"Suzuhara Nanigashi?" Menma rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Hikari nodded. "According to the intel obtained by Gari, this Wandering Ninja joined Iwagakure a year ago. She specializes in Medical Ninjutsu. While not particularly outstanding, she's still one of the rare talents among Wandering Ninjas. The timeline also matches what you mentioned."
"Then let's arrange for Gari to bring her back." Menma said, rising from his reclining chair. He prepared to head to the Land of Earth personally to pick her up.
He shook the back of his right hand: "I'll leave the communication to you."
"Mm." Uchiha Hikari nodded, watching as Menma vanished from the courtyard.
…
The Land of Earth.
Inside Iwagakure, the controlled Gari accepted a mission outside the village at the mission hall.
Since the Third Great Ninja War, where ten thousand Iwagakure's Ninja clashed with the Third Raikage, Iwagakure had suffered heavy losses.
To preserve the village's manpower, Onoki often outsourced high-difficulty missions to the Akatsuki.
However, this was only a portion of their missions. As the military force of the Land of Earth, Iwagakure still bided its time, steadily increasing both the quantity and quality of its Ninjas.
Whether recruiting Wandering Ninjas or hiring the Akatsuki, the goal was to minimize casualties among Iwagakure's native Ninjas, allowing them to grow stronger.
Thus, it wasn't as if Iwagakure's Ninjas no longer carried out missions… otherwise, how would they sustain themselves?
After accepting the mission, Gari trudged out of Iwagakure, which is surrounded by towering rocky mountains.
The world outside the village wasn't much different… barren lands with a heavy, desolate feel. Unlike the Land of Wind's deserts, the Land of Earth seemed more like a place where natural resources had been overexploited, leaving behind only exhaustion.
As Gari moved further southeast, trees gradually became more abundant.
The scent of earth and foliage mixed in the air, leaves rustling underfoot. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows.
Kari's eyes remained hollow, his actions entirely dictated by Hikari's commands, devoid of any personal will.
Even if he woke up, he'd remember nothing of this period, only feeling as though he'd slept for a long time.
Gari's figure weaved through bushes, crossed shallow streams, and advanced deeper into the forest toward the border of the Land of Rain.
Suddenly-
A strange figure appeared out of nowhere beside Gari and attacked him!
Gari's combat instincts kicked in, and he dodged with a Body Flicker Technique.
Boom!
The path where Kari had been standing was obliterated. Amid the dust, a grotesque beast emerged in the forest.
"What is that...?" Gari frowned. Hikari, observing through Gari's vision, also saw the strange creature.
The monster had the massive, ferocious head of a dog, with exposed fangs and a single curved horn, growling menacingly. Its back bore a pair of enormous white wings that flapped, stirring up fierce winds.
Its tail, however, was a coiled, scaled two-headed snake, writhing and hissing.
This abomination seemed like a grotesque fusion of multiple creatures, exuding a nauseating stench of blood and decay.
The beast's dog head let out an ear-splitting howl, the sound waves shaking the surrounding leaves.
While Gari focused on the monster, several bandages shot from the forest shadows, lashing toward him.
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Gari clenched his right fist and slammed it into the incoming bandages. His Chakra erupted instantly, creating an expanding shockwave of explosions.
Several bandages on the front were engulfed in the blast, but the other bandages slithered like snakes, evading the explosion and continuing their assault!
"What?!" Gari had no time to react as several bandages pierced through his limbs and torso with precision.
Squelch!
His shoulders and thighs were impaled by bandages as hard as steel, the scent of blood quickly spreading.
Gari let out a muffled groan, dropping to one knee as blood seeped through his torn clothes.
He looked up toward the source of the bandages… from the shadows of a large tree, a 'young man' wrapped entirely in bandages, clad in a white straitjacket-like robe, stepped forward.
The high collar of the white robe concealed the lower half of his face, while the upper half appeared youthful, with red eyes and a red dot adorning his forehead. His tied-back white hair swayed slightly.
"Who are you?" Though under control, Gari's body still retained its instincts.
The mysterious Ninja snorted coldly, seemingly annoyed by Gari's resistance, and raised his hand to finish him off.
But Gari suddenly burst forward, tearing free from the bandages impaling him, and closed the distance in an instant… his right fist already swinging!
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Gari's punch connected with the mysterious Ninja's palm-
Boom!
The moment their hands met, the Explosion Release triggered, engulfing the enemy in a massive explosion.
But just when Gari thought the enemy was done for, the explosion was sucked into the mysterious Ninja's palm.
"What?!" Even in his controlled state, Gari couldn't hide his shock.
"Dark Release: Inhaling Maw!" The mysterious Ninja's voice was deep, yet still youthful.
Gari's Explosion Release had been completely absorbed. Only now did Gari notice that there are two strange, glowing red patterns on the enemy's palm, resembling overlapping slits.
The next instant, the bandages covering the mysterious Ninja lashed out like snakes, wrapping around Gari like a mummy.
Immediately, Hikari's remote control over Gari grew sluggish… until finally, she lost all connection.
"Heh. First prey captured."
The mysterious Ninja looked down at the unconscious Gari, a satisfied chuckle muffled beneath his bandages.
Flap!
The grotesque summoning beast landed beside him, kneeling obediently.
The white-haired Ninja leaped onto its back, carrying the bandage-bound Gari, and soon vanished into the depths of the forest.
…
Moments later, by the time Menma, wearing his white three-eyed fox mask, arrived, all that remained were scattered bloodstains and chaotic Chakra traces.
"Hikari, is this the place?"
The faint glow of the seal on his hand pulsed as Menma communicated with Hikari, who is still back in the Land of Stars.
"Yes. The attacker was a white-haired Ninja who looked like a young man, with a bizarre summoning beast-" Hikari relayed the details of Gari's ambush.
A white-haired boy wearing a white straitjacket, with red eyes, using bandages as a means of attack, a Dark Release Ninjutsu that can absorb other Ninjutsu, and a strange summoning beast.
"So… Hiruko had made his move."
Menma's voice was calm, laced with amusement and understanding, "Just in time, I was just wondering where to find him."
The white three-eyed fox mask was raised, and his Mind's Eye of the Kagura was activated!