Naruto: Chronicles of a Fire Ninja

"You are finally here," Renjiro said, his white eyes looking toward Shisui.

"Sorry for making you wait. I assume you were waiting for me so we can go and check the security and array of the outpost?" Shisui said, entering the makeshift base Konoha ninja had created.

"Yes. As you said, I am depending on you for my safety."

"Don't worry, Hokuto-san. Let's just wait for an initial report before we make our move," Shisui said, taking his seat in the room. There were chairs, tables, and lamps inside the base, with a ninja cleaning the air regularly using Wind Gale Jutsu.

After half an hour, two ninja came to the base. With everyone waiting for them, they made their way toward Shisui directly.

"Commander, we have surveyed the outpost for the last three hours. Sadly, we couldn't identify any predictable pattern in their scouting duty—it is completely random," one of them said.

"It is to be expected. They are not going to make such a silly mistake when they are expecting an attack from us. Though I hope you were able to estimate their numbers?" Shisui asked, looking toward the ninja who had just spoken.

"Yes sir, they have dispatched 32 distinct ninja in the last 3 hours. We can estimate that the info about each outpost having more than 100 ninja is true," the ninja said.

"Seems like it..." Shisui went into a contemplative state. "Have you gleaned the structure of the outpost?" Shisui asked.

"Yes sir, as per the report, the outpost is completely built underground, just the top is outside. Though there are some watchtowers around the area, which do give it quite some surveillance capability," the ninja said.

"Good job. Take rest for some time—we may have to move soon," Shisui said. Both of them nodded their heads and started making their way toward the room next to the one they were present in.

"Looks like it is time for us to move. Are you ready, Hokuto-san?" Shisui asked.

"As ready as I can be," Renjiro said, standing up and donning the same attire as everyone else while placing his white robes back in his storage seal.

"We are just going to survey the outpost from the distance, though something may go wrong. In such a case, I will send signals using these tags," Shisui reminded the ninja present there one last time. They had already discussed the meaning of the glow of each tag when they were in the village. With nothing left to do, they made their way toward the location of their target.

...

Shisui and Renjiro appeared one kilometer away from the Iwa outpost.

"Are you sure this much distance is fine, Renjiro-san? I am sure we can cover at least 500 meters more easily," Shisui said. Since both of them had the best dojutsu possible for surveillance and info gathering, it was not hard for them to maintain their security from half a kilometer's distance at all.

"There is no need for that. My fortune has blessed me with these eyes—I can easily look at the structure of the array from here just fine," Renjiro said.

"As you wish," Shisui said, maintaining the watch while Renjiro began drawing the array surrounding the outpost on a paper all by himself.

After half an hour, he stood up. "Looks like Iwa had made some progress in Fuinjutsu recently. It was a little more complex than what I was expecting from them," he said.

"Hokuto-san, were you not able to discern the array?" Shisui asked, a little tense, as in such a scenario the battle would become multiple times harder than they were expecting.

"Hahaha, I was just giving them a compliment, boy. It was nowhere near the level where I would not be able to discern it," Renjiro gave a small chuckle seeing Shisui going all tense all of sudden.

"I was worried for nothing then," Shisui said, returning the smile, with his posture becoming a little relaxed. Renjiro went back toward the scroll.

"This array is a little complicated though," he said.

"How so?" Shisui asked.

"Everyone present there is connected to the array, so as soon as the array is destroyed or altered, they will be notified by it, meaning we can't alter the array if we don't want them to run away before our attack even begins."

"This does complicate things," Shisui said, thinking about various scenarios in his mind. After some time, he turned to Renjiro and asked, "This array should also have a key to identify the ninja of the outpost, right?" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"Yes, any Fuinjutsu grandmaster with something to his name will do at least this much for safety," Renjiro said.

"Then, Hokuto-san, can you replicate that key?" Shisui asked.

"Well, if I could have a look at it, I can surely do so—enough to fool the array for an hour or so," Renjiro said.

"Then I do have a plan in mind," Shisui said, giving a smirk toward the outpost.

...

The moon hung low over the rugged landscape, casting long shadows across the barren mountain terrain. The wind howled between the jagged rocks. Since it was almost midnight, a squad of four Iwa ninja emerged from the underground outpost, heading out for their scouting duty. As expected, their movements were random, but tonight, there lay a lurking presence waiting for them to come out of their hideout.

Leading the squad was Juro, a seasoned Jōnin known for his sharp instincts and mastery of Earth Release techniques. His bulky frame and confident gait made it clear he had seen many battles. The three Chūnin accompanying him moved with disciplined precision, scanning their surroundings for any sign of enemy activity. There was not a shred of casualness in their moves, being alert all of the time.

Suddenly, a mountain hare—a creature native to the region and a common food source for Iwa patrols—appeared near the cliff of a mountain just next to them. The hare twitched its ears before darting down the rocky slope.

Juro's keen eyes immediately caught the movement. "A hare... good timing," he murmured. "It will be enough for a snack at night," he said, looking toward the Chunins behind him.

"On it," the Chūnin replied, already moving to intercept the animal.

The hare zigzagged between the rocks, leading the ninjas just far enough from their leader. Just as one of them closed in, the hare suddenly halted, staring up at them with an eerie stillness. Suddenly, a person appeared next to the hare.

In that split second, the genjutsu took effect.

The three Chūnin froze, their surroundings shifting into an illusionary world. To them, the terrain appeared unchanged, but in reality, they stood completely still, their minds trapped in an endless loop where they continued their pursuit of the hare.

Juro, realizing something was off, narrowed his eyes. "You idiots, what are—?" Before he could react, a flicker of movement appeared behind him.

'Something is wrong,' the only thought appeared in his mind before years of experience kicked in. He swiftly dodged sideways, bringing out a kunai to attack the person.

But on turning, he found a pair of dark red eyes glowing in the darkness looking toward him. Before his mind could even process the implication of such a scene, his mind came to a standstill, losing all color before becoming all black. His breath hitched as he found himself standing alone in an endless abyss, unable to move or sense anything.