Guren saw Kabuto's gaze.
Her heart tightened, and she was secretly on guard.
She didn't know what Kabuto was thinking, but she was sure it wasn't anything good.
They advanced cautiously all the way.
Because of the pursuers behind them, they couldn't stop to rest.
The exhausted Yukimaru fell asleep directly on Guren's back.
They traveled like this until they reached their destination, an unnamed lake.
"We're here."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Too many people can't be involved in the next part."
Guren understood; after all, this mission was of utmost importance and couldn't afford any mistakes.
"You all stay here and set up some decoys."
She looked at the four behind her. "Don't even think about confronting the enemy head-on. They are not opponents you can defeat."
"Try to set up some traps to delay their advance, then hide."
"Once the mission is over, then leave."
Having said that, she turned to Kabuto. "Let's go."
"Wait a moment."
Rinji stepped forward, spreading his hands. "We've come all this way, and you won't even tell us what the specific mission is?"
"How are we supposed to know when the mission is over?"
His reason was fairly valid.
But this mission was of utmost importance, and Guren didn't trust these people she had temporarily chosen as subordinates.
"Don't casually probe into things you shouldn't know."
Kabuto smiled, but hid his eyes behind his lenses. "Sometimes, knowing too much is not a good thing."
"You just need to complete the tasks assigned to you. You don't need to worry about what comes next."
"Of course, if you want to take the opportunity to escape, you can."
"As long as you think you can escape Orochimaru-sama's grasp."
His words were spoken without any politeness.
The four thought of Orochimaru and couldn't help but swallow hard.
That was the thing buried deepest in their hearts, the source of their greatest fear.
"How could that be."
Rinji said with an embarrassed smile. "I'm just a bit curious. If I can't be told, forget it."
He stepped back, returning to the others.
Kabuto withdrew his gaze and led Guren to a small boat, already prepared by the lake.
Then, they slowly rowed the boat, gradually making their way towards the center of the lake.
A thin mist hung over the lake, quickly obscuring the small boat and the figures on it.
As if swallowed by the darkness.
"Alright, let's start our work too."
Rinji shrugged and looked at Gozu. "Which side are you taking?"
"I'll go east."
Gozu said, silently walking towards the east.
Although the enemy was following them, it was uncertain from which direction they would attack.
To be safe, they had to set up as many traps as possible around the lake.
Not necessarily to kill.
Just like Guren said, as long as they could delay them.
Thinking of that enormous fireball they had seen from afar, Rinji and the others couldn't help but shudder.
That was definitely not a power they could confront.
"Let's start too."
Rinji said to the other two, and Kigiri and Kiho immediately disappeared from the spot.
"They've stopped."
Shino suddenly said.
"They should know we're chasing them from behind."
Kiba frowned thoughtfully. "So, have they reached their destination?"
"That should be right."
Takumi nodded, agreeing with Kiba's view. "Let's speed up a bit, but we must be extremely vigilant."
"There will definitely be traps. I'll leave that to you, Hinata."
Hinata, being singled out, immediately nodded repeatedly. "Leave it to me."
Now in mission mode, even the shy Hinata seemed a bit steadier.
The target was close; now was definitely not the time to relax.
Especially knowing there were traps ahead.
Their advance speed increased slightly, and they no longer made the confusing pauses like before.
This wouldn't make Rinji feel his ability was exposed.
After all, they had stopped, and Takumi and the others, having confirmed the information, naturally had no need to keep stopping to confirm subsequent intelligence.
At this moment, through sound waves inaudible to the human ear, Rinji had already confirmed Takumi and the others' movements.
"Come on, I'm already getting impatient."
Hidden underground, he observed the surroundings through the ultrasonic waves of his bats.
During the previous battle with Takumi and the others, Gozu, hidden underground, had successfully ambushed Takumi.
This made him realize that hiding underground could avoid the enemy's tracking.
But what he didn't know was that time was entirely due to Hinata's mistake.
Although soil would block some vision, relying on the Byakugan's clairvoyance, unless it was very deep, or a very hollow place, nothing could block the Byakugan's line of sight.
But Hinata had only paid attention to the situation above ground, so she had overlooked the situation below ground at that time.
Unfortunately, Rinji didn't know this.
Perhaps, he would pay the price for this.
Quickening their pace, it wasn't long before Takumi and the others arrived within one kilometer of the lake.
They immediately stopped.
"Byakugan!"
Hinata very consciously activated her Byakugan and observed the surroundings.
"Five hundred meters ahead, there are multiple traps. They are chain traps."
She quickly judged the situation ahead.
"There is also one person hiding underground. Judging by his build, it's not the one who attacked Takumi-kun earlier."
"No other people are visible nearby, and no signs of anyone else hiding."
After reporting the situation, Hinata deactivated her Byakugan.
Since it was uncertain if there would be combat later, it was best for her to conserve some energy now.
Anyway, the situation was already clear, and she would activate it again when they advanced.
Now they needed to hear Takumi's judgment to decide their next action.
"It seems that guy thinks he can hide like that."
A smile appeared on the corner of Takumi's mouth. "In the previous battle, they definitely noticed Hinata's eyes."
"Him hiding underground might be because of Hinata's previous mistake, which gave him a misunderstanding."
Mentioning the mistake, Hinata's cheeks immediately flushed.
There was a hint of shame in her eyes.
Although Takumi wasn't injured, her mistake had nearly put Kiba in danger.
"Don't worry, everyone makes mistakes sometimes."
Seeing her expression, Takumi understood her self-reproach and stepped forward to rub the top of her head. "Besides, didn't this accidentally work in our favor?"
"If you feel guilty, then redouble your efforts and strive not to make the same mistake again."
Feeling Hinata look up, Takumi let go of his hand, though he felt a bit reluctant to part.
He had to admit, Hinata's smooth hair felt very silky and had an excellent texture.
And Hinata, looking up and seeing the encouragement in Takumi's eyes, along with Kiba's confident smile, felt a warmth surge in her heart.
As for Shino, being ignored was a common occurrence for him.
"So, should we turn their trick against them?"
Kiba was eager to try, but thinking Akamaru wasn't by his side, he dismissed the idea of going himself. "It's a pity Akamaru isn't here. Otherwise, I'd definitely show that guy a thing or two."