The soles of my sandals just barely touched the ground before I pushed off again, shooting myself forward at the speed of a racing car.
At these speeds, the standard running form was pointless; what you cared about most was wind resistance, so you kept low, which is to say, running the famous Naruto run.
It just worked.
When you just barely kick off the ground, and catapults you hundreds of meters, you don't care about proper form, arms? Why waste energy keeping them at your sides, wind drags them back, so let it.
For a normal human, this form might be bad, but for a shinobi, it was just the way we did things.
The same goes for sandals; I usually wouldn't wear them, but they were used for a reason.
I wasn't a big fan, but I couldn't deny why people used them. The solid wood soles could protect your feet from stepping on sharp stone spikes or a discarded broken kunai, and you could easily get out of them if the earth suddenly tried to grip you.
Beyond even that, some people trained themselves to be able to grasp a kunai with their toes. It wasn't often that it was useful, but many people wanted every possible advantage.
My left foot touched down, and instantly I changed direction, moving to the left at a 90-degree angle. Dodging around a tree before kicking off and shooting forward again.
Despite the wet ground of the Land of Rivers, with chakra, we could even run on water, so treating mud and wet leaves as solid ground was no challenge.
Which was good, because without a solid grip, moving at these speeds wouldn't be very safe at all.
Koji, who was at the front, suddenly shot into the sky, and we followed right behind. Our feet hit the side of a tree, and then we continued to shoot forward through the air, stepping on a branch and then back to the ground.
It honestly looked like we just teleported around the place, feet barely touching anywhere, barely any sounds made as we shot forward.
It was fun, though, feeling the wind against our faces, the weight of my hair as it trailed behind me like a long white cloak.
Koji seemed extra motivated today; he moved faster than usual, and even had us do some moves we usually didn't do outside of combat.
He would jump into the air to evade some low but thick bushes, and then he would flip around midair, kick off from the bottom of a branch, and then flip around again.
It didn't save a whole lot of time, though it did score hard on style points, and it was an unexpected path, so there was a smaller chance of running into a trap that way. Although I did doubt whether Koji had thought about any of that.
He was focused, in the zone, which was good. I was glad to see he was able to focus again. I had been worried after the events of this morning, but he recovered well.
Overall, the Land of Rivers hadn't changed at all since we left it. It was as wet as ever, at least this part of it was, but then again, its abundant amount of water was why it was such a precious place.
However, while everything felt the same, the extra knowledge I had about it did make it feel more dangerous.
It was highly likely that at this point, the Kazekage was gone, and that the true start of the war would happen soon.
War, such a nasty business.
We continued to shoot through the forested land of rivers, shooting straight over the rivers without touching them, and disappeared into the depths of the land.
We made our way back to our main camp, which was the best place we had found, and it would hopefully remain that until we were done with our mission.
…
"Koji, check scents, I want to know if anyone was near here while we were gone, Haruto, reinforce the shelter, and Arata, check the traps if anything needs to get fixed or if any signs of someone being here." I said once we arrived in the camp on our second day back in Rivers.
Koji nodded once and vanished in a blur of motion, Kuro right behind him. His chakra flickered faintly as he darted through the camp, nose to the ground, inhaling deeply from multiple points, his trained senses scanning every trace.
Haruto grunted and rolled his shoulders, kneeling to reinforce the shelter's walls with fresh earth chakra. He worked with silent efficiency—fast, practical, reliable. That was Haruto's way.
Arata crouched some distance away, beside a half-concealed snare line, checking the wire tension. "Nothing broken, but this wasn't left untouched," he muttered. "This one seems disturbed."
I had my Byakugan active, tracking the surrounding area, keeping an eye on Koji and Kuro, as well as checking for tracks and trails around the wire Arata was currently inspecting.
"I don't see anything, could be an animal, let's have Koji or Kuro check when they come back." I said as Arata nodded and went on to check further out, while I remained near Haruto, as I could watch everyone from there.
I stayed still for a moment, letting the sounds of the forest fill the air—wet leaves rustling, distant birds crying, the low hum of chakra-enhanced movement from my team. Familiar sounds. Comforting, in their own way.
Then Koji returned.
He dropped down from the treetops like a shadow, landing without a sound. Kuro circled once before settling beside him, his hackles low but not raised. No threat, but unease. Koji's brow was furrowed, his usual brightness dulled by focus.
"Someone's been here," he said. "Not close, not inside the perimeter, but within scent range. More than one person. Three or four. Not ours."
I tensed. "How recent?"
He sniffed again, glancing toward the west. "A few days, maybe less. They didn't approach directly, but they circled from the south. Could've just been scouting."
"Or marking us," Haruto muttered, standing upright and brushing dust from his hands. "They know someone's here."
"Likely," I agreed. "But they didn't enter, so they weren't ready for a fight. Still… We'll need to assume we're compromised."
I glanced around, eye flicking over the camp. Everything looked intact—our cache still hidden, nothing visibly disturbed—but that meant nothing. If they were shinobi worth anything, they wouldn't leave obvious signs. Especially not Suna. Especially not at this stage.
I quickly made a decision.
"We'll move camp tomorrow," I said while kneeling down and rolling out our map. "Anyone got any suggestions for where they want our new camp?"
The map had changed significantly since I received the information from Basecamp. It now had new routes drawn on it, new camp locations for enemies, spots where other Konoha shinobi had encountered either enemies or traces.
As we looked over the map, Arata joined us as well, having checked the rest of the traps, finding nothing overly suspicious, but plenty of small signs that could be an animal, or a clone, a scentless clone.
"There's a ridge to the northeast," Arata offered, tapping against the parchment. "Covered in thick bramble and elevation. Ugly terrain, but that's the point—it's hard to sneak through."
