The next day, the two squads arrived in the northern region of the Land of Fire.
Once they reached this area, they could no longer travel in a big visible group. Moving together like that made them too obvious and easy to spot.
"According to intel, the target is somewhere near Tenchi Bridge in the Land of Grass," Yamato briefed.
"Officially, our mission is to escort a border caravan to Grass. So first we link up with the caravan."
"Yes, sir!"
When it came to mission execution, Yamato's experience was solid—
even if most of his career had been spent in ANBU.
It didn't take long to find the caravan.
The escort job itself was only ranked C-rank, so this felt like a two-for-one deal—
clear an A-rank mission and get a C-rank on the side.
Great for padding a special jōnin's mission record, Souma thought.
Their journey went surprisingly smoothly.
They crossed into the Land of Grass without trouble and didn't encounter a single enemy along the way. It felt like a plain, peaceful trip.
If they didn't know what was waiting ahead, it might've been downright pleasant.
But now—
After safely delivering the caravan and watching it roll away, everyone's faces grew more serious instead of relaxed.
"Intel says the location should be somewhere near Tenchi Bridge," Yamato said.
"On the way back, keep your eyes open and pay attention to any suspicious signs around us."
"Got it."
Souma nodded.
Even a jōnin could die on an A-rank mission.
And their team still had Tenten and Kasa, who at best were at high-chūnin level right now.
Being cautious was mandatory.
On the return path, Souma kept his chakra sensing active the entire time. When they drew closer to Tenchi Bridge—
"Hold up."
"What is it?" Yamato asked.
"Pure chakra sensing can be bypassed. I'll summon the beetles and have them scout and keep watch," Souma said.
That was the safest approach.
Yamato frowned slightly.
"Will your chakra be enough?"
"Relax. I've got plenty."
Between his strong body and powerful spirit, Souma's chakra reserves far exceeded those of a normal shinobi. Summoning and sustaining his beetle forces was no problem at all.
And worst case—
He had already fully analyzed Akaton Kō's chakra absorption ability and adapted it for himself. He hadn't yet integrated it into all his jutsu, but using it better than the original owner was easy.
As long as there were enemies, he'd never run dry on chakra.
Soon, the Beetle King Ao was summoned, followed by a swarm of Kikaichū.
Under Souma's command, the swarm scattered in all directions.
"Before, only the Aburame clan could fight like this," Yamato murmured, watching.
"Now you can use their beetles as smoothly as they do. It's kind of amazing."
Even though he'd been told all this in advance, seeing it again in action still felt unreal.
Ao buzzed loudly beside them.
"You want to go recruit locals? Uh… this area is dangerous, you know," Souma said.
A few exchanges later, he nodded.
"You've got a point. Local bugs know the terrain better. Go on, then."
Yamato's mouth twitched.
"You're… sending it to ask for directions? Isn't that a bit too casual?"
"It's fine. I did the same thing back in Sunagakure," Souma replied.
"Native insects sometimes know the area better than we ever could. If they lead the way, it might help us pinpoint the base much faster."
Compared to that, Sai's usual method was way cruder—
just brute-forcing a search with ink creatures.
Tenten thought for a couple seconds.
"So what do we do now?"
"Feels like there's not much left for us to do," Kasa muttered.
It really did feel like…
Souma could run the mission solo at this point.
All-rounder, no major weaknesses—
except elemental ninjutsu, and even that gap was shrinking.
"So jealous…"
Still, it wasn't like they hadn't improved at all.
They carried on. Aside from the summoning of the bug army earlier, they looked like any other passing ninja squad.
Near Tenchi Bridge, the four of them took a short break and sat down.
While they chewed on soldier pills to recover stamina—
A loud buzzing rose in the air.
The Beetle King had returned.
He hovered and chattered in insect-speech, wings flickering as he reported.
Yamato and the others waited anxiously.
They couldn't understand a word. It was torture.
They watched Souma's face instead—
he nodded over and over, expression shifting from "I see" to "Got it" to "That's great."
