Konoha’s Black Plague

Investigation

"I just want to ask... does everyone in Sheyu Village have the surname Sheyu?"

Bai Ye muttered quietly, noticing the atmosphere gradually growing tense.

"Isn't it normal for a village to be named after a family?" Yuyan snapped, rolling his eyes. "You think every place has the structure of a major Hidden Village?"

He rarely saw Bai Ye show such a gap in his knowledge and seized the opportunity to complain.

"Our teacher covered this in class," Yue added in a hushed voice. "Especially during the Warring States Period, most settlements were founded around clans. It wasn't until the First Hokage created Konohagakure that things started to change."

"Okay, okay, I admit it. I'm just a terrible student. I can't compete with you two model kunoichi."

Bai Ye raised his hands in surrender. Truth be told, he had slept through that lecture, so it wasn't surprising he didn't know.

Yuyan patted his shoulder smugly, while Yue looked a little flustered by the praise.

"But what do we do now? The guy who gave us this mission ran off," Yue asked, steering the conversation back to the task at hand. If she didn't, Bai Ye and Yuyan would probably keep bickering for the next hour.

"Yuyan! This honorable yet grueling mission is in your hands now. Only with your Byakugan can we get a clear read on the surroundings," Bai Ye said with exaggerated seriousness, as if refusing would be a crime.

"And what are you two going to do?" Yuyan asked, tilting his head with suspicion.

"Drink tea and eat snacks, of course. What else?" Bai Ye replied nonchalantly as he sat down, helping himself to the senbei offered earlier by the village chief, completely oblivious to the storm brewing behind him.

"I told you to eat—Eat, eat, eat! I will kill you!" Yuyan's voice turned ghostly cold as he suddenly appeared behind Bai Ye and slammed his head into the plate of crackers with shocking speed. Then, grabbing Yue by the wrist, he bolted off.

"W-Wait for me!" Bai Ye's muffled voice called out as he quickly got to his feet.

Realizing the two had no intention of slowing down, Bai Ye pushed his speed to the limit. Using Shunpo, his figure flickered and vanished, reappearing directly in front of the pair two seconds later.

"Pfft—!" Yuyan reached out to slap his hand off her shoulder, but when she noticed a senbei stuck to his forehead, she burst into laughter.

Yue's face turned crimson. She tried—and failed—not to laugh.

Bai Ye blinked, realizing something felt off. Reaching up, he found the broken rice cracker. In his rush, he hadn't noticed it had stuck to him.

"This is yours now."

With a grin, Bai Ye popped the cracker into Yuyan's open mouth while she was mid-laugh.

"Pfth—You bastard! Always picking on me. Why don't you ever bully Yue!?"

"I bully you, you bully Yue... that's just the food chain. Big fish eats little fish, little fish eats shrimp. It's the natural order."

His shameless tone made Yuyan want to twist his head off and punt it across the clearing.

"Pfft!"

Yue, who'd been trying to hold it in, finally burst into laughter. When Yuyan turned and gave her a glare sharp enough to cut steel, Yue quickly covered her mouth and backed away.

"Okay, enough horsing around," Yue said, raising her hands as Yuyan advanced on her. Backing up step by step, Yue finally bumped into a tree and changed the subject in desperation. "Let's go find the village chief's grandson."

Bai Ye reached out and grabbed Yuyan's collar, stopping her from launching a sneak attack.

"Let go. I know, okay? I'm not playing around all the time."

Yuyan tapped her eyes, activating the Byakugan.

"He's heading for the village entrance. The chief already lost track of him and went the wrong way entirely."

Freed from Bai Ye's grip, Yuyan lunged at Yue again—though still jokingly—while explaining what she'd seen.

Bai Ye ignored their antics. After everything he'd seen over the past month, this was tame.

Still, he was cautious as they moved. There might be more suspicious individuals hiding in Sheyu Village. He deliberately stayed out of sight, avoiding the curious eyes of old men and women along the path.

Before long, Bai Ye arrived near the village gates at the same time as Gu Bin.

The boy glanced behind him. Seeing no one in pursuit, he relaxed and continued onward, unaware that Bai Ye was tailing him in stealth.

Bai Ye was unimpressed. For someone supposedly on high alert, Gu Bin's tracking awareness was poor. He began to wonder if he was overthinking things.

Unbeknownst to him, two shadows followed not far behind: Yue and Yuyan.

The three of them had agreed on a plan beforehand—Bai Ye would advance alone, acting as both scout and bait. Yuyan would observe from the rear using her Byakugan, supporting Yue as needed.

It was a logical formation. Bai Ye was fast and durable—ideal for an advance tank. If they encountered an enemy so strong that even Bai Ye couldn't outrun him, Yue and Yuyan wouldn't survive a direct confrontation either. Staying hidden gave them the chance to rescue him or retreat strategically.

This setup also benefited Hizashi Hyūga, who was monitoring them from deeper in the shadows. Rescuing one Genin was far easier than trying to protect three at once.

Thus, the pursuit line was set: Gu Bin in front, Bai Ye shadowing him, Yuyan and Yue at the rear, and Hizashi in deep cover—a layered security system built for both surveillance and safety.

Bai Ye watched Gu Bin carefully. The boy changed direction multiple times, constantly checking for a tail. He clearly had a sense for evasion, but no actual training. There were no false trails or traps.

This intrigued Bai Ye.

Someone this physically capable, yet lacking any chakra—and showing no signs of formal shinobi education—must be hiding something. And Bai Ye had an instinct for sniffing out secrets.

Especially the kind that made people stronger.

---

Gu Bin finally came to a stop at the base of a cliff, covered in thick vines. He tapped the rocky surface and called out:

"It's me. Gu Bin."

Moments later, the vines parted silently, revealing a hidden passage just wide enough for a single person. After a final glance behind him, he stepped inside and vanished.

The vines slid back into place, the entrance now indistinguishable from its surroundings.

If Bai Ye hadn't witnessed it himself, he would never have known such a hidden path existed—proof enough that something was very, very wrong.