Chapter 72: The Infiltration Begins
Night fell, and four figures moved silently through the forest outside Kusagakure.
"Stop." Asuma raised his hand, and the group immediately halted.
Lowering his voice, he said, "Patrol squad, two hundred meters ahead. A team of three. Likely Kusa-nin."
Hinata added, "Two more squads to the northwest, patrolling in intersecting routes. Five-minute intervals."
"This is a drag..." Shikamaru frowned. "The patrol density is tighter than expected. We can't force our way in."
Naruto clenched his fists, whispering, "We can't just wait here! What that kid said before he died must be important!"
"Calm down." Asuma put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, thought for a moment, then looked at Shikamaru. "Can we draw them away?"
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, lightly tapping a tree trunk. "A diversion... but it needs precise timing. Hinata, can you confirm their blind spots?"
Hinata nodded. "There's a patch of bushes to the southwest. During the patrol rotation, there's a twenty-second gap."
"That's enough." Shikamaru quickly assigned tasks. "Naruto, create a distraction with Shadow Clones on the east side. Asuma-sensei, use Wind Style to disrupt the sensors on the west. Hinata and I will slip into the village during the chaos. Remember, once we're in, retreat immediately and rendezvous at the designated spot."
Naruto grinned. "Leave it to me!"
The infiltration went smoothly. Despite the recent upheaval in Kusagakure, their patrols were still amateurish.
They entered the village effortlessly.
As a small hidden village, Kusagakure didn't exactly have a nightlife. After capturing a random ninja on the street, they easily extracted the location of their destination—the Administration Building, the largest structure in the village, where missions were assigned and government affairs handled.
"Two guards at three o'clock. Chakra levels suggest average Chunin," Hinata observed the main hall. "But there's a ring of abnormal chakra fluctuation around the building."
"Abnormal?" Shikamaru asked.
"It looks like... deliberately concealed sealing formulas."
"There are chakra pathways running under the entire building. It might be a barrier."
"A barrier?" Shikamaru was confused.
Barriers were usually placed around the perimeter of a village or at secret bases.
For a small village like this, maintaining a perimeter barrier was hard enough. Setting up one inside the village, around a specific building, was unheard of.
Barriers required constant maintenance and were a huge drain on manpower and resources.
Placing one around a high-traffic area like the Administration Building seemed like asking for trouble.
"Who cares about a barrier? Let's just—" Naruto crouched, ready to charge.
"No." Asuma held him back. "If it's a sensory barrier, barging in will alert them."
Shikamaru pulled a yellowed map from his pouch, pointing to a spot. "We go through the drainage system. Kusagakure still uses the layout from the Warring States Period. The underground sewers lead straight to the back courtyard of the Administration Building."
They slipped into the sewers like four shadows. The stench of rot hit them, and Naruto covered his nose, about to complain, but Hinata raised a hand in warning.
Around the corner, two Kusa-nin were leaning against the wall smoking, the embers glowing in the dark.
Asuma glanced at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru understood immediately. His hands flew through seals. "Shadow Possession Jutsu."
Shadows extended through the darkness like snakes, wrapping around the ankles of the two ninja. They froze mid-puff, their bodies stiff.
Hinata leaped out, delivering precise strikes to the back of their necks.
"Let's go!"
A rusty iron gate separated the sewers from the Administration Building, but strangely, several brand-new paper charms were pasted on it. The style didn't match local Kusa charms; they looked more like the ones used in Kumogakure.
Shikamaru examined them, searching his memory before concluding, "Kumogakure sensory talismans. I've seen Cloud ninja use them before."
"We can't just peel them off, Asuma-sensei. We need to disrupt the rune connection with chakra first." He turned to Hinata. "Can you see the flow of chakra in the charms?"
"Three charms form a triangular circuit at the top of the gate. The central node is at..."
"...the bottom right of the second charm," Asuma finished for her, drawing his chakra blade. "Cloud sealing jutsu likes to hide weaknesses in the seemingly strongest spot."
Wind Style chakra concentrated on the tip of the blade as he precisely pierced the edge of the paper charm.
The vermilion markings on the charm flashed violently but were shredded by the wind chakra before they could detonate.
The other two charms dimmed, fluttering down like dead leaves.
"Nice!" Naruto started to cheer but was silenced by Shikamaru's hand over his mouth.
"That was just the first hurdle. If Kumogakure is involved, the real trouble is still ahead."
Though Shikamaru said this, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
He was right. Things weren't peaceful. From the Land of Whirlpools to the Land of Grass, change was happening everywhere.
It seemed some people weren't satisfied with the status quo and were preparing to shift the balance of the world.
Some might even be contacting the Akatsuki, hoping to get a piece of the pie.
"Kumogakure sensory talismans don't just appear in a Kusa sewer for no reason." Shikamaru stood up, scanning the damp walls. "They're either helping Kusa with defense, or they're watching something. Something worth using specialized seals and sensory charms for."
Asuma sheathed his blade, nodding in agreement. "Kusagakure is a minor village. No rare Kekkei Genkai, no treasures that could shift the balance of power. For the Cloud's hawk faction to intervene suddenly... there must be a larger plot."
"We can't rush," Shikamaru said, his gaze cooling. "We don't know their numbers or what traps await inside. And besides the Cloud, there might be other factions hiding in the dark. Like the Akatsuki."
He paused, continuing his analysis. "From the Kusa-nin we interrogated, we know there have been disappearances lately, and outsiders seem to be interfering in village affairs. Combined with the Cloud charms and the barrier, it's highly likely the Cloud's hardliners have secretly taken control of Kusa. If we act rashly, we alert them and endanger the controlled Kusa-nin."
Asuma mused, "So you're saying we gather intel first?"
"Right." Shikamaru nodded.
"We'll circle around to the back courtyard through the sewers. It's secluded and harder to spot. Hinata, use your Byakugan to scan the courtyard for guards or unusual chakra. Asuma-sensei, you and Naruto watch our rear for ambushes. If we spot anything wrong, we retreat immediately and rethink the plan."