Kakashi stood by, wearing his mask and looking bored.
A few days prior, the Squad Leader from the intelligence department had approached him and explained the mission.
Upon hearing that it involved the disappearance of villagers and Ninja, and required the use of his Ninja Hounds, he agreed without hesitation.
However, he seemed to have nothing to do; he had been waiting here for several days, and no one had come to him.
He knew that since this matter had dragged on for so long, a quick resolution would indeed be difficult, but at least he should have been assigned something to do. This feeling of having nothing to do yet needing to be ready for action at any moment was truly unpleasant.
Kakashi looked at the sky. Today would probably end here too, another day of idleness—
Just then, an Anbu suddenly rushed in.
"Where are the Ninja Hounds?!"
"Here!" Kakashi wanted to say that his codename wasn't Ninja Hound, but it didn't seem like the time for clever remarks, so he just replied directly.
"Quickly summon your Ninja Hounds! The target I'm monitoring hasn't returned home for a long time, and their routine is usually very irregular!" the Anbu said.
By this time, Kakashi had already summoned all eight of his Ninja Hounds.
The Anbu was startled by so many Ninja Hounds, but quickly handed over the target's personal belongings he had collected to the Ninja Hounds.
"Pakkun, can you track them?" Kakashi asked.
"Hmm, we've memorized their scent. Let's head to the general area where they disappeared," Pakkun replied.
"Follow me," the Anbu nodded and then led them to the path the target usually took home.
Pakkun sniffed with his nose, detecting a very strong scent.
"That way is?" Pakkun inquired.
"That's the direction of the target's workplace," the Anbu answered.
"Then it doesn't seem to be there." Pakkun said, wiggling his nose, then caught a faint but definitely the target's scent.
After exchanging glances with the other Ninja Hounds and confirming they all smelled it, he immediately said, "Follow us!"
With that, the Eight Ninja Hounds led Kakashi and the Anbu, chasing after the faint scent.
"It looks like the target definitely had the awareness to conceal their scent. If more time had passed, or if it had been a rainy day, this faint scent would have dissipated," Pakkun said while leading the way.
"Indeed, even with the specific method provided by the Deputy Commander, several villagers have still gone missing." The Anbu also nodded, then said with a hint of longing in his voice, "But for Ninja, the Deputy Commander successfully located the target's whereabouts on the very first try! Truly amazing!"
Kakashi was also surprised by this. He still remembered the Deputy Commander's figure; that person showed no intention of fighting when investigating the Root. He had thought they weren't particularly powerful, but to be so skilled in this area? Unexpected!
Moreover, he could also sense that his sensei seemed to trust that person greatly.
"Senpai, are we just going to follow them like this? Do we not need to inform anyone else?" Kakashi asked at this moment.
He didn't know the other person's codename, but at his age, calling anyone 'senior' was normal.
"There's no time for that. Finding their hideout is the most important thing. We don't need to apprehend them alone afterward; once confirmed, we'll notify the higher-ups to send people to capture them," the Anbu said. "This time, we must Root them out!"
After a long while, Pakkun stopped.
"What's wrong, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked.
"The target's scent disappears here," Pakkun said, and the other Ninja Hounds also nodded.
Kakashi and the Anbu exchanged glances, then cautiously searched the surroundings. Eventually, they discovered a cave. The outside of the cave seemed to be wrapped in a barrier, which explained why the target's scent disappeared there.
"It looks like this is the place," the Anbu said at this point. "We'll go back and hand this intelligence over to the Deputy Commander. My mission will be complete, but you probably still have tasks."
The Anbu smiled as he spoke, because he was only from the intelligence department; once the intelligence was collected, his work was naturally finished.
But Kakashi was different; he belonged to the Anbu's combat department, and the subsequent cleanup would likely fall to their department.
Kakashi nodded, not replying.
The Anbu looked at Kakashi's retreating figure and shook his head. This junior was actually a good person, but a bit too cold.
After the Anbu and Kakashi left.
In the laboratory deep within the cave, Orochimaru licked his cheek with his long tongue.
It seemed there were two little mice; it looked like he had been exposed after all.
He had been even more careful, and the frequency had decreased significantly. If it hadn't been absolutely necessary to use a Ninja this time, he wouldn't have targeted that Ninja.
He hadn't expected to be discovered even so.
