Sorry, I'm late.
Ren came back to his senses and looked up, only to see Aoki standing in front of him, his hands empty.
Ren scrutinized him for a moment before asking with some confusion,
"Aoki, although we're supposed to travel light, are you really not bringing any weapons?"
Both of them were in casual clothes, but Ren still brought a Ninja tool pouch, Soldier Ration Pills, Kunai, and smoke bombs. Aoki, however, was truly traveling light; he didn't even have a Ninja tool pouch on him, aside from his clothes.
If they encountered an emergency and lacked a smoke bomb to escape, it would be a huge problem.
"I'm not used to carrying so many things."
Aoki shook his head, pulled two Kumogakure headbands from his Pregnant, and threw one to Ren.
"Let's go."
Watching the other person walk straight away, Ren blinked twice, then followed without another word.
Whether or not to bring things was his habit; there was no need for him to ask too many questions and annoy him. Anyway, he was the professional; Ren just needed to follow along as a strong fighter.
Soon, the two of them left the Konoha Camp. Aoki led Ren directly into the forest. Ren also spread out his perception ability, constantly monitoring the surrounding situation.
"Stop, wait here!"
Ren suddenly called out to Aoki, pulling him into the tree canopy, and then concealed themselves.
"What's wrong, Ren?"
Aoki was a bit puzzled. They had just reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs. Why stop now?
"I've detected a small Kumogakure squad straight ahead. It looks like they're on patrol. We'll pass through after they leave."
"Hmm?"
Aoki was surprised, but a look of joy quickly appeared on his face as he looked at Ren and asked in a low voice,
"A sensory Ninja?"
Ren didn't answer, only nodded slightly to confirm. A moment later, he continued,
"Let's go. That squad has left. We need to cross the border quickly."
"Alright!"
The two didn't delay, crossing the border into the Land of Hot Springs at their fastest speed. Guided by the map and with the help of Ren's perception ability, they smoothly arrived near the Cloud Hidden Great Camp.
"Whoa, so this is the Cloud Hidden Great Camp."
At this moment, Ren and Aoki were hidden in a thicket, looking at the Cloud Hidden Great Camp not far away, and couldn't help but click their tongues in wonder.
Compared to the Konoha Camp, although the scale was similar, the number of Kumogakure Ninja inside was visually more than double that of Konoha's forces.
Speaking of this, one couldn't help but mention Orochimaru. It was already very difficult for him to drag on until now, given such a clear disparity between the two forces. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi himself were to personally take charge, he might not have been able to do better.
"It seems Lord Orochimaru's battle has already begun."
Aoki lay prostrate in the thicket, speaking in a low voice as he looked at the camp before him.
"Hmm, there are roughly three thousand Kumogakure Ninja remaining in this camp right now. We're on the west side, and there are 12 patrol squads in the surrounding area."
Ren said this, then glanced at Aoki, who was still deep in thought beside him, and whispered,
"Aoki, I'll use a Shadow Clone to attract attention for us. Let's seize this opportunity to infiltrate."
"Okay."
Aoki nodded. The Kumogakure camp's defenses were strict, with twenty-four-hour, seamless shift changes. It was simply unrealistic to infiltrate silently; even flying wouldn't work, unless you could burrow underground.
Ren split off Clone One and Clone Two, instructing them to sneak through the forest to the other side of the Cloud Hidden Great Camp, then create a disturbance to attract the Kumogakure Ninja's attention.
"Understood. We'll go first, then."
After listening to Ren's instructions, Clone One took Clone Two and slipped into the forest. The remaining two lay quietly in the forest, beginning to wait.
"Boom!!"
The two didn't have to wait long before a roar came from the distant forest. Thick black smoke rose, occasionally flashing with a burst of fire.
"Hmm, it seems to be effective."
The corners of Ren's mouth curved slightly. Within his perception, nearly half of the patrol squads around him had rushed towards the Shadow Clone. A gap had appeared in the originally heavily guarded defense line, and this was the opportunity the two were waiting for.
"Let's go."
The two stood up and left the forest, sneaking towards the great camp.
Relying on Aoki's superb infiltration ability and Ren's perception, the two successfully avoided all patrol squads, successfully breached the defense line, and entered the Cloud Hidden Great Camp.
"Whew, finally in."
Ren let out a long breath, maintaining vigilance outside while also looking around.
This was an empty tent. The half-empty cup of water by the bed indicated that someone lived here, but at this time, they were probably either off to a major battle or on a mission. So, it was temporarily safe here.
"Alright, lie down. Let's be quick."
Aoki said in a deep voice.
After all, they were in the enemy's great camp. Although they had successfully infiltrated, they still needed to gather intelligence, so they couldn't be careless.
"Okay."
After Ren lay down, Aoki took out some strange things from his Pregnant, making the former's scalp tingle.
"Starting now."
Aoki let out a low cry, and his hands began to manipulate Ren's face. The latter could only close his eyes, enduringly waiting for it to end quickly.
"Done."
After Aoki's hands left Ren's face, he wasted no time, quickly saying to the latter,
"I need three minutes. Stay vigilant at all times."
"Okay."
Ren stood up, spread out his perception, and casually picked up a small mirror from the nearby table to examine his current appearance.
"Good heavens, you spy Ninja are truly terrifying."
Ren looked at his completely transformed reflection in the mirror and couldn't help but exclaim.
His former black spiky hair was covered by a brown wig, which Aoki had somehow fixed to his head.
His face shape hadn't changed, but there were now two purple streaks of greasepaint on his face, drawn from his eye sockets to the corners of his mouth. A mole was added below his right lip. Hmm, he still looked as handsome as before.
Ren dared say that if he went back like this, even Fugaku, Minato, and others might not recognize him. If he didn't know this face was his own, Ren himself wouldn't dare to recognize it.
His height remained the same. Ren was currently around 1.64 meters, which was already on the taller side for a teenager, so there was no need to worry about any issues there.
"Hmm, alright."
Just then, a strange voice came from beside him. Ren instinctively turned to look, and his expression couldn't help but freeze.
Good heavens, in just a few minutes, Aoki had transformed himself from a refined-looking young man into a strong, bare-armed "Kumogakure-style" Muscular man.
And even his voice had changed, which truly broadened Ren's horizons.
"Hmm, put on the headband. From now on, I'll be Saru."
Aoki took out the Kumogakure headband and tied it to his forehead. At this moment, the Kumogakure Ninja Saru officially came online.