At the border of the Land of Fire, Maple Leaf Town lay beneath the dusk, eerily silent.
Ling, Inuzuka Gaku, and Aoi stood at the town entrance, yet they could not hear a single sign of life-no cooking smoke, no children playing, no barking dogs. Even the wind seemed to deliberately avoid this place. The maple trees around the town were blood-red, adding to its strangeness.
"This place... is even creepier than the mission report said." Inuzuka Gaku frowned deeply. His ninja dog, Kuromaru, also growled uneasily, baring his fangs as though he had sensed something bad.
Aoi instinctively moved a little closer to Ling. As a medical ninja, she was particularly sensitive to the loss of life energy. "The chakra in the air feels... stagnant, with an indescribable sense of exhaustion."
Ling said nothing, but his Jōgan had already activated on its own.
[Jōgan vision activated: environmental scan. Large-scale residual mental energy, complex in structure, with strong suggestive and draining properties. Source direction: town center. Energy nature: Yin Release, mutated, mixed with faint natural energy. Warning: this energy field possesses assimilative and corrosive properties.]
It's not a simple genjutsu... Ling was inwardly alarmed. It's more like a large-scale barrier ninjutsu operating continuously, or some kind of... domain?
"Mr. Gaku, can Kuromaru track the source of the abnormal chakra?" Ling asked softly, acting like a newcomer trying hard to be useful.
Inuzuka Gaku patted Kuromaru's head. "Buddy, we're counting on you!"
Kuromaru sniffed the air and hesitated, but finally barked twice toward the town center and charged ahead. The three immediately followed.
The farther they ventured into town, the more alarming the sights became. Through doors and windows that had not been fully closed, they could see the residents inside-some slumped beside dining tables, others sprawled in chairs, and some had even collapsed right in the street. Without exception, they were all deeply asleep. Their faces were peaceful, even bearing eerie smiles, but their vitality was draining away extremely slowly, like frogs being boiled in gradually warming water.
"These people..." Aoi examined several residents, her face pale. "Their bodily functions are normal, but their mental energy is unusually active while constantly leaking out... It's like they're having a beautiful dream they can never wake from, overdrawing their own souls."
[Jōgan alert: faint sense of surveillance detected. Direction: three o'clock, rooftop. Nonhuman chakra response.]
Ling swiftly glanced that way out of the corner of his eye, catching only an extremely faint shadow slipping behind the roof ridge.
Not the one from Root... Something local? Ling made a mental note.
Finally, following Kuromaru, they reached the square in the town center. In the middle of the square stood an enormous, strangely shaped maple tree! Its trunk was an unnatural purplish black, while its leaves were a bewitching red, giving off a faint glow accompanied by a cloyingly sweet scent. Countless pale pink threads of energy, almost visible to the naked eye, spread from its crown, linking the town's sleeping residents together like a spiderweb!
"That's the thing!" Inuzuka Gaku shouted, instantly readying himself for battle.
Just then, something suddenly changed!
Dozens of figures silently emerged from the shadows of the houses around the square. They were not human, but humanoid monsters condensed from shadows and the strange tree's energy! Faceless and twisted, they moved like toddlers taking their first steps, yet radiated chilling chakra that made the heart tremble.
"Enemy attack!" Inuzuka Gaku roared, lunging forward alongside Kuromaru. "Fang Over Fang!" Two violent whirlwinds instantly tore several shadow monsters apart.
Aoi swiftly retreated, her hands flying. "Secret Technique: Poison Dust Technique!" A cloud of poisonous mist with a paralyzing effect spread out, hindering the monsters' movements.
Ling, meanwhile, "hastily" threw shuriken, precisely striking several monsters' cores (his Jōgan easily saw through their energy nodes), acting like a genin with solid fundamentals but little actual combat experience.
[Jōgan alert: monsters are the barrier energy's automatic defense mechanism. Reverse calculation of core energy transmission paths... locked onto the strange tree's lower root system. Projected success rate of destroying the roots... below 15%. Powerful protective response present. Recommendation: eliminate interference first and seek further information.]
The battle was not difficult. These shadow monsters showed little desire to attack, seeming more intent on stalling for time. Soon, they were all cleared away.