And this was not long after he captured that Ninja, which indicated that the other party had already noticed this Ninja and was just waiting for him to take the bait.
Orochimaru thought for a moment. He remembered that there shouldn't have been any Anbu around when he captured the target. Was it confirmed by other means?
Soon, he shook his head. There were many ways to confirm it, and he was too lazy to ponder which method the other party used.
However, what was certain was that Minato's newly promoted head of the intelligence department was indeed good, much stronger than that old man, the Third Hokage.
"It's finally come to this day," Orochimaru seemed to sigh, perhaps regretting something, yet without a trace of fear.
The location where the missing Ninja disappeared was displayed before Takuno.
"This is—" Takuno looked at the marker on the map, then at the Squad Leader, "Can you confirm?"
Sweat appeared on the Squad Leader's forehead. This moment was just like that moment before. He felt how unlucky he was to encounter such a thing again.
Because the people below didn't know, but once one had a certain status, they would know what this location represented.
That was Orochimaru's base!
In fact, almost everyone knew Orochimaru was conducting experiments, but no one knew exactly what he was experimenting on, much less that he was involved in such experiments.
"Hokage-sama, the scent of the target you previously designated disappeared here," the Squad Leader said.
"Is that so?" Takuno also sighed, seemingly troubled by this.
Soon he said, "The captured Ninja could die at any moment. Go notify the combat department to head there immediately. I'll go notify the Hokage-sama now."
"Yes!" The Squad Leader also knew that time was of the essence and immediately left.
In truth, they all understood in their hearts that the Ninja's life was probably over.
Takuno immediately stood up, sent a Shadow Clone to Orochimaru's base, while his main body rushed to the Hokage Office.
"Senpai, is something the matter?" Minato asked, looking at Takuno who had suddenly entered.
"Hokage-sama, there's a lead on the disappearances of villagers and Ninja," Takuno said.
Immediately, Minato's expression turned serious, and he stood up.
"Speak."
Takuno told Minato about the Ninja's scent disappearing near Orochimaru's base.
Immediately, Minato fell silent.
He knew Orochimaru was not pleased with him becoming the Fourth Hokage, but he hadn't expected Orochimaru to do something like this.
Orochimaru was one of Konoha's Sannin, and also the Third Hokage's disciple!
If news of his human experiments spread, it would be another heavy blow to Konoha's reputation.
However, Minato had no choice.
If Orochimaru hadn't been using Konoha's people, he might have hesitated on whether to deal with him, but he was using Konoha's villagers and Konoha's Ninja!
This could not be tolerated under any circumstances!
Minato only hoped that this intelligence was wrong, that the target had only disappeared around Orochimaru's base, but it wasn't Orochimaru's doing.
"Hokage-sama, I've already sent the Anbu's combat department there. If they hurry, perhaps the Ninja captured today is still alive," Takuno reminded.
"I know, Senpai, you did very well. I'll handle the rest!"
With that, Minato disappeared from the Hokage Office.
Takuno watched this scene, a smirk playing on his lips. Everything was proceeding smoothly, just as planned.
Perhaps it wasn't that his plan was exceptionally brilliant, but rather that these plans were open conspiracies. Even those within the plan, knowing the plan, would choose to act according to it.
Takuno disliked schemes and trickery because they were too uncontrollable. What he liked were these straightforward, open conspiracies.
Now, what he needed to do was find Orochimaru's escape location.
His eyes flickered. His Shadow Clone had already gone ahead to Orochimaru's base and had now used Mind's Eye of Kagura to pinpoint the target's Chakra before dispelling itself.
This way, as long as Orochimaru's location was within a thousand kilometers of him, he could quickly pinpoint it.
Even so, it still wouldn't be easy to find him?
Takuno dispatched several Shadow Clones, then found a suitable location, where a pair of wings appeared on his back.
It was precisely Kujaku Myōhō: Wing.
With the ability to fly, coupled with the lock-on from Mind's Eye of Kagura, it instantly became much more convenient.
And now he was betting that Orochimaru wouldn't directly leave Konoha. He definitely had a method of escape.
But to say Orochimaru had absolutely no feelings for Konoha at all was also impossible.
Therefore, such a person, when leaving Konoha, would often take one last look at Konoha.
And this was Takuno's chance to intercept him!