Numerous thoughts filtered across Tuna's mind, but none of them were really geared towards her current mission's objective. Budding talents or not, it meant nothing if they remained trapped in this barrier of fog for their entire lives. To that end, Tuna was just as determined as the rest of her squad to escape before they ran out of rations.

Remaining hidden in a puddle she'd formed, Tuna lingered near the area where the four kids were sparring with each other. She lingered there, inwardly marveling at the steps the brats in front of her had managed to walk as shinobi-in-training without any form of education or teacher. To have come to the point of proficiency they showed in this backwater part of Rain was commendable. She'd know because she was from here. It was only after she'd ran away and sought opportunity elsewhere that her talents flourished under tutelage of senior Rain shinobi.

These brats must have worked hard.

Tuna could give her admiration, but that was as far as she would go. Compared to her current self, the kids in front of her were too weak, but it made her think back to when she was their age.

Of course, these were her personal thoughts, but she still ended up staying and observing.

Talent, geniuses, and prodgies- damn them all. It wasn't fair.

In the end, she remained until they ran out of chakra or were too exhausted to notice her presence even if she moved.

It was the for the best. Tuna convinced herself that she didn't waste time being sentimental or emotional over comparison and tried to rationalize her actions.

If she'd moved on when their senses were heightened through sparring, she might have gotten detected. Yeah. That was it. The fact that she was at least Jounin-Rank and they were basically academy or Genin, did not play a factor in her calculations as it would upturn her justification.

Damn it. If the captain asked why she was taking too much time, she'd just think of something then.

Besides, she was the one who got to decide what to report, and these children were irrelevant in the grand scheme of the situation. Rebellious as she could be, she still knew discipline and how to prioritize. She'd note her observations of the kids for Lord Hanzo to dwell on later, but for now, she was scouting.

The moment the kids finished their sparring and then wandered off in the direction of the town, Tuna stepped out of the puddle she was hidden within, and surveyed the damage. Pot holes were formed from chakra enhanced soles, and random slabs of rock and pools of water were left behind by various jutsu. Most eye catching were the pieces of torn paper that Tuna could only see as harmless know, but were quite lethal earlier. That girl with the blue almost purple hair had a bloodline.

More than that, those four kids. They all had outstanding chakra capacities.

Standing still, Tuna sorted through the information she'd gleamed so far, and came to a single conclusion.

The mission was a bust.

Sure, it was strange that the town and its buildings didn't look as dilapidated as she remembered the last time she stayed here, but this had no relevance to the sealing formation enacted over the area. Meaning…

She and her unit were still stuck, likely until Lord Hanzo attempts another excursion.

Tucking back a lock of brown hair behind her ear, she adjusted the fish mask over her face and then crossed her arms, weary of what she'd have to report back to her squad members. This was their last chance. They'd already tried everything else to get out, and the quaint settlement was the last place they had yet to investigate. Now though? Now there were no longer any leads.

Tuna cursed, but then looked back in the direction of the settlement. She thought about what her unit was likely to do, and what would happen as a result of it. She hummed.

In any case, the settlement here would do for the time being. It was better to set up a base of operations in the town with the rest of her squad. Anywhere was fine so long as it was out of the rain.

Tuna began moving again, making sure to keep out of sight and lighten her steps to the point she didn't leave any footprints even on the muddied ground.

There was one last place to check, and it was that wooden house created away from the vicinity of the town. Of all places, that building wasn't there from what she could remember, and given how it hadn't been ransacked by hungry villagers, it was suspicious.

'Steal to eat, murder to live.'

Growing up in the midst of this war, Tuna's world views were long since skewed.

Rain was caught in the crosshairs of war between rivaling Great Villages. Food supplies had dwindled and trade was practically non-existent. Aside from those who had self-sustaining means, the rest of Rain's useless populace had to fend for themselves.

At any other part of Rain, this wooden house wouldn't look so pristine or well maintained.

Spurred onward by her doubt and budding curiosity, Tuna would quickly reach the wooden house without impediment. It was normal looking, but the architecture was far different from any of Rain's techniques. To begin with, rather than the wood being cut into boards and pillars for support, it looked natural. It was as if the entire building was created from a single uncut piece of wood. Now that she thought about it, some of the newer houses she'd seen in the settlement were of the same make?

