The four of them were disguised as a merchant caravan, traveling along a constructed road.
Calling it a "constructed road" was generous—it was merely a relatively flat dirt path. After constant rain, many sections were still muddy.
Even so, a road like this was considered fairly decent in the Land of Rain.
Although travel by carriage was difficult, it was still passable.
A single horse pulled the carriage, which was piled high with goods—real goods, at that. All of them were daily necessities for city residents.
Authenticity was the key.
Hyuga Arin sat atop the cargo and asked Murakami Hana, who was driving the carriage,
"How much intelligence do we have on the Konoha ninja?"
Murakami Hana tossed him a scroll.
"It's all written there."
Rain Tree and Yuka were sitting on either side of Hyuga Arin, and both leaned in to read the contents.
According to the intel, the Konoha team was led by a jōnin suspected to be from the Sarutobi clan, accompanied by three chūnin of unknown backgrounds.
The key point was that the leader bore the Sarutobi clan crest, while the other three showed no obvious clan traits.
Their main mission was to gather intelligence on Iwagakure and Sand Village activities within the Land of Rain.
Their focus was entirely on those two villages; as for Amegakure itself, they had chosen to ignore it.
"…Damn."
Hyuga Arin felt his luck couldn't possibly get any worse.
If he killed ordinary Konoha ninja with no background, there might still be some room to maneuver afterward.
But if a Sarutobi clan ninja died, this would turn into a major incident.
After all, the current Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was the head of the Sarutobi clan.
Konoha loved to preach that everything belonged to the village, that civilian ninja and clan ninja were treated fairly and equally.
But in reality, clan ninja clearly held higher status than civilian ninja.
Especially families tied directly to the Hokage's faction—Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane. These four clans held enormous influence in Konoha.
Strength aside, their political power alone was overwhelming.
The Sarutobi clan possessed both power and authority in abundance.
The Shimura clan had strength but lacked numbers.
As for Mitokado and Utatane—neither was impressive in combat, but with two Konoha elders backing them, they ranked among the top families regardless.
If he laid a hand on ninja from these clans, he would be completely finished.
Hyuga Arin was already considering how to return to Konoha's embrace.
"According to the intel, we'll encounter these Konoha ninja on the next stretch of road," Murakami Hana added.
That detail wasn't written in the scroll.
"So, Murakami Hana-jōnin," Hyuga Arin asked, "do you have a plan?"
Murakami Hana stroked his chin.
"A plan? Of course. We make contact first. Then, when they relax their guard, we strike and kill them."
There was no plan at all!!!
And he wanted to kill Konoha ninja like this?
He didn't even know what kind of techniques they specialized in.
Hyuga Arin thought for a moment, then said,
"How about listening to my plan?"
…
Sarutobi Shōji was leading his team along the road, their appearances lightly disguised to resemble a group of wandering ninja.
Such groups were common in the Land of Rain.
Although Sarutobi Shōji looked down on these wandering ninja—people who could only bully civilians at best—their numbers far exceeded those of proper ninja.
You could find them in almost every country.
That was why many shinobi liked to use this identity as cover.
"We'll reach the next city soon. It's close to the Land of Wind—we should be able to learn about Sand Village's movements there," Sarutobi Shōji said.
Their mission was to monitor developments in the Lands of Wind and Earth.
Besides their unit, another team had already been dispatched toward the Land of Earth.
With the international situation growing increasingly tense, close surveillance of the major powers was essential.
"I heard ninja were already sent to infiltrate Amegakure. Why did they still send us?" one of the ninja behind him complained.
They had heard rumors, but had no idea who had been sent or how.
If they knew, Hyuga Arin wouldn't be far from exposure.
"I heard the infiltrator couldn't get any useful information, so we were sent out," another chūnin replied.
Of course, these were just rumors. None of them actually knew the truth—they were only speculating.
Still, their deployment did indeed have a lot to do with Hyuga Arin.
From Hyuga Arin, Hiruko couldn't obtain any useful intelligence, and Konoha couldn't afford to just wait indefinitely.
In the end, they had dispatched reconnaissance teams.
None of this had been mentioned to Hyuga Arin by Hiruko.
"Alert!"
One of the ninja suddenly spoke up.
"Someone is approaching ahead."
The group immediately stopped chatting.
Their movements didn't change, but internally they were ready to explode into action at any moment.
They had ventured deep into the Land of Rain—combat could break out at any time.
A small merchant caravan gradually came into view ahead.
The Konoha ninja did not relax their guard in the slightest.
"You there! Who are you?" a young voice from the caravan called out.
Sarutobi Shōji carefully observed the group.
At the front was a middle-aged man in coarse cloth, his face weathered by years of hardship.
Two expressionless guards flanked the carriage.
The one speaking—a young man—sat atop the cargo, staring at them with curiosity.
They looked like a legitimate supply caravan. The Land of Rain had plenty of such groups.
There were few large merchants here; small traders were far more common.
A one-carriage transport like this wasn't unusual at all.
"We're wandering ninja passing through," Sarutobi Shōji replied.
The young man jumped down and asked curiously,
"Are you accepting employment?"
Sarutobi Shōji eyed the youth warily.
"Sorry. We're already under contract and need to reach the next city. If we finish our mission, we might consider working for you later."
The young man looked disappointed.
"Who knows when we'll meet again."
He walked back toward the cargo, clearly regretful that he couldn't hire them.
Both groups continued on their way.
Aside from the youth's disappointment, both sides remained tense, watching each other closely.
They moved parallel along the roadside, each preventing the other from making a move.
Just as the two groups drew level—
"Something's wrong!! Run!!" the sensory-type ninja suddenly shouted.
But it was already too late.
BOOM!!!
The entire carriage exploded in a violent blast.
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