Chapter Text
The road leading back to Konoha wound through the forest beneath clear blue skies. Sunlight filtered through the canopy overhead, painting shifting patches of gold across the dirt path. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves, carrying with it the scent of pine and fresh earth. It was peaceful.
At least, it was peaceful until Naruto opened his mouth.
"THAT MISSION WAS AWESOME!"
A flock of crows exploded from a nearby treetop, cawing indignantly as they scattered into the sky.
"NARUTO!" Sakura snapped. Her fist connected with the top of his head.
"OW!” Naruto clutched his skull and glared at her. "What was that for?!"
"Do you have to yell everything?"
Naruto pointed accusingly, "You're yelling right now!"
Sakura's eye twitched. "That's different!"
Walking several paces behind them, Kakashi calmly turned a page in his book.
"Children," he said without looking up, "try to settle down."
Both immediately pointed at each other.
"He started it!"
"She started it!"
Kakashi ignored them. Sai glanced up from his sketchbook.
"I think this is valuable information for the mission report."
Naruto groaned. "How is that valuable information?"
Sai's pencil scratched across the page. "'Naruto and Sakura engaged in routine post-mission hostilities.'"
"I don't think that's mission relevant," Sakura said.
Sai tilted his head. "It seems relevant."
Naruto snorted. Sakura raised a fist, and he immediately took three steps away from her. The pencil continued moving.
"'Naruto demonstrated strong self-preservation instincts.'"
Kakashi's shoulders shook slightly. Whether it was laughter or a cough was impossible to tell.
Their mission itself had been remarkably simple. Escort an ambassador from Sunagakure. Ensure his safe return, deal with a small group of bandits who had apparently mistaken diplomacy for weakness, then come home. Just a straightforward success. The kind of mission every shinobi claimed to want and then immediately complained was boring.
Naruto stretched his arms over his head. "First thing I'm doing when we get back is getting ramen."
"Of course it is," Sakura muttered.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking a hot shower."
Sai looked thoughtful. "I am going to finish my report."
Naruto stared. "You're weird."
"Thank you."
Ahead of them, the forest remained calm. Birdsong drifted through the trees. Branches swayed gently in the breeze. Nothing seemed out of place, which was precisely why none of them noticed the nearly invisible wire stretched across the path. It remained hidden beneath the shadows of the forest floor.
Kakashi stepped over it without looking. Years of experience guided his feet automatically. Sakura followed several paces behind, her attention focused on Naruto's continued complaining. Her foot landed just beyond the thin line. Sai walked over it entirely while jotting down notes in his sketchbook. None of them noticed.
Naruto did, though. Specifically, he noticed it with his shin. The wire snapped taut. There was a brief moment of silence. Naruto blinked.
"Huh?"
Kakashi looked up from his book. The forest answered with a loud TWANG.
"Naruto—!"
A bent sapling sprang upright. Naruto yelped as the thread around his ankle tightened and violently launched him skyward.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH—"
Naruto disappeared into the treetops. Leaves exploded in every direction. A second mechanism activated, then a third. Somewhere deeper in the woods, a wound spring released with a rapid clicking noise.
WHIRRRRRRRRR~
Naruto hung upside down nearly twenty feet above the ground. The first pinecone struck him directly in the forehead.
THUNK.
"OW!"
A second followed.
THUNK.
"OW!"
Then another.
THUNK.
"STOP THAT!"
More pinecones began launching from a cleverly concealed device hidden among a cluster of bushes. One after another, steadily.
THUNK.
THUNK.
THUNK.
Naruto twisted helplessly. "WHO BUILT THIS?!"
Another pinecone bounced off his cheek.
THUNK.
Kakashi lowered his book. "...Interesting."
Naruto stared. "INTERESTING?!"
Nearby, Sai crouched beside the launcher. The machine consisted of twisted cord, carved wood, several pulleys, and what appeared to be a heavily modified sapling branch functioning as a throwing arm. The mechanism rotated steadily as stored tension unwound. Another pinecone launched.
THUNK.
Naruto groaned. Sai observed quietly.
"The engineering is surprisingly efficient."
THUNK.
"SAI."
"The creator appears to have used a manually wound torsion system."
THUNK.
"GET ME DOWN."
"The spring tension is transferring energy into the throwing arm."
THUNK.
"SAKURA."
"The launch velocity is remarkably consistent."
Another pinecone struck Naruto directly on the nose.
THUNK.
Naruto screamed. Sai scribbled something into his notebook.
"The target acquisition capabilities are less impressive."
"The target acquisition capabilities are ME!"
Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Would you stop moving around?"
"I'M TRYING NOT TO GET HIT!"
Another pinecone bounced off his forehead.
