The capital of the Land of Bears, east of the Yukawa River.
The buildings of the New Hoshigakure rose from the ground, and the entire district had been designated as a military-controlled zone. Striking prohibition notices were plastered across the gray-white high walls.
Patrolling Ninja stopped any civilians attempting to approach the cordon.
"Nanashi-sama!" The prison's iron gate creaked open with a grating sound, and the two Ninjas guarding the entrance bowed respectfully to the black-haired girl.
Hikari walked forward expressionlessly, her footsteps echoing through the long, dim corridor.
In the dim light of the holding cell, the burly silhouette of Kakuzu was cast onto the stone wall as he idly counted his salary for the month, along with the additional stipend for overseeing the prison.
"A rare guest. The musty air of the dungeon can't compare to the sunlight above ground." Kakuzu's hoarse voice ca from behind his mask.
"We can start the [Higurashi Project] now. You haven't forgotten it, have you?" Hikari tilted her head slightly, glancing at Kakuzu as he counted money. The two Anbu's mbers in the corner unconsciously stiffened their backs.
"Has another year already passed outside?" Kakuzu put away the money, pulling out a set of keys before leading Hikari deeper into the prison.
For Kakuzu, ti was sothing he had in abundance… and sothing he cared about the least.
Add to that his long-term assignnt overseeing the prison, which kept him from venturing above ground for extended periods, it was no surprise he'd lost track of the days.
The two walked one after the other through the depths of the dark dungeon until Kakuzu stopped in front of a cell.
Hikari turned to look and saw Sunagakure's Pakura sat cross-legged on a pile of dry grass, her hands and feet bound in chains.
Sensing their presence, Pakura jerked her head up, the chains clanking loudly.
During her ti in captivity, Pakura had attempted to escape multiple tis, only to be recaptured each ti by this masked giant. His fighting style was bizarre!
Her Scorch Release Ninjutsu required direct contact to evaporate the target's bodily fluids, killing them.
But this guy called Kakuzu could extend his limbs like a puppet, shattering her Scorch Release before it could even reach him!
He is simply her natural counter!
As for the black-haired girl beside him, Pakura had never fought her before, but she could see a familiar arrogance in her eyes, just like the Uchiha Clan from Konoha!
Outside the cell, Hikari and Kakuzu rely glanced at Pakura before continuing deeper into the dungeon.
Soon, they arrived at another cell.
Inside were three Ninjas from Hoshigakure.
Among them were the purple-haired Seishi, the bald Yotaka, and the black-haired Shiso.
They were nailed to crosses, subjected to daily interrogations. By now, their minds were hazy, as the psychological torture inflicted by Genjutsu far outweighed any physical suffering.
These three people were the traitors who leaked the information of Hoshigakure, sending out distress letters to Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha.
Last ti, Kakuzu had captured over a dozen Ninjas still harboring disloyalty based on nma's list. After Kakuzu's interrogations and Kanon's Mind's Eye of the Kagura for lie detection, it was confird that these three were the ringleaders of an internal faction.
Among the Jonin, they were nothing more than bottom-tier small fries.
This ti, they would serve as bait.
"How many do we use?" As a mber of the organization, Kakuzu naturally knew part of [Higurashi Project].
"Send the Sunagakure's Ninja back first. One team is enough." Hikari pondered for a mont before adding, "In a few days, we'll release the Iwagakure's Ninja and stage another act."
"Fine. I'll leave it to you." Kakuzu unlocked the cell door with his keys.
Hikari strode inside. Beneath her flowing hair, her Mangekyo Sharingan began to glow.
The sa Mangekyo's pattern appeared on the backs of the three traitors. Their heads, previously slumped in unconsciousness, were now lifted, their eyes hollow and vacant.
…
Two days later.
At the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Bears.
Yashamaru led a team of three, including Yura, on a routine patrol mission to a border outpost.
"Yashamaru-sensei!" Yura, whose long hair covered half his face, suddenly stopped.
"What is it?!" Yashamaru imdiately raised his hand, signaling the team to be on alert.
All of them wore the standard windproof attire of Sunagakure, with their heads wrapped in scarves, faces covered by cloth mask, leaving only their eyes exposed. Among them, Yashamaru wore a Jonin vest similar to Konoha's, serving as the leader of this patrol team.
Ever since the [Operation Longsword] launched by the Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears last year, where they slaughtered the Daimyo and nobles, the patrol missions along this stretch of the border had been elevated to B-Rank, and that was without encountering any enemies.
If the enemy numbers were small and repelled, it was manageable.
But if the enemy was nurous or exceptionally strong, it would instantly escalate to an A-Rank mission, potentially even sparking outright war!
Therefore, Yashamaru, as the leader of this patrol team, was extrely cautious.
"Three o'clock direction, sothing's off!" Yura ford hand seals with both hands, used Sensing Ninjutsu to scan the area, and imdiately reported.
"Everyone, get ready for battle!" Yashamaru took out a kunai.
The others also took out their weapons, one of whom was a puppeteer.
The four-man squad advanced toward the anomaly Yura had detected.
Soon, they spotted three staggering figures in the distance, being pursued by several Ninjas from Hoshigakure.
"It's Pakura-senpai and the others!" Yura recognized one of them and said in a low voice.
Yashamaru also confird their identities and imdiately ordered: "Support them!"
With that, he charged forward first.
Yura and the others followed closely.
A fierce battle erupted on the border. The patrol team led by Yashamaru successfully linked up with the escaping Pakura and her two companions, then swiftly encircled the pursuing Hoshigakure's Ninjas.
When Pakura and the other two saw that it was their fellow Sunagakure's Ninjas, they joined the counterattack.
After a fierce battle, the Sunagakure team managed to kill all five pursuers, but at the cost of one dead and two severely wounded.
However, when Yashamaru tried to interrogate a captured Hoshigakure's Ninja for intel, he found the man had already bitten into a poison capsule and committed suicide.
Yashamaru couldn't help but marvel at the determination of these Hoshigakure's Ninja. He then approached Pakura's group, who were resting.
"Are you alright?" As the brother-in-law of the Fourth Kazekage and a Jonin of Sunagakure, Yashamaru had known Pakura for years.
"This… the information about Hoshigakure…" Pakura's bloodied right hand trembled as she pulled a scroll from her pouch and handed it to Yashamaru.
The mont she finished speaking, Pakura collapsed, but fortunately she was supported by Yashamaru.
Of her two teammates, one was already dead, and the other was critically injured.
Seeing the still-wet blood on the scroll, Yashamaru imdiately ordered his team to carry Pakura and the other survivor back to the village!
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