The silence after the Jonin leader's warp-vanishing was deafening. Kaito stood frozen for a moment, the phantom chill of the man's grey eyes lingering, the weight of his words – "Unregistered. Unreported." – crashing down. They hadn't just been attacked; they'd been cataloged. His existence, his Hiraishin, were now data points in some unknown, cold ledger.
<< Combat Summary >>
<< Neutralized Scout (Level 9) x2 >> << EXP +500 >>
<< Survived Engagement: Jonin-level Threat >> << EXP +1,000 >>
<< Strategic Evasion/Ambush Success >> << EXP +500 >>
<< EXP Total: 2,000 >>
<< LEVEL UP! Shade is now Level 21! >>
**<< Attribute Points (5): >>
<< AGI +2 >> (33) - Speed is survival<< INT +1 >> (33) - Analysis crucial<< CC +2 >> (31) - Pushing towards Jonin control
<< Chakra: 450/450 >> << Stamina: 330/330 >>
<< Void Step Cooldown: 15s >>
The level-up was a cold comfort. Level 21 felt insignificant against the void left by that chilling warp. Gamakichi limped over, prodding the dissolving ash where the leader's comms device had been. "Gone. Like they were never here. Clean." He spat, a mix of pain and disgust. "Not Root. Root leaves bodies, not dust. Not Kiri hunter-nin either. This is... new. Bad new."
Kaito knelt by one of the unconscious scouts. He searched meticulously, his << PER: 30 >> missing nothing. The camouflage suit was indeed a seamless synthetic, frictionless and odorless. No tags, no seams indicating a manufacturer. The kunai pouch held standard-issue steel, untraceable. The sensor scope was a complex lattice of crystalline lenses and chakra-conductive wires fused into a dark metal frame – advanced, but also devoid of markings. << Item Analysis: Sensor Scope - Advanced Chakra Focussing Array. Unknown Origin. Possibly Research-Grade. >>
"Research-Grade," Kaito murmured, holding the scope. "He called me 'Target identified. Parameters exceed initial assessment.' They weren't just patrolling. They were hunting anomalies. Hunting me." The implication was terrifying. Jiraiya's mountain wasn't random; it was likely chosen because it was remote, a place to hide an anomaly like Kaito. And they'd found it.
Gamakichi grunted, applying a thick, greenish poultice from his own pouch to his seared flank. "Hunting something. Your little light-show with the yellow flash's trick probably lit you up like a festival lantern on their sensors. Stupid gamble, Thornbush." Despite the words, there was a grudging respect in his tone. "But it worked. For now." He finished his ministrations. "Right. First things first. Pervy Sage needs to know the mountain's got rats. Smart, techy rats with warp drives." He bit his thumb, a smaller, quicker summoning puff this time. A tiny, blue messenger toad appeared. Gamakichi whispered urgently to it, a rapid stream of information Kaito couldn't catch. The toad nodded solemnly and vanished in another puff. "Message sent. Now we wait. And hope the old man's not neck-deep in Hyūga politics."
"How long?" Kaito asked, the urgency clawing at him. The sanctuary was breached. They might return any moment, with reinforcements.
Gamakichi shrugged, wincing slightly. "Depends on how deep the mess in Konoha is. Days? Weeks? Not hours. That warp-jutsu... it wasn't village-level. It was precise, controlled. They could be anywhere by now, reporting to whoever pulls their strings." He looked pointedly at Kaito. "Which means we fortify. This ain't just training anymore, shrub. This is a siege prep. You know anything about perimeter defense beyond tripwires?"
Fortifying the Crucible:
The following days were a blur of tense activity. Training didn't stop; it intensified, refocused.
Perimeter of Pain: Kaito became a whirlwind of Tactical Fuinjutsu. Using his << INT: 33 >> and << CC: 31 >>, he layered defenses:Phantom Snare Traps (Refined): Placed at key approach vectors, camouflaged with earth and moss. Non-lethal capture was now paramount – they needed prisoners next time.Chakra Drain Minefields: Grids of subtle glyphs etched onto rocks, draining stamina and chakra over time, slowing and weakening invaders.Resonance Alarm Seals: Linked to Saisei's deep roots, these glyphs vibrated in tune with the mountain itself, screaming an alert at the first footfall of unnatural chakra or mass crossing the perimeter. << New Skill: Environmental Fuinjutsu Integration (Rank F) >>Deadfall Triggers: Linked to unstable rock faces via delicate chakra wires and Crude Explosive Tags.
