The road toward the Land of Demons was quiet in a way that felt unnatural, the kind of silence that pressed against the ears instead of soothing them.
More than once, Sukuna had caught himself asking why the hell he was running when he had Kamui. But no can do, this was a team mission.
And he had figured that he was relying a bit too much on Kamui anyways.
Ancient trees leaned inward as if listening, their shadows stretching long across the dirt path.
Team 11 moved at a steady pace.
Izumi ran at the front, hands dangling back like they gave her a speed boost.
Honestly, she knew everyone in this world ran like this, but she just couldn't get used to it. Why can't ninja run the normal way?
Kiyomi followed a step behind, alert but calm, her gaze drifting between the forest and her teammates.
Karin bounced along beside Kiyomi, humming under her breath, just happy to go on another mission. In this case, she was surprisingly like Naruto.
"So," Karin said at last, breaking the silence, "does anyone else think this mission is… weird?"
"NO!"
"Nah…"
"Nope."
'No one.' Karin's brow twitched.
"Am I the only one who finds it very suspicious that where we are going is called Land of Demons." She grumbled inside.
Kiyomi and Izumi didn't get it, but Sukuna patted her back to say he understood her worries. Turns out, if your teammates are a bunch of jujutsu sorcerers, then things like supernatural mean little to them.
Both Kiyomi and Izumi were born and raised by jujutsu sorcerers; things like ghosts and demons weren't that new to them. Sukuna, in this case, at least felt a bit more 'normal'.
"Weird is one word," Sukuna replied. "The Land of Demons doesn't ask for help unless something is very wrong."
"Then why bother sending a Genin team here…"
"Not that wrong."
Karin could only grumble and look at Sukuna nervously. Now that Sukuna recalled, Naruto too was a bit afraid of ghosts, wasn't he?
"The place is small, mostly ruled by the priestess line there, and it rarely involves shinobi villages. So if they asked for help, then it's a big deal."
Karin tilted her head. "Then why us? There are way stronger teams."
Sukuna didn't turn around. "Because we're available."
Izumi snorted. "That's the excuse. Not the reason."
Karin grinned. "See? Even Izumi-sensei thinks it's suspicious."
Kiyomi glanced at Sukuna. "Do you know something?"
Sukuna shrugged lightly. "The Hokage doesn't waste moves. If he sent us, it's because this team fits whatever problem is waiting."
"That's a non-answer," Izumi said.
"I never said I'm your Google, go search somewhere else," Sukuna replied.
"Eh… Google?" Karin didn't get it. Of course she didn't.
Izumi on the side just smirked at this modern-day reference. This at least gave her a bit of hope that this person really wasn't Ryomen Sukuna.
They walked on for a few more moments before Karin leaned closer to Kiyomi and whispered, not quietly at all, "Do you think this is some kind of test?"
Kiyomi considered it. "It's possible, he did say he wished us to take part in the Chunin Exam. If so, then this could be a test."
Izumi crossed her arms. "Or surveillance."
Sukuna smiled faintly at that, unseen by the others.
Because Izumi wasn't wrong.
Hiruzen hadn't sent them just because other teams were unavailable. He had sent them because of Izumi as well.
It was clear that spying on her inside the village was easy, and if so, then she'll most likely not gonna slip. Outside the village though, there is a possibility that she will.
Or at least Hiruzen Sarutobi thought so. And thus, here he was.
It took them some time before they finally arrived at the mission location. And the Land of Demons greeted them with ruin.
The mission details weren't specified before they were assigned the mission. Some missions are like that, when they have to take the mission and only later on learn what exactly the mission's about.
The only intel they knew was that the priestess of the Land of Demons asked for Konoha's help over something, and she needed experienced shinobi. That's it.
So, when they finally arrived, they were shocked to see the palace rose from the fog like a broken corpse, its white stone walls cracked and blackened, sections of the roof collapsed inward as if something had clawed its way through. Burn marks scorched the courtyard. Blood—old and dark—stained the steps.
Karin stopped short. "Oh… that looks bad."
"Definitely bad," Izumi muttered, already scanning the area, Sharingan faintly active.
Kiyomi knelt beside the nearest body, two fingers pressing briefly to the guard's neck out of habit before she shook her head. "They're all dead. Killed cleanly. No signs of struggle beyond the gate."
Sukuna looked around slowly, taking in the damage. "So much for a routine escort mission."
"What do you think happened here?..." Karin asked.
Sukuna observed the place again, this time more keenly.
"Bandits... Ninja... horny daimyo searching for wife. Take your pick."
'Is the last one real.' Karin stiffened.
"No," Izumi replied flatly, "This doesn't feel like some horny politician's work."
Karin looked at her blankly. 'And you can tell how?'
Kiyomi sighed. "Focus."
They moved deeper into the courtyard, stepping carefully around shattered pillars and broken ceremonial banners. The silence was thick, broken only by the wind slipping through the ruins.
"The priestess isn't here," Kiyomi said after a moment. "If she was taken, there should be tracks."
Karin closed her eyes, chakra flaring softly as she reached out with her senses. Her brow furrowed. "There's… nothing. No clear trail. It's like she vanished."
Izumi frowned. "That shouldn't be possible."
