Ghosts in the Mist (Part-13) [Utakata Sensei >> Professor McGonagall]

{3 chapters in a day for the first time, hope there would be more such instances in the future.}

While Ren was off playing tag with the Mist’s hunter-nin, Four, Noi, Yugao, and one more from the sensing squad were moving carefully through the mountains on the main island. Floating just ahead of them was a single pink butterfly, its wings flickering in the thin mountain air as they followed it up the slope.

Ren had given Ko and the other butterflies a simple but important job: find the spies hidden in the Mizushan mountains. He’d gotten that intel out of the handler they’d found earlier, and as always, the butterflies had done their work well. When Ko found the general location, she’d flown straight to Four, just as Ren had ordered. Four hadn’t wasted a second, he’d grabbed Noi and Yugao and they’d moved out.

There weren’t any hunter-nin directly on their trail yet, but they all knew better than to get careless. The hunter-nin were scattered all over this island, one slip, one misstep, and they’d be right on top of them.

Luckily, all three of them, Four, Noi, and Yugao, were sensors. Yugao might not have been as sharp as the other two, but she could hold her own well enough. The biggest help, though, was Ko. With her and the other butterflies keeping an eye on the hunter-nin patrols, they were able to slip through safe routes again and again.

Noi glanced at Ko fluttering ahead of them and let out a low whistle. “Man, how nice would it be if we had a guide like this on every mission?”

Four, who was leading the group, didn’t even glance back. “Don’t get too comfortable. The hunter-nin are relentless trackers. If they even catch a whiff of us out here, they’ll hunt us like rabid dogs.”

He lowered his voice a bit and spoke toward the butterfly. “Ko-san, forgive me if this sounds rude, but… did you or the others drop any pollen on our route? Even by accident?”

Ko’s tiny voice was soft as she flitted ahead. “Please don’t worry, Four-san. Our clan doesn’t make small mistakes like that, especially not at times like this. You have nothing to worry about.”

Four nodded slightly. “Understood. Thank you.”

They pressed on in tense silence for a while, winding through misty forest trails and narrow ridges, until the trees opened up to the edge of a broad, clear lake, the Three Sharks Lake. They were almost there.

Just as they were about to step out of the tree line again, there was a sudden splash near the lake’s edge. A hunter-nin’s head popped out of the water, mask glinting in the low light. He froze the moment he saw them.

At the same time, Four, Noi, and Yugao skidded to a halt. For a moment, there was nothing but stillness as masked eyes stared at masked eyes across the water’s rippling surface.

The Leaf squad, though all capable sensors, knew better than to get careless with their sensing range. They were always careful not to push their “divine sense” too far as the Mist’s hunter-nin were sharp enough to detect a large sensing pulse immediately. So instead of casting a wide net, they kept their sensing tight, short-range, and precise. That was why they didn’t pick up on the hunter-nin hiding beneath the freezing lake.

Ko and the other butterflies had scouted the area too, but they’d only done a surface sweep of the lake. Only a few butterflies had dared to go deeper as the icy water would freeze their wings and kill them. It was a small gap in their otherwise airtight search, but enough for this problem to slip through.

So when the hunter-nin’s masked head suddenly broke the surface, both sides froze for a heartbeat and no one moved, just masked eyes locked on masked eyes.

Yugao reacted first. She flickered behind the hunter-nin in a single silent flash. Before he could even shiver off the cold, her blade slid through his back and into his heart. There was no spray of blood in the water.

It was her technique, [Still Pulse Thread].

As soon as her sword pierced the heart, she channeled chakra along the blade, weaving it into fine threads that instantly sealed the wound for a few precious seconds.

Yugao hauled the limp body back up the bank, her sword still embedded to keep the seal intact. Four didn’t waste a moment as he slapped a few sealing tags onto the body, each one drawing out what little blood remained and stopping the flow before it could escape. Yugao carefully eased her blade out, guiding the chakra threads until it closed just enough to keep any last droplets from leaking into the soil.

They waited, tense, to see if anything would give them away, but the lake stayed calm, no ripples except for the hunter’s last one. Four pressed his palm to the dead shinobi’s temple and read the man’s last surface memories, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

“He was just curious. He didn’t know about the spies’ location, so our mission’s still secure.”

He glanced at Yugao and gave her a small nod. “That was a good move. If even a drop of blood had gotten into the water, the hunter-nin would’ve been all over us. If we run into more loners like this, it’ll be your job to handle them the same way.”

Yugao nodded back, silent but resolute. [Still Pulse Thread] wasn’t really a sword technique, it was more along the lines of chakra control, the kind she’d refined during her ANBU days for clean kills like this. Her control wasn’t perfect yet, but for a few seconds, it was enough. Enough to finish the job and leave no trace behind.

Keeping that minor scuffle at the lake in the backs of their minds, the three Leaf shinobi didn’t waste any time. They sealed the hunter-nin’s body in a storage scroll, tucked it away, and slipped into the icy lake without hesitation.

Walking on the water’s surface was out of the question, that would be spotted instantly by any lookouts. So they coated their bodies in a thin layer of chakra to insulate themselves from the freezing cold and swam beneath the surface, moving quietly toward the Mizushan mountains.

They surfaced only when they were clear of any patrols and climbed up the forested slopes. Ko, the pink butterfly, did a wide, careful sweep of the whole mountain area with the help of the other butterflies. After a while, she circled back to them, fluttering in place before a large, old tree.