It looked like…
They'd found it.
Once the two finished "talking," Yamato couldn't hold back any longer.
"Souma, how'd it go?"
"We've got it," Souma said, nodding.
"Ao says the bugs around here have noticed a particular pattern of shinobi movement. Those movements all cluster northwest of the bridge. The underground in that area is a place all the local insects avoid."
"Because of Orochimaru," Yamato said immediately.
Even normal Kikaichū wouldn't dare approach Orochimaru's chakra.
Let alone ordinary wild bugs. A place all insects feared…
There was almost no doubt that was the base.
"Exactly."
"So then, should we alert the ANBU squads first?" Kasa asked.
"If they don't know this intel yet and only we push the base, it's way too dangerous. We don't have that kind of firepower."
"Let's use the Flying Thunder Formation," Souma said.
He pulled out a scroll, closed his eyes for a moment to sort the intel in his mind, then began sketching.
He was drawing a map.
It was the rough layout pieced together from everything the insects had told Ao.
The base was marked in the center of a shrinking blank area.
Souma wrote out a short explanation, then placed the scroll in front of him.
"I'll handle the main formation. Captain, Tenten, you back me up. Tenten, focus on using your space–time control."
"Got it."
Tenten nodded.
She couldn't lead the Flying Thunder Formation on her own yet, but she could guide space–time chakra and form a pathway. What she lacked was deeper knowledge of the formula itself.
With these three working together, the Formation could be used for more than delivering messages—
it had enough stability to teleport people, too.
Souma sent the intel.
Before long, in another part of the forest, Genma Shiranui came to a halt as a scroll flickered into existence before him.
He opened it—
and his expression turned stunned.
The map clearly circled out a large area, with a small blank patch in the center. The blank zone was already tiny.
They'd basically narrowed it down to a single base location.
This fast?
They'd been searching around for half a day without finding anything. The other ANBU teams also hadn't relayed any good intel yet.
"What is it?" Yamashiro Aoba leaned in, peeking over his shoulder. He adjusted his sunglasses, eyes widening.
"This is…"
"Is this for real?" one of the others muttered.
"It's Souma. He used the beetles to find it. It should be accurate," Genma said.
"But still… even for Kikaichū, narrowing it down this quickly is ridiculous."
He couldn't help muttering:
"Don't tell me his beetles are even stronger than the Aburame clan's."
"Maybe he's got some special technique," Aoba replied. "Either way, since he sent it via Flying Thunder Formation, he's clearly expecting us to pass this on to the ANBU units."
"Yeah. Let's move."
"Yes, sir!"
Inside the Base
"Orochimaru-sama, it's confirmed—Jirōbō has been captured. We don't know whether he'll expose anything. Shouldn't we evacuate early?"
Kimimaro spoke calmly, but there was a hint of urgency under his tone.
"Kimimaro, don't panic."
Orochimaru smiled faintly, lips curled in amusement.
Reclining in his chair, he watched the dim room and spoke with a relaxed air.
"If anything, this is perfect. I suffered a big loss last time.
This time, it's our turn."
He licked his lips lightly, voice dropping cold.
"And from the way they're moving… they're already here."
A flicker of killing intent ran through his words.
"That old man really does want to kill me this time."
"Orochimaru-sama, please go on ahead. I'll dispose of them."
Kimimaro's killing intent sharpened.
Orochimaru studied him for a moment.
"Kimimaro, how's your body?"
"After the last treatment, I'm much better. Killing this sort of trash won't be an issue."
Kimimaro's answer was serious and matter-of-fact.
Orochimaru nodded.
"Let Guren assist you. Kill everyone who invades."
"And if that person you care about is among them?" Kimimaro asked, lowering his gaze.
Even with his illness, he'd noticed that recently Orochimaru had taken a keen interest in a boy from Konoha.
Orochimaru was quiet for a few seconds, then said:
"If he's there, Guren might not be strong enough. You will have to attack with the intent to kill."
"He's that strong?"
