It was too dangerous to stick around so Mei forced everyone to move until they reached the closest position they could set up to defend.

"Just rest. Don't strain yourself." Mei commanded her injured teammate. "You two look around while I stay and guard. We're not staying here for long." The two healthy members shot her a thumbs up before disappearing into the forest for a quick scan of their surroundings.

"Is everything there?" Mei watched their client do a thorough check of his cart. He opened each box and scanned their contents while holding a checklist.

"I don't get it. They didn't steal anything?"

Mei frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Most of my crates aren't valuable. Common everyday goods and the like. I don't sell weapons either. It's easier to recoup losses when the goods you sell are cheap." The merchant closed the box and opened another. "It's an honest and safer method for a lot of us to stick to those. We make enough to profit off quantity."

"So…none of your goods have been stolen?" Mei's gears grinded in her head. "Anything else you bring along?"

"Messages. Letters. Transactions receipts."

Mei paused. Her senses were usually correct, and she couldn't help but feel something was off about the situation. A ninja appearing inside the dome during the middle of a battle seemed entirely too deliberate. The battle was a distraction. They wanted something inside the cart. Considering the merchant had enough money to rent their services, Mei assumed that his goods were at least of medium grade. If not everyday goods, then perhaps premium materials and more.

"Check them. Your letters." Mei watched him open up the side bags and pulled out piles of envelopes. These must be the messages and letters. He opened another bag and this time it was larger. Full sheets of paper tied together with string. They looked like they were handled roughly, which drew more suspicion.

"Is that how they normally look?" Mei asked him.

"Actually, yes. These are orders between shops and suppliers. They're always handled by many so they don't look clean."

Mei was a ninja. Business was not part of their education, so she couldn't scrutinize the merchant's job. Rather, she'd have to trust his words on it. She watched him check the letter pile then moved on to the order list. Inwardly, she approved of the merchant's meticulousness. As a shinobi, they had to keep stock of their own supplies. This man was tracking hundreds. Even a simple checklist wasn't enough to follow everything if you didn't have the skill and memory for it.

She noticed their client shuffle a couple of transaction papers repeatedly, glancing between them and his checklist.

"Is something wrong?" Mei asked.

"I…I shouldn't have these papers. I haven't been to this town this trip." The client paused when Mei walked over to look at his record. "See here? I keep track of transactions and letters where I picked them up and where I drop them off. I segregate all of them by destination. I haven't been to this town." He explained while showing Mei the address of the receipt and his record.

"What was the original receipt?"

"I don't know yet. I haven't gone through all of them. There's still a good number left."

Mei waited a couple more minutes as their client cross checked all the receipts on his list. She glanced at her injured teammate while their last members returned.

"We've set up tripwires and alarm seals. Nobody's going to sneak through."

"I wouldn't count on it. Our enemies snuck through us in the middle of a battle with bandits. We'll do a quick inventory check here before we hurry to the city."

Their destination was Nagofu, the largest city in the western archipelago of Mizu no Kuni.

Once they were within range, it would be easier for them to connect with the garrisoned forces. The presence of Nagofu soldiers and Kirigakure shinobi would secure their client and his goods better than the four of them.

It took a couple more minutes for the merchant to finish checking the receipts before he separated the forgeries from the legitimate ones.

"These are fake?" Mei looked at both piles. Her attention focused on the receipts from the smaller group.

"A good chunk of my material receipts are gone."

Mei thought for a while. "Anything you noticed aside from that?"

"Well…I don't see any metal and paper receipts even though I'm sure I shipped a lot of them between towns."

Metal and paper…?

What were metal and paper most used for? Everyday tools and activities. But then why go as far as having a ninja steal receipts? Unless…

Weapons. Explosive tags. Dangerous tools every ninja needed.

Mei hesitantly connected the dots together. Her mindset was to always assume the worst case scenario. She wasn't considered an upcoming prodigy for nothing.

To head to their hideout after being in contact with a Kiri team was suicide. As good as Obito was, he was still within unknown territory. Mizu no Kuni was a different land compared to Hi no Kuni and he didn't have an accurate gauge of what specializations Kirigakure's shinobi had. Sure, he fought against them during the Third Great War, but he was still young and inexperienced then. Most of the information he learned was passed down from higher ranks who also coordinated with commanders to break down Kirigakure tactics and weaknesses. It's been a few years since the war, but war time strategies differed from peacetime strategies. There were also lots of factors in play like lower numbers, weaker forces, and others that influenced the current operational procedures of Kiri.

