Meanwhile.
After two days and nights of travel, Takumi's squad arrived at the border of the Land of Rice Fields.
"Ahead is the territory of the Land of Rice Fields. From now on, we need to be vigilant."
Takumi looked up, seeing the border between the two countries, then said, "The mission target is Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. Though a direct conflict might not happen, we must always maintain sufficient caution."
The group perked up, stepping into the Land of Rice Fields' territory.
Soon, they arrived at a place resembling a small teahouse.
Very dilapidated, but inhabited.
"Let's check the situation ahead."
Takumi raised an eyebrow, taking the lead to walk in.
Hearing this, everyone raised their guard and followed him inside.
The people inside, seeing a group of kids walk in, immediately showed strange expressions.
These days, a group of teenagers traveling alone without adult supervision was practically the best target for robbery.
Coincidentally, Takumi and the others had removed their forehead protectors to avoid exposing their identities during their covert investigation.
This made many people eye them greedily.
As soon as Takumi and the others showed their money, they would definitely be attacked by the group.
"What would you guests like? Food or rest?"
The owner came out to warmly receive them, guiding Takumi's group to an empty table to sit and pouring cups of hot tea.
"We're just here to take a break. Bring some random dishes."
Takumi said casually, as if not noticing the wolf-like gazes around them.
Sasuke also didn't care.
But Naruto, Sakura, and Ino looked somewhat nervous.
In terms of composure, Sasuke was still a bit better than them.
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The owner left with a smile.
As he turned his back to Takumi, he opened his eyes and glared fiercely at the others.
Those people immediately restrained themselves, no longer staring directly but glancing from the corners of their eyes.
"This shop has problems."
Sasuke whispered. "What do you plan to do?"
"Having problems is exactly what we want."
Takumi smiled slightly, also speaking softly. "A problematic place in the Land of Rice Fields. Don't you think the possibility of it being connected to Orochimaru is very high?"
Sasuke understood, roughly grasping Takumi's plan.
Naruto and the others were still confused, looking at each other wide-eyed, not understanding the riddle between Takumi and Sasuke.
Perhaps warned by the owner, the people around didn't make a move even after Takumi and the others finished eating and left.
"We're done. Here's one thousand ryo. Keep the change."
Takumi deliberately left a large bill, then said loudly to the owner before leisurely leaving.
Yet even after leaving, these people still didn't attack.
Only their eyes, or rather the eyes on his wallet, were full of greed.
"It seems there really is a connection."
After coming out, Takumi said with certainty.
"The food had no issues. Seeing money but not attacking us. He must have recognized our identities."
Sasuke also affirmed. "He must be Orochimaru's informant in the Land of Rice Fields. He'll definitely report the information to Orochimaru later."
Takumi nodded with relief, touched by Sasuke's intelligence being online. "Correct. So next, we just need to tail that guy, and he'll automatically lead us to Orochimaru's location."
"So that's how it is!"
Sakura and Ino suddenly understood.
Only Naruto remained utterly confused.
"What? What? What happened? Are we talking about how bad the food at that shop was?"
Takumi looked speechless, sighed, and said, "Naruto, as a Shinobi, you must observe your surroundings more. It's crucial for assessing the situation."
"Huh?"
Naruto looked utterly clueless.
"Let's leave here first. That owner will definitely confirm we've left before sending the information."
Sasuke whispered, simultaneously glancing subtly towards the direction of the small teahouse behind them.
"Mmm, Sasuke is right. To fool the enemy, we must do the act completely."
Takumi said nonchalantly, his forward steps never pausing.
The teahouse owner, watching Takumi's group leave, immediately closed his shop with a grave expression.
"I never expected the person Orochimaru-sama has been watching to appear here."
"I must report this to Orochimaru-sama as soon as possible!"
The brawny men disguised as customers in the shop, actually the black shop's thugs, didn't understand the owner's actions.
But they wouldn't ask.
Otherwise, they'd only end up dead with nowhere to bury them.
"It's about time."
Hidden among the treetops, using the trees to conceal themselves, Takumi looked down at the small teahouse from above.
"Someone's coming out. Three people, three directions."
Sasuke frowned.
"Huh? Then which one do we follow?"
Naruto was instantly confused.
After just understanding what was happening through the explanation, he thought they could find Orochimaru's base by tailing the enemy.
But now, the enemy split into three directions.
Which direction would lead to Orochimaru's hidden location?
"Hmm... the eastern one."
After careful observation, Takumi immediately made a judgment.
He remembered the owner's build and height. Though he'd disguised himself with a mask and hat, it clearly wasn't enough… his height and build hadn't changed much.
The other two, though they found similar builds, had slight height differences.
"Alright."
The others didn't ask further and followed Takumi in pursuit.
They followed from afar, trying not to be discovered.
On the way, Naruto was still very optimistic. "Hehe, this mission is so easy. Just follow the person. This time, I'll definitely perform well and show the Hokage-jiji how awesome I am!"
Takumi frowned and stopped.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Naruto, caught off guard, almost didn't brake in time.
Sasuke stopped and looked towards the forest on the right. "Someone's coming. More than one."
"An ambush?"
Sakura and Ino immediately took out kunai, their expressions alert.
"No, probably a coincidence."
Takumi sighed. "Now we can't catch up."
"If we're exposed, Orochimaru will definitely evacuate upon receiving the intel."
Sasuke frowned deeply. "What do we do next?"
"Let's check the situation first."
Takumi concealed his presence, then hid his Chakra.
The others also held their breath.
The next moment, a masked figure flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
There was a wound on the right rear shoulder.
The wound didn't look deep, but judging by the person's difficulty moving, it was clearly a sign of poisoning.
Whoosh!
A figure rushed out from the forest at incredible speed, holding a strange weapon that looked like scissors.
The sharp weapon pointed directly at the injured masked person.
Clang!
At the critical moment, Takumi instantly appeared before the masked person, blocking the scissor-person's attack.
"Who are you?"
The scissor-person asked in a low voice.
Only then did Takumi see the other party's face.
His memory wasn't very deep, but thinking of the Land of Rice Fields' plot, he immediately understood the identities of the masked person behind him and the person before him.
People from the Fuma Clan of the Land of Rice Fields.
The one behind is Fuma Sasame, a cute waifu... cough, girl.
As for the person before him, he forgot the name.
"Who I am is none of your concern."
Takumi said coldly. "But I don't like seeing people killed without reason before me, especially women."
"Overestimating yourself!"
The scissor-person, named Kamikiri, snorted coldly, forcefully snapping his scissors together.
Bang!
Takumi simply and decisively punched him far away with a single blow.
"Hmm?"
Takumi was somewhat surprised.
Though he didn't use full strength, he still used about 1% of his power.
Yet this guy, who seemed like a side character, actually withstood his attack.
"Pfft..."
Kirisaki spat out a mouthful of blood, lying on the ground, his eyes full of fear as he looked at Takumi.
With just one punch, he deeply understood he was no match for Takumi.
He gave Sasame, who is unconscious behind Takumi, a deep look, then swiftly retreated.
"Not going after him?"
Sasuke jumped down, looking in the direction Kamikiri left.
"No need."
Takumi said. "Just a nobody. But this girl, if not treated quickly, might be in danger."
"There's an abandoned temple ahead!"
Sakura jumped down from a tree, pointing forward.
"Well done."
Takumi picked up Sasame in one go. Her soft body immediately confirmed she was indeed a girl.