Kōichi noticed Satoru's reaction immediately, his voice low and sharp. "What is wrong?"
Satoru hesitated. He briefly considered telling Kōichi about the distant disturbance he had sensed, the faint flicker at the edge of his perception that had responded to the thread's activation. But he ultimately said nothing. He was not completely certain of what he had detected, and he did not want to create unnecessary panic or distract the team based on an uncertain sensory reading. Internally, he recognised one of the difficulties of operating with an unfamiliar squad; he did not yet know how much trust to place in his own judgment versus how much information the others expected from him.
He carefully avoided putting additional weight on the thread and followed Ayame toward the trapdoor.
Kōichi took control of the approach, his movements precise, his commands quiet. The team checked the trapdoor for additional mechanisms before opening it, their hands moving carefully, their eyes scanning for threats. Satoru examined the surrounding chakra threads with his Sharingan, noting their arrangement. Most appeared dormant, but their placement suggested deliberate preparation, a web that had been woven with care.
Kōichi ordered the team to descend cautiously. The trapdoor led into a cramped underground passage, its walls earthen, its ceiling low, its air damp and stale. The confined environment immediately changed the squad's tactical situation; movement was restricted, visibility was limited, and escape routes were narrow.
The passage opened into a hidden cellar. The space was small, its walls rough, its floor damp. Shōta noticed signs that someone had been living there recently; scraps of grain and collected rainwater indicated prolonged hiding. The air was thick with the smell of earth and neglect.
Satoru's sensory perception detected a weak human chakra signature deeper inside, faint and irregular. He signaled to Kōichi, his hand moving in a brief gesture. The team moved forward carefully, their steps silent, their weapons ready.
They discovered a gaunt, middle-aged man hiding in the cellar. He was visibly exhausted, his body trembling, his eyes wide with fear. His clothes were dirty and damp, and his face was marked by days of sleeplessness. His initial reaction was panic; he assumed the people entering the cellar might belong to whoever had attacked the settlement.
Kōichi immediately identified himself as a Konoha shinobi and displayed his identification. Uchiyama gradually realised that they were actually there to extract him, his panic slowly giving way to relief.
Shōta examined Uchiyama and confirmed that he was physically weak but alive. Uchiyama explained that he had been hiding underground for approximately five days, surviving on collected rainwater and raw grain. He had barely slept because he believed the attackers might discover him at any moment. Kōichi reassured him that they were taking him back to Konoha, but Uchiyama remained nervous, repeatedly looking toward the entrance.
Kōichi began questioning Uchiyama, his voice calm, his questions precise. Uchiyama struggled to give the information coherently because of exhaustion, his story emerging in fragments. The missing caravans were not ordinary robberies; someone had been deliberately searching the caravans. The attackers had dismantled wagons and questioned merchants, their focus specific and purposeful. They were looking for one particular document.
Kōichi immediately asked what document could justify such an operation.
Uchiyama identified the document as the Kagerō Scroll, an old intelligence archive containing information gathered over decades concerning multiple minor nations. Its value was not necessarily the information about one particular country, but the accumulated intelligence it contained.
Kōichi realised that whoever wanted the scroll could be seeking strategic information rather than simple financial gain. Satoru recognised that an intelligence archive of that nature could potentially expose old Konoha operations, alliances, weaknesses, and intelligence networks.
Uchiyama explained that he had discovered what the attackers were searching for before they found him. He had managed to hide the Kagerō Scroll. The attackers eventually realised that he knew more than he should, and Uchiyama believed they may have realised that he had memorised portions of its contents. Kōichi became more serious; the mission was no longer simply an investigation into missing caravans. They may have stumbled into an intelligence operation involving valuable information.
Kōichi ordered Uchiyama to retrieve the document. Uchiyama crawled toward a section of the cellar wall and removed a loose stone from a hollowed section. Hidden inside was a thick, water-stained cylinder. He carefully removed it, revealing brittle parchment containing the Kagerō Scroll. The scroll had clearly been stored there for some time, protected as well as Uchiyama could manage.
Satoru activated his Sharingan and scanned the scroll quickly rather than reading it normally. His photographic memory allowed him to commit key sections and identifying details to memory. He recognised several categories of intelligence and realised that the archive was genuinely valuable. However, he deliberately avoided getting distracted by analysis; their immediate problem was extraction, not studying the scroll. Kōichi noticed Satoru's ability to absorb information rapidly but did not question him about it yet.
