On the road toward Kawanokawa Province, three figures moved steadily along the dusty trail — a boy with spiky black "pineapple" hair, a striking girl with a long white-and-gold ponytail, and a round, easygoing companion. They were Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chōji — the Ino–Shika–Chō trio of Team 10.
After receiving a new mission, the three decided they needed to speak with Elder He Yan of the caravan they were escorting. Even if a new assignment had come in, abandoning their current clients without explanation wasn't the way of a Konoha Shinobi.
When they returned to the makeshift encampment, the caravan was lively as ever. People in colorful traditional clothing sat around a large fire — some chatting, others playing instruments similar to horse-head fiddles, while children chased each other nearby. A few women flattened dough cakes, and several elders hummed folk tunes as younger performers danced.
A red-nosed old man emerged from the crowd and greeted them warmly.
"Why the troubled faces?"
"I need to discuss something with you," Shikamaru replied, glancing around the camp. "No matter how I look at it… your group feels more like travelers than merchants."
"Hahaha! You noticed." The old man laughed heartily. "We travel with the seasons, trade as we go. Many call us the wandering folk."
He gestured for them to enter a nearby tent. "Alright, come in. Speak freely."
Shikamaru laid out the situation, the mission update, and the dilemma. After a long conversation, a decision was reached:
Shikamaru would head to the mission site alone, while Ino and Chōji continued escorting the caravan.
Since the caravan was also traveling toward the outskirts of Sunagakure, regrouping later would be simple.
Southern Wind Country – The Next Morning
By sunrise, Shikamaru had already reached the southern region of the Land of Wind. As he approached the area, several armored knights suddenly ambushed him.
They were strong, but not nearly enough.
With his sharp mind and calm precision, Shikamaru slipped out of their pursuit effortlessly, using shadows and terrain to evade them and then follow them from behind.
"Matching the intel from the last mission… these guys are probably the ones behind the attack on the shinobi."
Tracking them, Shikamaru noticed their march was headed in the same direction as his assigned destination — the field base.
Just as he left a narrow valley, the ground suddenly trembled.
A massive moving fortress emerged before his eyes.
It towered like a man-made mountain, its structure flat and broad, its surface a solid white. Strange machinery pushed the fortress forward, venting bursts of white steam from hidden exhausts.
"…How much chakra or fuel does it take to move something this colossal…?"
He watched the knights he'd followed enter through a rear cargo gate. Shikamaru quickly performed the Transformation Technique, adopting their appearance and slipping in behind them.
"This must be their base of operations."
Inside, the fortress was a labyrinth. Shikamaru silently observed troop movement patterns, pathways, and structural layout, gathering intel while blending in with the knights' stiff, mechanical marching.
When the formation branched toward a warehouse, Shikamaru slipped down a different corridor.
"Tch. These hallways are a nightmare to navigate."
As he walked, a flicker of light in the distance caught his attention. He cloaked his presence and approached carefully.
Through a reinforced window, he spotted a large chamber housing a strange metal device wrapped in glowing glass orbs.
"…Wait."
Looking closely, Shikamaru realized they weren't just glowing spheres.
They were tanks — each filled with liquid — and inside each one floated a small, unconscious child.
His breath tightened.
"They're using children… for experiments?"
A surge of anger rose in his chest.
Just then, two armored women entered the chamber. The one in front — a woman with yellow-brown hair in purple armor — angrily kicked a lever and twisted a circular handle. The fluid inside the tanks drained rapidly.
"How long do we have to babysit these brats?" she muttered irritably.
The woman behind her — taller, more composed — replied coldly,
"Once we obtain a Greer Stone, they'll be useless. Endure it a little longer."
"I know that already, Camilla! It just pisses me off!"
Ranka slammed another lever. The drained fluid gathered into a large container, bubbling violently. From the mixture, grotesque fleshy spheres formed — then shot through a tube into a distant hall.
Moments later, the flesh balls hardened and unfolded into several armored warriors.
"So that's how these knights are being created…"
Shikamaru's shock lasted a split-second — just long enough for his chakra signature to slip.
"Huh? Someone's here!"
Ranka and Camilla rushed toward the hallway — but Shikamaru had already melted into the shadows, suppressing his presence once more.
"An illusion…?"
"…Probably just nerves. Let's report the fluctuations to Lord Hyde."
As the two armored women walked off, their footsteps fading down the corridor, Nara Shikamaru rested a hand under his chin, deep in thought.
"So those puppet knights really were the ones who attacked the shinobi. And since they're artificially manufactured… that means the two women mentioned earlier — Lord Hyde must be the one pulling the strings behind all this."
With that conclusion, Shikamaru quietly wove another Transformation Technique, disguising himself once more before trailing after them.
Along the way, he pieced together more intelligence:
These people knew nothing about chakra or ninjutsu. Instead, they relied entirely on an energy source called Greer. Most high-ranking personnel here had been physically transformed by Greer's power, their bodies altered in unnatural ways.
Shikamaru lowered himself onto a ceiling beam, flattening his chakra to suppress his presence. Through a narrow gap, he peered down into a lavish audience hall.
There, the two rebellious female knights knelt before a man whose appearance did not match his reputation.
"So that's Hyde."
The man wore a long white robe and a blue cloak draped over his shoulders. His medium brown hair tucked neatly beneath a blue top hat, and a monocle rested over one eye, giving him an elegant, almost scholarly air.
But beneath that composed façade, Shikamaru felt something twisted — a subtle, oily malice poorly hidden behind a gentle expression.
"Do not worry," Hyde said softly. "Everything remains under my control."
He rose from his throne and approached a tall standing window, hands clasped behind his back as he gazed into the distance.
"I've already sent Tissim and Wind to track down that wandering caravan. We should receive news soon."
"…Caravan?" Shikamaru felt a sharp jolt in his chest. "He means Elder He Yan…"
True caravans were rare nowadays — most merchants used space-gate transport. Groups like Elder He Yan's, who remained faithful to tradition, were easy to single out once one understood the pattern.
Hyde continued calmly, mentioning the recent Sand Shinobi attack. Then he gestured toward the two knights kneeling before him.
"You two will go there and investigate. Test their combat capabilities while you're at it."
"Yes, Lord Hyde!"
Camilla and Ranka bowed deeply, then turned and departed.
As their silhouettes disappeared, Shikamaru's gaze settled on Hyde, now standing alone and unguarded.
The idea flickered across his mind:
Should I take him down right now?
He tightened his hands. It would be the fastest way to end this whole operation.
But—
…No.
A cold sensation crawled up his spine — his sixth sense, the intuition he trusted more than anything, screamed danger.
If he attacked now… he would die.
Shikamaru exhaled slowly, easing away from the ceiling beam. After gathering every scrap of useful intelligence, he withdrew silently into the fortress' shadows.
It was time to return… and regroup with Team 10.