**Year 58, Konoha Calendar — Summer**
August in the Land of Fire was *not* fit for human survival.
Noon.
A faint breeze stirred the treetops, their branches swaying weakly under the oppressive heat. The leaves, usually vibrant green, hung limp as if scorched into an early autumn.
At Konoha's main gate, two heavy military-green doors stood wide open. The dirt road leading from the forest was deserted—not a soul in sight.
Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, clad in standard green flak jackets, sat on stools in the shade just outside the gate.
**"So. Damn. Boring."**
Kotetsu slumped against his chair, his usually spiky hair drooping like wilted grass. Even the bandages wrapped around his nose and cheeks seemed to sag under the heat.
**"This weather's so bad, even spies wouldn't bother showing up."**
Izumo cracked his single visible eye into a thin line but stayed silent. As special jōnin, guarding the village gate day after day was… less than inspiring.
But someone had to do it.
He still remembered the gap-toothed old man who'd manned this post for nearly two decades before them. His parting words echoed in Izumo's mind:
*"The Will of Fire means burning yourself to nurture the next generation—until they grow into towering trees. And now… it's your turn to burn. As for me? I've got a date with a lovely lady. Good luck, kids!"*
With that, the sixty-year-old geezer had sauntered off, never to return.
Leaving two stunned gatekeepers in his wake.
Two years later, their initial enthusiasm had withered like the leaves overhead.
---
Just as Izumo zoned out—
A small figure appeared on the distant road.
Cloaked in white, with only a pale, delicate face visible beneath the hood. A black blindfold covered her eyes and most of her features. A heavy pack weighed down her back as her cane tapped lightly against the ground.
This was **Kaguya Hikari**—fugitive of Kirigakure.
As she walked, she tilted her head up.
Beneath the blindfold, her Byakugan activated.
The bone-white irises glowed faintly as she studied the barrier enveloping Konoha—a colossal dome of chakra, pulsing with red energy like a living thing.
*So this is Konoha's Sensory Barrier…*
The sheer scale of it was staggering. The chakra expenditure alone must be astronomical.
*No wonder they're the strongest. Money really does talk.*
Coming from Kiri, Hikari felt like a country bumpkin gawking at a metropolis.
After tearing up her *Ship of Hope* ticket, she'd paid the harbor master for another passage. A month of bribes, swift ships, and crushed pirate skulls later—she'd arrived.
Now, staring at the barrier's intricate chakra matrix, she itched to dissect its secrets. But without context, it was just dazzling noise.
Reluctantly, she deactivated her Byakugan.
Darkness swallowed her vision again.
*Tap… tap-tap.*
Her cane probed the road as she adjusted her pack—stuffed with gambling winnings—and marched toward Konoha.
She had no plans to reveal her eyes. Or even her chakra.
After fleeing Kiri, paranoia was her default setting.
*Who knows what's really going on in this village?*
First, infiltrate. Secure her place in the Hyūga main family. *Then* make her move.
No need to rush now that she was beyond Kiri's reach…
---
**"Hey—hey! Watch the cane, kid!"**
Kotetsu yelped as the blind girl's stick jabbed his foot.
**"Oh. Sorry."**
Hikari retracted the cane, feigning sheepishness.
Kotetsu rubbed his foot, eyeing her.
*Tiny thing, but strong grip.*
**"Gotta register before entering. C'mon, this way."** He guided her to the checkpoint.
Izumo flipped open a ledger.
**"Name?"**
**"Hikari."**
**"Purpose of visit?"**
**"Family."**
**"Alone?"**
**"Yes."**
Izumo scribbled notes, occasionally glancing up to record her appearance.
**"Shinobi?"** he asked casually.
Hikari tilted her head. **"...What's a shinobi?"**
**"Never mind. What's in the bag?"**
**"Clothes. Food."**
**"Alright. Don't wander after entering."**
Hikari nodded blankly and shuffled past the gate, her pack sagging with "dry goods."
*Too easy. Konoha's security's a joke.*
---
Outside, the two gatekeepers exchanged looks.
**"Well?"** Izumo murmured.
Kotetsu chewed his senbon. **"Zero sweat in this heat, hauling that giant pack? She thinks we're idiots."**
**"Combat ability?"**
**"No trained stance, but that cane jab had power."**
Izumo tapped the ledger. **"No signs of transformation jutsu. Nails are clean—either she's got help, or that blind act's fake. My money's on the latter."**
**"Either way, she's trouble. I'll alert the Uchiha Police."** Kotetsu formed a hand seal.
**"Wait."** Izumo stopped him, eyes sharp. **"Check with the Barrier Team first."**
**"Huh?"**
**"If they'd sensed foreign chakra, they'd have notified us already."**
Kotetsu's frown deepened.
No detection meant two possibilities:
1. She *was* just a weirdly strong blind girl.
2. She'd bypassed Konoha's barrier entirely.
And option two?
*That's not some amateur.*
**"Barrier Team finds chakra, we call the Uchiha. If not…"** Izumo's voice dropped. **"This goes to the Hokage. And the ANBU."**
Kotetsu grinned. **"Guess we hooked a big one. Told you spies work best in heat."**
**"…That's *not* what you said earlier."**
**"Sure it was!"**
! (•̀ᴗ•́)و