A faint spatial fluctuation came.
Shin-chan landed right in the middle of the camp. "Kakashi, Toru, something big happened!"
The rice ball in Uchiha Toru's hand almost fell to the ground. "You scared me to death. Why didn't you make any sound?"
"I came back with Flying Thunder God." Shin-chan casually took his rice ball and bit into it. "I almost got discovered just now."
Kakashi was leaning against a wooden crate and reading through a scroll. Hearing that, he raised his head. "What happened?"
Shin-chan plopped down onto a folding stool and told them everything he had heard in the villa from beginning to end.
After finishing, he stuffed the last bite of the rice ball into his mouth. "So? Tomorrow at three in the morning, the eastern reef area."
Kakashi closed the scroll, placed it on his knees, and fell silent for a few seconds.
"It's too detailed."
Shin-chan blinked. "What?"
"The time, place, route, the exact way they'll split into two groups, even the method of circling around to attack from behind—all of it was explained clearly." Kakashi lightly tapped his fingers on his knee twice. "Not to mention there were people from the Land of Waves present too. They can't exactly be considered Kirigakure's 'own people.'"
"Maybe they thought the villa was safe, so they didn't pay attention to that?"
"Even if it's their own base, they shouldn't be that careless." Kakashi shook his head.
Shin-chan opened his mouth, then gave up thinking and collapsed back onto the folding stool. "Toru, give me another rice ball."
"You already stole one from me just now."
Although he said that, Toru still took another rice ball out of his backpack and handed it over.
"Toru, you really are an angel!"
Kakashi was still thinking beside them. "Could it be false intelligence they deliberately gave out? But as long as both sides are guarded..."
"Anyway, I can't figure it out. You two think of something. I need to eat and recover my strength." Shin-chan took a bite of the rice ball, completely giving up on participating in the discussion.
Kakashi looked at him eating the rice ball without the slightest guard up and sighed helplessly. "In the villa, did you only see three Mist ninja from beginning to end?"
"Yeah. One leader and two subordinates. Just three people."
"Were those three strong?"
Shin-chan thought while biting the rice ball, then mumbled, "I don't know. I didn't fight them."
"Compared to Hōzuki Sakugetsu?" Kakashi's gaze swept toward the bound Hōzuki Sakugetsu. "Who do you think is stronger?"
Shin-chan's gaze subconsciously landed on Hōzuki Sakugetsu.
Hōzuki Sakugetsu snorted coldly and turned his head to the other side.
"Maybe... Hōzuki Sakugetsu is a little stronger?" Shin-chan's tone was not very certain. "That leader didn't feel as fierce as him, but those two subordinates definitely weren't as strong as Hōzuki Sakugetsu."
"Then I'll ask another way. Could you beat them?"
This time, Shin-chan nodded very readily.
Kakashi stared at him for two seconds. "Then why didn't you just capture them at the time?"
Shin-chan's motion of biting into the rice ball stopped. A guilty smile appeared on his face.
"Well... at the time, he shouted, 'Who's there?' and I got nervous all of a sudden. It felt like..."
He scratched the back of his head. "It gave me the illusion of being caught by Misae while doing something bad. My hand moved faster than my brain, and by the time I reacted, I had already flown back."
"..."
"..."
The campfire crackled. The camp fell into a deathly silence.
Kakashi raised a hand and held his forehead, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Shin-chan tried to explain. "Do you understand that feeling? It's like when Misae suddenly opens the door and finds you secretly drawing with her lipstick. Your body moves before your brain, okay?"
"I get it, I get it." The corner of Toru's mouth still refused to go down.
"So, in other words, you clearly could have captured those three Mist ninja," Kakashi said helplessly, "but just because someone shouted at you, you ran away without even fighting?"
"That was an instinctive reaction. Besides, I brought the intelligence back."
"We don't even know if the intelligence is real or fake yet."
Shin-chan stuffed the last bite of the rice ball into his mouth and muttered softly, "Next time I won't."
"Forget it. We just need to go to that villa now and confirm things." Kakashi stood up. "If they've already withdrawn, that means they really did discover Shin-chan, and the intelligence is likely fake. If they're still there..."
"Then we capture them," Uchiha Toru finished.
"Now? It's so late..."
Before Shin-chan could finish speaking, he saw Kakashi turn and walk toward the other side of the camp.
Several tents were set up over there, and a few Konoha ninja were sitting around a campfire, talking in low voices.
Kakashi said a few words to one of the older ninja. After listening, that ninja immediately put down what he was holding and stood up.
Right after that, the other nearby ninja also got to their feet one after another.
In less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, quite a few Konoha ninja were already standing behind Kakashi, all fully equipped and ready to move.
Shin-chan's mouth opened wide. "Why do they all listen to you?"
Kakashi was silent for a while.
"Probably because..." He paused. "They all served under my father before."
Shin-chan gave an "oh." "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Silver-Haired Uncle in a long time."
"He'll come over once he finishes the mission he has on hand. Before that, we'll handle things on our side first."
Kakashi turned to face the assembled Konoha ninja. "Stay alert on the road. Move out."
Shin-chan and Uchiha Toru looked at each other, stood up at the same time, and followed the team.
In the open space outside the villa, several thugs carrying machetes and clubs were walking back and forth.
Kakashi crouched behind a cluster of bushes at the very front. He raised one finger, and the Konoha ninja behind him immediately spread out.
Shin-chan and Uchiha Toru crouched on his left and right.
"There are a lot more people than before."
Kakashi did not speak. He only raised his right hand and made a simple gesture.
Several dark figures silently slipped over from both sides.
Two thugs with cigarettes in their mouths were leaning against a pillar and chatting.
"Boss is being way too careful. Making us stand guard in the middle of the night? No matter how bold those poor ghosts are, they wouldn't dare come here to cause trouble."
"Exactly. With the lord ninja from Kirigakure here, forget those poor ghosts—even if Konoha ninja came, they'd have to leave lying down."
"Hey, what do you think that Konoha brat looks like? I heard he wears red and is only twelve or thirteen, but he actually managed to beat back more than a dozen of our brothers."
"Must be exaggerated. How strong can a kid be? Those useless guys definitely overdid the story. If I ran into him, I'd split him in half with one slash—"
Before he could finish speaking, a hand reached out from behind and covered his mouth. After taking a chop to the neck, his whole body went limp and slid down.
In only a few breaths, all the visible and hidden sentries around the villa had been cleared out.
Kakashi stood up from behind the bushes and walked toward the villa's front door.
But when he reached the entrance, he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure whether there are traps inside." A trace of hesitation entered Kakashi's voice.
~~~
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