Neji Hyūga was dead.
The news spread quickly through Konoha.
Might Guy attended the funeral, along with Lee and Tenten. Shikamaru, Kiba, and several others came as well. Hiashi Hyūga and members of both houses of the clan were among the mourners.
There was no body to bury.
According to the report, Neji had been attacked by remnants of Dotō Kazahana's forces and had fallen into the sea with his attackers. His remains had never been recovered.
Hiashi's greatest concern was that Neji might have used the incident to defect.
The main family, however, had a means of checking.
Through a particular sequence of hand seals, they could faintly sense the Caged Bird seals placed on members of the branch family.
Neji's seal no longer responded.
Naruto stood among the mourners, holding Hinata's trembling hand and quietly comforting her.
Her trembling had nothing to do with grief.
She was afraid someone would discover the truth. Hinata had never been good at lying.
Apart from Neji himself, only Naruto, Hinata, Yukie, and Sandayū Asama knew what had really happened.
Naruto leaned closer.
"Take a breath, Hinata," he whispered. "You don't want Neji to spend the rest of his life trapped by the clan, do you?"
"N-no…"
She nodded, and her trembling gradually subsided.
The funeral was brief and simple.
For all his talent, Neji had still been a genin from the Hyūga branch family. There would be no grand ceremony for him.
The mourners slowly dispersed.
Life in the village would continue. Before long, even Neji's name would be spoken less and less.
Sakura, for one, already had other things on her mind.
Between her daily medical ninjutsu training and her thoughts of Sasuke, she had little attention left for anything else.
Somewhere along the way, Shino had told her about the bikōchū—a legendary beetle so elusive that it was known as a phantom insect.
Once Sakura learned what it could do, she began asking Tsunade to authorize a search.
…
"Bikōchū?"
Tsunade looked between Shino and Sakura.
"I thought those insects went extinct years ago."
"They did not," Shino replied. "The Aburame clan stopped using them because their numbers were declining. We were concerned they would become extinct."
He paused.
"They still exist. They are simply extremely rare."
Beside Tsunade, Shizune frowned.
"What exactly is a bikōchū?"
Tsunade sighed.
"Its larva develops into a pupa. When the adult emerges, it remembers the first scent it encounters. After that, it can track that scent, however faint the trail becomes or how far away the source is."
She folded her arms.
"It's said their sense of smell is a thousand times sharper than a ninja hound's."
Shino nodded.
"This is one of their breeding years. Their eggs should be hatching around this time."
"I still have something Sasuke left behind."
Sakura took out a piece of his clothing, her cheeks coloring slightly.
"If we let it smell this, it could lead us to him."
Tsunade let out a long breath and turned toward the window.
"You know the state the village is in. Right now, I can't spare shinobi lightly. Even every genin is needed."
Sakura's hopeful expression faded.
Then Tsunade spoke again.
"But this will be the last time."
Her voice hardened.
"Sakura, this is your final chance. If you still can't find Sasuke, you need to stop chasing him."
Sakura lowered her eyes.
"He chose to leave," Tsunade continued. "He's no different from Orochimaru in that respect. I've already shown him enough leniency by keeping him off the wanted list."
Tears gathered in Sakura's eyes.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama. Thank you."
Tsunade turned to Shino.
"You'll take Hinata and Kiba with you. I'll assign Naruto as well, in case you encounter enemy shinobi."
…
Naruto was far from pleased when he received the assignment.
He still needed time to practice the elemental techniques in Orochimaru's scrolls. After that, he intended to acquire his [Senjutsu Body] and continue along the stronger path he had chosen.
But Tsunade was hardly going to let someone with his strength sit idle.
Kakashi had been so busy with missions that Naruto had barely seen him lately.
If he had to take an assignment anyway, this one would at least be relatively easy.
And it meant another trip with Hinata, paid for by the village.
Naruto was appointed captain. Hinata, Shino, Kiba, and Sakura made up the rest of the team.
At Shino's suggestion, they traveled at a steady pace rather than rushing toward their destination.
Naruto used the journey to train.
While the others walked, he worked on his physical conditioning. Elsewhere, dozens of his shadow clones continued practicing elemental ninjutsu.
He also left one clone beside Hinata to keep her company.
Watching him work so hard, the others soon lost any inclination to take it easy.
One by one, they began training as they traveled.
Hinata joined them.
Ever since the Chūnin Exams, she had been developing a technique of her own, often practicing late into the night.
Naruto knew what she was working toward.
Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
It was a defensive technique she had devised to suit herself, offering protection similar to Palm Rotation.
Two days later, the team reached its destination.
A vast basin lay before them, its curved slopes enclosing the forest like an enormous bowl.
Dense trees and vegetation covered its floor. A river entered at one end, wound through the forest, and disappeared into an underground channel at the far side.
Before they descended, Naruto sensed three chūnin nearby.
They were almost certainly members of Iwagakure's Kamizuru clan.
Like the Aburame, the Kamizuru used insects in battle. Years earlier, however, a defeat at the hands of the Aburame had marked the beginning of their decline.
Now these three were searching for a bikōchū in the hope of restoring their clan's former strength.
Unfortunately for them, Naruto had no intention of allowing that.
Once the team entered the basin, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba also detected the three hidden shinobi.
For the moment, they left them alone.
A battle might disturb the beetles. Finding a bikōchū came first.
That meant searching the enormous, densely overgrown basin.
Naruto examined a photograph of the insect and smiled.
"I can handle this."
Hundreds of shadow clones appeared around him.
Shino and the others stared.
Farther away, the concealed Kamizuru shinobi watched in astonishment.
The clones scattered through the forest.
Two hours later, with storm clouds gathering overhead, Naruto finally found a bikōchū larva.
They secured it in a small container. All that remained was to wait for it to pupate and emerge as an adult the following morning.
"So we just let it smell Sasuke's clothes when it emerges, and it'll lead us to him?"
Sakura leaned toward the container, her eyes bright with hope.
Naruto glanced at her, then turned to the others.
"Now that we have the beetle, is there any reason to keep those three alive?"
The hidden Kamizuru shinobi stiffened.
They had been discovered?
They had concealed themselves so carefully. How had these children noticed them?
Before they could move, three identical voices sounded behind them.
"What are you doing here?"
Hands settled on their shoulders.
Each of the three found a Naruto shadow clone standing directly behind them.
Their bodies went rigid.
"W-we were just passing through," one stammered, cold sweat running down their face.
The clones spoke together.
"This is the Land of Fire. You're Iwagakure shinobi—enemies of Konoha."
Hearing the same words in three identical voices made the threat all the more unsettling.
"P-please, spare—"
Three sharp cracks cut the plea short.
The Kamizuru shinobi collapsed into the river's shallows, their necks broken.
"You should have thought of that earlier."
The clones dusted off their hands and vanished.
A short distance away, Kiba and the others stared at the three bodies.
Their expressions had grown tense.
"That killing intent…" Kiba said, his voice strained.
Akamaru whimpered and burrowed deeper into his jacket.
"He's strong," Shino replied quietly, adjusting his sunglasses. "And he's already killed many people."
Sakura looked toward Naruto.
He's become this strong already…
Her thoughts drifted to Sasuke.
And Sasuke is still with Orochimaru…
For a moment, her expression darkened.
Then she straightened.
I have to work harder. I'll keep learning from Tsunade-sama.