So, Obito was taking measured and safe decisions. As much as he could anyway.

He led Naruto in the opposite direction of Nagofu's perimeter of influence. Several towns bordered the city and there would be at least a couple sentries, shinobi or not, that would have their eyes out. It was a common tactic for cities to have outlying regions with some form of detection at least. It meant invading ninja forces had to burn more chakra just to sneak past a longer distance to reach the city. Every bit of chakra shaved off meant victory or defeat when you scaled it to dozens or hundreds.

It didn't help that Naruto had a bloody ocean for a chakra signature.

We should really work on finding a solution to that…

Obito was forced to work on his chakra detection skills once he lost his Sharingan. Over a year's worth of training and he was finally at the beginner's stage. Since chakra detection was a specialized branch of ninjutsu, you either had the innate talent for it, or had to grind it the hard way. He wasn't a genius. Obito was nothing like Kakashi. Outside of his Sharingan, everything about him was average.

"Naruto, are you suppressing your chakra?"

Let's just say that Obito was having trouble admitting that his beginner detection skills were only able to read the presence of Naruto's chakra. Though, he couldn't say just how much there was considering his chakra sense was completely flooded with it.

"I'm trying…" Naruto grumbled behind him. Just as Obito was less than enthusiastic with his progress on chakra detection, Naruto was annoyed at how hard suppressing his chakra was.

"Then we'll circle around a few more times."

To muddy the tracks of Naruto's chakra signature, Obito had the both of them circle around every kilometer traversed multiple times.

"Once we reach the first town, we'll keep circling for an hour before heading north."

In the wilderness, Naruto's chakra signature would be easy to follow. Circling a couple of times meant delaying the tracking group should any be dispatched for a good hour or two. Then once they entered a town, those tracks would be lost with all the chakra signatures of passing ninjas, both missing-nins and Kiri-nins.

On second thought, since Naruto's chakra signature was all over the place, might as well have the kid train.

"Do some chakra exercises while we're running." Obito ordered.

"But…I thought we're supposed to be laying low?"

"Your chakra signature is all over the place. It doesn't matter what we do. They'll still find our chakra if trackers are sent. Better to use our time efficiently."

Naruto gave Obito a hesitant look. Between the both of them, he had expected the older Uchiha to act on the safer side. For the past month in Mizu no Kuni, Obito had made Naruto double check everything the younger Uzumaki did. From inventory of weapons carried, to their itinerary for the day. Naruto had resorted to keeping a list everyday and memorizing its contents. He was still seven years old, there was a limit to how much he could pick up in a short amount of time.

After a few moments, the younger Uzumaki began going through his chakra control exercises. It was tougher when his attention was split between his exercise and the surroundings. Obito had been drilling into him that awareness of his environment was more important for Naruto's current development.

Fighting could be trained as Naruto grew. But first, he needed to learn how to avoid fights. Survival was the utmost priority for him to learn during this critical junction of his development. Which meant being aware of everything going on around him.

If Naruto failed to identify a threat near him, then he would be as good as dead.

They arrived in the City of Nagofu after two days.

Mei wanted to rush, but not much could be done when you were limited to civilian speed. She could've sent ahead one of her teammates, but command would've questioned her decision.

Sending a member for a small matter such as stolen receipts and compromising the team? A pay cut would be the least punishment for her. Kirigakure supported strength and quality on their shinobi, but needlessly endangering allies was against the rules. Kirigakure was recovering from the Third Great War and their numbers were low. Their power in Mizu no Kuni was shaky and the daimyo was relying on other groups to fill in the gaps that Kirigakure used to hold.

It was a slap to Kirigakure's face. They used to be powerful. Strong enough to project presence over the entire archipelago before. The Third Great War sapped them of their strength. Now, the hidden village had to retreat from numerous areas in Mizu no Kuni. They had to downsize operations and cut costs. The individual shinobi was more important now than it was before.

Mei had mixed thoughts on the matter. She had grown up on Kiri's old system. The Third Great War only reinforced her upbringing when Mei saw her weaker allies die in numbers. At the same time, Konoha's defense against three of the five great hidden villages only further proved Kiri's view. At the time, the hidden village of Hi no Kuni had the greatest number of S-ranks along with a generally strong pool of shinobi to draw on. It was by their hand that they forced Iwagakure into an armistice that culminated in the Third Great War's end.

