Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

The squad traveled faster than expected. Setting out from Konoha, they traversed the heartland of the Land of Fire, crossed the border, and entered the Land of Grass. This leg of the journey took just over two days, nearly a full day ahead of schedule.

Upon arriving in the Land of Grass, the team became much more cautious.

Sarutobi Asuma took the lead, one hand resting on the hilt of his ninja blade, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. Yuhi Kurenai followed closely behind, her arms hanging naturally at her sides, fingers slightly curled and ready to weave signs at a moment's notice. Might Guy brought up the rear, his body leaning slightly forward, weight on the balls of his feet, prepared to strike at any second.

Hatake Kakashi walked in the middle of the formation with Haruno Sakura by his side.

However, the resistance they anticipated never materialized.

The Land of Grass appeared completely unfortified. They hadn't encountered a single ninja along the way. The villages lining the road were quiet, and the people working in the fields were ordinary civilians, not shinobi.

It wasn't until they reached the outskirts of Kusagakure that they finally spotted enemy ninja.

The squad halted within a dense mountain forest.

The forest wasn't large, but the trees grew thick, their intertwining branches and leaves completely blotting out the sky.

Crouching behind a large boulder, Asuma signaled to the others behind him.

Everyone immediately crouched, concealing themselves behind trees and bushes. No one spoke, and no one made a sound. The only noise was the rustling of the wind sweeping through the leaves.

Asuma lowered his voice. "Stay alert."

His gaze swept over each member of the team.

"Hinata, use your Byakugan to scout the area."

Hyuga Hinata nodded.

She stood up, brought her hands together in a seal, and briefly closed her eyes before snapping them open. Veins bulged around her eyes, stretching from the corners to her temples.

Her vision pierced through the trees and rocks, locking onto Kusagakure in the distance. After a few seconds, she spoke. "Asuma-sensei, there are thirty ninja inside Kusagakure."

Her voice was soft but perfectly clear.

"Among them, nine possess chakra levels equivalent to a Jonin."

The expressions of the others shifted.

Nine Jonin.

For their small squad, that was a significant amount of pressure.

A total force of thirty ninja made the situation even more complicated.

Kakashi narrowed his right eye slightly, remaining silent. His mind raced, calculating their odds of victory if a conflict broke out.

Asuma took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He turned his head to look at Inuzuka Kiba.

"Kiba, check for any changes in the scents around us."

Kiba nodded.

Crouching on the ground, he gave a soft grunt to Akamaru, and immediately his nose began to twitch. A moment later, he let out a low sound.

"There are no unusual scents in the environment," Kiba reported. "No unfamiliar ninja, and no smell of explosive tags."

Asuma nodded, then turned to Aburame Shino.

"Shino, use your parasitic insects to scout the perimeter."

Shino didn't speak; he merely nodded.

His body shifted slightly, and a faint rustling came from his collar and cuffs. Several black insects crawled out from beneath his clothes. They were tiny, no larger than a fingernail, their dark carapaces glinting in the sunlight.

The bugs crawled down his body, spreading across the ground, up the trees, and into the air. They scattered in every direction, moving swiftly until they vanished into the forest in the blink of an eye.

Shino closed his eyes, his fingers twitching slightly as if sensing something.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes.

"No unusual chakra reactions. There are no ambushes within a two-mile radius."

Asuma breathed a faint sigh of relief.

His brow remained furrowed, but his grip on his sword hilt loosened slightly. He cast one last glance toward Kusagakure before turning back to the group.

"Everyone, it's not safe here. We're taking a detour."

The team murmured their agreement.

No one voiced any objections, and no one asked why.

They all knew that a hidden village with thirty ninja—nine of them Jonin—was not something their squad could afford to provoke. Their mission was to retrieve Uzumaki Naruto, not start a war with Kusagakure.

The squad began to move again.

Instead of heading toward Kusagakure, they took a wide detour, circling around the southern edge of the village. Their footsteps were swift and light, minimizing any noise. Everyone maintained absolute silence; no one spoke, no one coughed, and even their breathing was muffled.

It took them nearly an hour to completely bypass Kusagakure's territory.

Then, they continued their trek westward.

At the same time, inside Kusagakure.

Three people sat around a low table in an ordinary house.

A tall man sat by the window, a cup of tea resting near his hand. The tea had gone cold, but he hadn't taken a sip. His eyes gazed out the window, looking past the streets and houses, settling on the distant mountain forest.

He narrowed his eyes slightly before pulling his gaze back.

"It's a squad from Konoha."

His voice was calm.

"They must have sensed the chakra of the others in the village and decided to detour."

A woman sat across from him, holding a cloth as she wiped down a short sword. The blade was polished, gleaming with a cold light in the sun. Hearing the tall man's words, she paused her movements.

"Should we go after them?"

Her tone was casual, as if asking about something trivial.

A short man sat on the other side, arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed as if dozing off. At the woman's question, he spoke without opening his eyes.

"No need."

His voice was flat.

