Disgusting spiders.
Clad in the sleek combat garb of Konoha's Anbu, four figures darted through the forest. At the rear, Aono Unkan muttered this complaint to himself.
For some reason, the forest teemed with more spiders than usual today. Was it his imagination?
Once this mission's done, I'm soaking in the hot springs to wash this filth away.
If every ninja were polled on their most hated creature, spiders would likely top the list.
For long-distance travel, ninjas moved fastest by weaving through the forest canopy.
Beyond the tangle of branches, spiderwebs were the greatest obstacle.
The Anbu's specialized armor left the shoulders exposed, and the sensation of sticky webbing clinging to bare skin—impossible to shake off—was maddening.
After every mission, Aono Unkan would scrape a wad of spider silk from his body and rinse off half a dozen spiders in the bath. Hardly a new occurrence.
If he could, he'd eradicate every spider in the world.
But that was impossible.
In this forest-rich world, spiders were likely second only to ants in sheer mass, their webs and watchful eyes blanketing nearly every inch of land.
Suddenly, the lead Anbu halted on a sturdy branch. The three behind him, including Aono Unkan, stopped instantly.
"That mountain ahead is the bandits' stronghold," the leader said. "Our primary objective is to gather intelligence on this group. Here's the plan."
Under the command of Kakashi, the elite Anbu, the team split into pairs. Aono Unkan would follow Kakashi to infiltrate the bandit camp from the front, while the other two approached from the rear.
With the plan outlined, Kakashi tucked away the map and issued a final warning.
"These bandits likely include a ninja skilled in genjutsu. If you encounter them, avoid direct confrontation. Our mission is intelligence, nothing more."
"Disperse!"
Four shadows split, darting in opposite directions.
Though they'd entered the bandits' territory, Kakashi, at the front, remained lost in thought, recalling the Third Hokage's words.
"Kakashi, this mission is exceptionally difficult."
The Third Hokage had lit his pipe while assigning the task—a rare act, signaling his inner conflict.
"It's said the bandits have a powerful genjutsu-using ninja, correct?" Kakashi had asked, kneeling before the Hokage's shadowed figure.
"Yes." The Third nodded. "I considered the possibility of a ninja among them when assigning this task. That's why I sent Shinko Aburame, newly promoted to chūnin, with two genin to handle it. But I miscalculated."
"What about Shinko Aburame? How is he now?" Gathering intelligence before a mission was Kakashi's habit.
"He's under the medical team's care, but…" The Hokage turned to the window, his voice heavy. "It's an extraordinarily potent genjutsu."
"Even at such a distance from the caster, the genjutsu persists. Our elite genjutsu specialists can't dispel it with standard methods."
"It's truly rare."
Kakashi noted the Hokage's word rare, not unheard of. The Third clearly had suspicions about the genjutsu's origin.
"This mission will be dangerous. Prioritize your safety."
"Yes, sir."
The bandits called themselves the "Bandit Nation," claiming ambitions to build a rogue state. In truth, they were little more than a marauding gang, pillaging and burning as they went.
According to the client's intel, the group numbered no more than fifty, with no known ninjas among them. The mission had been classified as a C-rank extermination task.
Such missions were typically assigned to an experienced genin team. Even the strongest ordinary human couldn't match a chakra-wielding ninja.
But the Third had escalated it, assigning a team led by a chūnin—likely to test Shinko Aburame's leadership.
No one expected the bandits to include a ninja, likely a jōnin, who defeated Shinko's team, capturing two genin and letting only the chūnin escape.
That was Aono Unkan's analysis of the mission.
Now, their team boasted four Konoha Anbu.
The minimum requirement for Anbu was chūnin-level skill, but full members were at least special jōnin. Kakashi, the prodigy leading them, was an elite jōnin at just fifteen, already an Anbu captain.
Three jōnin plus a genius jōnin against one? The odds were overwhelmingly in their favor.
So why was Kakashi so cautious, meticulously scouting the bandit camp's sealed gates?
Aono Unkan just wanted to finish this mission, shake off the spiders crawling on him the whole way, and be rid of the irritation.
"We're clear. Let's move."
Kakashi completed his reconnaissance around the camp's entrance, finding no sentries or traps.
That wasn't normal.
The bandits had just been attacked by Konoha ninjas, with one escaping. How could they be so unguarded? Weren't they worried about retaliation?
Despite his doubts, Kakashi led Aono Unkan, leaping from a towering tree into the bandit camp.
The moment they landed, they spotted a body at their feet.
A corpse sprawled beneath the wooden palisade.
Aono Unkan knelt to examine it, turning the body over. A single slash marked the throat.
"The fatal wound's here. Looks like a ninja's kunai."
Kakashi nodded, but his attention lingered on the corpse itself.
Judging it human by limbs and head alone would be careless.
By its attire, it was clearly a bandit, but the body was grotesque.
Its head was utterly hairless—not naturally bald, but as if the hair had fallen away. The face was disturbingly vague, thin lips and a flattened nose, mere slits and hollows, lacking any depth.
The skin was also out of ordinary.
Its texture wasn't human, segmented like fish scales, each piece the size of a fingernail. Under the moonlight, the pale "scales" shimmered faintly.
And then there was the slime.
A pool of viscous liquid seeped into the soil beneath the body, still wet. As Aono Unkan turned the corpse, fine strands of ooze stretched from its side.
Kakashi looked up. Dozens of similar corpses lay scattered across the camp, twisted and strewn in the moonlight.
(End of Chapter)