The fourth morning in the Land of Rivers greeted us with the usual: fog, damp air, and silence so thick it made every footfall feel louder than it was.
I finished my sweep of the campsite before the others were fully alert, Byakugan still active as I walked the perimeter. Still nothing. No foreign chakra signatures. No hidden observers. Just wind, branches, and mist that clung like a second skin.
It was becoming routine. Too much so.
Koji was the first to rise, already stretching by the time I returned to the center of the perch. He caught my eye and gave a sharp nod.
"Another patrol today," I said. "We push west this time. The terrain is uneven and less forested. Better chance to find enemy camps there, or at least signs of them, so be on guard."
Haruto checked the clasp on his vest. "Good. I was starting to think this mission was a prank."
"Same formation," I continued. "Koji leads, Kuro supports. I'll follow mid-line. Haruto and Arata take rear guard. And be ready—something's going to break this pattern soon."
I didn't say we were overdue for contact. Everyone already knew.
…
We moved out an hour later. The terrain did shift—thinner trees, more bramble-choked paths, and narrow stone ledges. There was less fog, but the wind had picked up, and it carried the scent of damp rope, turned soil, and something metallic.
Koji held up a hand suddenly.
We stopped.
Kuro moved in immediately, nose low. I activated my Byakugan again, sweeping the path ahead. That's when I saw it—chakra residue embedded in the dirt.
Tripwire. Thin. Blended into the bark and ground moss.
Good one.
Koji stepped aside without needing to be told. I took point, moving forward and carefully deactivating the trap with a kunai flick.
I carefully looked closer at what the wire was connected to. "Wire trigger. Explosive tags bound to a clay anchor beneath the slope," I muttered.
While most explosive tags needed chakra to go off, a few could be activated by means of a simple wire; however, they were less powerful. Which meant they weren't often used.
Haruto whistled quietly. "Subtle."
"Someone's still maintaining them," I said. "This isn't old work. The chakra's fresh. Within the last twenty-four hours."
Indeed, while they went off without chakra, they still needed it, which meant someone had to preload them, and often.
Koji looked at me. "More traps ahead?"
"Almost definitely."
I turned toward the path, eyes narrowing. I couldn't see anyone within the range of my Byakugan, but I did see the faint traces of Chakra under the ground in a few places.
"Koji, the next one is about five minutes ahead at our normal speed and at twelve degrees south. We're going to check that one, so keep your nose and eyes keen for wire and other traps," I ordered.
"Understood," Koji said, already shifting into motion.
We adjusted our angle slightly, veering off the straight path and cutting through a denser patch of undergrowth. Kuro stayed low, ears twitching, his nose twitching rapidly as he sniffed for metal, oils, and clay.
I kept my Byakugan active the entire time. The cost was so minimal it was almost negligible, but only almost, so I still rarely allowed myself this luxury.
We found the next trap within the predicted time. Yet this time, Koji acted more cautiously than before, both he and Kuro slowly coming through the grass and bushes.
The remaining three of us just stood back and waited for them to do their thing. Trusting that they knew what they were doing, and before long, the two of them came to a complete stop.
"Wire again," Koji called. "But sharp, and poisoned."
I watched the spot they were kneeling at closely, and indeed, an almost invisible wire was strung tightly between two large trees. With carefully hidden explosive tags to make it all the more deadly.
"Very well-hidden," I muttered. "Any of you got anything to say on this?" I asked the others, mostly directing it to Haruto and Arata, figuring their experience might be handy.
Haruto stepped forward, crouching just behind Koji and narrowing his eyes at the setup. He didn't speak right away—just studied the line, his fingers brushing the bark near one of the anchor points.
"Too clean," he said finally. "Not just the placement. The spacing. The angle. Whoever did this isn't just skilled—they've done it dozens of times before. This is muscle memory."
"Not a field improvisation," Arata added quietly.
"So, an expert," I summarized.
Haruto nodded once. "A professional."
I nodded and brought out the map, trying to find our current location. Sweeping my Byakugan around a few times, looking a few kilometers around us, I found enough landmarks to roughly determine our current location.
"Alright," I slowly traced our course, from the first trap to this, and from those points to other important locations, such as Konoha's camp and the known Suna camp. "There might be more traps ahead, and following this route" I slowly showed them the map.
Haruto stepped closer, eyeing the lines I was drawing with a narrowed brow. "That's not random placement," he said. "That's a corridor."
"Right from our camp, to points of interest within the Land of Rivers, yeah." I agreed. "Alright, we will dismantle and mark their locations. We will likely run into whoever is setting them up if we keep doing that."
Haruto gave a firm nod. "That's solid. If they're maintaining this many traps regularly, they'll have to check on them soon. Might even have a rotation."
"Unless they're watching us already," Arata said, his tone flat, though not dismissive. Just cautious.
"Unlikely," I replied, sweeping my gaze wide once more with the Byakugan. "No one in range. Koji, got anything to add?"
Koji shook his head. "No good scent trail, so no one has been here today, or they kept their scents suppressed, but likely this was set late yesterday."
I nodded. "That matches the chakra residue. Faint, but still recent enough to hold structure."
