Early the next morning, Orochimaru's team advanced towards the Land of Ash. Their guide for the journey was the father-daughter duo Ye Zi had encountered the previous night: the well-known Shinboku and his daughter, Kotoe. The latter, upon seeing Ye Zi, once again displayed a spark of challenge in her eyes. If Shinboku hadn't been glaring at her, she might have directly challenged Ye Zi to a duel. She was practically a battle maniac.
Since meeting the day before, throughout the journey, Kotoe kept casting eager glances at Ye Zi, who seemed to be ignoring her completely. This unusual behavior caught the attention of Kushina and Yoru, who secretly were observing the interaction between them. They even speculated that this was related to what had happened the previous night when Ye Zi had gone out. Their assumptions were correct.
Despite Kotoe's not-so-subtle provocations, he chose to ignore her, though he was somewhat helpless. He wondered why Kotoe, despite being a battle maniac, was so fixated on him rather than Kushina, who was also a female. What he didn't know was that Kotoe was targeting him because he was her first encounter with a major ninja from a large country.
"Given our current pace, we should reach the Land of Ash's perimeter by the hour of the dog tonight." Shinboku said, looking ahead towards Orochimaru, who was keeping pace with him.
Orochimaru nodded slightly and cast a discontented glance at Kotoe, who was clearly not taking the mission seriously. This discontent was easily noticed by Shinboku.
Seeing Orochimaru's dissatisfaction, Shinboku couldn't help but give a faint, bitter smile. The mission was important, and for Kotoe, who had never faced a high-difficulty task before, it was a significant trial that could transform her attitude. To get Kotoe included, Shinboku had gone to great lengths. However, he hadn't expected Kotoe would deliberately challenge Ye Zi and not achieve a complete victory, leading to Orochimaru's displeasure with her seemingly frivolous behavior this morning.
As a team member, distrust was a dangerous instability factor.
Orochimaru was well aware of this and had confidence in Shinboku's strength but lacked faith in Kotoe, who seemed to be treating the mission as a game.
Shinboku also understood this, so while he smiled bitterly, he was already considering ways to demonstrate Kotoe's value to Orochimaru to alleviate his distrust.
The trees on both sides sped by, and Shinboku's gaze grew slightly serious. After much thought, he decided to have Kotoe lead the way to eliminate the first batch of crucial sentries of the Land of Ash.
Silence reigned until nightfall, when the waning moon rose, and Orochimaru's team finally arrived at their predetermined location. They were far from the Land of Ash's sentries, allowing for a brief rest.
Although they were still quite distant from the numerous sentries, lighting a fire at night was unwise. Everyone found a place to sit and began a brief rest, eating dry rations to replenish their energy.
Shinboku and Orochimaru used the faint moonlight to examine a map of the sentry distribution, cross-referencing with the terrain to estimate the general locations of the sentries. The accuracy of this intelligence map was not 100%, so it could only serve as a reference, with many sentry points not marked on it.
"There are only seven fixed sentries we can be certain of. The number of unknown sentries is estimated to be around thirty." Shinboku pointed to the seven circles marked in color.
Orochimaru studied the simplified map of the terrain intently, his gaze lingering especially on the lines connecting the circles. After a while, his eyes flashed with insight as he pointed to the right side of the map where the sentries were more densely packed, and said, "We'll use this point as our breakthrough. This is the weakest link connecting the fixed sentries."
Shinboku was momentarily stunned, as this side of the map seemed to be the most difficult to breach. He didn't understand why Orochimaru had chosen this area.
As Ye Zi and the others finished their rest, they gathered around.
Upon hearing Orochimaru's plan, Kotoe clenched her fist with excitement and said, "Now this is interesting."
Orochimaru gave her a cold glance before turning back to his students, who all appeared thoughtful, as if understanding something.
If one carefully observed the simplified map, it showed that the sentry distribution points formed a tight surveillance net centered around the seven fixed sentries. This was evident from the map, but the exact timing of how messages were transmitted between sentries was unknown. Thus, any disturbance to this net could potentially alert all the sentries.
The reason for choosing the right side, which appeared the hardest to breach, was that it was the farthest from the fixed sentries. However, for an assassination mission, one must be prepared for a large number of enemies after completing the task. This was unavoidable.
The only difference was that each second a sentry was eliminated without being noticed could potentially give the team extra time for a timely retreat. That extra second could be crucial for a successful escape.
Shinboku quickly understood and nodded, saying, "I see."
In essence, penetrating the enemy's stronghold and assassinating the target was an extremely perilous task, with no simple way to complete it quietly. Regardless of the approach, facing numerous enemies after the mission's completion was inevitable.
This was a one-time chance.
The goal of the first step was not to increase the probability of completing the mission but to enhance the chances of a safe return.
Before the mission started, Orochimaru had a rough understanding of Shinboku and Kotoe's abilities. He looked at Shinboku and said calmly, "Our team has someone with strong scouting abilities. They will be responsible for identifying the sentry locations, and then it will be up to you."
Shinboku nodded and then looked at Kotoe, saying seriously, "Kotoe is more skilled in using poison to silently eliminate enemies."
His words were not meant to recommend but to state a fact.
Orochimaru, surprised by Kotoe's excited demeanor, pondered for a moment. He had little trust in Kotoe, especially given her current state, which made it hard to have confidence in her.
"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Kotoe suddenly raised her hand, looking excited, as if she had complete confidence.
"Can she handle it?" Orochimaru asked, not looking at Kotoe but focusing on Shinboku.
Before Shinboku could respond, Kotoe, looking determined, addressed Orochimaru directly, "I can."
Seeing this, Shinboku rubbed his forehead in frustration. At that moment, he found it difficult to assert Kotoe's competence for the task.
"Orochimaru, she might be able to." Ye Zi suddenly spoke up, drawing surprised looks from the others present.
Kushina and Yoru glanced between Ye Zi and Kotoe. In fact, they preferred Shinboku for this crucial task, given its importance.
After speaking, Ye Zi turned to Kotoe with a sharp gaze and said, "The time we gain by silently eliminating the sentries might be the key to our timely retreat. If you fail, you will die here."
Though he considered himself skilled in assassination, he knew that a high-speed assassination would inevitably create some noise, especially with his lightning abilities that were like beacons in the dark. Therefore, he couldn't take on this critical step.
Kotoe's excitement slowly faded as she looked at Ye Zi. Her expression shifted slightly before she said seriously, "I understand. If the mission fails, I won't return alive."
Orochimaru, who had been silent, smiled faintly at her commitment. Putting one's life on the line was enough to give him preliminary trust in Kotoe.
Shinboku, hearing Kotoe's vow, felt no anxiety. Despite being somewhat resigned to Kotoe's behavior, he had full confidence in her abilities.
"She is the rising star of our Grass Ninja. Just wait, there will come a day…" Shinboku thought to himself.
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