Kakashi wandered over to inspect the device. "Hm."
Sai looked up. "Hm?"
"The balance is good."
"It is."
"The creator has talent."
"They do."
Naruto's eye twitched violently. "WHY ARE WE REVIEWING IT LIKE IT'S ART?!"
THUNK.
The next pinecone landed squarely in his mouth. Naruto sputtered. It rolled uselessly onto the ground beneath him. Sakura finally lost the battle against her own amusement. A laugh escaped, and soon she was doubled over. Naruto looked betrayed.
"Sakura!"
That only made her laugh harder.
High above them, Naruto continued swinging helplessly while the machine diligently carried out its life's purpose… humiliating him. The launcher fired one final pinecone.
THUNK.
It struck Naruto directly between the eyes. The mechanism gave one last pitiful creak.
Click.
The throwing arm sagged. The wound cord had unwound completely. With its mission completed, the contraption retired from active duty. Naruto swung upside down beneath the branch, glaring at the machine.
"I hate whoever made this."
Sai stood beside the launcher. "I admire whoever made this."
"I'M STILL HANGING HERE."
Ignoring him, Kakashi knelt beside the mechanism. His visible eye moved over the construction carefully. Carved wood. Improvised pulleys. Twisted cord. A tension system. Nothing about it was professionally made, but it was clever: the kind of clever that made experienced shinobi pay attention.
Sakura folded her arms. "What do you think?"
"I think someone put a lot of effort into protecting this area."
Naruto pointed at himself. "By attacking innocent people?"
"You triggered the trap," Sai pointed out.
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT."
Kakashi stood. "Most people don't build something like this for fun."
Naruto immediately opened his mouth.
Sai raised a finger. "The possibility exists."
"Thank you, Sai,” Naruto grumbled.
Kakashi ignored both of them. "We're close to Konoha's borders."
Immediately, Sakura became more attentive. "A hostile?"
"Maybe." Kakashi looked deeper into the forest. "Maybe not. But someone built this."
Sai closed his sketchbook. "And someone maintained it."
The trap wasn't old. The ropes hadn't rotted, and the wood showed signs of recent repair. Someone was checking on it. Someone lived nearby, or at least spent enough time here to care.
Kakashi slipped his book into his vest. "Either way, I'd like to know who."
Naruto groaned. "Can we know who after someone gets me down?”
Sakura drew a kunai. "Oh. Right."
Naruto brightened. Finally.
With a flick of her wrist, Sakura threw the blade and cut the rope. For one glorious second, Naruto experienced freedom… then gravity unfortunately remembered him.
THUD.
The forest floor shook slightly. Naruto wheezed. "...Ow."
Sakura stepped over him. "Walk it off."
"SAKURA!"
She was already gone. Kakashi vanished into the trees moments later. Sai followed without hesitation. Within seconds all three had spread out, searching for tracks, signs of habitation, or anything that might lead them to the trap's creator.
Naruto remained on the ground, alone, covered in dirt, and surrounded by pinecones. The victim of a battle he hadn't even known he was fighting. After several moments, he sat up. A pinecone rolled out of his jacket. He stared at it.
"...I'm definitely finding this person…” he huffed, then pushed himself to his feet and hurried after the others.
Kakashi was the first to find the campsite. It sat hidden between a cluster of large pines, nearly invisible unless someone knew exactly where to look. A tarp had been stretched between two trees to create a makeshift shelter. Several supply bundles rested beneath it.
Fishing line. Rope. A small stack of carved wood. Tools. Containers filled with collected rainwater. Nothing particularly threatening, but nothing accidental, either. Kakashi crouched beside the firepit. The ashes were gray, embers beneath them still glowed faintly red. Whoever lived here had been gone for less than an hour. Maybe even less than thirty minutes. His eye narrowed.
"Found something."
The others gathered around. Naruto looked between the shelter and the supplies.
"So somebody really does live here."
Sakura inspected the area carefully. "This close to the village?"
"Apparently."
Sai glanced toward the surrounding trees. "The concealment is impressive."
And impressive it was. From a distance the shelter disappeared completely into the forest. Even standing within it, it felt hidden.
Kakashi rose to his feet. "Stay alert."
Naruto frowned. "You think they're dangerous?"
"I think someone capable of building traps like that deserves caution."
That answer was enough. Naruto might complain, but even he understood that.
Kakashi scanned the camp once more. Everything was organized; everything had a purpose. Nothing was wasted. Whoever lived here had experience surviving outdoors, possibly for years.
Sakura checked the surrounding undergrowth. "Could be a missing-nin."
"Could be."
"A rogue?"
"Possibly."
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "The pinecones don't exactly scream dangerous criminal."
