Renjiro shifted atop Uno's back, his keen gaze fixed on the distant shores of Kirigakure. The air around them was crisp, the scent of salt thick as the Sea of Death stretched infinitely below. The rolling waves, turbulent and unwelcoming, made it clear why no one attempted to cross these waters without caution.
"So," Renjiro muttered, exhaling as he turned his head towards Uno, "how exactly am I supposed to get there?"
Uno beat her wings lazily, carrying them forward with effortless grace. Her piercing golden eyes glanced at him before she asked, "You don't want me to land on the ground?"
Renjiro crossed his arms, his red hair shifting slightly with the wind. "Of course not. I don't want anyone to see you. At least, not yet," he said, narrowing his eyes as Kirigakure came into view, shrouded in its perpetual mist.
"Especially shinobi from other villages. If word got out that Konoha, or worse I, had access to summons like you, it could cause trouble."
Uno tilted her head in thought before replying, "Then I could just drop you near the shore. No one will know how you got here."
Renjiro frowned. "That's still too close." He cast a glance at the waters below and grimaced. "And I don't want to get wet."
Uno let out a loud, irritated caw. "You are being difficult, Renjiro."
Renjiro smirked but said nothing. Then, like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck him. His smirk widened into something almost mischievous. "Actually…" he mused, his Sharingan glinting faintly in the sunlight. "You can just go Uno."
Uno's wings faltered slightly, her gaze snapping toward him in alarm. "What?"
"You heard me," Renjiro said nonchalantly, now rolling his shoulders as if preparing for something. "Just leave. I'll handle the rest."
Uno didn't respond immediately, her sharp avian eyes scanning his face for any sign of hesitation. "Renjiro," she said carefully, "how exactly do you plan on getting down?"
Renjiro took a brief moment to calculate the distance between their current position and the village.
'It's far,' he thought, his analytical mind breaking down the trajectory.
'But still manageable.'
"I'll find a way," he assured her. "Trust me."
Uno made a sound somewhere between an exasperated sigh and a squawk. She hesitated for a few moments longer, but then, with a final disapproving look, she relented.
"Fine. Don't die."
And with that, a massive puff of smoke erupted, and the great eagle vanished.
Immediately, Renjiro felt his body begin to drop. The sudden sensation of freefall sent a rush of adrenaline through his veins, but he quickly adjusted his stance, angling his body into a sharp decline to increase his descent speed.
He couldn't help but grin.
'This is going to be fun.'
=====
Deep within the heart of Kirigakure, a vast chamber pulsed with the rhythmic flow of water. The walls, lined with intricate carvings, dripped with condensation, the entire room humming with chakra-infused energy.
Shinobi were scattered throughout, each stationed at a designated water sphere, their hands weaving in the water spheres as they gathered reports from across the entire Land of Water.
At the centre of the room, an enormous floating water sphere—at least four times the height of an average man—was surrounded by seven high-ranking sensor shinobi, their eyes closed in deep concentration.
These were the elite of Kirigakure's Sensory Division, their combined efforts allowing them to track movements within the entire Land of Water in real-time.
"Sector Five remains clear," one shinobi reported, his fingers flickering over the surface of a smaller water sphere. "Merchant ships have successfully docked, and no unauthorized movements have been detected."
"Sector Three reports a disturbance," another sensor-nin called out. "A vessel near the Sea of Death has sent out an emergency signal—claims of a sea monster attacking their ship."
The leader of the Sensory Division, a woman with dark blue hair tied into a burn, furrowed her brows as she processed the incoming reports.
Her name was Isane Himura, a seasoned jonin with unparalleled sensory abilities. Her hands, slender but calloused from years of training, rested gently on the large water sphere at the centre of the room. Through it, she could feel the pulse of the nation, every shift in chakra, every fluctuation of movement.
She turned to one of her subordinates. "Dispatch a patrol team to Sector Three. Make sure the attack on the ship isn't a distraction for something else."
A nod of understanding. "Right away, Captain!"
Just as she was about to shift her focus to another report, a sudden disturbance rippled through the chakra network.
Isane's eyes snapped open.
Across the room, at the far end, two shinobi working on a smaller water sphere had stopped their hand seals entirely, their faces twisted in confusion. The water within their sphere was bubbling violently.
"Captain!" one of them called. "Something strong is heading straight for the village—fast!"
Isane's gaze darkened. "From the sea?" she asked, already sinking her hands deeper into the large water sphere, amplifying her reach.
"No, Captain!" the second shinobi replied. "It's not coming from the sea!"
And then she felt it.
A disturbance, an anomaly tearing through the layers of chakra barriers surrounding Kirigakure at an alarming rate. It wasn't just passing through the barriers—it was breaking them with sheer force.
Her pulse quickened.
"No…"
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the urgency in it was deafening.
"Inform the Mizukage!"
=====
At Kirigakure's main entrance, a trio of shinobi stood on duty, engaged in light banter to pass the time.
"You hear about the brawl in the merchant district?" one asked, adjusting the forehead protector tied around his arm. "Some idiot thought he could rob a shop in broad daylight."
The second guard chuckled. "Bet that ended well for him."
Before the third could add his own quip, another shinobi rushed toward them, his face set in urgency.
"Get ready!" he barked. "We're under attack!"
The trio straightened immediately, all amusement vanishing.
"What? From where?"
"Not sure," the messenger replied, his eyes darting toward the village. "But we've been ordered to prepare for immediate engagement!"
As the alarms blared throughout Kirigakure, a squad of shinobi gathered at the entrance, weapons drawn, eyes scanning the skies with wary anticipation.
Then, one of the guards looked up.
His breath hitched.
High above, cutting through the mist, was a streak of silver with similar silver tendrils around it, moving at impossible speeds.
For a split second, he thought it was a massive bird. But no… the shape was wrong. The speed was unnatural.
His grip on his kunai tightened.
"What the hell…?"
"Boom!"
Before anyone could react, a massive boom shattered the silence as something crashed into the ground several meters ahead, the impact violently shaking the earth beneath their feet.
A massive cloud of dust erupted, obscuring their vision, thick tendrils of smoke curling into the air.
Silence.
Then—
"What the hell just fell from the sky?" one of the guards muttered, taking an uncertain step forward.
No one had an answer.
All they knew was that something—or someone—had just arrived.
And whatever it was, it had just bypassed every defence Kirigakure had to offer.
=====
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