Kimimaro was genuinely surprised.
I graduated only about a year ago.
No kekkei genkai.
How could someone like that be so dangerous?
He couldn't understand it.
"Kimimaro," Orochimaru said softly, "he's a true genius—someone who can create something from nothing. But at the end of the day, he's still a mortal. No matter how gifted, he cannot stand against that kind of power."
"Then why…" Kimimaro still didn't understand.
If that was the case, however talented the boy was, it wasn't worth Orochimaru's attention—much less considering him as a vessel.
"I don't need him as a vessel," Orochimaru said, shaking his head.
"I want him as an assistant… a partner. Someone more reliable than Kabuto as a collaborator."
"…"
Kimimaro knew Kabuto's talent very well.
If Orochimaru rated someone above Kabuto…
His curiosity about Yagyū Souma flared even higher.
He had to see this person with his own eyes.
"I'll bring him back for you, Orochimaru-sama," he said, voice firm.
"Then I'm at ease."
Orochimaru chuckled. He stood and walked into a side passage.
It wasn't that he was afraid of Konoha's ANBU.
Nor was he afraid of getting hit by Souma's new tricks a few more times.
He just knew—
This body couldn't withstand many more high-intensity battles.
If he could avoid a meaningless fight, he would.
With both Kimimaro and Guren guarding the base, there was more than enough power here.
And this wasn't his main lair anyway. It wasn't worth risking everything.
After Orochimaru left, Kimimaro stepped out into the hall again.
The remaining three members of the Sound Four were already waiting at the door.
"Orochimaru-sama, he…" one of them started.
"You'll go with him," Kimimaro said coldly.
"Protect Lord Orochimaru. Guren and I will handle things here."
His gaze swept across them like a blade of ice.
"Do not let what happened last time happen again. Otherwise… even if Orochimaru-sama forgives you, I will not."
The three of them straightened instantly.
"Yes, sir!"
In the next instant, they sped off down the same passage Orochimaru had taken.
Kimimaro turned back toward the inner room.
After that, it was just a matter of waiting.
He sat quietly, listening.
A minute or two later—
"Kimimaro, where's Orochimaru-sama?"
Guren appeared, expression sharp.
"He left first," Kimimaro answered. "There are enemies coming. You and I will deal with them here."
"Enemies?"
Guren frowned.
What enemies?
She was still puzzled over it when a faint noise reached them. A heartbeat later, shinobi from Konoha charged in through the passage the Sound Four usually used.
"Konoha? How did they find this place?!"
Guren's eyes widened.
"I don't know," Kimimaro said coolly. "But all we have to do is kill them."
He stood.
"Let's go. Slaughter them all. Oh—and if there's a boy among them around thirteen or fourteen years old…"
He paused.
"Take that one alive."
"A boy, thirteen or fourteen? That's vague," Guren muttered, then nodded.
"But I get it. I'll capture him alive."
Her body flickered and vanished into the corridor.
Kimimaro walked out at an unhurried pace, heading toward where the Konoha shinobi were pushing in.
It didn't take long before a swarm of beetles appeared in his and Guren's field of view.
"Aburame?" Guren frowned.
Chakra surged through her as she formed hand seals. She thrust out a hand—
And the corridor's space is filled with crystal.
The crystals exploded outward a heartbeat later.
All the beetles inside were shredded.
"Annoying bugs," she said flatly.
She continued forward.
Their enemies had definitely noticed them now. Good.
Let them come. Otherwise—
This would be far too boring.
Guren stepped out of the passage.
Before long, a roaring torrent of water surged down the corridor, the booming echo reaching her long before the wave itself.
She didn't flinch.
Hands moved, seals formed, and she lifted her arm—
Crystals spread along the rushing water, crawling over it like frost.
In the blink of an eye, the entire corridor was turned into glittering crystal.
From somewhere inside, muffled voices echoed:
"How is it? Did we get them?"
"Not sure… Feels like… we didn't."
"Wait… what the hell is this stuff?!"
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