Intelligence Gathering

What to do?

Seeing the enemy has been discovered, but unable to gather intelligence, Satoru's heart becomes anxious.

His Byakugan can indeed see the general situation of the enemy's stronghold, but it's too far away, so he can only perceive the general layout of personnel and their chakra signatures.

He has no idea what the mysterious Jonin talked about after returning and what the enemy's true intentions are. Everything is unknown.

After pondering for a moment, Satoru couldn't help but speak up.

"Shibi-sensei, with my Byakugan I can roughly see the situation of the stronghold. The enemy has many shinobi, far stronger than the Iwa shinobi team in the capital. If we can't find out their purpose, I'm afraid this mission will fail."

"I understand," Shibi replied with a bitter smile. "But given the current situation, if we approach rashly, we will likely be surrounded by enemy shinobis."

Satoru's eyes flickered. Based on his Byakugan's range, the perception barrier covers an area of about 3 kilometers. If they step into this range, the enemy will detect them.

"Shibi-sensei, can you use your Kikaichu to infiltrate and gather intelligence?" Satoru asked.

"No," Shibi said, shaking his head. "I just tried it earlier, but the distance is too far. The maximum control range for my Kikaichu is 2 kilometers, and beyond that, I lose the ability to convey commands, and they lose direction."

Is that so...

Satoru furrowed his brows. The Kikaichu has a control range of only 2 kilometers, and it loses direction when reaching the last kilometer due to the lack of commands.

Wait!

In other words, if there's a way to replace the command communication for the last kilometer, then he can control the Kikaichu to search for intelligence.

After thinking for a while, Satoru's eyes gradually lit up.

"Shibi-sensei, without considering returning, can you fix the command to investigate the intelligence in the Kikaichu's consciousness and make it fly three kilometers away?" Satoru asked.

Shibi pondered and replied, "If it's just implanting the command, it's possible. However, once it exceeds two kilometers, I lose control of the Kikaichu, and then it will be at the mercy of fate."

Taking a deep breath, Satoru said, "Then, quickly pick out a few strong Kikaichu. I have a plan."

"What plan?" Shibi looked at him in surprise.

"Explaining it will be very complicated. First, pick out the Kikaichu," Satoru replied.

Shibi nodded, extending his left hand, and several black bugs crawled out of his sleeve onto his fingertips.

Satoru took two shurikens and rubbed them together, creating some metal particles. He then picked up a small amount of metal particles with his fingers and placed them on the back of the Kikaichu.

His choice of position was clever, stabilizing the bugs without interfering with their flight.

After completing all this, Satoru looked at Shibi and said, "Now, implant the command to investigate the intelligence into the Kikaichu's consciousness."

"Alright" Shibi sighed helplessly. Although he didn't know what Satoru had in mind, he could only trust him now.

The Kikaichu, receiving the command, flew unsteadily and disappeared into the depths of the jungle.

After a while, Shibi sighed again.

"I lost control of the Kikaichu."

Satoru remained silent, his gaze fixed on the front.

Time passed slowly, and the atmosphere became more and more oppressive. The air seemed to turn into dense water, slowing down their breaths.

Shibi's eyes went from hopeful, to worried, and now to disappointed.

It had been so long already, and it's likely that the Kikaichu, deprived of the command, had lost its way and wouldn't be able to bring back any intelligence.

They hadn't chosen to return earlier because Shibi didn't want to discourage Satoru. His student was so confident, and he didn't want to reject him outright.

In the end, no one knew the Kikaichu better than the Aburame clan, and the two-kilometer limit was an unchangeable constraint.

Thinking about this, Shibi's heart grew heavier.

Just then, he seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.

Soon after, several black bugs were seen swaying towards them.

"They succeeded?" Shibi exclaimed in astonishment, his mouth wide open.

Beside him, Satoru's lips curled slightly.

The metal particles placed on the Kikaichu earlier were used for magnetic positioning.

In his previous life, he often heard that before an earthquake occurred, large numbers of flying insects and birds would migrate due to their sensitivity to changes in the Earth's magnetic field.

Some flying insects even use magnetic substances in their bodies for orientation during migration!

Although Satoru couldn't change the Earth's magnetic field, he could simulate some changes in his position and use the metal particles on the Kikaichu to achieve orientation.

This was a biological instinct imprinted in the DNA of insects through millions of years of natural evolution!

At the same time, Shibi absorbed the intelligence transmitted by the Kikaichu, his eyes gleaming!

"I didn't expect it to be like this!"

...

Two days later, outside the black market.

A disguised Iwa shinobi wrapped a scroll in his clothes and observed the surroundings before heading toward the front of a hotel.

"Lord Yamatsuchi, we've got the supplies."

"Very well," Yamatsuchi, the leader of the Iwa squad, praised his subordinate.

"With such a large quantity of supplies, Lord Tsuchikage will surely reward us generously. Let's prepare to return. We've been in this remote Iron Country for too long; our bodies are starting to rust."

The seven-person team began to move toward the outskirts of the capital.

In the forest, the group's spirit was high.

"Which merchant do you think offered such a large amount of supplies and gave us such a great opportunity?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, we only planned to buy some iron equipment from the Iron Country, but unexpectedly, we stumbled upon such a great harvest."

"Hahaha." One Iwa shinobi laughed. "Unfortunately, the identities of both parties in the black market transaction are kept secret. Otherwise, we could've thanked the seller properly this time."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, a sharp, piercing sound rang out. The expression on the Iwa shinobi's face froze, and blood spurted out of his mouth as if his throat had been cut by a blade.

His throat rolled for a moment, and foamy red liquid overflowed from his mouth. He fell to the ground, lifeless.

Seeing their comrade meet such a tragic end before their eyes, Yamatsuchi's eyes were bloodshot as he shouted with all his strength.

"Enemy attack!!!"

Just as he shouted, several figures, accompanied by swishing sounds, surrounded the Iwa shinobi team. The one leading them spoke coldly.

"No need for thanks. If you want to show gratitude, then leave your lives behind."

"What are you, people?" Yamatsuchi's eyes were bloodshot as he squeezed out the words from between his teeth.

"Do the dead need to know so much?" The red-haired man leading the assailants waved his hand, and a wave of golden particles surged like a golden wave, engulfing the area.

Yamatsuchi's pupils contracted.

"Magnet Release? You are from Sunagakure!"

After using Earth Release to block the golden wave, Yamatsuchi angrily shouted.

"Is Sunagakure trying to start a war with Iwagakure? How dare you ambush us on the way back! If Lord Tsuchikage finds out, you'll face the consequences!"

"Consequences? Once you all die here, what consequences are there to worry about?"

"Scorch Release! Scorching Kill!"

It wasn't Rasa speaking, but a female shinobi in revealing attire behind him. With a wave of her hand, an orange-red fireball shot toward an Iwa shinobi who was trying to defend against the Sand shinobi's attacks. Accompanied by a miserable scream, the Iwa shinobi's body's moisture evaporated instantly, leaving him in a mummy-like state.

Yamatsuchi's heart sank when he understood the identities of the two assailants.

Magnet Release, Rasa, and Scorch Release, Pakura.

Sunagakure dispatched two kekkei genkai users; it seemed like this time they were in real danger.

Meanwhile, one kilometer away from the battle that erupted, two figures were concealed in the treetops of a large tree, silently observing.