Suguru continued to devour.
Stolen maps scattered his makeshift desk, indicating all the settlements that dotted the land. One by one, each village lost its light.
One by one...
Each village went dead silent, akin to the days that Sasori of the Red Sands looked for materials.
Thus, the eerie ghost towns were all that greeted a squad of masked shinobi. Having arrived from the Land of Fire several weeks ago, they had done much to track down the elusive researcher, Hiryu Suguru.
Finally, the day had come when they saw the boy's face.
The boy stared at them with an unblinking gaze, forcing the rest of the Anbu squad shinobi to put up their guards.
With thousands of civilians dead, and the Land of Rivers becoming a desolate place, the bounty on the unnamed cause of disappearances had reached a staggering, [20 Million Ryo]. Yet no face nor any other detail had been leaked to the world.
Only Konoha's higher-ups had an inkling of who it was.
'A ghost...' Torune thought as he recalled the face that Danzo had shown him. 'Despite him standing right before me, I can't sense any chakra from him.'
Wariness flashed in Torune's eyes.
They had located their target, but how were they supposed to complete their mission? Based on the file that Torune had received, the boy had been trained by Inuzuka Hitomi.
If they somehow caught him today, it would be through a fluke.
For a moment they stared.
A silent standoff, unlike the idealistic world that Naruto could live in. To speak of saving the world was a luxury only for the strong.
Therefore, Suguru first stared into the eyes of his prey.
A smile crept up unto his lips, creating an eerie crescent upon his young face.
Despite the sun shining overhead, the Anbu felt an odd chill. It wasn't due to bloodlust or killing intent.
Instead, it was a bestial gaze that they somehow perceived.
Right...
'Why does he look... hungry..?'
The moment Torune moved to make a command, Suguru flickered into nonexistence. His chakra was already ethereal — beyond their sensing capabilities. To mix it in with jounin-level speeds meant that their mission had failed before it even began.
It was at that moment that Torune realized something:
When you lose sight of a ghost, you'll never find it again.
***
Suguru had been camping around a certain valley. He had carved out an underground base, deep inside a cliff wall.
He had already been here for weeks, and the month of May had long arrived.
Still, Suguru waited patiently. He had a lot of time to spare.
There was a more important existence he had to meet no matter what.
On the 28th day of May, 12 Years After Naruto's birth, Suguru's patience finally paid off. Around thirty-eight kilometers away, a stray missing-nin was walking through the mountainside. It seemed like he was on a casual trip through the Land of Rivers at first glance.
However, his face... was a familiar one.
"Raiga..."
Suguru's grin widened like that of an excited wolf baring its fangs. Adrenaline surged through his body, and his heart began pounding in his chest like a prisoner trying to break free.
"Finally—!"
Suddenly, he caught himself. Suguru instantly killed his excitement.
Raiga was one of the strongest Kirigakure shinobi around. As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he was a foe who stood far above Suguru's pay grade. Furthermore, he wielded the twin lightning swords, Kiba.
Although Suguru was confident in his speed, he had no choice but to be wary of the speed of natural lightning.
Fighting Raiga would require a lot of preparation.
Suguru first had to collect information, devise a plan, set his pieces, and choose the appropriate battlefield.
That way, Suguru could tear Raiga down from the latter's lofty status.
'I just need to wait a little longer,' Suguru breathed as he focused on his Kaisugan once more.
Moving his gaze, he spotted a weird group of shinobi.
"...Hm?"
Seeing them, Suguru began to drool.
***
"...Do you feel that?"
Ranmaru's voice rang in Raiga's ears, eliciting a frown from the latter.
"No," Raiga's answer came simply. He raised his guard as high as it could go.
"It feels like someone's watching us, but I can't find them."
Raiga was about to step forward when Ranmaru hurriedly said, "Wait! Don't move. There's someone nearby and they don't seem like bandits."
Raiga nodded.
Swords screamed in a metallic cry as Raiga unsheathed the twin swords, Kiba. Lightning began to flicker across him, arcing around his arms.
The beautiful blue of Lightning Release was a refreshing light to the unconcerned.
"Come out, you rats. I know you're there." Raiga said, glaring in the group's general direction.
Four figures emerged. They raised their chins and looked down on the solitary man before them.
Uniquely, each figure carried a bizarre and ornate weapon that Raiga felt wary of.
'Three weird swords and a weird breastplate...' Raiga was dumbfounded.
The gleaming green spheres embedded in their weapons seemed tacky, especially with the colorful shapes that these weapons seemed to assume.
The forehead protects they wore did not come from any prominent villages.
"Who are you?"
The first one to step forward was an arrogant man with a slim face and a prominent jawline. His spiky brown hair was unkempt, and he seemed to lack any fear of the flashing lightning across Raiga's arms.
"Who I am is none of your business."
Raiga's lightning suddenly intensified.
However, the four faces seemed ignorant of this fact. They still looked upon Raiga with an arrogant gleam in their eyes.
What gave the four such confidence was beyond even Ranmaru's ability to sense details and intentions. It was an idiotic arrogance that didn't make sense to the two.
This made Raiga wary.
"They don't have much chakra, however, their weapons seem special..." Ranmaru spoke from where he hid.
"Hmmm," Raiga thought for a moment, "Takumi Village should be nearby. As far as I'm aware, that village of artisans had been capable enough for other Hidden Villages to request their services."
"...Then be careful, Raiga."
With a nod, Raiga rushed forward with his Kiba swords in hand. He struck first, with his blades sparking lightning as he swung them down upon the man.
"Your eyes need fixing," Raiga's hiss was filled with disdain.
However—
A huge gust of wind rushed towards Raiga, blasting him off his feet and nullifying the electric currents he had been spewing out. He was thrown several feet back, skidding upon the earth.
"..!"
Alerted by the powerful Wind Release, Raiga's gaze fell upon the only woman in the group. His eyes narrowed when he saw her wielding double swords, just like him.
"They don't seem to be after your life, Raiga," said Ranmaru.
"I noticed. I have a feeling that they mistook me for someone else."
Seeing Raiga's inaction, the man continued speaking...
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