At this moment, the door was closed, but there was no other movement yet.
"I hear a sound."
Kiba frowned. "It sounds like..."
His eyes suddenly widened. "It's water! The enemy wants to drown us all!"
Kiba shouted, a hint of panic in his eyes.
With no way out, if they were flooded, they would painfully drown in the water.
Suffocation was a very painful way to die.
Just then, a massive Chakra Figure emerged from Takumi's body.
It was Susano'o.
The enormous Susano'o neatly and decisively smashed through the wall, and then Takumi led everyone out of this dangerous place.
After leaving the base, they realized the water flow wasn't just inside the base.
The entire base had become the center of a vortex, surrounded by a large amount of water that was gradually destroying and submerging the base.
"Was this a trap set by the enemy in advance?"
Kiba said reluctantly.
"No, the enemy probably didn't know we were coming."
Shino refuted. "Not knowing anyone was coming, yet so decisively destroying this base..."
"It seems this place has been abandoned."
Takumi picked up the thread. "The enemy just planned to destroy this base, and we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Those people..."
Hinata looked at the base being submerged by the floodwaters, a trace of compassion in her eyes.
"Let's go. Let's leave here first."
Takumi looked at the continuously rising water level and said with a slight frown.
Without using Ninjutsu, using mechanisms to channel this much water,
He had to admit this mechanism was very clever.
Takumi led them away from the base to a higher forested area.
"What should we do now?"
Hinata looked at Takumi, a bit unsure of what to do.
The mission was to investigate Orochimaru's intelligence.
But now the base was flooded.
However, they could confirm that this base indeed belonged to Orochimaru.
It couldn't be said that the mission was a complete failure.
But just going back like this...
"Of course we can't just leave like this."
Before Takumi could reply, Kiba said as a matter of course, "It would be too embarrassing to just go back like this."
"That's right."
Shino agreed with Kiba's view. "And we're not completely without clues."
"Since there were people who set up the mechanism, there must be people who left from here."
Takumi followed along. "Finding people is up to you two."
"Judging from the situation, the enemy left long ago. It's impossible to find anyone using Hinata's Byakugan."
Hearing this, Hinata's expression immediately dimmed.
But this was also a limitation of the Byakugan.
The Byakugan's observable range was limited.
On the other hand, Kiba and Akamaru's sense of smell, as well as Shino's Kikaichu, could explore an extremely wide range.
In terms of finding people, these two were indeed stronger than her.
"Let's continue moving. Don't waste time."
Takumi said solemnly. "Since the enemy abandoned this secret base at this time, it means they might be planning some big move."
"We must investigate this big move and ensure it has no impact on Konoha."
"Understood!"
The three immediately responded.
Then, Kiba and Shino split up to act.
Shino released his Kikaichu to begin searching for traces.
Kiba and Akamaru identified the scent.
"Fortunately, the weather is good. No wind or rain."
Kiba quickly got results. "They should be heading in this direction."
"Good!"
Takumi made a prompt decision. "Let's go."
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
The four figures immediately disappeared.
"Takumi, don't you think it's strange?"
On the way, Kiba suddenly asked.
"What's wrong?"
Takumi asked. "Did you discover something?"
"I mean those people. Why did they kill each other?"
Kiba asked, puzzled. "Since Orochimaru gave them the Cursed Seal and they survived, why would he waste them like this? Regardless, they are still a decent fighting force, right?"
"How should I explain this to you..."
Takumi thought for a moment and said, "I once read a record about an ancient clan."
"It was a clan skilled in using poison."
"They didn't make poison themselves, but used the toxins within living things, like venomous snakes, venomous spiders, and so on."
"But the toxins of ordinary animals still struggle to threaten a Shinobi's life."
"So, they used a cruel method: Raising Gu."
He paused here.
"What does 'Raising Gu' mean?"
Shino frowned.
As an expert in dealing with insects, how did he not know about this method?
"Raising Gu means putting a group of poisonous animals together and letting them fight in a confined space."
Takumi said. "Until only one survives. The one that lives is the most poisonous Gu."
"I see."
Shino understood. "So those people were being used to raise Gu? To select the strongest one or ones."
"Exactly."
Takumi nodded.
"That Orochimaru guy really deserves to die."
Kiba said indignantly. "To think he could come up with such a cruel method."
"This is actually a kind of natural law."
Takumi was quite open-minded about this. "In the forest, survival of the fittest is a very natural thing. You two should know that very well."
Kiba and Shino immediately fell silent.
They naturally understood the law of the jungle: the weak are prey to the strong.
Regardless of the methods, surviving in the forest is the most important thing.
"It's just that we humans are emotional beings. We care not only about life and death, but also about many things like dignity, beliefs, ideals, and so on."
Takumi continued. "So sometimes we fear death, but other times we are fearless."
"Like carrying through our own Shinobi Path!"
Kiba answered eagerly. "As long as I can carry through my Shinobi Path, even if it costs my life, I won't hesitate!!"
"Me too."
Shino said quietly.
"Me... me too."
Hinata quickly followed.
"Orochimaru's methods are of course very cruel, after all, those people fighting and killing are humans, our own kind."
Takumi smiled and said. "But in Orochimaru's eyes, it's different. He implements the pure law of the jungle. This shows that in his eyes, those people can no longer be considered his own kind."
"The more I hear, the more I feel that Orochimaru guy is unforgivable."
Kiba said angrily. "Just thinking that he was once a Konoha's Shinobi makes me uncomfortable."
"One of the legendary Sannin… to think he has fallen to such a level."
Shino quietly added.