The tension in the Hokage’s office was suffocating.

Kakashi stood stiffly before Lady Tsunade, his visible eye shadowed beneath his brow. Behind him, Team 7—Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke—waited with quiet unease, their usual banter absent. On a nearby stretcher lay Might Guy, pale and unmoving, his breaths shallow, every exhale a struggle.

Tsunade’s fists clenched at her sides. “We’ve tried everything. My chakra won’t neutralize it. Neither will any antidote we have on record.” Her voice cracked slightly, then sharpened. “It’s not a poison I’ve ever seen. And if we don’t find a solution soon… he has less than a day.”

Naruto’s fists balled. “There has to be something we can do! This is Guy-sensei we’re talking about!”

“There is,” Tsunade said, pulling out a scroll. She unrolled it across her desk, revealing a charcoal sketch—an eerie figure in dark robes, face hidden beneath a veil, standing among wilting flowers. “We’re calling on every available team to search for this individual.”

Sakura leaned in, her brow furrowed. “The Moonless Mourner?”

“A myth,” Sasuke muttered. “I’ve heard whispers. A wandering figure seen at massacres or abandoned battlefields. No one knows where they come from. Or where they go.”

Tsunade nodded grimly. “Except the rumors might be true. A team from the Hidden Mist claims they saw someone matching this description. After a plague wiped out an entire border town, this figure appeared at night—crying over the dead. The next morning, the bodies were gone. And the Mist ninja’s wounds were healed.”

“Healed?” Sakura asked, eyes wide. “With tears?”

“Not normal tears,” Tsunade confirmed. “Chakra-infused. Some sort of lost healing art—or a bloodline limit, maybe. All we know is that wherever they appear, pain fades… but only at a cost.”

Naruto blinked. “What kinda cost?”

“They say it only happens on nights without a moon. And that the Mourner never speaks. Never stays. And sometimes—when they cry—people die instead of heal. Right now, we don't have a choice in the matter.”

A cold silence followed.

Kakashi finally broke it. “Where do we start?”

“A border village outside the Land of Rivers. Locals reported sightings of a veiled figure three nights ago, wandering the ruins of an old battlefield. It's our best lead.” Tsunade’s gaze hardened. “You’re not the only team going. I’ve dispatched Team 8 and a squad from the Sand. You need to find the Mourner.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “And if they refuse to help?”

Tsunade didn’t flinch. “Convince them. Beg them. Just don’t come back without them.”