Gamakichi helped, using his earth affinity to subtly alter terrain, creating kill zones and funneling paths towards Kaito's traps.Hiraishin Crash Course: The encounter proved its worth and its peril. Kaito drilled relentlessly:Marker Placement Speed: Etching the formula under duress (simulated by Gamakichi pelting him with pebbles). Cost dropped to << 80 Chakra >>, time halved.Instantaneous Activation: Practicing the spatial fold from awareness to execution until it was near-reflex. Cost remained high (<< 250 Chakra >>), but speed was life.Sensory Expansion: Pushing his << Hiraishin Sensory Perception >> further, trying to feel the unique 'hum' of his markers beyond line-of-sight, through rock. Progress was slow but tangible.Close-Quarters Crucible: Gamakichi, despite his wound, became a brutal sparring partner. "That ice-pick nearly filleted me 'cause I got sloppy!" he roared, his tanto a blur. He forced Kaito to fight defensively against lightning-fast kenjutsu styles, using Void Step for micro-dodges, Earth Walls for desperate parries, and exploiting openings with nerve strikes or Phantom Snare tags used point-blank. << Taijutsu: Defensive Countering (Rank Up!) >> << AGI: 33 >> honed to a razor's edge.The Cold Analysis: Kaito spent hours studying the captured sensor scope. His << INT: 33 >> dissected its principles. It didn't just detect chakra; it analyzed it – affinity, density, even unique signatures like his Namikaze space-time resonance. It likely had recording capabilities (purged upon the leader's warp). << Insight: >> Their enemy possessed technology rivaling or surpassing major villages. This wasn't a rogue element; it was organized, well-funded, and terrifyingly competent.
The Weight of Waiting & Gamakichi's Glimmer:
Weeks passed. No sign of the cold scouts. No word from Jiraiya. The mountain felt like a coiled spring. Kaito pushed himself harder, the specter of those grey eyes driving him. He reached << Level 23 >>, pouring points into CC (33), AGI (35), and INT (35). His chakra control neared Jonin levels. His Hiraishin mark placement was down to << 70 Chakra >>, activation under << 1 second >>.
One evening, as Kaito practiced sensing his scattered markers through layers of granite, Gamakichi spoke, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "You know... the Gaki. Naruto." He was gazing at the stars. "He asks about the mountain sometimes. Thinks Pervy Sage's off hunting rare herbs or something." He snorted. "Kid's got no clue. But... he worries. Thinks the old man gets lonely."
Kaito paused, lowering the kunai he was etching. "He cares about Jiraiya-sama."
"Like a annoying grandson," Gamakichi agreed, a flicker of warmth in his tone. "Point is... Pervy Sage carries a lot. Konoha. The kid. The whole damn world's shadows. And now... you." He looked at Kaito, his large eyes serious in the moonlight. "He saw something in you, Thornbush. Cracked vessel, rogue, walking disaster... but something worth betting on. Worth bending rules for. Worth pissing off the Hokage and Danzo for." He poked the fading scar on his flank. "Seeing that ice-pick bastard warp away after seeing your flash... I think I get it a little. You're a wild card. The kind that might just change the game against players like them." He stood, stretching. "Don't make his bet wrong. And don't get dead before he gets back. Annoying as you are, the mountain'd be dull without your thorny presence."
It was the closest to approval Kaito would ever get from the teenage toad. Before Kaito could respond, Gamakichi stiffened. His head snapped towards the eastern perimeter, nostrils flaring violently. Not the cold signature. Something else. Something... familiar, yet wrong. Twisted.
"Kuso!" Gamakichi hissed, his hand flying to his tanto. "Chakra signature... Konoha! But... corrupted! Pain! Rage! It's... it's them! The ones taken!" His eyes widened in dawning horror. "The Hyūga! But... they're not themselves! They're coming! Fast! And they feel... broken!"
The Resonance Alarm Seals embedded near Saisei's roots began to thrum, a low, discordant vibration that shook the very stone beneath their feet. Not the subtle ping of intrusion, but the scream of something violated, something wrong tearing towards them through the night.
Jiraiya wasn't back. The cold scouts were still a phantom threat. But a new nightmare, born from the shadows within Konoha itself, had found the mountain. The siege had begun. Kaito gripped his Hiraishin kunai, the mark glowing faintly, cold steel ready to meet broken eyes. Level 23 felt like nothing. The forge's fire was about to be quenched in blood.