Next, Sandayū informed the other rescue team members of his decision.
"I've decided to continue the search for my brother," he announced, his voice carrying across the wind-swept camp.
A team member stepped forward, concern etched on his face. "Sandayū-san, are you sure about this? This place... it's not natural."
Sandayū's eyes flashed with resolve. "I can't abandon my brother. Not while there's still hope."
He, along with Kakashi and Nadare, would form a three-person rescue squad to search for Yoshiro, who might still be alive. The rest of the team would return to the permanent camp, leaving only two sleds and a few sled dogs for the rescue squad.
At this point, the other rescue members had also sensed that something ominous had occurred here. Although they wanted to urge Sandayū to leave this death-filled place quickly and not to pursue others, Yoshiro was his younger brother. As outsiders, it seemed too heartless to try to convince him to give up the rescue.
Moreover, the fact that two ninjas were accompanying them provided some assurance.
Thus, the rescue team accepted Sandayū's decision, leaving behind only the necessary tools and bringing back the five completely dead biological samples they had dug up from the pentagon-shaped grave.
No one wanted to handle the biological samples, fearing a repeat of the tragedy that had befallen the exploration team. The specimens were carefully wrapped and secured to a sled.
"Be careful with those... things," one rescuer warned. "Who knows what they're capable of, even dead."
Watching the departing rescue team, the remaining three turned back to start the second phase of the rescue operation.
Kakashi formed hand seals and performed a summoning technique, bringing forth a brownish-yellow wolf with a white belly and a Konoha headband around its neck. The wolf's fur rippled in the icy wind, its keen eyes scanning the desolate landscape.
Nadare was once again shocked, not expecting that this ninja from Konoha could summon more than one ninja dog.
Even if a ninja mastered summoning techniques, they couldn't summon an unlimited number of animals at will. A ninja typically chose a specific summoned animal, and the summoned creature would also choose a strong ninja as its master.
If the ninja wasn't skilled, even a well-trained ninja dog wouldn't easily acknowledge them as its master.
The fact that Kakashi had summoned two ninja dogs in succession meant that his strength had been recognized by multiple ninja dogs.
"Urushi," Kakashi greeted the wolf.
"Kakashi, what happened to Pakkun?" The brown-and-white wolf named Urushi, like Pakkun, could speak.
"Uh, nothing," Kakashi scratched his head and then turned to Sandayū, saying, "Sandayū, do you have any personal items of your brother's?"
Sandayū quickly took a scarf from his backpack and handed it to Kakashi. After all, in rescue operations, having the personal belongings of the missing person to track their scent was standard procedure.
This guy... Nadare wasn't continuing the rescue to help find Sandayū's brother. His real goal was to complete Dotō's order: to kill Kakashi in this endless ice field.
If the rescue ended and they returned to the palace, there would likely be no more opportunities to act. However, if he continued with the rescue, he would certainly find a chance. Considering the terrifying events that had happened here, he could kill Kakashi and then claim that he died while performing his mission. Konoha wouldn't be able to hold anyone accountable.
But now, seeing Kakashi's proficiency with summoning techniques, Nadare thought he should reassess Kakashi's strength. At the very least, he shouldn't act recklessly.
"Can you find out where he went?" Sandayū asked Urushi.
Urushi sniffed the scarf and immediately began searching around the camp. His nose twitched as he sorted through the myriad of scents.
"This place..." Urushi growled, "the smells here are wrong. Unnatural."
"Can you isolate Yoshiro's scent?" Kakashi pressed.
Urushi sniffed intensely. "Barely. But there's something... this way."
Most of the bodies and remains had already been cleaned up by the rescue team, but the overwhelming stench of blood, combined with the foul odor emanating from the pentagon-shaped grave, made it extremely difficult to track scents.
However, ninja dogs were specially trained, and their sense of smell was even more developed than regular dogs. Before long, Urushi had made a discovery.
"I smell a strong trace of this person in that cave," Urushi announced, leading the three of them to the entrance of a massive cave.
Their small human forms appeared insignificant in front of its large entrance. The dark maw of the cave yawned before them, seeming to swallow all light and hope.
Sandayū immediately recalled his brother mentioning that the ancient biological samples had been excavated from such a cave. The bloody scenes at the camp had been so overwhelming that he had forgotten about the cave's existence.
Did you return to the cave? Why?
The three of them, along with the dog, entered the cave and immediately noticed clear traces on the snow near the entrance. These were tracks from a large animal, like something long and heavy had been dragged across the snow.
Human footprints would never look like this; only those ancient beings could have left such marks. The tracks extended deeper into the cave, disappearing where the snow ended.
"Look at this," Nadare suddenly pointed to the ground, drawing Kakashi and Sandayū's attention.
It was a set of parallel drag marks, different from the chaotic long drag marks. These two lines stretched straight into the depths of the cave. Upon closer inspection, faint human footprints could be seen, shallow due to the light weight of the person.
"Yoshiro!" Sandayū shouted excitedly. Seeing those footprints proved that his younger brother had likely fled into the cave alive.
The two straight drag marks were probably left by a sled. Judging by the sequence of tracks, the ancient beings had moved after the sled.
Kakashi knelt to examine the tracks more closely. His mind raced, piecing together the likely scenario.
"Your brother is resourceful, Sandayū-san," Kakashi said, standing up. "He might have outsmarted these creatures."
Sandayū's voice cracked with emotion. "But for how long? In this place..."
Nadare interjected skeptically, "If these beings are so powerful, what chance does one man have?"
Kakashi explained his theory. The ancient beings likely launched a sudden attack on the camp, and Yoshiro witnessed it. Seeing their immense strength, which could dent metal plates, he knew the exploration team wouldn't stand a chance. So, Yoshiro hid in the largest tent.
When the noise died down, and while the ancient beings were busy consuming human flesh elsewhere, Yoshiro hastily lit a kerosene stove, gathered necessary supplies from the tent, packed them onto a sled, and escaped into the cave.
The cave was the only place, aside from the camp, that could shelter him from the blizzard, and the supplies were essential for survival. Yoshiro's quick decision was very rational.
However, he likely hadn't expected the ancient beings to return to the cave after feasting on the camp's victims.
Kakashi shared his theory with Sandayū, who immediately teared up. He cried partly out of relief, believing that his brother was still alive. The ample supplies and the cave could have kept him alive for up to two weeks.
But at the same time, the ancient beings had also entered the cave, and no one could be sure if Yoshiro could survive living in the same cave with those creatures for so long. Perhaps his fate was even more tragic than that of the exploration team.
Yoshiro, I should have been here. I should have protected you. But I'm here now, and I won't leave without you.