One thing lead to another

"Um, everyone... You have to see this..." Ino gulped her saliva; cold sweat tricked down on her back.

Chouji and Shikamaru were intrigued; Ino then shared her 'vision' with them. In their mind, there was the Oka forest of the Oka village from a bird's point of view. In the middle of the forest, colossal-sized snake trails were clearly seen. Surprised by Ino's findings, they tried to draw a conclusion from the information they possessed.

"First, it's 90% certain that the beasts come to this village either to escape from that God-knows-what creature. Second, we're certain that's a snake trail or a reptilian one from some of the scale it left on its wake. Third, that giant thing's current location is currently unknown." Shikamaru bit his finger as he said this. He was nervous, just like his teammate, because of their lack of information.

"Let's report to Asuma-Sensei first; it can't be as simple as we thought." Ino released her technique as she recovered some of her chakras.

"It's getting complicated..." Chouji frowned as he tried to process their current clues so far. "... I want a beef udon."

---

"From its size, the color of the scales it left, and the havoc it causes. I can only guess that it was Manda, the summoned creature of Orochimaru of the sannin. I have yet to know another reptilian creature that is as big as him." A frown was seen on Asuma's face; he would not forget his old man's disciple's summoned creature.

He was there when the trio Sannin showed their current summoned creatures to his old man, and he literally pissed his pants at that time from the scary vibe that Manda exuded. What? he was nothing but a little brat at that time.

Ko and Daen were silent; they tried to formulate a solution in their mind before they started to act.

"If it really is the doing of Orochimaru of the Sannin, then it can't be simple; I suspect these beasts' outbreak and the finding of Kyuubi's Chakra must be closely interlinked. Our easiest method is to apprehend the key suspect -the doctor, Shinno- and interrogate him." Ko said, his frown was yet to cease from his face.

"Our other method is to go to the forest and look for another clue there..." Asuma added that even though he was not sure with his own words, he knew it was too dangerous if it was really Orochimaru and Manda.

"Daen-san, do you have any Idea?" Asuma turned his head and asked Daen. When you're in a pinch, you can always ask a Nara for a piece of advice, especially a seasoned one like Daen.

"If it's the S-class criminal Orochimaru, then we don't stand a chance against him. I'm not looking down on our capabilities; rather, he's really a cunning person. As we know, he's a ruthless, sly, and resourceful individual. If it's really Orochimaru, I bet he already knows our situation and already brews a plan against us." Daen frowned; he's a highly cautious person. This current mission was all about investigation, and if there's a chance to retrieve the Kyuubi chakra, then they'll do it. If not, then they'll destroy it. And if the enemy was out of their league, they had to retreat with any piece of information at hand.

Asuma and Ko frowned; like it or not, what Daen said was likely to be the truth. Orochimaru held the Sanin title not only for show; he earned it by his own capabilities. The three Sanin was once able to hold their ground against Hanzo the Salamander.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo fought some of Konoha's forces, with Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru being the only survivors. As a reward for this accomplishment, Hanzo named the trio as Konoha's Sannin and told them to refer to themselves as such in exchange for letting them live.

For the ignorant people, this story sounded like the three Sanin were weak and barely able to survive against a single person. This statement was true, except they're not against any other people; it's Hanzo the Salamander himself that once slaughtered his way and carved his name in the anal of history and hailed as the Demigod as a testament of his strength.

And Orochimaru, as young as he was at that time, was able to survive a battle against him. Of the three Sanin, he's one that never gambles his chance. He always prepared everything before he acted; he was ruthless even with his own self.

Some might say that the title was Hanzo's way of mocking the trio's loss, but Daen vehemently believes that it was a testament to their ability to survive against the strongest of that era. And that translated to the proof of their strength and prowess.

They knew this fact, and no one present was stupid enough to underestimate someone with such capabilities.

"Alright, as a precaution, we'll move in a group of-"

"He's moving; Shinno went toward a ruined temple east of the village." As Asuma wants to explain their strategy, Shikamaru cuts him off with a sudden report. Looking at their current chance, investigating through this Shinno guy was the best shot they could get. They can't help it; that's how terrifying the terror of Orochimaru of the Sanin was. They'll throw their life for nothing at all without ample preparation by pitting themselves against him.

Of course, it's all just an assumption. But a safer alternative was presented before them, and if they did not take that alternative, it's not called a brave act; it's called an idiot act.

"We split into three groups. Ino, you're to follow Daen-san, watch our back, and provide ranged support. Shikamaru, you're with Chouji and took the southern route and cut his escape path. I'll take the frontline with Ko-San. Ko-San, please seal his tonketsu if possible later; I'll distract and keep him busy. This mission is getting out of hand, We'll have to act and apprehend him soon."

"Se-Sensei... Asuma-Sensei... The snake..." Ino said, her lips trembled and lost their color. "The- The snake..."

'What now...' Just as Asuma was about to execute the plan, Ino interrupted him. He's starting to get annoyed with various things that suddenly popped up.

Without further ado, Asuma sighed as he touched Ino's left shoulder for Ino to share the image with him, and she did exactly that.

"It's really him, Manda..." Asuma gasped, his eyes went wide, and his pupils dilated.

"And he's bigger than before... way bigger."