---The Forests - Land of Valleys Border---
Haku moved through the canopy like a phantom. He didn't run; he flowed.
Hissandals, reinforced with chakra-conductive thread, barely touched the bark of the trees. He leaped from branch to branch, his body was a teal blur against the deep green of the forest. The wind whipped past him, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine, but he barely registered it. His focus was singular, his mind honed to a razor's edge.
It was early morning. The dew was still heavy on the leaves, and the mist that rolled down from the mountains of the Land of Valleys clung to the ground like a shroud. The sun was just beginning to peek over the jagged peaks, but down here in the dense foliage, shadows still reigned.
For the first time in months, Haku was truly alone.
No Alaric walking beside him, complaining about the lack of good coffee or making jokes that Haku only half-understood. No Zabuza watching his back with a silent, heavy presence, his massive sword a comforting weight in their shared space.
Just him.
"Engage only with Superior Numbers," Haku recited the advisory from the Bingo Book in his head, the words echoing like a mantra. "Or Jonin-level support."
He touched the hilt of the Kusanagi sword at his hip. The cold metal grounded him.
'I wouldn't want to be overconfident… but I hope I am the superior number.'
This hunt was a test from Alaric. A final exam before they headed... wherever they were heading next. The terms were simple: kill or capture Bakuhyō Ganri without taking a single wound. If he succeeded, the 23 million Ryo bounty was his. If he failed… even a scratch… Alaric took half.
It wasn't about the money. Haku didn't care for gold. It was about perfection. It was about proving that Alaric's time hadn't been wasted. It was about showing that the tool had become a master.
Haku expanded his senses. The Ashura no Mon seal on his back was dormant, conserving chakra, but his natural sensory abilities, honed by months of blindfolded combat against Alaric's metal bullets, were sharp. He could hear the heartbeat of a squirrel three trees away. He could feel the shift in air pressure caused by a falling leaf.
He scanned for Alaric's signature. But there was nothing. The sky was empty. The trees were empty.
'He is watching,' Haku knew. 'But he is too good to be found.'
High above, floating in the stratosphere where the air was thin and cold, Alaric laid on his back, looking down through the clouds with enhanced vision. He smiled, taking a puff of a cigar that never seemed to burn out.
"Let's see what you got, my student." Alaric muttered while his speed was matching his student's pace.
Haku was just a few kilometers away from Tanigakure no Sato, so he was not only spreading his senses for Alaric, but also for anyone that could be within his range. However, there were none.
---Tanigakure no Sato - The Village Hidden in Valleys---
An hour later, Haku arrived at the gates of Tanigakure.
It was a breathtaking sight.
Tanigakure wasn't built on the land; it was carved into it. The village flowed through a massive, winding gorge. Wooden houses with moss-green tiles clung to the sheer cliff faces like barnacles, connected by a dizzying web of rope bridges and narrow stone walkways that arched over a roaring river hundreds of meters below.
Waterfalls poured down the canyon walls on all sides, creating a perpetual mist that refracted the sunlight into rainbows. The air was cool, damp, and smelled of wet stone and ozone. It was a place of serene beauty and treacherous footing.
At the center of the gorge rose a natural stone pillar, etched with the massive kanji for 谷 (Valley). Banners fluttered from the bridges, swaying in the constant updraft.
'Beautiful,' Haku thought. 'And a nightmare to siege. Well… if it were normal people'
He walked up to the gate guards… two Chunin wearing the grey flak jackets of Tani. They looked bored, leaning on their spears, but their eyes sharpened as Haku approached.
"Halt." One guard stepped forward, eyeing Haku's forehead protector. "A Konoha-nin?"
He looked Haku up and down. Haku was wearing his standard teal combat kimono, his hair long and loose.
"What's a Konoha kunoichi doing out here alone?" the guard asked, his tone appreciative but suspicious. "Looking for a lost cat?"
Haku's eye twitched microscopically.
'Kunoichi...'
He forced a polite smile. It didn't reach his eyes.
"I am here to restock my supplies," Haku said, his voice soft but firm. "I'm planning to go back to the land of fire. I won't be staying long."
