Tracking and a Chance Encounter at Sea

Due to a shortage of manpower, the Mist Ninja were unable to use a comprehensive, blanket search method.

Their reconnaissance route was a radial path extending from the diameter.

This means that the Three-Tails will pass through the eye of the storm multiple times— Chojuro also felt that the Three-Tails was more likely to be in the eye of the storm.

In the storm.

The rain poured down and the wind howled.

The raindrops lashed down on the ninjas with wild, powerful force.

It carries the chill of autumn.

Traveling through such a fierce storm, even ninjas with abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people would feel their own insignificance in the endless struggle against nature, and would quickly become exhausted.

The Mist Ninja initially tried to use Chakra to shield themselves from the rain, but quickly abandoned the idea.

Maintaining Chakra protection for an extended period of time in such a harsh environment is extremely difficult!

The result was that the ninjas were soaked in the rain.

After being soaked in water, the clothes became as heavy as a suit of armor clinging to the body.

Exposed skin feels as if it's being struck by hard pebbles with each heavy rain; the icy water droplets run down the skin, taking away the body's precious heat.

It's not just a problem with rainwater.

The surging water beneath their feet made even the most ordinary act of Water Walking for a ninja unusual, even exceptionally difficult.

Each surging wave tests the ninjas' most basic Chakra manipulation skills!

In this situation, the Mist Ninja also need to concentrate on sensing whether the Three-Tails 'Chakra is hidden in the undulating waves.

You also need to keep your eyes peeled to see if the turbulent water obscures the Three-Tails creature's silhouette.

Soon, the Mist Ninja began to pant heavily.

"Brother," Chōjūrō glanced at his exhausted companion beside him, stepped forward, mustered his courage, and whispered, "Let's find a place to rest for a while."

The voice was heavy, interspersed with rapid breathing.

Ten hours had passed since they entered the storm. The long, intense mission was taking its toll on the ninjas.

Chojuro stared intently, scanning the sea before him to make sure the Three-Tails wasn't there, before stopping and glancing back indifferently at his younger brother.

His eyes were full of sternness and determination.

The eldest brother is like a father. The brothers' parents died early, and Chōjūrō grew up under his older brother's care. He was usually most afraid of Kuro's scolding and glares.

He was rather soft-hearted, and when his older brother looked at him like that, his heart tightened, and most of the courage he had finally mustered vanished.

But thinking of his companions behind him, Chōjūrō, despite his apprehension, mustered his remaining courage and said, "Brother... we've been walking for ten hours straight, everyone's exhausted. Continuing the mission without sufficient energy and stamina could easily cause us to miss the Three-Tails' tracks, and could even lead to casualties."

"Why don't we rest first and let everyone recover their energy before carrying out the mission? That would be more efficient."

Chojuro shifted his gaze from Jūrō to the Mist Ninja behind him.

His indifferent gaze swept over the demoralized Mist Ninja, and when he saw the Sensory Ninja whose body was already trembling but who was still struggling to move forward, his eyes finally flickered.

Chojuro kept a straight face and remained silent for a long time.

"Big brother?"

The younger brother asked cautiously.

Chojuro lowered his eyelids, and after a long while, he said indifferently, "Find an island or somewhere, and stop to rest for five hours!"

The exhausted ninjas' eyes lit up, and they exchanged a glance with Chōjūrō before letting out a soft cheer.

"Very good!"

The sensory ninja quickly located an extremely remote island.

"Look here, there are rocks underwater!"

It's not an island, it's actually just a reef, with the topmost rocks several meters below the surface.

In the turbulent, sunless environment, the coral reef was only a hazy shadow; if it weren't for the efforts of the sensing ninjas, the Mist Ninja would never have noticed its existence.

"It's too deep, we can't rest here!" a Mist Ninja shouted.

The rain intensified again.

Amidst the cacophony of rain, waves, and thunder, every sound was drowned out, forcing the ninjas to shout and turn the volume up to the maximum.

Fortunately, one of the accompanying ninjas knew Earth Release, and someone immediately stepped forward. "I'll do it!"

