Ch.194 Sea Fog

Due to Karin's overwhelming Susanoo, the demons guarding the anchor point all rushed out of the cave, attacking Karin.

The demons believed that as long as they could eliminate this ridiculously powerful Akatsuki member in front of them, their anchor point would be secure.

As a result, none of them considered that, under such circumstances, someone might sneak into the cave where the anchor point was located.

Neji, who had successfully reached the cave, calmed his excited heart as he used his Byakugan to observe everything inside.

Before leaving, Shinji's instructions to him had been very simple.

There was only one location marked on the map and an order to "destroy the anchor point." As for what the so-called "anchor point" actually was, even Shinji hadn't known, let alone Neji.

Luckily, Neji had his Byakugan, and searching for things was his specialty.

He first searched the cave for anything containing chakra but found no traces of chakra anywhere inside.

Thus, he began looking for any peculiar constructs in the cave and soon found himself in front of five stone tablets deep within the cave.

"What are these stone tablets?"

He picked one up and examined it, finding nothing unusual.

The tablets bore no chakra traces and seemed quite ordinary. If anything stood out, it was the faint, lingering smell of blood on the stone tablets.

This indicated that the stone tablets had been in contact with demons.

After carefully examining the entire cave and finding no other suspicious items besides these stone tablets, Neji determined that these tablets were likely the "anchor points" that Shinji had ordered him to destroy.

Boom, boom!

Instantly, Neji used Gentle Fist to shatter all five stone tablets.

Not yet satisfied, he then delivered several more blows to the larger fragments, ensuring that they were smashed into dust before collecting all the pieces into his backpack.

[Successfully severed one anchor point.]

[Warning: Reassessing countdown to world destruction.]

[Countdown: 4]

Uchiha Shinji, who was flying high in the sky with a complete Susanoo Tomoshibi, suddenly heard the notification from "Lamp."

He immediately communicated with "Lamp" and brought up the anchor point projection map, discovering that the anchor point just severed was the one in the Land of Earth.

"Well done! Karin and Neji certainly did not disappoint me!"

He praised inwardly.

It had been three and a half days, almost four, since the five "anchor points" had appeared.

Fortunately, Shinji had used every means at his disposal to successively destroy the anchor points in the Lands of Fire, Wind, and, just now, Earth, repeatedly delaying the countdown to the shinobi world's destruction.

Now, only the anchor points in the Lands of Water and Lightning remained, and they still had four days!

However, Shinji wasn't ready to celebrate just yet.

The anchor points in the Lands of Water and Lightning were extremely remote: one was on an isolated island overseas, and the other atop a snow-covered mountain sealed in ice for miles.

Reaching those locations alone would be difficult, so four days were far from guaranteed—one mishap, and all their previous efforts would be for nothing!

The Land of Water.

Honk!

With the sound of a ship's horn, a large fishing boat sailed through the sea fog.

Standing on the deck of the boat, Haku wore a worried expression.

Like Karin, he was also Shinji's "attendant," so he knew what the mission entailed and the consequences if they failed.

But the island he needed to reach was so remote that, even with the Hidden Mist's covert assistance, it had taken them an entire day just to find a captain who had been to the island before.

"Thankfully, Lord Shinji involved the village in this. If I had been on my own, I probably wouldn't have even found the island within four days. Still... sigh..."

He sighed again.

He didn't know that, because three of the "anchor points" had already been severed, the countdown to the shinobi world's destruction had been reset three times.

He still believed they only had four days, and that the fourth day was soon coming to an end.

Inside the cabin.

Disguised as a crew member, Mei Terumi frowned, "The Akatsuki's test this time is too demanding! Four days isn't even enough to locate that island!"

Beside her, Kisame Hoshigaki chuckled, "Why worry so much? Let's just focus on doing our job."

Mei Terumi still frowned, "I still feel something's off! Without our help, there's no way that boy from the Yuki clan could complete this test on his own! Akatsuki probably never planned to truly recruit that boy!"

Kisame, however, didn't dwell on it. He simply said calmly, "Don't forget, the Akatsuki is an organization full of monsters. If just anyone could infiltrate, that would be a problem."

Just then, a crew member called out from outside the cabin, "I see the island!"

Immediately, Haku on the deck and Mei Terumi and Kisame in the cabin perked up, looking in the direction indicated by the crew member.

Through the thin sea fog, they could see a rippling line appear on the horizon.

Shwip!

Without waiting to say anything to the Hidden Mist members aboard, Haku leaped off the fishing boat, sprinting across the surface of the ocean towards the island hidden in the sea fog.

The boat's crew cried out in shock at the sight.

Jumping into the sea was almost suicidal, especially in the treacherous weather with sea fog all around.

In such an environment, losing one's way meant certain death—even for a shinobi!

Even the Hidden Mist members, disguised as crew members, were surprised to see Haku leap off the boat so urgently.

Watching Haku sprint across the choppy sea at an incredible speed, elite jōnin like Mei Terumi and Kisame couldn't help but be impressed.

"That kid..." Mei Terumi paused, choosing her words carefully, "is probably not that simple."

Kisame laughed knowingly, "Now I understand why the Akatsuki set their sights on this boy from the Yuki clan. He must have hidden his true strength—he's not as ordinary as the records say."

Before the mission, Mei Terumi and Kisame had received information about Haku.

According to the intel, Haku was merely a remnant of the Yuki clan who had awakened his bloodline by chance, gaining the Ice Release Bloodline Limit.

But now, they believed Haku was far more than just a remnant of the Yuki clan. He likely possessed unimaginable talent, which the Akatsuki had somehow noticed.

On the island.

A swordsman-like figure quietly watched the sea.