He handed over his travel papers that identified him as a shinobi affiliated with Konoha.
The guard took the papers, read the name, and then choked. "Haku... Yuki? Male?"
He looked at Haku again. The delicate features. The long lashes. The slender build.
"Damn..." the guard sighed, handing the papers back with a flush of embarrassment. "Sorry 'bout that, kid. You're prettier than my wife. Please write your name in the logs right there."
Haku nodded, taking the clipboard. He signed his name in elegant calligraphy.
'At least he apologized,' Haku thought, walking past the checkpoint.
---
The streets of Tanigakure were narrow and vertical. Haku walked casually, acting the part of a tourist. He stopped at a stall to buy a skewer of grilled river fish, eating it while he observed.
The chakra signatures here were weak. Most of the shinobis were low Chunin at best. It made sense; Tani was a minor village, often used as a buffer between the Great Nations.
'If I were Bakuhyō Ganri...' Haku mused, tossing the skewer stick into a bin. 'Where would I be?'
The Bingo Book said Ganri was a tracker and an Explosion Release user. That meant he was paranoid and dangerous at close range.
'A missing-nin wouldn't stay in the village proper,' Haku analyzed. 'Too many eyes. Too many chances of being recognized by a random bounty hunter. But he needs supplies.'
Haku walked for an hour, his senses spread wide. He found nothing. No massive chakra spikes. No feeling of killing intent.
He was about to head to the lower levels when he glanced up.
High on the western cliff face, separated from the main village cluster, was a building. Or rather, the remains of one.
It looked like a small warehouse or a shrine that had been chewed up and spit out. The roof was gone. One wall was blasted outward.
And it was cordoned off with yellow caution tape.
Haku looked around. No one was watching him; the locals were busy with their daily lives.
Flicker.
He vanished from the street, reappearing on a rooftop fifty meters up. He leaped again, ascending the cliff face in quick, silent bursts.
He landed on the ledge near the ruined building.
The smell of sulfur was faint, but present. Haku ducked under the tape and entered.
The destruction was specific. It wasn't fire, and it wasn't wind. The stone walls were pitted with hundreds of tiny craters, as if the air itself had detonated against them.
'Explosion Release,' Haku confirmed, running a hand over a scorched pillar. 'Alaric-sensei said it combines Earth and Lightning. It creates localized blasts upon contact.'
He checked the floor. Dust had settled, but there were scuff marks. A fight. Maybe three days ago.
'If he fought here... he was found,' Haku deduced. 'And if he used his Kekkei Genkai this openly, he blew his cover. Literally.'
He walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the village.
'He isn't here. He wouldn't stay after making this much noise. Henge is useful, but maintaining it 24/7 drains chakra, and trackers hate draining chakra needlessly.'
Haku leaped down, heading for the exit gate.
He signed out of the logbook. The guard waved him off, still looking a bit awkward.
---
Once outside the village, Haku stopped at a crossroads. 'He fought three days ago. He needs to move. He needs to hide. And he needs food.'
Haku looked South. 'The ocean would be a nono. Nowhere to go. And I never encountered anyone from there.'
He looked West. 'Wind Country's basically a desert. He has no ration, it'd be a suicide without prep.'
He looked North.
'North leads to the Land of Rain. The place has been tightly guarded for a while and is too close to Earth Country. East...'
Haku's eyes narrowed.
'East leads to Tanzaku Gai.'
Tanzaku Gai. The city of gambling, pleasure, and loose laws. A place where money flowed like water and faces were easily forgotten in the crowd. A place where a missing-nin could buy a hot meal, a new cloak, and disappear into the noise.
It was the perfect bolt-hole.
Haku adjusted his sword. He tightened his sash.
He didn't walk. He didn't run.
He engaged the Zero Friction technique.
Ice formed beneath his sandals. He kicked off the ground, exploding forward with the speed that flew past anything.
"Tanzaku Gai," Haku whispered to the wind. "I'm coming."
Alaric, who was floating far above while looking at his student, smiled. He himself already located where the missing-nin was yesterday before he had dinner with Haku by the shore. 'Haku's judgement is quite good…'
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