Within the snowy Land of Iron, Shinobi searched through the blizzard.
They wore Kumogakure headbands, and each was a muscular man, walking shirtless in the snow, wearing only thin cloaks and Shinobi vests.
This showed their generally wild and robust physiques.
They had been searching the area for some time; the disappearance of four combat squads was no ordinary matter.
In similar past missions, at least a few people would have managed to escape.
They would never vanish so completely.
Therefore, it was exceptionally unusual.
If it was a premeditated defection, it would be a severe loss for the Village.
Not to mention the Village's secret intelligence, the mere leakage of Jutsu would be enough to warrant attention.
So, they needed to find the bodies.
Currently, the search operation was nearing its end.
In the gathering cave, the Shinobi converged, looking at the incomplete, frozen bodies on the ground.
There were bodies of Shinobi and also of Samurai.
The clues were almost entirely collected, and the conclusion emerged.
All four combat squads had been annihilated by the enemy.
It could be inferred that they were likely annihilated by four individuals.
The manner of death for the bodies found at each scene varied.
But all four individuals were masters of the blade.
To be able to annihilate a combat squad alone meant they were extremely formidable elite Jonin.
What remained unclear was which country's Shinobi they were.
Both the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire were possibilities, as Kumogakure had provoked both sides.
Especially the Detonation Release secret technique, which Kumogakure coveted deeply.
The leading Shinobi toyed with and observed a dragonfly frozen into a block of ice in his hand.
This was something the Shinobi below had discovered.
An Exploding Tag dragonfly.
It looked very much like Iwagakure's style; not to mention their characteristic Iwagakure Demolition Squad, their own insect-manipulating clan, the Kamizuru Clan, also had similar Jutsu.
There was a record during the First Great Shinobi War of a swarm of bees carrying a large number of Exploding Tags.
Extremely tricky and vicious.
So, had their secret technique evolved?
The bandit group was clearly destroyed instantly by this Jutsu.
Truly terrifying.
With this level of intelligence gathered, they could already return to the Village and report.
But the leading Shinobi looked at a body on the ground.
"Is that Konoha's White Fang?"
The neat dog bite marks on his own wrists and ankles seemed to ache faintly.
"Next time we meet, I will definitely take your dog's head!"
"Captain, look at this, a message left by Aruyi."
His companion was tidying her remains; the body had been thawed for easier handling, and on her bare back were burn marks from Lightning Release, with neatly arranged codes.
"As expected of Aruyi."
"Gayash, come and decipher the code."
A tall, fair-skinned female Shinobi began her work, and after a moment, deciphered the full text.
"The results are in."
"Read it."
"Beware of Aburame insects."
"Huh?" The leading Shinobi was puzzled.
Aruyi didn't have Miki's name in the intelligence, so she could only guess.
But the next second, he knew what to be careful of.
Inside Aruyi's body, dormant insects awoke according to pre-set instructions.
One instruction was: when the ambient temperature reaches a certain degree, begin indiscriminate attacks.
Emerald beetles opened their spiracles, and instantly, violent currents of air burst out.
On the surface, various parts of the body, eerie bulges rapidly formed around the East Wind Wheel, inflating like balloons, and then exploded.
"Get back!" One person roared.
But it was too late.
The entire body exploded under the airflow, spraying purple poisonous blood and flesh everywhere.
Just getting a little on you meant…
Death.
Screams erupted in the cave, the poisoned Shinobi writhed and struggled on the ground, each strong man wailing and crying helplessly and piteously like a young girl.
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