Weird, Tuna frowned, but was undeterred.

She spotted windows along the main and upper floors, but none of them were fitted with glass. Instead, they had what looked like paper curtains that would do little to hamper her infiltration, but did well to keep back Rain's chilling winds. The material of the paper itself was familiar to Tuna, but she didn't think much of it before proceeding with her infiltration.

Sauntering to the window, she parted the paper curtains and quietly stepped inside on the uppermost floor.

She entered a bedroom, and it wasn't a coincidence. She was a sensor-type shinobi. It was rather faint, or muted for one reason or another, but she felt a single chakra signature in this room alone.

The interior was sparse, nary a decoration that wasn't made out of wood. Wood bed frame, wood drawers, wood closet, the necessities were all here, and amid it all was a boy tucked into the bed with shoddy blankets. A wrung towel and a bowl of iced water were by the bedside, and used bandages could be seen discarded on the ground at the foot of the bed.

A sick child?

Tuna slowed her breath, and tried to time the rhythm of her heartbeat with the pitter patter of the rain pouring outside. True to her station, she was utterly silent in her approach.

Tucked in like a caterpillar's cocoon, only the head could be seen. The child had closed eyes, red hair, and a face that was quickly losing its baby fat. By age alone, he was roughly the same or older than the group of four Tuna had spotted earlier.

Other than the kid, there wasn't really anything else here of note.

Tuna scowled behind her mask. Was this all just a waste of effort?

No- wait.

Tuna suddenly froze. Again, she was the Sensor on her team, and the gnawing sense of recognition of the chakra the child possessed was putting her on edge.

She glanced down at her arms and hands, and quickly noticed that goosebumps had formed, the hairs over her skin raising. It wasn't only that, there was a pinching in the back of her neck, and an unsettling sensation in her stomach.

She was tense? Why?

The answer was not far.

When she stared back at the kid, she grew appalled as she noticed the kid's once closed eyes now staring directly at her before a pulse of chakra, he emitted, had her shivering.

T-This chakra!

It finally clicked.

This bastard.

All around her, swords and kunai formed so close that she could feel their cold steel. Chakra chains had also circled around her legs, but she resisted the urge to attempt freeing herself or evading.

The moment the kid flared his chakra was the moment Tuna considered her chances, and then promptly came to a decision when it was clear that the kid was not dead despite having been targeted by the Salamander himself.

"Let's…talk this out?"

She was dealing with the Archer that had separated her unit from Lord Hanzo.

Shirou did his best not to let his fatigue bleed out into his expression and mannerism despite the toll it took to Trace numerous weapons to restrain the masked Rain shinobi before him. He hadn't even rested that long before he was roused from his sleep from his nose twitching.

He wasn't good enough as a Magus to understand the subtle nuances of what he could or couldn't do, or what was conventional, or what wasn't, but his nose had always been rather sensitive to the supernatural. Certain craft had a 'smell,' was the best way he could describe it.

Back in Homurahara, Rin smelt of metal and ore, while Sakura would at times, have this distinct earthen scent to her, like mud or tar, but he'd always associated these instances as coincidence. Now in this new world after getting speared through the heart? Well, let's just say he wasn't going to jump at write things off as just coincidence anymore.

He'd observed and learned that the chakra that existed in everyone's bodies had different smells, and none of Konan, Yahiko, Nawaki, or Nagato's chakra smelled like fish.

The moment Shirou had this thought was the moment he reopened his heavy eye-lids and stared at a Rain shinobi wearing a mask, black poncho, and some sort of vented respirator on her back.

That sight was all he needed to act. He had no choice, as his current state did not give him the leisure, and he'd learned that shinobi were dangerous. The memory of how Hanzo nearly disembowelled him was still fresh in his mind. Then came the realization that if an enemy was here, then what of Konan, and the others?

His expression notably hardened, but he didn't will the swords to strike.

To the naked eye, they seemed lethal and sharp, but only Shirou knew that he'd skimped out on their Tracing to prioritize appearance over functionality. They were hollow, made only as a bluff. The only real construct he was putting effort into maintaining were the chakra chains that wound around the Rain shinobi.

The amount of chakra and magic he'd used against Hanzo had not recovered. If he estimated, he had around Konan-levels of chakra available to him, and she was still in learning.

If a fight happened, it wouldn't be pretty for either side.