"Since they didn't show themselves, we don't need to bother. Just pretend we didn't see them."

The tall man nodded.

"Agreed. Just send a report back. We don't need to worry about what happens over there."

The woman nodded without further argument.

She set down her short sword and began weaving hand signs. Slapping her hand against the floor, a puff of white smoke erupted with a heavy thud.

When the smoke cleared, a small animal sat on the floor.

It was a tiny mouse, no bigger than a palm, with gray fur, black eyes, and a long tail. It scurried onto the woman's hand, stopped, and looked up at her.

The woman immediately unrolled a tiny scroll, no longer than a finger. She jotted down the intelligence with a pen, tied the scroll to the mouse's leg, and patted its head.

The mouse squeaked twice before vanishing in another puff of white smoke.

The tall man looked out the window again, his gaze fixed on the distant forest.

"Those Konoha ninja are probably going to fall into despair once they get there."

His voice was soft, almost like he was muttering to himself.

The woman chuckled lightly.

"No kidding."

Her tone carried a hint of gloating.

"I heard that thing Lord Taiga created has already started growing rapidly. It won't be long before the environment here changes along with it."

She paused.

"And we'll get to reap the benefits."

The short man opened his eyes and shot her a look.

"Enough. Stop talking about that."

His voice was flat.

"Let the Konoha ninja come. It has nothing to do with us."

The woman pursed her lips and fell silent.

The tall man didn't speak again either.

He turned around, picked up his cold cup of tea, took a sip, and set it back down.

The three of them returned to their own tasks, completely dismissing the arrival of the Konoha squad.

Far away from Kusagakure, Asuma led the squad at a brisk pace, his every step planted firmly on the ground. His eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, his ears perked to catch even the slightest sound.

His brow had been tightly furrowed ever since they left Kusagakure, and it hadn't relaxed once.

Walking beside him, Kurenai noticed his expression.

"What's wrong?"

Asuma remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Everyone, stay on high alert."

His voice was heavy.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Kurenai glanced at him but didn't press the issue. She knew Asuma wasn't the type to say such things without reason.

The group murmured their acknowledgment, their expressions turning grave. No one thought Asuma was overreacting.

A heavy atmosphere settled over the squad.

Behind them lay the Land of Grass; ahead was the Land of Rain.

Time slipped away quietly in this tense silence, and another three days passed.

The group finally arrived in the Land of Rain.

They crossed the border and entered its territory. The sky here hung lower than in the Land of Fire, blanketed by thick clouds, though it wasn't raining today. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, scattering across the earth like shattered gold.

The fields lining the road were abundant, the crops growing tall, dense, and vibrantly green. Irrigation canals flowed alongside the fields, the water so clear that the stones at the bottom were visible.

Asuma's brow furrowed even deeper. Everything here was far too unusual. It completely lacked the decay typical of other parts of the ninja world; instead, everything in sight seemed to be thriving.

This wasn't normal!

He quickened his pace, and the rest of the squad followed suit. They continued westward for about four hours until they reached the mountainous region outside Amegakure.

The mountains here weren't particularly tall, but they were densely packed, one peak rolling right into the next.

The squad came to a halt on the ridge of one of the mountains.

Standing at the highest point, Asuma looked ahead, and his body suddenly went rigid.

His mouth fell slightly open, his eyes widened, and his pupils shrank.

Standing beside him, Kurenai followed his gaze.

Her expression shifted as well, morphing from calm to shock, and then to utter disbelief.

Behind them, Guy stood on his tiptoes, craning his neck to see what lay ahead.

Tears began streaming down his face again—not from being moved, but from sheer, overwhelming awe.

In the middle of the formation, Kakashi noticed their reactions and frowned. He took a few steps forward, reaching the edge of the ridge, and looked out.

His usually lazy, half-lidded eye instantly shot wide open. His pupil contracted, his eyelid twitched, and he stood completely frozen, as if pinned in place by some unseen force.

Beside him, Sakura saw it too.

Her mouth hung slightly open, her eyes wide with a complex mix of emotions.

The younger ninja all saw it as well.

Standing at the back of the group, Tenten was still holding a kunai, its edge glinting in the sunlight. As she stared ahead, the weapon slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground.

She didn't bend down to pick it up.

Her mouth was agape, her eyes wide, her pupils trembling.

Then, she finally spoke.

"What... what is that?"

Her voice was tight, dry, and trembling.

What she saw, rising from the mountains on the far side of their vision, was a tree.

The tree was massive—so massive it seemed to bridge the earth and the heavens.

Its trunk surged from the ground, shooting straight into the sky with no end in sight. Its canopy spread out in every direction, blotting out half the sky. The leaves were a deep, vibrant green, densely packed and shimmering in the sunlight.

It was taller than all the surrounding mountains, dwarfing them completely.

Looking at it from the ridge, the tree resembled a titan standing upon the earth, looking down on all creation.

The wind swept through its leaves, creating a rustling sound.

The sound drifted over from the distance—soft, remote, like the steady breathing of some colossal entity.