Sukuna nodded. "Yeah. She isn't a shinobi, her chakra trace would be weak enough that you miss her."
"No it isn't," Karin snapped. "There is no chakra trace around us, period."
Sukuna clicked his tongue. "Which means this just got annoying."
Karin shot him a look. "Annoying? People are dead!"
"Many people die all the time," Sukuna continued calmly. "Don't take it personally. Only then will you be able to dissect the matter with logic."
Karin, who was about to say something more, shut up at that.
"We need to search the area..."
"Yeah..."
So they split up to search the palace grounds more thoroughly.
"I swear, every mission we get turns into trouble," Karin muttered, poking through debris. Sukuna, for once, couldn't deny.
"What kind of missions you guys took?" Kiyomi raised a brow in curiosity.
"You don't wanna know." Karin sighed, shaking her head in defeat.
A few minutes later, Sukuna and Izumi found themselves near the inner shrine, partially collapsed. Kiyomi and Karin were still searching for clues.
"So, you feel it too." Izumi asked, eyes wandering around the place.
Sukuna nodded once. "Yeah."
"It's curse energy." He spoke with a serious face. The energy he felt clung to the shattered walls like a stain. It wasn't easily noticeable. Kiyomi didn't notice it.
However, both Izumi and Sukuna were very sensitive to curse energy. They caught it almost immediately.
Izumi's jaw tightened. "So it wasn't just shinobi."
"No," Sukuna replied quietly. "Seems like we are indeed not the only ones not from this world."
They turned back toward the others.
Aloud, Sukuna raised his voice. "We're not finding anything by standing around. Spread out wider." His voice echoed inside the ruined palace.
He was loud enough that both Kiyomi and Karin heard him.
Once he sensed those two moving, he turned back to Izumi. "Strangely, this curse energy feels..."
"Familiar." Izumi nodded. She definitely had felt this curse energy before, but can't say who.
"Keep Karin away from this." Sukuna added that one line at the end, slowly, before moving forth, ready to now be more serious since another unknown curse user was involved.
With that said, Sukuna went towards the dead bodies lingering around.
"What are you doing?"
"Burning them, that's the least we could do... right!"
Izumi was taken aback at this. Of all people, hearing that line coming from Sukuna was strange.
'Perhaps he really isn't your big bad villain...' She sighed to herself.
---<>---
[Land Of Snow]
Team 7 was already packed and ready when everything went wrong.
Sasuke swayed on his feet, one hand braced against a tree. "Tch… damn it," he muttered, breath shallow.
Sakura, standing beside him, suddenly pressed a hand to her forehead. "I—I feel dizzy…"
Naruto blinked. "Huh? You guys okay?"
Sakura barely managed a nod before coughing harshly. "I'm fine..."
Kakashi turned, eye narrowing. He walked up to them and checked their foreheads with the back of his hand.
"It's fever."
Sasuke scowled, clearly irritated. "It's nothing. I'm fine—" He cut off, grimacing as his knees buckled.
Naruto rushed forward, but he didn't go to grab him, but Sakura beside him instead.
"Whoa! Sakura-chan, don't worry, I'm here for you."
Sasuke almost had a twitch on his forehead before he just ignored the idiot.
"Sensei, this is bad, right? They're burning up!"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Seemed like the cold doesn't suit them. He wished to get out of the Land of Snow as soon as possible since, until they were associated with Koyuki Kazahana, they were in enemy territory. However, with his two genin in this condition, he had to change that plan.
"…Seems like," he said slowly. "We can't move like this."
Sakura forced a weak smile. "S-Sorry, sensei… guess we'll have to delay."
They set up camp again, Kakashi keeping a careful eye on both Sasuke and Sakura while Naruto hovered anxiously, fetching water, fussing far more than usual.
"Don't worry too much, Naruto. They will be fine." Kakashi added. In this case, he really couldn't do anything. Just wait until their fever calms down a bit before moving.
However, internally, he felt something wasn't right. His genin were acting a bit wrong.
Sasuke hadn't complained once. Sakura wasn't scolding Naruto. And Naruto… hadn't eaten anything. That last one was a dead giveaway.
Kakashi crouched near Sakura again, gaze sharp. Sakura, seeing him, just closed her eyes. A bit too stiff.
"You know, maybe you guys need something good to eat. I got some ramen in my backpack. If you want, you can have it.."
"Really." Sakura, who was pretending to be sleeping, suddenly jolted her head towards him, eyes shining.
'Okay, suspicion confirmed.' Kakashi's brow twitched.
He stood abruptly and flicked a pebble at Naruto's head.
It passed straight through him.
In an instant, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto vanished in three soft puffs of smoke.
"Shadow clones."
Kakashi stared at the empty clearing, silent for a long moment. He just stood there, wondering how to react.
'All that work to sneak away from me and he fumbled over just a cup noodle.' Kakashi sighed. Only Naruto could do something like that.
He straightened, pulling his hitai-ate down slightly.
"Running an operation behind my back," Kakashi said to the trees. "Seems like I have to come up with some good punishment for them while I track them down."
But despite himself, a small smile tugged at his lips.
Cause he already had an idea where they could be...
xXx
A/N : What do you guys things going on now ? And tell me how many of you guys remember this story. Hint, it was a movie from Shipudden.
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