"We have to destroy this tree!" Inuzuka Gaku said, about to form hand seals for a more powerful ninjutsu.
"Please wait, Mr. Gaku!" Ling suddenly stopped him. His face "pale," he pointed at the severed remains of the shadow monsters. "They... after they disappeared, their energy seemed to be absorbed by the residents! The residents seem to be losing their vitality a little faster!"
Aoi immediately bent down to examine them and exclaimed, "It's true! Ling is right! Forcibly destroying this tree might make the residents die faster!"
Inuzuka Gaku forced himself to stop, breaking into a cold sweat. "Then what do we do? Just let this damned thing stay here?"
Ling thought "hard," then spoke "hesitantly." "The mission report said this started half a month ago. At first, only a few people slept excessively, and only later did it spread throughout the town. We should look for the town's records, or people who haven't fallen completely asleep yet, and find out what happened at the beginning. Perhaps only by finding the root cause can we safely undo this condition."
He said this because, in the Jōgan's projections, directly attacking the strange tree triggered an even more terrifying backlash. That "powerful protective response" instantly drained the vitality of half the residents. Another blurry fragment showed that the key to the problem seemed connected to an ancient shrine in town.
Inuzuka Gaku pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That makes sense! You're a careful kid. Then let's split up! Aoi, stay here and set up a temporary medical station. Monitor the residents and try using medical ninjutsu to slow their loss of vitality. Ling and I will search the Town Hall and other possible locations for clues. Kuromaru, protect Aoi!"
Ling stirred inwardly. Splitting up was exactly what he wanted. He needed a chance to act alone, verify the fragments his Jōgan had seen, and avoid... that Root operative who had been following them all along.
However, just as they were about to move-
[Urgent Jōgan alert: source of intense malice approaching rapidly! Bearing: due south, extremely fast! Target: locked onto host! Attack intent: 100%! Calculating evasion routes...]
Whoosh!
An extremely thin black streak shot from a southern rooftop without warning! It was neither a kunai nor a shuriken, but an ink-black senbon imbued with sealing runes! It pierced the air without making the slightest sound, aimed straight at Ling's back, over his heart!
The timing was utterly vicious! It caught the exact instant when Inuzuka Gaku turned away, Aoi lowered her head to examine someone, and Ling appeared completely defenseless!
Precise, ruthless, and silent-this strike was standard Root practice!
The shadow of death instantly fell over Ling's heart.
But Ling's Jōgan had already foreseen this as one of several possibilities! Without even turning around, he stumbled forward as though instinctively, having "accidentally" stepped on a loose stone.
Hiss! The black senbon skimmed past his hair and buried itself deep in the ground before him. Its runes instantly lit up, forming a small sealing barrier. Had it struck him, the consequences would have been unthinkable!
"Who's there?!" Inuzuka Gaku whipped around, shocked and furious. Aoi was startled too, immediately looking warily toward the direction the senbon had come from.
Ling climbed to his feet, "still shaken," his face even paler and his voice filled with lingering fear. "An... an enemy ambushed us!"
On a distant rooftop, a flicker of surprise crossed the eyes of the Root operative wearing the Tanuki Mask. His concealed strike, which he had believed flawless, had actually been dodged by a genin through such a coincidence? Was it luck, or...
Before he could think further, Inuzuka Gaku charged over with a roar. "You skulking rat! Fang Over Fang!" A massive two-headed wolf of energy lunged toward the rooftop.
The Root operative snorted coldly, melting into the shadows like a phantom and easily avoiding the attack. The next moment, he appeared on a rooftop in another direction, watching the three coldly.
"He's from Root!" Inuzuka Gaku recognized the distinctive bearing and mask, his expression turning grim. "What do you want?!"
The Root operative did not answer. He merely raised his hand again, this time targeting-Inuzuka Gaku! Several equally black senbon shot out at treacherous angles.
"Mr. Gaku, watch out!" Ling "cried in alarm."
Battle erupted instantly. Inuzuka Gaku and Kuromaru tangled with the Root operative, but were clearly at a disadvantage. The Root operative's strength far surpassed that of an ordinary special jōnin, and his methods were strange and ruthless.