Kōichi made the tactical assessment. They had found the informant, recovered the stolen intelligence, confirmed hostile shinobi activity, and discovered evidence of sophisticated chakra-thread techniques. There was no reason to remain in the settlement. He ordered immediate evacuation; they would not wait for dawn, investigate further, or take unnecessary risks. The mission had shifted from investigation to extraction.
Shōta gave Uchiyama basic medical attention, and the team wrapped him in a spare cloak to protect him from the cold. Kōichi positioned the squad for extraction, his commands quiet, his movements precise. Satoru remained alert, remembering the strange disturbance he had sensed earlier. He still did not know whether it was an actual warning or an artefact of the settlement's residual chakra network. His uncertainty remained in the back of his mind.
The team climbed out of the cellar, and the atmosphere had changed. Night had fully settled over the settlement, and the forest was unnaturally silent. No birds, no insects, no ordinary wildlife movement. Satoru immediately recognised that something was wrong. Ayame stopped as well, her tracking instincts registering the same abnormality.
Then something spoke.
A voice came from beyond the treeline, light, amused, and completely unconcerned. It addressed them as "little leaves." Kōichi immediately signalled everyone to halt. Satoru's Sharingan activated, his gaze searching the treeline, but he initially could not identify the speaker.
A figure stepped out from the darkness. He wore the unmistakable black cloak with red clouds. His appearance contrasted with the seriousness of the situation; wiry build, wild hair, grinning expression, and fingers constantly twitching like spider legs.
Kōichi immediately recognised him. The figure was introduced as Renga, known as Takigakure's "Thread Demon." He identified Renga as someone he had known from their Chūnin Exam days. Renga recalled the same event with amusement, pointing out that Kōichi had reached the finals while he had not. His casual attitude suggested that he had been following Kōichi's career or remembered him clearly. Kōichi refused to engage in the conversation; his focus remained entirely on getting his team and Uchiyama out alive.
Kōichi immediately ordered the squad to fall back. The command followed the mission's original restriction; do not engage a superior force. Satoru recognised that Kōichi had already judged Renga to be too dangerous to fight casually. The squad prepared to withdraw with Uchiyama. For one brief moment, it appeared that they might escape.
Then the environment changed. Kunai whipped out of the undergrowth, invisible chakra threads propelling and redirecting the weapons. Branches snapped downward like pre-set traps, and the entire forest appeared to move at once. The squad realised that Renga had not simply waited for them; he had already prepared the battlefield.
Ayame was struck in the calf by a blade. Shōta immediately reacted, but the situation prevented him from treating her properly. Tetsuya attempted to protect the group with Wind Release, his attack deflecting several incoming weapons. However, threads immediately wrapped around his wrists, and his hands were violently pulled apart while he was forming seals. His Wind Release was disrupted before he could complete another technique. Kōichi realised that the enemy was controlling the battlefield rather than simply attacking them directly.
Satoru activated his Sharingan fully, and his perception changed. What appeared to be empty air suddenly contained faint lines of chakra. He saw silver-like chakra threads crossing through the forest, dozens of them, then hundreds. They ran between trees, through the undergrowth, around buildings, and across the paths. The geometry was chaotic to ordinary perception but disturbingly organized through his Sharingan. He realised the entire forest had effectively been turned into a weapon.
Renga's voice echoed from multiple directions, his position difficult to determine. His mocking tone remained calm. He repeated Kōichi's own order in a threatening manner: "You heard your captain. Run." The statement made it clear that Renga knew exactly what Kōichi had ordered. The team realised that he was not merely watching them; he was manipulating their movements.
Satoru studied the threads through his Sharingan rather than immediately attempting to attack them. He noticed something deeply wrong. The threads were not merely connected to traps and weapons; they extended through the surrounding forest in a structured network. Small chakra vibrations travelled through them, and every movement by the squad created a response. Renga had effectively created a sensory network from his threads.
He realised the full extent of their predicament. Renga did not need to see them; he did not need conventional sensory perception. The threads told him where everyone was. He could track their movements through the network. Satoru realised that Renga likely knew their positions down to their smallest movements, and potentially even their heartbeats.
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