He mobilized the little Chakra he had left, his hands moving rapidly to Hand Seals, changing the shape of the reef.

The underwater reefs quickly rose to the surface, and the Earth Release ninja continued to Hand Seals, manipulating the reefs to transform into solid walls and rooms. A temporary yet sturdy camp soon stood amidst the storm.

The Mist Ninja were immediately invigorated and filed into the camp.

Changing clothes, starting a fire, cooking, and other tasks were carried out in an orderly manner.

The emergency rations soaked in hot soup, the warm food, and the campfire lit with the brought oil quickly warmed the ninja's entire body, inside and out, from the inside out.

"He's alive!"

The perceptive ninja sat cross-legged beside the fire pit, exaggeratingly speaking.

She was a petite young girl with a touch of childishness in her eyes. She was dangling her delicate, smooth toes, smiling as she sipped hot soup from a food box.

Sitting next to her was an older Anbu, around forty or fifty years old, with a weathered look on his face.

He glanced at the girl who wasn't sitting properly and chuckled, "That's all thanks to the captain's kindness; otherwise, how could you all be resting so comfortably here!"

"What's so great about it?" the girl pouted, lifting her trouser leg to rub her soft, white calves, muttering, "My legs are completely numb from walking."

"Heh heh." The old ninja chuckled dismissively.

"Yurika, you can't even handle this?" He shook his head. "If this were back in our day, even just five or six years ago, the village wouldn't have tolerated a delicate girl like you as a ninja!"

If this were the Kirigakure during the Bloody Mist Village era, the leading captain would not have paid any attention to such a request.

"It's your own problem if you can't keep up with the team!" he said with a sigh. "No one will help you, let alone stop to let you rest."

"That's what the village was like back then."

"Times have changed! In our day, if Kuro did that, people would look down on him; they would think he was a coward!"

The Bloody Mist Village prides itself on ruthlessness, while the camaraderie advocated by Konoha is seen as a symbol of weakness in that era.

Chōjūrō listened for a few moments, then leaned closer and asked with great interest, "Uncle Hino, what was the village like back then?"

The other young people in the group also perked up their ears.

Uncle Hino shifted his position, making room for Chōjūrō to sit between him and Yurika.

"Hehe, since you're interested, then I'll go ahead."

"Back then, we called ourselves the Bloody Mist Village..."

After a while, Chojuro came in, his hair, body, and clothes still wet, clearly having been busy until now.

He walked straight to Uncle Hino and said, "The duty roster is all set up. We'll take turns keeping watch, though. The younger ones have less stamina, so let them rest a bit. I'll go first, you take over from me, understand?"

"Yes!" Uncle Hino replied solemnly.

Chojuro then turned to the others and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, stop talking. There are beds in the rooms inside. After you finish eating, get some rest. The tasks ahead will be even more difficult, and you won't be able to handle them without sufficient strength! Do you understand?"

Chojuro wrote, and even glared at the sensory ninja sitting at his feet.

"Especially you, Terumi Yurika!"

"... Yes," the young girl replied, pouting.

The hall then fell silent.

About five hours later.

Judging from the time, it was already late at night, or even early morning.

However, in the eye of the storm, where dark clouds obscure the sun and visibility is zero, the distinction between day and night is no longer clear. The Mist Ninja emerge from their houses without even realizing that night has fallen.

Following their previous route, the Mist Ninja continued their mission.

After walking for a while, Yurika suddenly stopped.

"Etc!"

"What's wrong?" Chojuro suddenly raised his fist, signaling everyone to stop, and asked her in a deep voice, "Have you found the Three-Tails?"

"I sensed a powerful Chakra reaction... an incredibly terrifying aura!"

Are you sure it's the Three-Tails?

The sensory ninja closed his eyes, his brows furrowed, and whispered, "Wait... no, this isn't the Three-Tails' aura!"

"And it wasn't just one Chakra, it was two very powerful Chakra auras!"

Her face turned deathly pale, and she exclaimed in shock, "It's right in front of us..."

"They give me a feeling that's even more terrifying than the Three-Tails!"

[First update. One more update to come.]