Ling and Aoi tried to help, but their attacks seemed unable to effectively hit the shadowlike ninja.
[Continuous Jōgan analysis: target's taijutsu habits: assassination style, adept at utilizing shadows. Chakra natures: wind, yin. Weaknesses: intense light or large-scale area attacks (61% probability). Calculating optimal intervention plan...]
Ling threw shuriken "clumsily" to interfere while his mind raced. He could not expose his Jōgan's true abilities too early, but he had to break the stalemate.
"Miss Aoi!" Ling suddenly shouted. "Use your brightest flash technique! Disrupt his vision!"
Aoi froze for a moment, then understood. "All right! Genjutsu: Haze Flash!" She formed hand seals and suddenly released a dazzling white light!
The entire square was instantly engulfed in intense light! Even the masked Root operative's movements faltered for an instant!
Now! An almost imperceptible, glassy gleam flashed in Ling's eyes. He appeared to form hand seals haphazardly out of nervousness, but was actually controlling his chakra precisely, mixing in an extremely faint trace of his Jōgan's power.
"Fire Release: Will-o'-the-Wisp Technique!" (One of the simplest E-rank Fire Release techniques, normally only capable of producing a few small flames.)
Yet what burst from his mouth were over a dozen ghostly blue fireballs, leaping as though alive! Rather than attacking in straight lines, they traced strange arcs, anticipating the directions the Root operative was most likely to dodge under the intense light and cutting off his retreat!
The Root operative's pupils contracted! This was definitely not the Will-o'-the-Wisp Technique! This level of control... He forcibly twisted his body, narrowly avoiding most of the ghostly blue fireballs, but one still grazed the hem of his clothes. With a hiss, the flame clung and burned like an affliction embedded in bone, carrying a peculiar purifying energy that briefly stalled the Yin Release chakra within him!
What the hell is this?! Horrified, he immediately sliced off that section of his clothing.
Seizing the opening, Inuzuka Gaku took his chance. "Fang Over Fang!" His violently spinning assault finally forced the Root operative back several steps.
The Root operative steadied himself and fixed Ling with an icy stare. That Uchiha kid... There's definitely something wrong with him! Those flames just now...
But he knew that after missing his first strike and getting tied down by Inuzuka Gaku, he had already lost his best opportunity. Continuing the fight would put him at a disadvantage once further support from Konoha arrived.
"Mission change. Withdraw for now," he murmured into his communicator, throwing down a smoke bomb without hesitation.
Bang! When the smoke cleared, he had vanished without a trace.
Only the panting Inuzuka Gaku, the still-shaken Aoi, and the "pale-faced" Ling remained in the square.
"Damn Root!" Inuzuka Gaku spat, then looked at Ling. "Kid, you're not hurt, are you? Good thing you thought quickly back there..."
Ling shook his head and forced a smile. "N-no... I'm fine. It just startled me." Inwardly, he sneered. Root's probe had failed this time. Next time, they probably would not send just one person.
Moreover, during their brief clash, his Jōgan seemed to have picked up an extremely familiar, repulsively cold chakra fluctuation from that Root operative... It faintly overlapped with the indistinct presence he had sensed in a certain corner on the night of the massacre...
Danzo... A chilling cold lay in the depths of Ling's gaze.
After this disturbance, the town's strangeness and Root's pursuit had become intertwined, making the situation increasingly complex and shrouded in uncertainty.
"We need to move faster!" Inuzuka Gaku said gravely. "Ling, come with me to check the Ancient Shrine at the eastern end of town! Aoi, be very careful!"
Ling nodded. The shrine... was exactly where he wanted to go.
His Jōgan's vision turned toward the uncanny tree again. Deep within its tangled roots, he seemed to "see" a Yin Release core different from the tree's energy, more ancient and solid, as well as... a damaged scroll tightly entwined by the roots, almost completely absorbed?
Perhaps that was the true origin of all this, as well as one of the objectives of his journey.
The immediate crisis had eased, but only the tip of the iceberg of greater mysteries and dangers had just been revealed. Ling's path out of this predicament was strewn with thorns.
Before you continue