Kuro gave a soft chuff and circled the base of a tree, then sat down facing west. "Wind's shifting. If they're checking the line tonight, they'll come from that direction."
"Then we plan around it," I said. I looked to Arata. "Find us an overwatch perch—something high, concealed, and with a view of this trap."
Arata vanished without a word.
"Haruto," I continued, "place false tracks leading past this trap and off-course. If they're tracking for signs of disturbance, we give them something to study."
He smirked slightly. "On it."
Koji knelt beside the trap again. "Should we disable it or leave it?"
"Disable it, it will be suspicious if we don't while there are trails around it." I replied. "Just be careful, any chakra and those tags blows."
Koji gave a nod and leaned in closer, his hands steady as he began to carefully dismantle the setup. Kuro stood watch beside him, ears alert, nose twitching at every faint scent wafting in on the shifting wind.
I remained standing, my Byakugan active, scanning for any hint of movement beyond the trees. Nothing yet—but that meant little. Whoever we were chasing had proven skilled at staying just out of range.
Koji worked slowly, breathing measuredly. His fingers slid a kunai beneath the cord before slicing through it with a clean motion.
"Anchor's pulled," he muttered. "Tags next."
He opened a small pouch at his side and dusted a tiny amount of neutralizing powder across the seals before cutting the tags into a dozen pieces with his kunai, making sure they can't go off before removing them entirely.
"Done," he confirmed, rising smoothly.
"Good," I said. Now, just dispose of the remains in the ground. We shouldn't leave them around since they're poisoned."
Koji knelt again, gathering the severed wire and scraps of the neutralized tag. With practiced hands, he dug a shallow hole beneath a nearby tree root and buried the remnants. He smoothed the dirt over with a palm, patting it flat until it looked undisturbed.
"Clean," he said, standing again. "No scent left behind either."
"Good, but next time, just use an earth style ninjutsu, no need to get your hands dirty."
Koji gave a sheepish shrug, brushing his palms off against his pants. "Habit," he muttered.
"I get it," I smirked. "You like digging holes, maybe bury your bones as well." I couldn't help but slightly tease him.
To his credit, he just gave me a deadpan look.
"You hang around Kuro too much."
Kuro let out a sharp, pleased bark, tail wagging once.
Kuro then continued to bark at Koji, no doubt saying something I didn't understand, but whatever it was, Koji turned bright red and stammered hard.
Koji snapped his head toward Kuro. "Shut up! Just… Shut up!" he hissed, waving his hands as if that might erase whatever the ninken had just said.
That only made Kuro's tail wag faster, and he gave another low bark that sounded far too smug for comfort.
I raised an eyebrow, arms crossing loosely. "Do I even want to know?"
Koji stood ramrod straight, clearing his throat hard. "No. Definitely not."
"Mmm," I hummed. I was curious, but learning to understand Ninken wasn't easy, and it was also pretty pointless. They often learned to speak human when they got older and stronger anyway, so it was just puppy speech.
"Alright, let's wait for the others to get back, and then we can set out." I changed the topic as I kept my Byakugan active, allowing me to track the other two as they moved around the area.
Going out on your own was discouraged, but since I could literally see them, and a good distance ahead, I felt it was fine. Should someone else enter the range of my vision, both Koji and I could go to back them up.
Arata returned first, silent as always, reappearing on a branch just above me with the same quiet presence as when he left.
"Found one," he said simply. "Northwest, two hundred thirty meters. Elevated. Dense cover."
"Good," I replied. "Show me."
We all moved out once Haruto returned, his work done, false trails carefully dragged across the forest floor. He gave me a nod as we leapt up into the trees, Kuro moving just ahead with his usual fluid ease. It didn't take long before Arata brought us to the overwatch perch.
It was solid. Good vantage. Thick foliage all around, and the branches were sturdy enough to hold all of us without creaking. The view of the trap was perfect—just enough through the trees to keep it visible, but obscured enough that only someone with enhanced eyes or deliberate intent would notice us watching.
We settled in with practiced ease.
"Alright," I said, crouching near the center. "No talking unless necessary. Koji, you and Kuro take the western flank. Haruto, you're with me. Arata, you keep high and signal if you see anything out of the ordinary. Got it?"
Everyone nodded, no one argued.
And then the waiting began.
Hours passed. The sun dipped lower. Shadows stretched long and thin. The sounds of the forest shifted with the light—fewer birds, more insects, and that deep stillness that crept in when something felt wrong.
Still nothing.
But I wasn't ready to relax. Not yet.
Not when I could feel the tension crawling just under my skin.
Not when someone had laid traps this careful, this deliberately.
Not when I wanted some action to break the boredom before I lost my mind.
Given that we expected someone to show up, we decided to skip sleeping, and instead kept watching, mostly I was the one doing that, given that I could see far beyond everyone else.
Still, there was nothing to see, no one came today…
(End of chapter)
Traps found, no enemies, such is the life of a sniper, of an assassin, those are all people who wait for a long time before striking, before finding their target. And it's the same for shinobi, they have to sit around waiting often.
And when they fight, its short, quick and brutal.