchiha had come to reinforce the Hagoromo Clan. They would only be more cautious, more concealed, and more lethal.

He, too, had to focus harder on locating the enemy. If he only noticed them once they were behind him, it would already be too late.

Setsuna considered how to get past the Fuma Clan's watch and enter the territory.

A frontal breakthrough?

He quickly assessed their respective fighting strength. In a frontal fight, only Shogatsu counted as combat power. With his five-year-old body, Setsuna would be grateful just not to get in the way. Besides, this man smelled of medicine. Perhaps he wasn't particularly strong.

Infiltration?

But the Fuma Clan had layers upon layers of guards. Fifteen people were stationed at different points around the territory, covering one another. Getting inside without making a sound or being spotted would be a serious problem.

Just then, Setsuna noticed some commotion among the five Fuma ninja standing by. Those who had been crouching on the ground rose to their feet.

A four-man squad emerged from the territory completely unharmed, pushing a grain cart with wobbling wheels. Bolts of cloth and finished clothing were piled on it as well.

The waiting squad leader immediately went to meet them.

Setsuna's heart lurched.

If they got out so easily, had the trap plan been defeated? Had something happened to Izuna and the Hagoromo Clan Leader?

Then he calmed down again.

Impossible.

With Izuna's strength, even if he had been cornered, these people could never have come out unscathed.

Setsuna couldn't hear their conversation. He could only see their smug, satisfied expressions.

The ninja who had come out of the territory pointed at the cloth on the grain cart, then patted the bulging grain sacks. The squad leader nodded and clapped one of them on the shoulder.

Setsuna reached a conclusion: these men were bait Izuna and the others had released to lure the enemy deeper inside.

That probably meant Izuna and the others had already dealt with the dozen or so other Fuma ninja.

As he was thinking, his Sharingan caught movement from the corner of his eye-the silhouette of the Fuma ninja hiding in the shadows had shifted.

He looked over and saw mud instantly engulf the ninja, blocking his mouth and nose before he could even cry out.

The mud hardened in a single breath, growing countless hard spikes inward and abruptly piercing his body. Blood seeped through the cracks in the mud shell.

Setsuna snapped his gaze toward Shogatsu.

Shogatsu had just lowered his hands after forming hand seals. A gentle smile appeared on his face, as though he hadn't just killed someone with Earth Release.

"Let's go," Shogatsu said.

Setsuna stared at that refined, gently smiling face, with only one thought in his mind-

This man was definitely not as soft as he appeared.

From forming the hand seals to lowering his hands, the entire process had been clean and efficient. Barely any chakra fluctuations had escaped. The Fuma ninja hadn't managed to make a single sound before dying.

That made sense. Even as a Hagoromo who hadn't awakened his eyes, Shogatsu had been called the strongest living member of the clan by the old clan leader. That meant even the Hagoromo who possessed the Heavenly Eye were no match for him.

Setsuna had been fooled by his gentle mask and underestimated his strength.