"Hey, hey, hey! What is that!"
Kigiri's eyes widened as he looked at the enormous fireball in the distance, his face full of disbelief.
Rinji's expression also turned very ugly.
"So the opponent we faced before was this kind of monster?"
He spoke with difficulty, finding his throat somewhat dry. "Nurari's loss was understandable."
"It seems you've encountered Konoha's Takumi."
Behind them, Kabuto, with a smile on his face, stepped forward and said slowly while looking at the enormous fireball in the distance. "He's quite a troublesome guy."
"You know him?"
Rinji frowned slightly. Needing to maintain his hidden identity for now, he spoke to Kabuto very rudely. "If you know something, you'd better spill it."
"What? If I tell you, you'll be able to defeat him?"
Kabuto glanced at him, his smile unchanged. "That's not an opponent you can defeat. Give up on that unrealistic idea."
"Then we do nothing? Knowing he's heading our way?"
Rinji aggressively looked at Kabuto. "I don't know who you are, but if you have intelligence, you'd better share it with us as soon as possible."
Kabuto smiled, completely unconcerned by Rinji's attitude.
Beside him, Yukimaru held a camellia flower, seemingly unconcerned with everything around him.
"Guren-sama is back."
Gozu suddenly spoke.
His words immediately broke the tense atmosphere.
The others looked towards the cliff edge and soon saw a figure approaching from afar.
It was Guren.
Guren quickly arrived at the house and saw Kabuto and Rinji confronting each other.
"What are you doing here?"
Guren said impatiently. "Forget it, never mind. We need to leave immediately. If that monster catches up, things will get troublesome."
"Although leaving Yukimaru alone here earlier was a huge mistake, your judgment now is very wise."
Kabuto said with a smile. "But next time, it's best not to leave Yukimaru alone."
"If Yukimaru is taken away, can you bear that responsibility?"
His face held a smile, but his words were full of dissatisfaction.
"Hmph."
Guren snorted coldly. "That's none of your concern."
She took Yukimaru from Kabuto's side. "We're leaving immediately, while my clones can still hold them off."
Kabuto didn't say anything more.
In this situation, it wasn't the time to argue.
"Kiho, eliminate our traces."
Guren instructed Kiho, then left with Yukimaru.
She carried Yukimaru on her back and quickly headed towards their destination.
In a few leaps, she was already out of sight.
Gozu immediately followed.
"Such an impatient person."
Kabuto shook his head, but he also knew the situation was urgent.
He hadn't expected Takumi to be involved.
If Takumi appeared, Orochimaru's plan would surely fail.
This absolutely could not happen.
Then, he also followed.
The group immediately left, and the place fell silent again.
As if it had always been that way.
"Guren-sama, that guy named Kabuto seems to know the enemy's details."
Rinji quickly caught up and reported to Guren.
Mainly, he also wanted to know Takumi's background.
After seeing that fireball, even the calmest Shinobi would want to know what it was.
"Kabuto knows?"
Guren frowned and turned to look at Kabuto behind her, slowing down slightly.
"Do you know the details of that guy?"
Guren asked directly. "Who is he? When did such a monster appear in the Shinobi World?"
"You want to know?"
Kabuto smiled at Guren, his annoying expression seeming to say: Beg me.
"It concerns the mission Orochimaru-sama entrusted. You don't want anything to go wrong, do you?"
Guren narrowed her eyes, hiding the dangerous look within.
"Fine, telling you won't hurt."
Kabuto shrugged, then said, "His name is Takumi, an Elite Jonin, and also a hero of Konoha."
Then, he listed a series of Takumi's achievements.
Hearing that Takumi had fought so many powerful opponents and won,
Guren was stunned into silence.
"This..."
She opened her mouth dumbfounded, unable to imagine there could be such a powerful person in this world.
And looking at his age, he was clearly just a youth.
"Can you imagine how much Orochimaru-sama desires his body?"
Kabuto narrowed his eyes, a strange smile on his face. "Orochimaru-sama originally wanted him as a vessel."
Guren's expression immediately darkened.
She herself deeply desired to become Orochimaru's new vessel.
And now she heard this news from the mouth of the detestable Kabuto.
"I will definitely kill him!"
Guren narrowed her eyes and said fiercely.
"You can't do it."
Kabuto took two steps back, looking at Guren with a mocking gaze. "Someone even Orochimaru-sama can do nothing about, what can you possibly do?"
"Just complete the mission Orochimaru-sama entrusted as soon as possible, before he catches up."
"Otherwise, if he gets entangled with us, we won't have enough lives to spare."
Saying this, he came to Yukimaru's side and said softly, "Let's go, Yukimaru."
But Yukimaru didn't answer obediently as usual. Instead, he came to Guren's side.
He looked up at Guren with a faint, calm smile. "Where is your home?"
The unexpected question startled Guren.
If it were anyone else, she wouldn't have paid any attention.
But Yukimaru was a very important person entrusted to her by Orochimaru.
Before completing the mission, she had to take good care of him.
But Guren had always lived in the shadows; when did she ever have experience taking care of others?
At this moment, she seemed at a loss.
"Home? My home is naturally with Orochimaru-sama."
Guren casually answered what was in her heart, then said, "Let's go. We must leave here as soon as possible."
"Is that so?"
Yukimaru silently lowered his head, his expression unchanged.
"You have a home, but where is my home?"
His face showed a trace of bewilderment.
Kabuto watched the interaction between Yukimaru and Guren, reached up to push his glasses, hiding his gaze behind the reflective lenses.
"How interesting."
He murmured quietly, unheard by anyone.
Only Rinji, who could hear the sounds of bats, heard it.
But he just glanced briefly at Kabuto and said nothing.
The group soon set off.
Guren carried Yukimaru on her back, while the others brought up the rear.
Kiho was responsible for eliminating their traces.
Judging by physique, Gozu would have been more suitable for carrying someone.
Whether in stamina, strength, or build, he was much more suitable than Guren.
But Guren didn't trust anyone else to look after Yukimaru.
Most importantly, Yukimaru was close to her and reluctant to leave her side.
They rapidly advanced towards some unknown lake.