"Where is this place?"
Baki looked at the tall buildings lined up in rows, his eyes filled with disbelief. The prosperity of the Land of Rōran was even greater than that of the Sand Village.
Especially within the borders of Rōran, it felt like a rare oasis in the middle of the desert.
There was a huge difference between what they saw outside and what it was like inside. Even though they had already assumed Rōran was strong, now that they were actually here, it was clear they had still underestimated its development.
"That was fast. Their defenses are this tight?"
Kagetsu suddenly looked off into the distance. His memory of this place was a bit hazy—he only vaguely remembered that the power of the Ryūmyaku vein here could affect space and time. But what he was sensing now truly surprised him.
"What is it?" Baki followed Kagetsu's gaze and looked into the distance. A few black dots were quickly approaching from above.
In just a blink, they could see what those black dots were—puppet-like constructs with round bodies and wooden limbs.
They charged in aggressively from the sky, their mechanical parts already exposed and ready for battle. There was no hesitation in their approach. Clearly, they had already detected the presence of intruders.
"A barrier," Itachi said softly, recalling the slight unusual sensation he'd felt earlier.
No one expected that this small country would have something like a barrier technique—something usually only found in the Great Ninja Villages!
To be blunt, barrier jutsu is as rare and valuable as sealing techniques. Especially a large-scale sensory-type barrier like this—only a major village would have the resources and skilled shinobi to create something like it.
Because the requirements are extremely high. It takes a team of skilled shinobi proficient in sealing, sensory jutsu, and various other arts, plus a huge amount of time and resources to build one.
This was a group-based ninjutsu that could only be realistically used by a village with a complete and well-developed talent training system.
Roran was just a small country. Although their queen might possess some kind of mysterious power, no matter how you looked at it, they couldn't be compared to a large shinobi village like Sunagakure.
As for the rogue ninja—according to Baki's mission report, he was just a talented shinobi who was close to jonin level.
Logically speaking, setting up a sensory barrier large enough to cover all of Roran wasn't something a mere rogue ninja could pull off by accident. It definitely wasn't simple.
"Since we've been discovered, let's run a test."
Kagetsu didn't plan to leave right away. He gave Itachi and Asuma a look. The two instantly understood, pulled out their weapons from their pouches, and charged at the enemy in sync, arms forming a V-shape.
"Careful! That should be Puppet Technique: Clay Doll Theater. They're tough to deal with because of their undead-like nature. Don't get caught up fighting them—find the puppet master!"
Baki shouted a warning as Itachi and Asuma rushed forward. Of course, he didn't say something like, "If you can't find the controller, retreat immediately."
He figured Kagetsu had already considered that. Since Kagetsu chose to act, he clearly had a plan and the confidence to get everyone out safely.
Baki didn't move to follow. He'd noticed that Kagetsu was keeping a close eye on him.
"I can explain," Baki said after a short pause. He didn't try to escape from the shadow that connected his feet to Kagetsu's. Knowing that he could lose control at any moment, he forced a bitter smile and raised his hands in surrender.
"You've hidden a lot of details about this mission. That's not something an ally should do," Kagetsu said softly to Baki, while watching the battle unfolding in the distance.
He didn't actually intend to attack Baki—his posture was only meant to make Baki understand the seriousness of the situation and stop hiding things.
"This isn't a good place to talk," Baki replied, glancing at another wave of clay puppets rapidly rushing toward them, a tense look on his face.
"Fighting them is meaningless. If we can't find the puppeteer controlling them, these puppets will just keep regenerating thanks to the chakra flowing through them. Once you're dragged into battle, more and more of them will swarm you."
And Baki wasn't lying. Itachi and Asuma had already destroyed several of the puppets, but they quickly reformed and even began to work together with surprising coordination, gradually reducing the space the two had to dodge and move.
In terms of actual combat strength, each of these puppets could be considered at least Chunin level.
Itachi even activated his Sharingan during the fight.
After observing their strength and coordination, Kagetsu had no intention of wasting time on the puppets.
When Itachi and Asuma once again broke through a group of them, Kagetsu used the short time before they regenerated to pull both Itachi and Asuma into the shadow of a nearby building.
Then, all four of them vanished into the shadow.
The puppets, now without a target, scanned the area briefly, then rose back up into the sky.
…
Underground, beneath a tall tower.
In a large, dark, and empty hall, countless images flickered on the walls like projections. A closer look revealed that the scenes were of various locations throughout the Land of Roran.
In the center of the hall, a cold and grim-looking man sat upright on a chair.
Behind him stood two thin figures, and in front of him was an image showing the battle between Itachi's group and the clay puppet—and then, the image vanished.
The light from the screen shone on the man's face, casting a dark and eerie shadow across his features.
"So Sunagakure actually brought in that person? That's going to be troublesome."
The man's eyes rested on the frozen image of Kagetsu's face. He frowned slightly, but soon relaxed.
"But in the end, he's still just someone from this era. If I could obtain that man's body, my puppet techniques might reach a whole new level."
"Conveniently, I already have techniques that counter shadow-style ninjutsu."
His voice grew softer in the darkness. Once the light from the screen faded, it disappeared completely—replaced by a mechanical click sound echoing through the hall.
After that, another identical figure silently took the seat in the center.
...
"This place should be safe for now."
After being pulled out from the shadows, Kagetsu looked around. It was a space that resembled an underground drainage tunnel.
Itachi and Asuma were both surprised by the journey through the shadows. They hadn't expected that the Nara clan's shadow ninjutsu could be used in such a strange way—to hide one's presence and escape through shadows!
"Next, you should be able to reveal the information you know, right, Baki Jōnin?" Kagetsu's gaze fell on Baki's face.
****
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