"Talk?" Shirou bluffed, channeling the psyche of EMIYA he'd been exposed to under the effects of a class card.

The Rain shinobi hesitated, but tentatively reached her hand up to her mask, and then took it off in a disarming gesture.

"My name is Setsuna," she said, revealing a face that was barely an adult's. Light brown hair framed nervous dilated eyes that darted back and forth to the weapons Shirou maintained around her.

If she was hoping he'd dismiss them, he wasn't to keen on doing so just yet.

Still, if Konan and the others were kids, then the Rain shinobi was just a teenager, giving Shirou second thoughts about basically threatening a minor. No. Child soldiers.

He'd been ignoring it before, but what sort of world drags children into armed conflicts?

"We aren't necessarily enemies, right?" Setsuna tried while Shirou kept his silence out of self reflection. "Y-You're also from Rain. The true enemies are the Hidden Leaf, Rock, and the major villages that treat our country as their battleground."

Shirou could understand what Setsuna was getting at, but he also understood his position.

"We are a rebel force," he said. "The current leader of Rain isn't fit for his position with the amount of people abandoned and dying."

He could still picture it. Emaciated people, despairing and in grief, they who turned to savagery and immoral means just to survive while the leader of Rain turns a blind eye and snuffs out any dissidence.

Setsuna glared, momentarily forgetting that she was surrounded by weapons in order to yell at him who in her mind knew nothing of the overall picture.

"Without Lord Hanzo, Rain as a country and village would not exist!" She balled her hands into fists.

"Yet he does nothing for the hungry, destitute, or desperate dying on the streets and washed away by the rain," Shirou shook his head. A country is its people, not the other way around.

"You can't save everyone!"

"But it doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

Setsuna tensed, a vein popping over her head, but the reminder that she was the one on a weapon's edge did wonders to settle her down. She deflated, but was unresigned.

"Look, this isn't about ideologies." Setsuna changed her angle. "We each have our own beliefs, but what I'm taking about is the end goal. Rain and its people are why we fight, yes?"

Ultimately, the point was true, but there was also another meaning in it.

"You're implying that the ends justify the means?" Shirou was no regular child.

Setsuna's brows knit before she grouched.

"Fuck it. Our goals are the same, okay?!" She stubbornly insisted, acting exactly like her apparent age. A hot head. "If you want to save the useless before the capable for the sake of the country than fine. Go ahead. It's called division of labour. Focus on what you focus on, and let Lord Hanzo and us Rain shinobi do our job and protect our country from its invaders! Can't you see? We can fill in for the other then deal with civil strife afterwards?!"

Shirou blinked at the words seemingly spoken out on impulse, and then wet his dry mouth. Was a temporary alliance just proposed to him?

Rain was amid a great Shinobi World War, and Shirou's rebel force, the Akatsuki numbered a despairing few. If he somehow overthrew Hanzo, then that still left Hidden Leaf, Rock, and whatever other shinobi nations were in on this war, free reign over Rain country.

All this said, what could he do on his own when he was far too inexperienced in the shinobi world?

"We tried to kill each other. Blood is on our hands already." He reasoned stiffly.

"It's part of the job. Your point?"

Setsuna felt like she'd finally taken the initiative for the first time in this conversation. She was a prodigy of Rain created through hard work and grit, reaching Jounin-level primarily due to the use of her sensory skills, which made her more of a special Jounin, but regardless. She could see that she'd chipped a bit of Shirou's stubbornness away.

"Listen, we need as much support as we can if we want to rebuff the Tree Fuckers and Rock Shitters." Setsuna's crassness was showing but she didn't care. "We're on opposite sides, but are technically on the same side as members of Rain. What benefit do we have in weakening ourselves when our enemies already dwarf our forces combined?"

Tactically, it was sound, and Shirou had no way to deny it. It was one thing if Rain was just under a civil war, but it was another if it was being eyed by its surrounding neighbors.

Hanzo was as much a deterrent as he was an enemy.

"Just think about it, and hey -I'll even share a piece of information out of goodwill." Setsuna continued, wondering whether she was being persuasive enough? The fact that Shirou hadn't taken away the blades around her still made her nervous, but he wasn't attacking either. "Be careful of Hidden Leaf. Our forces have detected strange movements from them as of late. They've also established what looked like a forward camp near this fog barrier."

