Three trains, six buses, and five truck rides she had to take to get to the countryside where she had to remind the men that picked her up she was 14 later, left Hyōki just a few minutes away from Tohno Village, and she didn't need a mirror to know she looked like utter garbage. Her hair was heavy with sweat. Her eyes were dilated from the amount of running she had to do, her chakra pools were almost empty, and somehow her skin was even whiter than before. She had enough for a few attacks, and certainly not enough for a Shinobi Tenshin, but she was safe here, so that didn't matter.

'Please come home soon, Senpai!' It was bad enough escaping into the countryside. It was even worse when she saw her name and face on the news again, with her tired, sweaty mug displayed for all of Japan to see, and it was even worse when she realized the legendary freaking Super Ninja just waltzed into one of the few hideouts she had left, taking the last of her stolen and purified lakewater, and then said 'Maverick problems, go to Tohno Village!' and left without saying anything else! How did he know about her hiding spots? How the hell did he know about the Mavericks? It's Hanzō, you can't explain it. That was one of the few bits of advice regarding the legendary Zennin her family taught her, the only bit of advice they had. Only bright side was that he looked worse mentally than she did physically, and that was enough to make the Nukenin smile.

Back before the Mavericks found it, Tohno Village didn't hide itself using a Genjutsu or any fancy tricks, just good old camouflage. In the past before her time, a Genjutsu was a Shinobi's best asset. Why spend hours or days building complicated traps, when a Genjutsu illusion could do the job in just a few seconds? With just a bit of chakra, a rugged plain filled with trees and grass could become a deadly poisonous swamp, or the hot springs you were in could become ice cold and freeze you instantly.

Nowadays, these powerful illusionary arts were nowhere near as strong as they were in the days of Hattori Hanzō's youth. With the advent of Shinobi Kekkais and their frequent usage in skirmishes, the average Shinobi brain had evolved to process information faster to use what was essentially a closed space in reality, ergo, if you can use a Shinobi Kekkai, or had been in one, as is with most Akunin schools, a Genjutsu was utterly worthless.

That didn't mean they didn't have their uses, though. For most Shinobi, a Genjutsu was the perfect tool to keep civilians out of Shinobi controlled territories, and just because most Shinobi could tell they were in an illusion, that didn;t mean they knew how to dispel it. It was very easy to do, so much so that her sister of all people mastered it on her 2nd try, and that was part of the reason Tohno Village went unnoticed for so long. If she wasn't aware of the trickery the hicks employed to protect themselves, she would have been in Tohno Village by now, or at least what she thought was Tohno Village. In reality she'd probably be drowning in a lake somewhere, or bashing her head into a rock until she bled to death. The leylines here were not particularly kind to those who treaded on the path of evil such as herself. They may have let her off easy so far because of her connection to Senpai, but they were especially savage to others.

Like over there near that puddle of blood for example, that mushy mess of metal and flesh that used to be a group of Mavericks. She only gave their bodies a passing glance of disgust, not even taking a second to stop, as she went along her way. 'Worthless dropouts.' Those stupid machine's need for Shinobi bodies combined with the high mortality and dropout rate of Akunin schools were a match made in heaven. Who knows how young those girls were when they decided to sell their souls to those robots? And how did they feel in the end when their efforts and pain went to waste? She never really had that much pride in her Shinobi skills, or even cared much about the lifestyle, at least until Senpai sealed her power away, and even then it was just some meager pride in the skills she managed to retain. But despite her disgust at the augmentations done to those girls, even she could feel pity for those scouted out by the Mavericks. After all, Shinobi that were treated like garbage and refuse were prime targets for manipulation and grooming. She should know after all; that was what her family did to keep her around, at least until they got cocky and started ignoring her completely.

They were so lucky that Senpai talked her out of killing each and every one of them. With his fists. Lots and lots of fists. Getting him to treat her like an adult was the most exhilarating moment of her entire life.

'Focus Hyōki, you're almost there.' All remaining Chakra was being put into her power walking as fast as she could, as she didn't have enough to muster the strength to hop from tree to tree, which would have shortened her travel considerably. Senpai's 'gift' beeped, alerting her she was almost close to her destination, and soon enough, she could see it deep in a crater, hidden by what had to be tons of trees acting as a shield to hide it from aerial view.

Tohno Village was the most well kept of Shinobi secrets, and one of the few neutral areas that was kept a secret. And a relic of the past. Just looking at it made Hyōki feel like she just came out of a time portal to the past.

She brought out her binoculars from the scroll hidden behind her ear, and surveyed the area, noting that it was still just as busy as it ever was. The architecture of Tohno Village was the epitome of Feudal Era Japan, with nary a hint of modern building aesthetics in sight. The walls, the houses, all were made of wood and stone without a hint of concrete or steel to be found, and if you escaped up through the canopy at night, you could see the stars without the pollution of modern civilization clouding their presence. he stars at night showed how far away from the city this hidden village was.

And it was also home to the most prolific Zennin in history.

Whether it be from old age or you were just sick of the life of a ninja, Tohno Village was where many government affiliated Shinobi went to spend the rest of their days. Leaving was not an option, and entering required a very specific set of credentials that Hyōki didn't even have. What she did have were 'friends', with heavy quotation marks, on the inside. As a result of it's purpose, Tohno village had a lot of secrets, and many Akunin had tried in vain over the years to penetrate their borders, using their most powerful and advanced jutsus, sometimes working in teams to accomplish their goals, all of which ended in vain.

Then the Mavericks found it by chance, and now the once mighty 1000 active Shinobi were reduced to a mere 5, the Tohno Tengu Shinobi Alliance. Sadly for any intruders, that group had matured, and just one of them was better than those 1000 men, and luckily for Hyōki's sake, they were far more merciful towards intruders.

She switched to her Binoculars thermal mode, and looked at the northern gate. '23 hidden, 3 in plain sight.' A Shinobi could sneak as many weapons as they wanted to onboard a plane, and bypass any and all forms of technological detection. Not so much with the technology from Senpai's world. If she ever had this on a larger scale should her original plans have gone through that fateful day, she probably would have been far more dangerous.

She put it back into its scroll and slowly, very slowly climbed down. Ignoring the protests of her aching body and the stabbing of the rocks against her palms and legs, and the pain from the various accidental falls that shortened her climbing time, Hyoki made it down to the ground six minutes later, what remained of her chakra going to healing the bruised, broken flesh all over her body, from the leg bone that was bent funny to the black eyes from when she landed face first on one of the outcropping The guards paid her no mind. They knew who she was, and they knew for a fact any one of them could kill her as she was now. And even if she did pose a significant threat, healing all that damage used the absolute last of her chakra. Until it restored itself, she was just a weak little girl.

Limping in the front gate, she made her way to the nearest check in station, ignored the confused guard, and plopped herself down on the very painful wooden seat. "Oooogghhh…" Everything hurts so much. Being powerless sucked! But at least she was finally going to get some nice, needed sleep. Still ignoring the confused guard, and not sensing the 2nd presence that made itself known in the station, Hyōki closed her eyes and drifted off into dreamland.

And with the six main actors of the story in play, ready to meet the man they looked up to so much after so many years, their unseen foes were preparing to make their move.