The sky above Yubune had turned a dull, washed-out grey by the time they began leaving.
The village didn't stir as they passed through its narrow gates. No curious glances. No goodbyes. Just shuttered windows and the faint smell of smoke still clinging to the rooftops. The fog was thicker than it had been the day before, curling around the wooden buildings and narrow paths like the village itself was trying to forget what had happened.
Naruto walked ahead, the unconscious Kumo shinobi carried over his shadow clone shoulders. The man was tightly bound with wire thread, chakra suppression cuffs sealed around both wrists, and a paralysis tag freshly reapplied to the back of his neck. They'd triple-checked everything before leaving.
Even so, he glanced back every now and then.
He didn't trust silence anymore.
Nejire kept pace beside him. She hadn't said much since morning. Her movements were clean—controlled—but Naruto could tell she was still feeling it. Her stiffened shoulders, bandages still wrapping her forearm, though her posture was still—upright, with sharp focus that the Hyuga's seemed to carry.
Her Byakugan pulsing now and then, scanning their flanks.
Behind them, Shikako walked in measured steps, a few paces off-center. Her hands staying close to her weapon pouches. She wasn't dragging her feet like she usually did. Every so often, she muttered something under her breath and tapped her fingers—a habit Naruto had learned meant she was running simulations in her head. Worst-case plans. Contingencies.
She hadn't said a thing since last night.
The road east from Yubune narrowed after a few kilometers, the fog thinning just enough for the trees to loom clearer in the distance. It had rained the night before, so the trail was soft and quiet beneath their steps.
Naruto's boots leaving deep prints in the mud.
By midday, they stopped at a shaded spot near a stream to drink and rest. The prisoner propped against a tree and resealed—again. Shikako watched while as Naruto checked the man's vitals, but there was no movement. No chakra flaring. Just slow, shallow breathing.
They had their lunch quietly, rice ball with pickles, something that Shikako had picked last night for the travel.
The only sound for a while was the low bubbling of the stream nearby.
Then, Nejire spoke softly. "They knew where I'd be."
Naruto didn't look up. He already knew what she meant.
"They waited until I was alone," Nejire said. "Timed it almost perfectly."
"They weren't improvising," Shikako added, her voice flat. "They were coordinated. Clean formations. Minimum chatter. The kind of discipline you only see in elite shinobi."
Nejire looked down at her hands. "I kept thinking… maybe I could've done something more. Reacted faster."
Naruto shook his head. "You held them off until I got there. That's more than enough."
"They weren't trying to kill me, that's what gets to me" she said.
"They wanted to abduct me for my clan's bloodline." She continued her voice somber. "They weren't in a rush. It wasn't just about speed or silence. They were confident. Like they'd done it before."
Shikako stood, brushing crumbs off her lap. "They've definitely tried it before."
No one said Hinata's name. They didn't have to.
Naruto stood up, and checked the straps on the prisoner. "Let's continue moving."
They traveled until the sun dipped behind the trees. At night, Naruto suggested they made camp near a river bend. The fire lit small and smokeless. Shikako placed seal tags around the perimeter—her own design, silent tripwires that would react to chakra movement without flashing.
He sat against a tree, checking the bindings again. Nejire sat beside the fire, her expression unreadable.
"You didn't hold back," she said, watching him.
He didn't look at her. "Didn't even have time to think."
"That wasn't just instinct," she said after a moment. "You were cold, focused and brutal. And your chakra it felt… odd like your eyes."
Naruto's hands paused. He didn't respond right away.
"Something's changed," she said, softer now. "Neither your chakra nor your eyes seems like what it did during Chunin Exams."
He stayed silent for moment, then started. "I think it's tied to my clan. A bloodline ability maybe, something related to chakra. I don't know completely yet."
Nejire didn't press. But she continued thinking.
They didn't speak again after that.
When the fire burned down, Shikako took first watch, silent and alert under the stars. Naruto drifted off against the tree. Nejire didn't sleep right away. She just lay back and watched the sky, tracing constellations with her eyes like they might tell her something she hadn't already figured out.
The second day continued to be quieter. The air warmed slightly as they entered Fire Country terrain. Trees grew farther apart, and birdcalls returned to the canopy above.
Around midday, the forest opened into a proper road—and there, rising just beyond a stretch of trees, were the walls of Konoha.
Shikako broke the silence that been present since morning. "Finally home."
Nejire gave a faint, tired nod. "Almost."
Two ANBU emerged from the trees as they neared the southern checkpoint—masked, cloaked, and silent. They didn't ask them any questions. Certainly already knowing the details.
Naruto lowered the prisoner gently on the ground. "He's stable but unconscious due to paralysis seal."
The ANBU inspected the tags and cuffs in silence. After a brief nod, they secured the unconscious shinobi sealing him with chakra-locks bearing the Hokage's insignia.
"The Hokage wants you at the tower," one of them said. "Now."
Shikako raised an eyebrow. "No rest first?"
"You're expected urgently."
Naruto adjusted the hitai-ate around his bicep, and looked to his teammates.
Konoha buzzed around them like it always did. Civilians bartering for fruits and vegetables. Children racing through alleys. Genins shouting at each other. Nothing had changed.
As soon as they entered the Hokage lobby through tower's hallway, the voice from office called out, "Send them in," Team 11 stepped forward—together.