"As expected of you. You should have noticed the problem with the mist, right?"
Takumi smiled, stepped forward, and patted Shino on the shoulder. "Good thing you timely brought Hinata out, otherwise, there might have been trouble."
"Huh?"
Hinata tilted her head in confusion. "What trouble?"
Takumi turned his gaze to Kiba, who immediately lowered his head in shame.
"It's Genjutsu, right?"
Shino said, "My insects completely lost their sense of direction in the mist. They didn't even dare to move."
"That's right, this kid was caught in a Genjutsu."
Takumi said impatiently. "Luckily, he ran into me. If it were Hinata, with her pure nature, she might not have noticed his abnormality."
"No, the Byakugan can observe the Chakra inside his body."
Shino shook his head, supporting Hinata. "If Kiba was under Genjutsu, she would have noticed immediately."
Hinata blushed but nodded firmly.
"Well, I apologize then."
Takumi smiled. "I just thought that with Hinata's gentle personality, she might not immediately use her Byakugan to observe Kiba's state."
"That's possible."
Shino also agreed with Takumi's view.
"..."
Hinata's face grew even redder.
"Alright."
'Enough teasing; it was time to get down to business.'
Takumi straightened his expression. "The situation inside the mist is very complicated now. You'll be in danger inside, so you stay outside."
"Wait here for my news. I need to go in and ensure Orochimaru's plan cannot be successfully completed."
Takumi raised his hand to stop Hinata, who wanted to speak. "This matter has already reached a level you can't participate in."
"Your mission was ultimately to be responsible for reconnaissance. Delivering the intelligence back is the most important thing."
"Leave the rest to me."
Seeing the worry in Hinata's eyes, he couldn't help but smile. "Do you have so little confidence in my strength?"
"They're just some of Orochimaru's underlings, right? Even if Orochimaru himself came, I could still win."
"I've won before."
Takumi's words didn't ease Hinata's expression.
But she also knew Takumi wouldn't just give up.
"Please be careful."
Hinata said solemnly. "We'll wait for you to come back."
"Don't worry."
Takumi showed a big smile, then, under their watchful eyes, re-entered the mist.
The three were silent.
After a while, Shino broke the silence.
"We need to leave too."
He said calmly. "The enemy's position is still unknown. This place isn't safe for us."
"If we want to help Takumi, ensuring our own safety is the biggest help we can give."
These words were spoken very calmly, so calmly they were almost cruel.
For the other two, it undoubtedly meant they were completely useless.
And in fact, compared to Takumi and the enemies he faced, they indeed were of no use.
This made the two even more unwilling.
And what about Shino, who said this?
No matter how calm he acted, he was still a twelve or thirteen-year-old youth.
How could he not feel unwilling?
He was also unwilling, but he was calm enough.
This was his greatest strength.
So, he knew what the most important thing was now.
That was to protect themselves and not distract Takumi.
This was the greatest help they could give Takumi now.
Kiba clenched his fist.
During this mission, he had felt his own strength was severely lacking more than once.
In terms of rank, Takumi was an ELITE JONIN, and he was just a Genin.
It was normal for there to be such a huge gap in strength.
But they were clearly classmates who graduated in the same year, yet there was such a gap.
This was what Kiba found hardest to accept.
He had made up his mind to train hard, even just a little, to close the gap with Takumi.
Hinata felt the same way.
They had both ignited a fighting spirit within.
The three quickly found a hidden place to rest, waiting for Takumi to bring back brilliant results.
At the same time, they remained on guard against their surroundings.
Just then, Kiba frowned slightly, twitched his nose, and then a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.
The next instant, a small figure rushed into their hiding place.
Shino looked unperturbed, as his insects had already informed him of this situation.
Hinata, on the other hand, was very surprised.
She hadn't used her Byakugan to observe.
Compared to Shino's insects and Kiba's sense of smell, her Byakugan consumed too much Chakra and couldn't be kept active for long.
Although it could quickly gather a lot of intelligence, it also had the disadvantage of a shorter standby time.
"Akamaru!"
Kiba jumped up excitedly and hugged the figure.
It was Akamaru, who had previously carried back the crystal and intelligence.
Around its neck was tied a slip of paper, containing the intelligence recorded by Tsunade.
Kiba took the slip of paper, looked at the intelligence on it, and frowned slightly.
He found that he couldn't understand some of it.
"Here."
He handed the slip of paper to Shino, then hugged Akamaru and curiously leaned in. "What does the content mean? I don't quite get it."
"The enemy's Ninjutsu can transform the human body into crystals at the cellular level..."
Shino read the intelligence aloud, frowning deeply.
But unlike Kiba's incomprehension, he understood Tsunade's meaning.
"What does it mean?"
Hinata also asked curiously.
"It means the enemy's Ninjutsu is very dangerous."
Shino said solemnly.
"Then Takumi-kun..."
Hinata immediately became worried.
"Don't worry, it's Takumi."
Kiba wasn't worried.
He had full confidence in Takumi.
And Akamaru's return made him very happy.
Earlier, without Akamaru, something had always felt off.
Now he finally felt complete.
"Kiba is right. The enemy's Ninjutsu is very dangerous, but with Takumi's strength, he must also be aware of this."
Shino nodded. "He definitely knows what he's doing."
However, their words did not achieve the effect of comforting her.
Hinata was still a bit worried.
She slowly walked to the entrance, looking at the thick fog in the distance under the night sky, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, her face filled with concern as she watched.
"Takumi-kun, please be careful."
Takumi didn't know what was happening outside.
He just wanted to find Guren and Yukimaru as soon as possible.
If he could also find and deal with Kabuto, that would undoubtedly be best.
That guy Kabuto was also a menace if left alive.
Thinking of the things he would be able to do later, Takumi couldn't help but shudder.
Summoning all the named strong individuals from the history of the Shinobi World using Edo Tensei, directly forming an elite army of Shinobi.
This level of power, even Takumi had to be wary of it.
Especially since he had also found Madara's body and resurrected him via Edo Tensei.
Although Kabuto found Madara's body under the guidance of Black Zetsu,
But he was still a very formidable person to be wary of.
If he could take the opportunity to eliminate Kabuto now, before he unleashed his hidden ambitions, it would undoubtedly be getting rid of a major problem.