For a full hour, the only sound in the warehouse was the rhythmic thump-thump-thump of Kaien's palm striking the ground and sealing the salt into the storage seals. Sweat trickled down his temple, stinging his eyes as it mixed with the salt dust clinging to his skin.
By the time the last sinkhole was put into the final storage scroll, his lower back was screaming.
He stood up, cracking his hips with a long exhale, and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm. "That... is far more strenuous than it looks."
Veins bulged around his eyes as he activated his Byakugan, his vision penetrating the walls of the warehouse and scanning miles across the rocky terrain. He bypassed the faint chakra signatures of the local villagers and locked onto two distinct chakra signature moving through the forest three kilometers north.
"Found them."
Itachi and Jugo were right on schedule, busy luring and capturing local birds for the next phase. Kaien deactivated his eyes as he gathered the one thousand small storage seals, and packed them neatly into a massive storage scroll.
Hoisting the ten-million-ryo worth of salt onto his back, he adjusted the leather strap across his chest, took a deep breath, and vanished into the trees in a burst of speed.
~~
The skies were deprived of any birds but Jugo wasn't the one to give up as he cupped his hands around his mouth, made to call upon the woodland birds. Above him, a flock fluttered nervously. By now, the local wildlife had caught on to the sweet-talking human, actively warning one another to ignore his calls.
"Caww... caww... Ca-aw!" Bob, a frantic crow chirped to this fellow mate, warning him that: [George, Noob had gone missing after taking the bait of the meat.]
"Coo... currr... Kaw," George replied, translating roughly to: [No one is falling for that crap again.] Yet Noob's downfall was his own relentless greed.
The mere thought of succulent meat had made George hesitate just a second too long. In that split second, he made the fatal mistake just like Noob did, catching a glimpse of Itachi Uchiha's eyes. It was over before it began, trapped in a subtle paralysis Genjutsu, the crow's wings beat on autopilot, drawing him helplessly down toward Itachi's outstretched arm.
Nearby, Bob heard the Geogre's capture. "Ckrr... caww..." he muttered veering off and refusing to even tilt his head in Itachi's direction.
[Idiot. George is just like Noob.] By exercising such a survival instinct, Bob would live to tell the tale, in the future he would rise to become a legendary crow and become leader among the crow clan.
Jugo lowered his hands and let out a long weary sigh. "Even the birds are getting too smart for this. They're actively avoiding this entire sector now."
Itachi gently shifted the paralyzed George onto a perch alongside the others, his expression was calm. "Crows are among the most intelligent creatures but ultimately driven by greed, Jugo."
Just then, a rustle of wind stirred the leaves as Kaien landed lightly beside them, a large scroll strapped securely across his back. "How's the recruitment going?" he asked. "How many do we have?"
Itachi ran a mental tally of the birds currently under his Genjutsu. "We have roughly eight hundred birds large and capable enough to carry a storage scroll without hindrance. Once we reach the coast, I will add use my own summoning technique which should bring them over 1000 just what we need."
"Good," Kaien nodded.
"What about Dan Kato?" Itachi asked, leaning against a tree trunk. "Has he caught wind of what we're setting up here? It will become a problem if Kiri knew our plan beforehand."
Kaien shook his head with a slight grin. "Not a chance. He's preoccupied monitoring the movements of Grandpa and Uncle Bee. His attention is focused elsewhere and I would have know if he were anywhere close." He said as he flared Byakugan.
Jugo adjusted his cloak, looking between the two. "Who's taking command of the battalion moving against Kiri?"
"My mother," Kaien replied as a nervous bead of sweat trickled down his temple at the mere thought of her going into full battle mode.
"Lady Aya..." Itachi mused softly. He still clearly remembered the terrifying display of her strength back when Kumo had suddenly launched their attack on Konoha for the first time. "The front lines are in capable hands."
Kaien unrolled a smaller scroll, quickly scribbling a coded update confirming the closure of their covert operation. He noted that the main body of four thousand fully armed shinobi could now begin their secret march toward the eastern coastline.
"Let's move out and rendezvous with Captain Aya," Jugo said, buzzing with excitement at the prospect of seeing the complex plan he had helped build finally take action.
~~
On the other side, the terrain was harsh and unforgiving as Aya was leading a massive column of armed shinobi through a treacherous stretch of territory, navigating valleys and rivers to mask their approach... or rather that is their only way. Kumo has never attacked from the eastern side for its difficult terrain to maneuver but it also was difficult for Kumo to gather forces.
Dodai jogged up alongside her, his breath coming in bursts as he kept pace with her stride. "Aya-sama, taking these long detours to bypass the valley floor is adding hours to our march. The troops are beginning to get tired."
Aya glanced back at the winding line of shinobi behind them. "Call a halt and set up a secure perimeter, have the guards double the watch around our supply wagons, and give everyone thirty minutes to rest and hydrate."
"Understood," Dodai said, turning to relay the orders.
Before he could take another step, a piercing screech echoed down the canyon. Dodai readied himself to intercept a potential enemy scout but as the silhouette drew closer, he recognized the pattern of Kaien's personal avian summon and held his stance.
The bird swooped low, landing smoothly on Aya's leather-armored forearm. She unbuckled the small cylinder strapped to its leg, pulled out the tightly rolled slip of paper, and read through the message.
"The covert operation is successful. We are heading to rendezvous with your main force now."
A smirk spread across Aya's face... for weeks, Kirigakure had relied on their mist and coastlines as an impenetrable natural defense. Now, that very same environment they gloated was about to be turned against them.
~~
A/N: Don't be a Noob and be like Bob.
Upto 20 Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0