“This is definitely the place,” Ko said in her soft voice. “We butterflies can feel when nature is disturbed, and this tree has been tampered with, the chakra here is slightly off. They’re inside, but we can’t call them out ourselves.”

Four stepped forward and gave Ko a small bow of thanks. “You’ve done well, Ko-san. We’ll still need your help getting out of here safely when this is done.”

He pressed his ear against the bark, then knocked in a precise, rhythmic pattern, a coded signal that only the hidden agents inside would recognize. There was no response at first, but Four’s sharp ears caught the faintest sound from deep underground. He crouched lower and spoke his identification clearly into a small knot in the tree’s base: “005981-004.”

A hidden mechanism rumbled softly but they still couldn’t see it, but Four didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward and sank straight down as if the earth swallowed him whole. Noi and Yugao followed right after, letting the pull guide them.

When they landed, they found themselves in a small underground bunker carved into the rock and reinforced with timber. Several figures in black hoods stood clustered together, all of them silent and watchful. One stepped forward and pulled back his hood, he was a broad-shouldered man with dark blue hair and a thick beard streaked with grey.

“Handler-Leader M-1,” he introduced himself plainly.

Four nodded back. “The entire Mist is on a manhunt for us now. This is our last window to get everyone out safely, after this, the civil war will break out for real.”

M-1 let out a low hum. “So it’s finally come to that. We thought we’d have a little more time to stay under, but if the order’s here, we’ll move.” He didn’t ask for details as he understood exactly what ‘things were done’ meant when it came to covert work.

Four continued, “Per instructions, a few handlers must stay behind, only those loyal enough to Konoha to die for it, and who can blend in. They’ll be the ones to keep the information flowing when the fighting starts.”

M-1 nodded again. “I already left three in place before going to ground. I’ll pick two more now. They’ll stick around for a few more weeks and fade in with the locals when the time’s right.”

He turned and spoke quietly to the group. Two handlers stepped forward, along with a handful of older operators, some walked with slight limps or had other scars that made frontline fighting impossible now, but they were still useful. Each one gave Four a short bow of acknowledgement.

When everything was set, M-1 gave Four a firm nod. “All right. They know their roles. The rest of us are yours to lead out.”

Four looked at Ko, who flitted ahead once more, her wings catching the faint torchlight of the bunker. “Lead the way, Ko-san.”

The hidden agents, silent as shadows, gathered their small packs and fell into line behind the pink butterfly, ready to leave the Mist, and whatever came next, behind them.

~~~

The last group waiting to be work was Utakata’s team, mostly the medical staff, the handlers and agents they’d gathered up earlier, and Tenzo, who’d stayed with them to make sure they were safe if things went sideways. They were holed up in the mountain base where they stayed earlier. It wasn’t exactly a fortress, but in the chaos spreading through the Mist right now, it was still the safest place they could hold this many people together.

Moving the agents before the right moment would’ve been suicide. Most of them were only around Chunin level, dependable enough for covert work but not strong enough to fight off hunter-nin if it came to that.

Only a handful of handlers could stand up in a real fight, and they’d been told to save their strength for when they’d need it most, the final breakout. So the agents had stayed put, waiting for word that the extraction was ready.

While the medics kept the wounded stable and the agents sat quietly checking their gear, Utakata hadn’t just been sitting around looking pretty.

He’d spent most of the past few days moving in and out of the cave at odd hours, placing intricate seals along the mountain’s inner tunnels. Tenzo had noticed but hadn’t pried, he knew better than to interrupt a sealing master at work.

Now the two of them sat side by side near the cave’s main hall, the flickering firelight making the stone walls seem to breathe. Tenzo was sharpening a kunai out of sheer habit when Utakata’s voice cut through the soft scratching sound.

“They found us.”

Tenzo stiffened instantly, chakra flaring as he half-rose, ready to bark orders or throw up a Wood Release barricade if he had to. But Utakata didn’t even flinch.

He just got up, calm as ever, and walked toward the cave’s heavy stony entrance. Tenzo fell in step beside him, scanning the shadows for any sign of movement outside.

“Orders?” Tenzo asked, quietly. He trusted Utakata, but he’d seen enough hunter-nin to know they wouldn’t just come knocking politely.

Utakata raised a hand to stop him, eyes narrowing just slightly. “Wait here,” he said, voice low but steady.

“No rash moves yet. I’ve been preparing for this. It’s about time I reminded them what a level five Fuinjutsu master really looks like when he’s serious.”

He pressed one palm to the cave wall beside the door, fingers splayed. Faint lines of chakra lit up, snaking through the rock like veins. Then Utakata stepped outside, the cold mountain air hitting him full in the face. He tilted his head, listening to the faint shuffle of boots and distant rustling, the hunter-nin were creeping into position.

He let out a slow breath, forming a long string of seals with deliberate, practiced ease. His chakra pulsed through the ground, weaving into the hidden marks he’d placed days ago. His lips moved in a murmur that only Tenzo, standing just behind him, could catch.

“Mountain Entombment Sealing Array Activate.”

~~~~~

{I’ve been prepping something like this for a long time now and was debating who’d be the best fit for this, but somehow Utakata landed in the position better so we’d be seeing him work. Anyway, Utakata was the one who introduced Ren to Fuinjutsu so he’d indeed be good enough for this.}