Kirigakure arguably had the weakest performance of the Great Villages in that war. They couldn't make any headway into the mainland. Kiri may have the strongest navy, but naval power was limited to water. Once they were on land, Konoha and Kumo rebuffed their navies at the coasts. What little success they had were against weaker hidden villages.

A decade after the war, their current Mizukage- Yagura Karatachi- was adamant for Kirigakure to become self-sufficient and had cut all ties with other hidden villages.

It was also the reason why there were so many mercenaries in the country. Aside from being parasites, they were also Mizu no Kuni's means of adapting to Kirigakure's weakened strength. Bandits were everywhere, along with missing-nin who entered Mizu no Kuni to profit off the local Great Village's retreat.

Which led to Mei Terumi's current situation.

This was the current overseer in Nagofu.

Mei observed the ninja in front of her. She was seventeen and he was supposed to be two years younger than her. Yet, his position held seniority. Her gaze was matched by his sharp eyes, the Demon of the Hidden Mist studying her just as she did him. Fortunately, the atmosphere wasn't tense. They were fellow shinobi of Kirigakure and were meeting each other for the first time.

"Mei Terumi, huh?" Zabuza grinned. "You've finally arrived."

She was leaving the Nagofu headquarters after submitting the report of their trip. She made sure to caution the appearance of a ninja stealing trade receipts. In the future, small details like such will prove vital in building proof when the situation spirals out of control.

"Zabuza Momochi." Mei replied evenly. With their reputations, the two of them would've heard of each other long ago.

"Welcome to Nagofu. I hope you're ready for some excitement."

"I've heard." Mei would hear news about Nagofu every so often when a batch of shinobi would return. Nothing too alarming, but Nagofu was the biggest city in the western region of Mizu no Kuni. Naturally, the large concentration of people and businesses meant power. The city was a hotbed of crime and opportunity. Kirigakure being another player among the battlefield's participants.

Normally, shinobi of her caliber would've been dispatched earlier to Nagofu. It was unusual that she was being sent now after several years. Mei had her suspicions, but the most obvious one reared its head.

Racism. Prejudice. Bigotry.

Kirigakure was full of it.

The same way Zabuza was thrust into the position ahead of her. Kiri probably considered him somewhat dangerous to handle, but an attack dog was still useful. Putting him in a position of power was better than giving it to Kekkei Genkai holders amongst the Kiri forces. Zabuza's skill would be favorable when used against bloodlines that have an edge against the average shinobi.

"Since you've been here for a while. Can you tell me the good weapon depots in the city?" If Mei was going to stay in the city, she needed to know the best places to source shinobi gear from. The base in Nagofu had its stockpile and freely supplied Kiri-nin, but the quality only met industry standards. If shinobi wanted good or personal equipment, they had to go and purchase their own.

Zabuza grinned. Just like Mei, he knew what the difference in equipment quality made.

"Yamada, Atsushi, Tamotsu. Those are the best in Nagofu." He waved a hand while answering.

The Demon of the Mist disappeared around the corner, leaving Mei to furrow her expression. He could've at least told her where they were. No matter. She'd just have to find them on her own. Besides, it meant she could familiarize herself with Nagofu. As her operational headquarters for the incoming period, it was expected for them to accustom themselves to their new environment.

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"-and this will be your room."

Mei peered into the small accommodation. Kiri's operations base in Nagofu was sizeable, enough to support a good few hundred people. The lack of shinobi in the base was expected since most would be out on missions.

"Canteen is on the fourth level. Meals are available around the clock but don't expect warm meals outside of the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. The cooks are not available all the time. Training rooms and others in the second." Her guide explained. They had just come from the fifth level. The fifth level was the lowest floor in the base, reserved for the administration and command.

It made sense. It was the most important section. The base was hidden under Nagofu, and if the city was assaulted and their base attacked, then the fifth level would be the most difficult area to reach. The canteen on the fourth level was nearly as important since it was their food stock in case of a siege. The levels above those were designed as defensive layers aimed to slow down and stop the enemies from breaching. They could lose their training facilities and barracks, but not their food and documents.

"Thank you." Mei entered her small room. It was not much. A bunk bed, some space for recreation, a closet in the corner, and a table with a chair. She doubted most of the rooms had more space than this. They were maximizing what little floor area the base had for ninja. It was an unfortunate blessing that Kirigakure was down on numbers, so their forward bases in several regions were undermanned. Nagofu was one such place. Mei didn't have to share her room with anyone.

"If you have any questions, just ask."

