Chapter 65 Ice Block

Far from the perimeter guards of Otogakure, the moonlit night remained serene. The waist-high weeds behind the hills were immersed in pitch-black darkness. At a certain moment, three masked ninjas suddenly darted in.

"We're back."

Ishida Kappei exhaled and spoke softly. The two Anbu behind him no longer restrained themselves and began to pant slightly. An hour of stealthy searching consumes a considerable amount of their physical and mental energy.

Minamino Shuichi's team, who stayed outside to provide support, had long observed the return of Ishida Kappei's team. The two parties nodded to each other when they met. Seeing that there were no signs of injury, Minamino Shuichi felt relieved, patted Ishida Kappei's shoulder, and said, "You took quite a while. I almost thought you'd been assassinated by the enemy."

It was clearly a joke, and after hearing this, Ishida Kappei laughed and said, "There really aren't any powerful characters in such a small village."

Minamino Shuichi also smiled. The smooth progress of their mission was expected, but waiting outside for an hour would still accumulate some worries. No longer engaging in idle chatter, the short exchange of pleasantries marked the end of their conversation. Then, Minamino Shuichi's expression under the mask became serious, "It's been an hour. Did you find anything?"

Seeing Minamino Shuichi's eyes sweep over the empty hands of the three people in the first team, Ishida Kappei said helplessly, "Well, we didn't find any abnormal information. We'll discuss the specifics when we get back."

The three members of the second team were stunned upon hearing this. The main purpose the village had mobilized ten people to come here is to confirm the relationship between Orochimaru and Otogakure, and then 'disrupt' it. If the situation was just as they thought, Konoha would definitely take follow-up actions, and they would be the first to come and cause trouble.

"Let's see how Kakashi's team and... uh, that guy, Hattori, are doing."

"Alright." Minamino Shuichi could only respond like this.

Just five minutes later, the distant weeds seemed to become more chaotic due to the wind. Similar to Ishida Kappei's team, Kakashi's team suddenly appeared in front of everyone, enveloped in shadows.

"Team three has returned. No casualties." Kakashi said flatly, casting a glance at the six hidden figures in front of him.

"No findings."

"..." Ishida Kappei and Minamino Shuichi were both taken aback, then started wondering if the previous batch of ANBU colleagues who followed Orochimaru got the information wrong.

After consoling each other, the space behind the hill seemed crowded after nine people were crammed into it.

"Um, only Raiden Hattori hasn't returned yet." An ANBU said after counting the number of people in his mind.

"Almost an hour and twenty minutes."

"Let's wait…"

Several people spoke softly, and the three Captains glanced at each other. Of course, this situation definitely required further waiting.

However, when another ten minutes passed, several ANBU became a little bit impatient and asked, "Could it be that he hasn't prepared to retreat yet?"

No one answered, but many had the same thought. Although acting alone might be more covert, it also encountered greater difficulty during the search. Ishida Kappei's team had just revealed that they had covered almost half of Otogakure. So if Logan doesn't gain anything, he should retreat discreetly, right?

However, soon, a commotion that clearly exceeded the surroundings broke out from a certain guard post, interrupting everyone's thoughts. Torches clustered together in a small area, and a leading Otogakure's Ninja stepped forward, shouting and directing, while a large group of scattered Rogue Ninjas moved slowly under his command.

The expressions of the nine ANBU changed. The fifty-six people, mainly Rogue Ninjas, began to spread outwards, while the remaining Otogakure's Ninjas and Samurai withdrew into the village to search for something.

Seeing the tumultuous movement of people coming from all directions, Minamino Shuichi frowned, "Has he been discovered?"

Ishida Kappei remained calm, "Not necessarily. It's also possible that our actions that wasn't cleaned up in Otogakure earlier have been noticed."

Several fast-moving Rogue Ninjas were already close to the hill, and they could even see the other party's shabby clothes.

The atmosphere fell silent unexpectedly for a few seconds, and the decision came suddenly and in an instant - Minami Shuichi gritted his teeth. And at the same time, half of the ANBU took out their kunai.

"We…"

"Withdraw."

Suddenly, the cold words hit the silent lake like ice blocks, and this chilling proposal startled everyone's hearts.

"Mission first. Exposing everyone for one person will not only result in failure but also escalate the situation to a diplomatic level."

"So... let's withdraw first."

Everyone turned their heads and looked at Kakashi with strange and shocked eyes. Even Kakashi's companions behind him looked at their Captain with complex expressions. Some people may have this idea, but it wouldn't be expressed so straightforwardly, without mercy.

With all eyes on him, Kakashi remained silent, his gaze as firm as his words, as hard as ice blocks.

Tap, tap, tap... The dense footsteps sounded, the firelight illuminated the sand and stones of the hill. The enemies are here.

"Sigh…"

Ishida Kappei was about to say something when the ground trembled slightly.

Boom!

There was a sudden bright flash in the sky, followed by darkness, and then a violent explosion unreasonably tore through the quiet of the night!

In the distant Otogakure, a sudden inexplicable incident occurred. The firelight shone with high intensity, and the black smoke from burning buildings rose higher into the night sky. At this moment, the rhythm of all parties was disrupted, and chaos ensued.

"What is that?!"

"Explosion…"

"Wait... someone's there, argh—"

In the midst of the chaos, someone couldn't help but make the first move. Cries of pain mingled with the falling torches, sparks splattered with blood, and the wild grass snapped abruptly. This small area of chaos peaked under the overwhelming noise of the explosion.

…

A few minutes ago…

Step by step, Logan walked on the steps leading to the unknown depths, raising his alertness to the highest level.

In this enclosed environment, the silence becomes even more oppressive. Logan held a kunai in his right hand, ready to deal with danger at any time.

'Laboratory... Just hearing this name seems very relevant to Orochimaru. Isn't Uncle Snake like to work in his Laboratory as scientist...' Logan thinks of some tacky things to lighten the mood.

He knew that this place is very likely one of Orochimaru's small bases. As he walks along the stairs, there is a quiet burning oil lamp further down the path. The light is dim, the air is bad, and Logan furrows his brow. 'Seriously, Uncle Snake, your research environment is quite harsh.'