Hidden Leaf? Shirou digested the information, and could see that Setsuna had no reason to lie.

"Out of everyone, they seemed the keenest on infiltrating the fog and building up their forces to explore it. This was why Lord Hanzo took the initiative to personally investigate."

Great. Shirou inwardly grimaced. So, another enemy was already right on the doorstep.

Staring as beads of sweat formed over Setsuna's brows, Shirou sighed and gradually demineralized his projections.

"Leave," he warned Setsuna after noting that she didn't intend to cause any conflict any longer.

Relief flooded Setsuna's features, having avoided a tough encounter, but she still lamented. "As if leaving was easy. The damn fog's in the way." She muttered.

Shirou froze. If Setsuna was trapped in the fog barrier, and if she wasn't alone, didn't that mean there was an entire group of elite Rain shinobi inside that few but he could compete with?

[Bloodline Resonance…]

Shirou thought back to that last notification message he'd gotten before passing out. The newest feature not only enhanced the barrier, but granted him full authority over it. The problem was that most of the barrier's defensive features were outside the barrier, and not inside of it.

"The barrier shouldn't be a problem. I'll let you out," Shirou was all too willing to do this.

His words all but shook Setsuna in place as realization dawned on her.

"Y-You're the one in control of the fog barrier?!"

Setsuna grew somewhat flustered. Her squad captain had indicated that this was a type of Uzu Fuinjutsu, and now that she looked at it, the characteristic red hair was blatant on Shirou's head.

Is that what the leaf was after? Just remnants of that destroyed clan?

Setsuna didn't have time to dwell over the issue. Uzumaki or not, it changed nothing. What she'd said before was out of impulse, but if Shirou was skilled enough to survive Lord Hanzo, and set up a barrier like this, then he would be invaluable as a temporary ally for Rain.

"I know we're enemies, but will you not meet with Lord Hanzo?" Setsuna tentatively proposed. By all rights, Shirou had given her the permission to leave, but her own stubbornness caused her to seek a third option. "I can't guarantee anything as just a Rain Shinobi, but if the people come first before grudges and ambitions, and if we're all fighting for Rain, then why not come to an official agreement?"

Shirou brooded, weighing his options.

Hanzo of the Salamander.

Shirou hadn't forgotten how helplessly outclassed he was under that man's presence. The risk of meeting him in person again was no doubt great, but if it was compared to combating the Hidden Leaf and Rock's forces on his own, then he really had to consider the idea. At least until the brunt of the war simmers down.

Should he have a talk with Hanzo or not?

In the end, he came up with an answer.

"I won't meet him in person," he said.

Setsuna frowned. "Then-"

Wood suddenly sprouted from Shirou's side, quickly taking his image and likeness while Setsuna froze upon recognizing the technique. Few if any trained shinobi would not know of it.

"I'll send a clone."

Setsuna balked.

Forget being an Uzumaki, this must be what those Tree Fuckers were really after.

Skulking through the streets of a simple settlement, two figures made their way back towards the forest that suddenly sprung up in the land of Rain. One of them was Setsuna leading the way to rendezvous with her squad, and the other was none other than a clone.

"I'm a clone. Is there a point in staring?" The clone asked, feeling Setsuna's eyes on him the entire time.

"Just thinking," Setsuna muttered, still in disbelief before shaking her head and keeping quiet. All kinds of thoughts were fostered in her mind as the latest movements of the Leaf Shinobi began to make sense.

Meanwhile, the clone didn't possess a shinobi's stoicism and decided to seek answers in the respite.

"About the Hidden Leaf…why would the original have to worry about them over Rock or other shinobi participating in the war in Rain?" The clone asked, curiosity evident in the tone.

Setsuna glanced at the clone beside her and noticed the naïve innocence that was still plastered over its face. She snickered with dark humour. "Beyond the politics, you're original is essentially a prized breeding cow. Honestly, Cloud and Rock would probably do the same, but none would have the same level as the Leaf's investment."

The clone nearly dispelled as it faltered.

"What?" It repeated, vaguely knowing exactly what it had heard.

Setsuna's eyes shone with a cold yet rather crass rationality. They were enemies, but they could at least get along with each other.