"Are we required to remain inside the base when not on missions?"

"No, but we're expected to report in every day. It doesn't matter what time, just show your face every twenty-four hours when you're not on a mission. If you like drinking, then go ahead, but don't leak anything important. Do anything that compromises our position and we'll kill you."

Mei nodded. That was standard procedure. Kiri shinobi had to watch each other's backs…and each other. If command found one or more shinobi making deals behind their back, betrayal or not, then everyone was obligated to hunt them down and eliminate them. Permanently. If you did escape your former comrades, Hunter-nin would be dispatched to deal with you.

Yes…Kiri's operational prerogatives were brutal yet effective.

"Can we rent a room in Nagofu?" Mei could survive sleeping in the base, but some comfort was appreciated. Having space out in the city would help her relax better. She'd just rotate between accommodations.

"We're permitted. You'll have to do that with a fake alias. Can't use our real names up there." Her guide pointed upwards to the city above them.

"Thank you. That's all."

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After dropping off her belongings, Mei headed straight out.

It took her the fair part of an hour, but she eventually made her way to one of Zabuza's recommended stores. Mei eyed the walls, scanning the various weapons and equipment provided by Yamada's. The store was owned by a small clan of blacksmiths. A branch to sell their wares. The clan was more likely to be situated outside the city where they could work in peace, only transporting finished goods in.

Her eyes travelled across the stock. Unlike bows, spears, and swords commonly used by mercenaries, samurai, and soldiers, ninja gear were less common. Shinobi were a specialized field that only a very small number of people outside a hidden village could pursue. Therefore, their equipment would be the least supplied. Expensive too, considering they were paid in premium with jobs outside Kirigakure. Stores hiked up ninja gear prices to cash in on them, which made it troublesome to acquire quality equipment outside of standard issue gear at base.

But Mei wasn't here to purchase gear. She didn't want to become overly reliant on quality. Mei learned the hard way during her early missions when purchasing gear gave her a mixed set of kunai and shuriken that slightly differed in weight and balance. Her throws went off mark and missed a good number of opportunities to kill her targets. Now, she tested every set she came across and trained her aim to adjust the slight differences between gear. At least ninja wire, explosive tags, and storage seals weren't as problematic. You could purchase those anywhere and get the same quality with less impact on the battlefield.

Mei still couldn't understand how different sources of explosives tags still generated the same level of impact. Damned fuinjutsu was beyond her skill to understand.

"Hello ma'am. I see you're browsing our shinobi gear. Would you like to test them out? Free of charge." A saleswoman approached her. The woman tagged her as a shinobi, which were premium customers once they chose your product.

"Ah yes. Do you have a shooting range in the back?"

"We do. Please, come this way." The saleswoman gestured for Mei to follow her.

"And can I talk with your manager? It's an important matter."

"I'll bring him along, ma'am."

Mei took one last look at the weapons on the wall.

If someone really was tracking metal and paper trails, then the likelihood of them aiming for weapons were high. Mei doubted they'd steal from the stores. Ninjas were employed for far more important jobs. The likely chance they were collecting information was higher, so keeping an eye on some locations would give her some clues.

After this store, she'd check on Atsushi and Tamotsu then work her way down to lower quality shops. She didn't need to keep an eye on all the stores. Just enough of the high-medium end ones to see if any unusual activity would be noticed.

Two days after, Obito decided that the coast was clear. The two of them made their way to the hideout to rejoin the others.

The cave wasn't anything special. It was a good day's distance from Nagofu to make sure that they had plenty of time to prepare when shinobi were dispatched. Several White Zetsu clones circled the city and would alert them of ninja movements in the area. If ninja were headed in their direction, then they would disperse and regroup at another location.

"So what did you guys do?" Karin waved Naruto over while Obito and the two Zetsus talked.

"We raided another merchant. Though this time, it had ninjas." Naruto clicked his tongue. "I still don't know why we continued with it. Obito says we're supposed to be laying low. Attacking Kiri shinobi is the last thing we want to do." Naruto had been brought on jobs that went sideways due to the appearance of other nin. Obito usually killed them off because they didn't have to hide then. This time, they were dealing with shinobi from the hidden villages.

"At least yours was interesting. White Zetsu had me training chakra detection. We just roamed villages for a couple of days. I was supposed to try and see the chakra signatures of civilians. Civilians!" Karin complained. "How do you even see something they don't use? It was so hard…" She faceplanted into her hands.

