The next morning, Senmai Asahi, together with Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai, found a merchant caravan preparing to set sail for the Land of Water. According to their intelligence, the merchant ship would depart within five hours.
Sneaking into the Land of Water via a merchant convoy had been Asahi's plan from the very beginning. As he stood at the edge of the bustling port, watching dockworkers load sacks of grain and crates of goods onto the vessel, his eyes remained sharp and calculating.
"Asahi, are we really taking a merchant ship into the Land of Water?" Kurenai asked hesitantly, her brows furrowed with concern.
The Land of Water, being an archipelago nation, was only accessible by sea. In times of war, every ship entering its waters was thoroughly inspected by Kirigakure's sensory-nin and military patrols. Disguises and Transformation Jutsu were rarely effective against the trained sensors of the Blood Mist. If they were discovered mid-voyage or upon arrival, their chances of survival would plummet.
But Asahi had no intention of boarding the ship.
"Of course not." he replied calmly. "I'm only using the cargo to mark a coordinate for Flying Thunder God Technique. Once the ship passes inspection and enters the Land of Water safely, I'll use the jutsu to teleport all of us to the destination. It should take about seven days for the vessel to reach the mainland. We just wait here until then."
Kurenai blinked, then a smile bloomed on her lips. "That's… really convenient."
"That's the power of preparation." Asahi replied. "Now then, I'm going to place the marker. You two stay on lookout."
"Understood." Asuma said, pulling his hood up and slipping into the shadows with practiced ease.
Quiet as whispers on the wind, the three of them crept toward the cargo zone. Asahi found a large wooden crate filled with rice bags and discreetly etched the seal formula onto its underside using chakra-infused ink. To avoid detection, he layered the seal with a secondary concealment barrier. Unless someone specifically searched for chakra anomalies, it would go unnoticed.
Eight days later.
Asahi crouched in the foliage near a desolate cliff facing the ocean, the wind ruffling his cloak. The merchant vessel had docked successfully in a Kirigakure-controlled port. The moment had come.
"Ready?" he asked his teammates.
Asuma nodded, his knuckles clenched in anticipation.
Kurenai's eyes hardened with resolve.
"Let's move."
Asahi placed a hand on each of their shoulders, and with a flicker of light—fwoosh!—they vanished.
In the blink of an eye, they rematerialized within a dense forest near the caravan's unloading area. The surrounding terrain was humid, filled with the distant cries of seabirds and the scent of salt.
"Do it!" Asahi ordered sharply.
Without hesitation, he surged forward and drove his fist into the throat of the nearest merchant guard, snapping his neck with a crack. The man collapsed wordlessly.
Asuma and Kurenai leapt into action, kunai drawn, taking on the remaining enemies.
This was no ordinary trading party. Four Kirigakure ninja had been assigned as escorts, and though the merchants themselves were non-combatants, their cargo—grain, dried meat, and dried seaweed—would feed both Kirigakure soldiers and civilians. Leaving it untouched would only prolong the war.
Asahi spun, hurling a pair of kunai at two merchants attempting to flee. The blades struck true—thud! thud!—and the men slumped to the ground.
One of the Kirigakure ninja finally responded, drawing his sword and lunging.
Asahi ducked beneath the swing, vanished with a burst of light, and reappeared behind the enemy in a flash—zing!—driving a kunai into his throat with brutal precision.
"Ninjas from Konoha!?" one of the Kiri-nin shouted in alarm. "How did they get here so suddenly!?"
Another shouted, "He teleported! Is he the Yellow Flash!?"
"No! He doesn't have yellow hair! This is someone else… he must be Senmai Asahi! Rumor has it he also mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"Oh? My reputation made it this far?" Asahi smirked, cracking his neck. "I'm flattered."
"You bastard!" growled a particularly tall Mist-nin. "I'll gut you and leave you bleeding in the sand!"
Just as he lunged toward Asahi, his movements slowed, eyes unfocused—Kurenai had silently slipped him into an illusion.
*Shing!*
Asuma appeared at his side like a wraith and slashed the man's throat. Blood spurted, and the giant crumpled.
Asahi nodded approvingly. Their teamwork had come a long way. Despite Asuma's inexperience, his timing was impeccable when paired with Kurenai's genjutsu.
"I'm starting to doubt the reputation of the Bloody Mist." Asuma chuckled darkly, wiping his blade. "Didn't your instructors teach you to never lower your guard before finishing the kill? You disappoint your sensei."
A sudden barrage of shuriken flew toward Asahi and Asuma. At the same moment, another Kirigakure ninja launched a surprise attack on Kurenai from the trees, kunai aimed for her throat.
But the target he struck wasn't Kurenai—it was a crumbling earth clone, rigged with six shuriken and several explosive tags.
*BOOM!!!*
The shockwave rattled the trees. Flames surged upward, lighting up the forest with an orange glow.
When the smoke cleared, the assailant was lying broken on the ground, his body shredded by shrapnel and burns, blood oozing from multiple wounds. The real Kurenai stepped out from cover, unscathed.
"Another genius from the Blood Mist." Asuma mocked. "Did you even attend the academy?"
"Alright, let's wrap this up." Asahi ordered. "No point wasting time."
"Roger that!" Asuma replied and dashed forward to deal with the last remaining Kiri-nin, kunai gleaming under the morning sun.
The final enemy was strong, but not strong enough. Asuma overwhelmed him after a short scuffle, delivering a finishing blow that left the man's lifeless body slumped against a cart.
Asahi exhaled slowly. The mission's first phase was complete. All four Kiri-nin were dead, and the caravan had been neutralized.
"Let's search the goods." he instructed.
The three of them approached the wagons and began opening crates and sacks.
"Rice, seaweed, dried fish… nothing but food." Kurenai reported.
"Same here." Asahi said as he flipped open another crate.
"What should we do with all this?" Kurenai asked, frowning.
"We can't take it back, and if we leave it, it'll just be used by Kirigakure. Burn everything." Asahi said firmly.
*****
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