Chapter 177: Footprints in the Mist

The mud was still fresh, the footprints muddled, overlapping with the ones the group had left just hours earlier.Kurara crouched down, touching the track with two fingers.

"It's recent," she said, scanning the direction.

Suiren nodded. "They can't be far."

The sun was already low, but the light barely filtered through the canopy, casting everything in gray, muffled tones.The swamp offered no certain paths—only illusions and shifting directions.

Shinji glanced toward a narrow side trail."What if they split up?"

"I don't think so," Suiren replied, moving cautiously forward. "If all of this was planned, they must've had a precise rendezvous point."

They walked in silence for several more minutes.Then, almost by chance—between two bent willows—Kurara saw him.

Kyōro.

He was seated on a large fallen log, his gaze downcast, hands resting on his knees.He looked shaken.Or maybe… too calm?

Suiren gestured to the group.They moved into formation—slow but deliberate.

"Kyōro!" Kurara called out.

He lifted his head, startled. Or maybe just pretending to be.

"Ah… it's you."

Shin narrowed his eyes."What are you doing here alone? Where have you been?"

Kyōro lowered his gaze again."I got scared. When the fight broke out… I panicked. I ran off."

Suiren stared at him, unmoving."And Natsui?"

The silence grew heavier.

Kyōro hesitated. Then sighed."I don't know. When I hid, he was still with you. After that… I never saw him again."

Kurara crossed her arms."And yet… you seem to know more than you're saying."

Kyōro's eyes shifted to her, mildly surprised.Or perhaps just focused.

"It's not the first time I've seen those masked men," he admitted."During one of my patrols… I spotted them."

Suiren stepped forward."Where?"

Kyōro ran a hand through his damp hair."At the altar. The one you saw yesterday with Natsui. And they weren't alone."

Kurara held her breath.

"There was… a hooded figure. Speaking with them. I couldn't make out what was said, but… it looked like they were giving orders."

"Did they see you?" Suiren asked.

Kyōro nodded slowly."Yes. One of the masked ones pointed at me. But the hooded figure signaled to let me go. As if… I didn't matter.Or maybe… like I'd be useful later."

Shinji exchanged an uneasy glance with Shin.

Suiren remained perfectly still.

"And you didn't tell anyone?" she asked, her tone sharper now.

"I'm just an old watchman," Kyōro said, fists clenched."Who would've believed me…? They'd have called me crazy."

Kurara stepped toward Suiren."What do we do?"

Suiren didn't answer right away.But her eyes, glinting in the fading light, were locked onto Kyōro.

° Team Borei°

Abandoned houses, half-open doors creaking in the wind. The silence was almost as heavy as the mist hanging over everything, as if the village itself were holding its breath.

"This place gives me the creeps…" Ame groaned, stretching her arms over her head. "No tracks. No answers. Just this depressing silence. Ugh… Wake me when something actually happens."

Kagero ran a hand through his hair, his face etched with fatigue. "We haven't found anything. No detectable chakra. No bodies. No sound. And yet… something's off."

Borei leaned against a low wall, eyes fixed on the void. He hadn't spoken in hours. But his mind was a storm.

This won't work. We can't keep going blind, hoping the enemy shows up out of pity.

Without a word, he performed a swift sequence of hand seals. In an instant, five Kage Bunshin materialized around him, each with a focused gaze in a different direction.

"You—cover the east, west, south, north, and central perimeter. Report even the slightest movement. Speed and caution."

The clones nodded in unison and vanished into the mist.

Ame widened her eyes. "Hold on a sec… that's not a technique from our village."

Kagero turned to her with an expression somewhere between irony and habit."Borei… was never exactly ordinary."

° Kirigakure – Mizukage's Office°

Pale light filtered through the frosted windows of the Mizukage's hall. The council was absent. Only Yagura and Ao stood facing one another.

"Any updates from the monitoring?" Yagura asked, tone unreadable.

Ao folded his arms. "No interference reported. My patrols using the Byakugan haven't revealed any suspicious presence."

"And the Kaguya Clan?"

"Nothing unusual so far."

"Thanks to the precautions, Mizukage-sama. The alert seals we deployed in the sensitive zones are working."

Yagura nodded slowly. "Good. We can't afford another 'Fujino incident'."

--– Flashback: 22 Months Ago–--

ANBU Headquarters

A milky light filtered through narrow slits high on the wall, just enough to distinguish the silent figures moving across the tatami, blackened with time.

A lone figure executed fluid, precise movements, each strike delivered with lethal grace. Their face was hidden behind a white mask, devoid of marks or symbols. Only two blue eyes, steady as ice.

At that moment, another figure approached from behind, moving like a shadow within shadows. No sound. Only a breath, barely a whisper threading through the rhythm of training.

"Your instincts were right."

Ren stopped. His hands froze mid-air. But he didn't answer. He didn't need to.

Later… Kirigakure – In front of Councilor Fujino's residence

The wind blew gently through the Upper District streets.Ao stood before a closed door.From beneath the band over his eye, veins bulged at the side of his face.

"Byakugan."

He looked.

"Explosive seals… four, arranged in a cross pattern around the door's perimeter. Surgical precision."He gestured to the two ANBU behind him."Step back."

In the silence that followed, a cloaked figure emerged from an alley.

"SealMaster Tatsumi, on site."

The man's hands moved swiftly, drawing invisible ink in gestures that looked like a dance. Each stroke dissolved into nothing. The explosive seals vanished with a soft exhale.

Ao gave the signal. They entered.

The house was silent. Too silent.

Then, the body.

Fujino lay slumped on the tatami of his study, his chest opened by three clean slashes, the walls spattered with thick blood. Bone shards… embedded like thorns deep into the beams.

Ao knelt down, brushing a fragment with his fingertips.

"This…"He lifted his gaze, pupils rippling with thought."Kaguya Clan?"

But his voice was a murmur. More doubt than certainty.

Unknown Location – Cavern

Steady dripping, like blood falling from a forgotten altar. The air was stale, damp, and the only light came from a blue torch embedded in a chakra crystal.

Zetsu appeared like flesh-shaped shadow.

" Hahah… Your puppet's been discovered, Obito. You chose the wrong pawn this time."

Obito didn't respond immediately. His Sharingan glowed like a cursed orbit.

" That ninja with the Byakugan… he's more dangerous than expected," he said coldly.

" We need to remove him from the village."

Zetsu laughed. The slithering sound bounced off the cavern walls like a venomous echo.

" Oh sure… Let them believe the Kaguya Clan is to blame. Let's see if your plan works, great tactician."

The torch flickered. A shadow passed across Obito's face.

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