CHAPTER 107

The kunai in his hand slid cleanly across the throat of the Iwa-nin before him. The force was precise—efficient enough to be fatal without excess. Uchiha Kei silently watched the enemy collapse, breathless and soundless.

Turning, he caught Imai Kenta's eye. Kenta had already dispatched his own target and gave Kei a subtle nod in return.

Kai then glanced toward Hyūga Aya, who signaled with a silent hand gesture—mission complete.

Despite their rocky history—Aya once challenged Kai openly in training—she knew how to function on the battlefield. She didn't need to like Kei to trust him with her life in combat.

Kai sheathed his blade just as Fujiu Hangpei, Hatake Kakashi, and Nohara Rin rejoined them from another sector.

They were deep within the Land of Grass, having encountered scattered Iwa patrols over the past few days.

Some of these rock shinobi were probably on routine perimeter duties, while others might've been reassigned to intercept Konoha infiltration squads. To Kai, though, they were all the same: obstacles to be eliminated.

Following a directive from Namikaze Minato—and with Fujiu Hangpei accepting tactical input from Kai—they'd been systematically neutralizing every Iwa unit they came across. Whether it was to shift suspicion onto Kirigakure or simply to deny intel to the enemy, it served its purpose.

"Looks like this sector's cleared," Hangpei muttered, scanning the area. "Let's move. We're behind schedule."

"Yes, sir," the squad responded as one, moving deeper into the forest.

Three days had passed since they began this reconnaissance mission, yet they had found no sign of the elusive Mist-nin troops. It was as though they'd vanished—leaving no trail, no presence.

Hangpei was growing restless. The village elders were pushing for diplomatic talks with Iwagakure, but rumors of Kirigakure's involvement threatened to upend everything. If the Mist were planning to sabotage the negotiations, Konoha needed to know now.

But unlike Hangpei, Uchiha Kai wasn't overly concerned. He knew the Mist wouldn't jeopardize the talks directly.

Still, the silence was troubling. Mist shinobi were born killers, especially in this post-Yagura era where the Blood Mist policy had hardened their ranks. Nearly every elite shinobi from the Hidden Mist was a trained assassin.

Kai's feelings toward them were complicated.

One in particular—Hoshigaki Kisame—had left a lasting impression. That man had embodied the "tool of war" mentality better than anyone Kai had met. Even his death had been clean and calculated, like an extension of his will.

A shame, really. Kai would've recruited him in another life.

"Captain, something's up," Aya's voice pulled Kai from his thoughts. He looked over to see her crouched by a corpse, her Byakugan veins flaring.

"Corpse?" Hangpei halted a few paces away, wary.

It was an Iwa-nin, long dead.

In the shinobi world, enemy corpses often contained valuable intel—maps, dispatches, seal tags, coded scrolls. But they were also rigged with traps just as often. Poison, explosive seals, decoys. Suna, especially, had perfected the use of lethal corpse traps.

Hangpei wasn't about to take chances.

"It's clean," Aya confirmed. "No chakra signatures, no traps. Death was instant—throat puncture. No sign of struggle."

Byakugan didn't lie.

"The killer was a skilled swordsman. The angle of the wound suggests speed and precision. And...we're outside Konoha's scouting perimeter."

"Mist-nin," Kai said flatly, crouching to examine the body. He pulled a scroll from his pouch and unfolded a map. "Captain Haze marked this location earlier—it matches the patrol route that first reported Kirigakure movement. A bit of a deviation, but close enough."

"Then we're on the right trail," Hangpei said, finally exhaling. "Any other signs?"

Aya shook her head. Kai mirrored her shrug.

"The trail's too clean. Whoever did this knew how to cover their tracks," Kai muttered, activating his Sharingan and scanning the woods. "We should prepare for the worst."

"The worst..." Hangpei's face darkened. "You mean—Anbu?"

Kai nodded. "If Kirigakure's sending saboteurs, they'd use their equivalent. Black-ops. Assassins trained to leave no traces."

Mist Anbu were infamous—especially the Hunter-nin, tasked with tracking and killing deserters before secrets could be leaked. Their methods were brutal. And if one had turned their attention to disrupting negotiations...

But before Hangpei could respond, a high-pitched whistle tore through the air—a kunai, moving fast.

Kai's eyes widened. Paper tag—detonation!