Kageyama Kenji wasted no time. He found a safe hiding place, a small cave concealed by a dense bamboo forest, and spent several hours in meditation, forcing his body to regenerate chakra as quickly as possible. He didn't need a full recovery. He just needed enough to execute a bold plan.
In the meantime, he mulled over the profile page on "Karasu." An expert in Genjutsu and infiltration. Rated S-class by the Stone Village. This meant Karasu was not only powerful but also extremely intelligent and cautious. Hunting such a person on his own turf was impossible. Therefore, he had to lure him onto a battlefield of Kenji's own choosing.
How do you lure a cunning crow? With a delicious bait it cannot refuse.
And that bait was Kenji himself. Or rather, the news of a wounded and desperate Kageyama Kenji, waiting to be rescued.
The plan formed in his mind, cold and precise.
Phase One: Spreading the Bait
Kenji left his hiding place, moving with clear purpose. He was no longer hiding from the Stone Village patrols. He was seeking them out. He found a two-man team, seemingly young, inexperienced Chunin.
He created a single Shadow Clone. He ordered it to injure itself, tear its clothes, and smear mud on its face to look truly pathetic. Then, the clone intentionally left a trail and ran "weakly" toward the patrol team.
"There's someone over there!" one of the Chunin shouted.
The chase was short. Kenji's clone fought listlessly, weakly, and was quickly "captured" alive. The real Kenji, watching from a distant treetop, held his breath.
"Talk! Where are your comrades?" the Chunin demanded, pressing a kunai to the clone's throat.
The clone "trembled" and "submitted." "Spare me... I'll talk... I... I have a rendezvous... with a rescue team... at Howling Wind Valley... in two days at sunset... They're going to take me back to the village..."
After extracting the information, the Stone Chunin sneered and finished off the clone. A puff of white smoke erupted.
"A clone! The bastard!" the other one cursed. "But the information could be real. A high-ranking Leaf Jounin, seriously injured, waiting for rescue at Howling Wind Valley. We have to report this immediately!"
They hurried away. The real Kenji nodded slightly. The bait had been cast. This information would be passed up the Stone Village's chain of command, and without a doubt, it would reach the ears of "Karasu." A high-value Leaf Jounin about to be rescued was a target no traitor could afford to ignore.
Phase Two: Preparing the Battlefield
Kenji immediately set off for Howling Wind Valley, a place he knew from old maps. It was a barren canyon, famous for its strong, constantly shifting winds that created whistling sounds like ghostly howls.
The chaotic sound of the wind would be his ally. It would interfere with hearing, making sound-based Genjutsu more difficult to use.
He had nearly two days. He worked without rest. He turned the entire valley into a giant trap. He strung nearly invisible ninja wire everywhere. Some threads were connected to small bells, carefully hidden in rock crevices to serve as alarms. Others were connected to net traps and kunai traps. He dug small pits, covering them with leaves. He placed shards of metal in strategic locations to create false glints of light, deceiving the eye.
This was not a lethal trap. It was an information network. For anyone who entered this valley, their every step, every touch, would send a signal to Kenji. He would be the brain, and the entire valley his nervous system.
Finally, he created two more Shadow Clones, consuming nearly all his newly recovered chakra. He ordered one clone to sit in the middle of the valley, leaning against a rock, posing as a severely injured Kenji, waiting. The other clone hid in a different location, ready for a diversionary mission.
As for the real Kenji, he concealed himself at the highest point, in a crevice on the cliff face, where he could observe the entire stage he had set.
He waited.
Time passed slowly. The wind continued to howl its mournful tune.
Then, as the sun began to sink behind the mountain peaks, painting the sky red, a figure appeared at the valley's entrance.
The person wore a black cloak that concealed them from head to toe. Their movements were light, silent, a complete contrast to the chaos of the wind. The figure stopped, observing. It seemed they sensed something was amiss.
But the bait was too tempting. The image of an incapacitated Leaf Jounin sitting motionlessly in the middle of the valley was an opportunity that could not be missed.
The black-cloaked figure, Karasu, slowly advanced.
He had just set foot in Kenji's territory.
The trap was sprung.