"You have a bloodline that makes trees, and they're Tree Fuckers. What do you think?" She snorted. "There are even clan policies in the Major Hidden Villages that stipulate that the last male heir of a bloodline or clan must take numerous wives."

"And if the original doesn't agree?"

Setsuna gave him a shit eating smile. "Ever heard of reverse ra-?"

"…noted." The clone cut her off with an unamused click of his tongue.

"Heh," the edges of Setsuna's eyes curled up, but she maintained a professional expression.

Soon enough, the due reached their destination where the rest of Setsuna's squad noticed their arrival. In the lead was Seal, Setsuna's unit leader.

Setsuna watched Seal approach while signalling that the clone wasn't a danger. Regardless, Seal's shoulders were trembling in frustration and resignation all directed at her, and she knew why, but she couldn't help it. She'd always been rather unruly.

"Tuna, where is your mask?" Of course that the was first thing her captain would ask, but it wasn't as if he was done. He wasn't blind. "And who is that?"

Seal pointed at Shirou, yet Setsuna made a face when her unit designation was revealed and the fucking clone looked away. Damn it. Her rep.

"I'm not wearing the mask out of sincerity, so it's Setsuna, and not Tuna," she ground the words out through her teeth, not caring if her captain had no idea what her sincerity was for. She was about to tell him anyway. "And the kid? He's our way out, and yes, he's a clone."

Seal raised a brow at the words, obviously skeptical, but that all changed when the clone waved a hand in a direction leading out of the barrier.

Just like that, the dense fog even in the forest, parted to form a narrow tunnel out of the formation. The way out had been opened as if the Genjutsu that had plagued them had no effect anymore.

Relief came over everyone in Setsuna's squad, but she decided to pay more attention to the clone, and what would come next.

"The clone would like to contact Lord Hanzo."

Seal's demeanor changed the moment Setsuna brought the matter up, but she didn't care. This was too important.

'Uzumaki,' and 'Wood Release,' she mouthed, emphasizing the value involved in officializing a meeting.

To this end, the weight of the matter was beyond Seal's authority to handle.

"Lord Third this is too much even for me." Sakumo felt a headache coming on, but the intel delivered by the third Hokage's own students couldn't be ignored. Especially when the princess of the Senju threatened to go solo if they weren't quick enough to mobilize.

His son Kakashi had just been born. Honestly, he should have been there for his wife, but here he was stuck in the war front.

If he had to be blunt, logistics were a mess, and morale was skewed despite Lord Third's students returning alive from Hanzo's encirclement. Word of the Wood Release and the retrieval of Kushina's brother were known only to a select few, but said few were the ones in charge. Of course, there was a tight lid kept on this information to prevent its dissemination to enemies, but this didn't motivate their shinobi half-as-much as it would have if they knew they were fighting for the First's legacy.

Hidden Leaf's priorities in Rain were currently two-fold in the given situation.

If they could secure Kushina's brother, then Hidden Leaf's battered relations with the Uzumaki after Uzushio's fall could be partly amended. At the same time, Leaf secures the bloodline only ever seen in the First Hokage.

Only someone capable would be left in charge of the overall operation, and Sakumo was one of the unfortunate ones weighed down by the responsibility. With matters involving the Wood Release, Lord Third may even personally intervene, but before anything else, the fog barrier was the largest hurdle.

If before, teams of Jounin could infiltrate its boundary, now, not even they could get past. It was clear that the barrier had gotten stronger. As expected of the Uzumaki. No Sealing Master could ever rival their creations.

Still, since it was an Uzumaki Sealing Art that was in the way of retrieval, then it wasn't as if the Hidden Leaf had no answer.

Lady Mito was on her way.

It was Sakumo's job to keep the line. Something infinitely harder to accomplish with Hanzo and his forces maintaining a constant perimeter of the fog barrier.

Jiraya had said that Hanzo also knew of the Wood Release returning to the shinobi world.

The war in Rain was bound to get messier, but knowing the importance of the matter, Sakumo was certain that Leaf would not hesitate to escalate tensions if need be. Then there was the risk of Rock and their fence sitters finding out, the chances of which increase from the oddity of both Hanzo and Leaf's forces setting bases by the fog barrier.

Everything about this situation was hurting Sakumo's head.

This should be a Nara's job, but even the one's present in Rain took one look and replied with a unanimous response.

Troublesome.

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