A quiet breeze stirred the high branches of the forest encircling Konoha.
Crickets chirped, owls blinked from shadowy perches, and nothing seemed out of place, except the subtle flicker of chakra cloaked in sand and misdirection.
Two cloaked figures moved silently beneath the canopy, lightfooted and deliberate, their movements precise but unhurried.
Their hair, dyed a deep auburn, was the only disguise they wore, but it was enough for now.
"Careful," the chakra clone muttered, voice tinged with both caution and curiosity.
"There's something carved into the wind... a lattice."
"A sensor seal matrix," the senjutsu clone whispered.
"We're within the outer detection field."
"Can we bypass it?"
"No," the senjutsu clone spoke
"We trigger it now... or later. Better now controlled."
The moment his sandal pressed lightly into the leaf-strewn soil, a soft pulse rippled beneath their feet invisible but unmistakable.
In the trees above, the branches shivered, not from wind, but from presence.
The chakra clone narrowed his eyes.
"That was quick, We're surrounded."
In an instant, ROOT operatives emerged, black ops in form-fitting armor, faces hidden beneath emotionless masks.
Silent.
Efficient.
Deadly.
From the treetops and underbrush, a dozen or more operatives encircled the clones in a perfectly coordinated movement.
Their blades gleamed faintly in the moonlight.
Their chakra, expertly suppressed, now rose in cautious tension.
A masked elite, the apparent squad leader stepped forward.
"Identify yourselves. You're trespassing on Konoha territory."
Neither Gaara nor his clone responded.
"No aggression has been shown. Answer, and you will not be harmed."
Still silence as Gaara pondered on his choices, though his act was intentional to let himself be seen.
The chakra clone gave a small smirk.
"For a clandestine unit, you sure announce yourselves a lot."
"This is your final warning."
The clone dropped into a loose stance, chakra stirring beneath the sand at his feet.
"Then we skip the conversation."
Before the ANBU could blink, the sand on the forest floor exploded outward.
It wasn't a full offensive, just a disruption.
Vines of sand lashed out from hidden marks and glyphs planted on the forest floor during their run.
They struck with disorienting precision, not to maim, but to scatter and destabilize.
ROOT engaged instantly.
Kunai and suppressing talismans launched.
Chakra scalpels flickered to life.
The battlefield was chaos, soundless and savage.
The chakra clone, not the senjutsu one engaged with deceptive recklessness, forcing the agents into close quarters where their coordination faltered.
He twisted through their ranks, using bursts of sand as both shield and blade.
His lack of full terrain advantage was obvious; they had the high ground and the trees, but his unpredictability and clone elasticity gave him just enough edge.
Within seconds, five were down, restrained, unconscious, wrapped in quicksand coils, or slammed into bark.
He didn't kill them, however, He didn't dare.
The senjutsu clone only observed and held taut in ready guard.
But even as they made their escape deeper into the forest, the chakra clone muttered:
"That was too easy."
They ran now, not hiding but racing toward the Hokage Tower. Only speed could help them now.
Gaara's thoughts echoed: If I can reach inside the village before they surround me again, I might just have a chance at getting an audience.
And then it happened.