Haruto nodded once. "Plenty of natural rock to anchor defenses. Could reinforce it into something stable. Only drawback is the water access—it's high ground."
I shook my head, "I want water access, with you being skilled in that, it's a useful and valuable tool, not to mention it will make our lives more comfortable, because I don't want to crawl through brambles more than I have to."
I really didn't. I liked my hair, and while I often did tie it up into a long ponytail and hid it under my clothes, I still didn't want to risk it constantly getting caught on things when we moved around our camp.
Koji snorted softly from where he crouched beside me, studying the map. "You hate brambles more than enemy shinobi?"
"I don't want either near my camp," I replied, not looking up. "Not to mention that poor Kuro will also suffer having his fur ripped off, which is bad for hiding our traces and scents.
Koji made a low, amused sound, almost a growl of agreement. "He does get grumpy when his fur snags."
Kuro gave a few barks, likely in agreement with me, and something rude directed at Koji for his remark.
"We could try to move over here." I pointed to a stop a bit further north. "If Suna attacks the basecamp or the Land of Fire, it's likely they will move troops from these two positions down here." I said, tracing the most likely troop movement lines.
Which left an area between them open. A good few hundred square kilometers. More than enough for us to hide out in without getting spotted by passing patrols.
Koji leaned in closer, tracing the space I'd indicated with his finger. "It's a natural blind spot," he murmured. "Between major routes but not strategic enough to warrant active occupation. Could work."
Arata nodded. "Plenty of elevation shifts in that region. Ravines, outcrops, and natural stone formations. If we dig in deep, we could stay invisible for weeks."
"That's the idea," I said. "We're not here to be seen. We're here to kill, clean, and vanish."
Haruto crossed his arms and gave the map a long, thoughtful look. "I'll want to survey the terrain first. We need stable ground for shelter and fallback points if things go loud."
I nodded. "I want a satellite situation as we have here, so we can operate from those camps without risking the main one where we rest."
Arata tapped a few other locations on the map. "There's a cave network here, about twenty klicks west of the main path. Shallow, but it might be good for emergency shelter or ambush prep if we collapse a few tunnels."
"And over here," Haruto added, indicating a stretch along a narrow ravine that fed into a larger stream. "Not much cover above, but if we build into the side, we can stay concealed from aerial scouts. But we would need to use chakra to reach it, so that could leave tracks."
"Not likely they can track those, Suna doesn't have the best sensors." Koji said with a bit of pride in his voice, because, yes, Suna didn't, Konoha did, and the Inuzuka was among them.
I made a note of both. "So, two secondary sites. One deep cover ridge, one cave for emergency fallback, one cliffside blind. I want at least two more, around here, and here." I pointed. "And we need a main."
Koji's finger drifted back to the large shaded area we had previously circled. "We start here. Find the best terrain. From there, we radiate out and scout the rest. A day for each. Settle in, prepare them. shouldn't take long."
"If we are lucky, but we might have to give up if not, some things just don't work out." I cautioned him, not wanting us to get too fixated on that location.
The overall location was good, yes, but unless we also found suitable spots within it, it wouldn't work. While we had scouted out a bit of the area, we would need to ensure that there wasn't already a Suna camp there.
Haruto crossed his arms and gave the map a long, thoughtful look. "We'll need more than a scouting sweep. That's a long haul—easily a hundred klicks in deep terrain. That will take time."
I nodded. "This won't be a day trip. We'll go in stages. One step at a time, one day at a time."
"We'll need to do it together," Arata said, tapping at the side of the map. "Too far to split up. No backup if something goes wrong."
Koji's usual eagerness dimmed slightly, his brows knitting together. "So... we're gone from this camp for good?"
"Assume so," I said. "Once we're out, we don't come back here. We trap the place, plenty of explosive tags, if they do come here later to attack us, we want to see the smoke from our new nest."
A long silence settled over the group. That kind of move wasn't simple. It meant abandoning everything we had built here—our routines, our shelter, the familiarity. Trading it in for uncertainty and isolation.
But that was the job.
"But that's for tomorrow, we get to rest today, but no slacking off on guard duty during the night."
The others nodded and began to disperse, their movements slower now, weighed down not by fatigue alone, but by the realization of what tomorrow meant.
Koji lingered.
I rolled up the map and tucked it back into its scroll, brushing dirt off my knees as I stood. "We'll need to wake early. And take our time to prepare camp than, so no need to stress with that today."
As the other left to take care of their own business, we were all adults, and all trained, and two older ones more than experienced enough to have plans and ideas of their own.
Koji hadn't left. I hadn't expected him to. He lingered close, arms folded, gaze fixed on nothing in particular. Still coiled tight with leftover tension, like his body hadn't realized the planning was over.
"Kuro, come with me." I spoke up, getting both their attention, though Koji quickly looked disappointed knowing I wasn't asking for him. "Koji, try to catch us some fish, since we are leaving the camp tomorrow, we might as well enjoy tonight." I quickly added, making him look happy.
His ears practically perked up at that.
"Yes, Captain," he said with a sharp grin, already half-turning toward the river. Then he hesitated, glancing back. "Any preference? Big and juicy, or just fast and annoying?"
I smirked. "Big, the bigger the better, because we will need the extra energy for tonight."
"What's happening tonight?" he asked, looking confused.
Kuro was clearly smarter than he was and barked something to him, which I could surmise was what he missed, because he instantly turned bright red.
"You got it! I will get you the biggest fish in all of Rivers!" He almost shouted due to excitement.
"Come Kuro, let's leave Koji to his work."
Kuro barked once and padded after me with practiced silence, tail flicking like he already knew what I wanted. I let him take point, watching how his nose twitched, how he veered without hesitation toward the small area we usually used for this.