Kakashi's eye curved. "No." Then his expression flattened. "But they don't scream civilian either."
That shut Naruto up.
Sai opened his scroll. Ink spread across the page. A small bird emerged from the drawing and shook itself free. The sparrow took flight immediately, and within moments, it disappeared above the canopy.
"Bird deployed."
Naruto stared. "You make it sound like a military operation."
Sai considered this. "It is."
Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Naruto."
"What?"
"Keep an eye out for traps."
Naruto immediately looked offended. "I can do that."
"You literally triggered the first one."
Naruto muttered something unintelligible under his breath.
The team spread out carefully, searching for signs of movement. Additional campsites, escape routes, anything. The forest remained quiet. For several minutes, nothing happened… and Naruto heard it. A whisper: soft, and barely audible. The sound drifted from somewhere north of the camp. He stopped walking.
"...Hello?"
Another whisper came from the same direction. His eyes narrowed. Someone was there, he was sure of it. Without thinking, Naruto started toward the sound.
Just at the edge of the camp perimeter sat a lone bedroll, still rolled up and covered in plant matter. Naruto tapped his chin in thought before grabbing the nearest stick off the ground. Carefully, he crouched beside it. His head turned to the side to investigate the underside. It still looked like a normal bedroll.
Which was exactly why he was going to poke it.
Naruto raised the stick and pointed the end of it towards the pile, really hoping he was wrong that the sound came from this exact location. He still didn't get what he expected.
In a sudden poof of smoke, the transformation justu placed on the bedroll dissipated. Before Naruto had a chance to react, a feminine figure launched herself from under the pile of leaf litter, swinging the kunai in her hand.
“Hey!” Naruto shouted.
He swung his hand up to disarm the girl. Just as his palm made contact with her elbow, her whole body disappeared in a poof of smoke.
A Clone? Under a transformation? Naruto thought.
Around the camp, other random items were poofing into the same girl. Naruto barely had time to take note of some of her physical features as the clones started making Team 7's lives miserable.
Sakura ducked just in time to dodge a kunai strike. She swiped her heel towards the girl's ankles. As soon as Sakura made contact, the clone disappeared.
Naruto noticed the girl's black hair pulled up in a tight bun.
Sai threw a shuriken at another clone that was getting ready to throw her own. She disappeared as well.
Naruto didn't see a hitai-ate.
Kakashi took down three clones that had appeared from above him. One single swing of his arm knocked them all useless in an instant.
There was one piece of information Naruto was starting to gather. These clones didn't seem hostile… but the others were still on their toes. Another wave of clones poofed in from random locations around the camp, still the same girl. Squad 7 took them all out quickly, which raised even more questions from Kakashi.
After the barrage of clones dissipated, the camp looked a little less full. Kakashi kept his eye on the surrounding tree-line, anticipating the creator of the clones would finally show.
Naruto stepped forward, brushing dirt from his earlier trap fiasco off his jacket.
“Did anyone else notice she wasn't really trying to fight?” he asked his teammates.
Sakura adjusted her gloves while visually investigating the campsite for more transformations.
“It doesn't mean she's harmless,” she observed, still cautious. “We were still attacked.”
“But wouldn't you attack if someone was threatening your livelihood?”
Naruto's expression softened. He still didn't know the story here, but something familiar resonated with him. Sakura quieted immediately.
“Twenty transformed clones is quite unusual,” Sai stated, breaking the tension. “Most shinobi don't possess that level of chakra.”
Kakashi absorbed the conversation behind him, turning wheels inside his own head.
She isn't wearing a hitai-ate, so no immediate affiliation…
He stepped by one of the trees holding up her tarp. There were several tally marks carved into it.
Days? Weeks? He didn't know what metric she was counting by. But even if it were days, she had been here for a long while.
Strong chakra reserves… has remained undetected this close to the village for this long… What is her affiliation?
Naruto's voice broke his train of thought.
“She wasn't wearing a hitai-ate…”
Sai's response was logical. “Neither do most missing-nin.”
Naruto crossed his arms, looking off into the treeline. “She doesn't seem like one, though.”
Sakura's voice called from near the firepit. “Based on what evidence?”
“Her lack of lethal force?”
Kakashi finally chimed in, contemplating. “Not having a hitai-ate isn't what concerns me…”
The three squad mates all turned towards their sensei. Naruto instantly straightened up.
“...It's her skill.”
The four Konoha shinobi stood in silence for a moment. They all knew the girl who occupied this site was skilled. It was just a matter of how she became skilled.
Just as Naruto was about to open his mouth, a small ink sparrow fluttered down in the center of their circle. Sai pulled his scroll open and the bird melted into the parchment. The precise location of the occupant appeared in dark ink.
“Well, why don't we go ask her?”