"Have you seen where Tobi is?" Naruto looked around. The last member of their small group was nowhere to be seen.

"No. I think Black Zetsu sent him out on a mission…unless Obito stuffed him into Kamui for being annoying."

"Obito would never do that. They're too close." Obito may not show it, but Naruto could see it. It was the same way he felt towards them. At least, up until two years ago when Obito and the two Zetsus worked together to take his eyes away from him. Now, Naruto only felt that sort of kinship with Tobi, which was ironically the same person Obito felt closest to. Something about Tobi's character and his light-hearted interactions brought out the brighter side for a group of killers like them.

Which only made Naruto more wary of White and Black Zetsu whom Kurama warned him about. He had explained to the tailed beast inside him that just like Tobi those two looked different from everyone else he had seen.

"You would know. I've only been with you people for two years." Karin pointed out.

"If you've got time to talk, then you should do it while sparring."

Black Zetsu's voice carried over to the two children. They both sighed while settling into fighting stances.

While the two children caught up during the spar, the two Zetsus and Obito updated their progress.

"You knew they were Kiri-nin. Why did you continue?" Dark Zetsu inquired. "Unnecessary attention will only endanger our position."

Obito looked away. He was still learning from Black Zetsu how to scheme. The attack on Konoha during Naruto's birth was headed by Black Zetsu with some input from Obito due to his familiarity with his sensei, Minato Namikaze, and the Konoha forces. Seven years later, he was still learning from the man.

"I saw an opportunity. One of the Kiri-nin is a Kekkei Genkai user. Her position in the village forces would be shaky." Obito answered. Considering the situation, it was a coinflip whether his early move would pay off or not.

"The Fourth Mizukage has been reaching out to more Kekkai Genkai clans. He's been trying to reconnect with them. If he is, then the position of bloodline users in Kiri's military would be more stable." White Zetsu looked at Obito. "Though, change would be slow and difficult. Kekkei Genkai shinobi are still feared by older generations. The Third Great War only muffled some of the animosity between both sides because they found a common enemy in other nations."

"So what was your plan?"

"This girl- Mei- was their team leader. I was going to ask White Zetsu to trail once he identified her. Considering the merchant was heading to Nagofu, then the girl would be heading there too." He faced the white counterpart of Black Zetsu. "Naruto told me that he saw a strong mix of fire, water, and earth. Extremely powerful that it shows through her chakra signature."

"I'll tag a clone to follow her once we spot her leaving the city for a mission." White Zetsu answered. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"I want to see her situation. If the relationship between her and the other ninja are strained, then that only plays into our hands. It's possible to use her in the future once we reach out to the clans. A spy inside Kiri's forces if you will. Besides that, tracking her will reveal their base in Nagofu."

"I've already found their base. My clones tracked a team of Kiri-nin returning from a mission." White Zetsu interceded.

"…I suggest not to do the same next time, Obito. We are here to learn more about Kiri's situation. You do not know the country yet either. Risks now aren't that significant, but too many and one will eventually catch us later. Kiri isn't so blind as not to notice us brewing a civil war once we start making bigger moves."

"Don't worry. Worse comes to worse, I shall hunt down the girl. Her death will be noted, but I doubt Kiri would do much when losses during missions are expected. I can set a trap with a fake mission later down the line." Obito had done the same when they were hunting ninja bounties back in the mainland. Study the target's movement and pattern, have White Zetsu's clones observe the target's fighting style and mission preference, set a convincing job, and wait for the target to come served on a platter. It was also Obito's way of sharpening his skills when it came to scheming and strategizing.

"So…hands off on anything Kiri-related until further notice?" White Zetsu asked. "Should I pull out my clones in the city then? I killed some civilians and replaced them to keep eyes on their movements."

"Keep them. They're close enough without being suspected. If you can, try to slip them into the industry. More ears on the ground directly. Once we have a good grasp on Nagofu's weapon industry, we will move on to the rest of the western region. Leave some clones around here to watch the area."

Obito always found it unsettling how White Zetsu could easily replace anyone. It'd take time to infiltrate industry, but White Zetsu could learn to assimilate. Every skill he learned was a skill he could use to infiltrate other places. It was such a dangerous ability that Obito couldn't decide who was more dangerous- the black counterpart or the white.

"Now, let's move on to other topics…"

The three of them would discuss for another hour before dispersing.

Author's Note

Jeez, it's been 5 months since I last updated this thing. No it's not dead yet, but my writing speed must be on life support.