Clues

"Mist? That was indeed possible." Shisui Uchiha also spoke up. He had heard about Mist's policies.

"We'll have to investigate before we know the specifics..." Kakashi agreed.

If they were rogue shinobi from Mist, then perhaps they had done this to retaliate against Mist.

After all, Mist's brutal policies were truly messed up...

Yei recalled the attack he had encountered on the way back from the Border Outpost and said flatly, "I hope they're not extremist shinobi blinded by hatred. Those people were, after all, official shinobi from other villages. If this isn't handled properly, the situation could become even more serious..."

There were extremists like that in every major shinobi village. Yei had encountered such people before.

They had already been blinded by hatred and had no desire to see the Shinobi World at peace.

They were extremely troublesome to deal with. If they were careless and left behind any traces, a small-scale battle could very well escalate into a war between the major shinobi villages!

That was why the major shinobi villages had recalled most of their shinobi—to avoid this situation as much as possible.

"There isn't enough intelligence yet. We should hurry to the border and investigate." As the team's Jonin leader, Kakashi had the final say. There was not enough information, and guessing here would only waste time. They might as well head to the border as soon as possible.

"Mm." The other three nodded and quickened their pace.

Indeed, there was little intelligence at present, so there was no point in making baseless guesses. They would have to investigate the situation before making a decision.

As he traveled, Yei pondered something else. At this stage, Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, probably hadn't been controlled by Obito yet... There had also been no news of him becoming the new Three-Tails Jinchuriki... Was the information being tightly suppressed, or had the Three-Tails not revived yet?

The Three-Tails had also died when Rin Nohara died.

However, as Tailed Beasts, they were immortal. Given enough time, they would "revive" somewhere in the Shinobi World.

And there was still no news of Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, being the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

There were only two explanations.

One was that the Fourth Mizukage had done an excellent job suppressing the information, and no news had leaked out.

The second was... the Three-Tails had not revived yet...

Yei had plans for the Tailed Beasts.

After learning that the energy of the "Hollow" inside his Hollow Mask had properties similar to Tailed Beast Chakra, he had begun to wonder—could Tailed Beast Chakra charge the Hollow Mask? Could it make the Hollow Mask usable again?

If it could, it would be an absolute trump card!

Yei had personally experienced the Hollow Mask's power. It was a formidable technique that could blow the Third Raikage apart in one strike!

If he could use it again, Yei would have another means of protecting himself in the dangerous situation ahead!

They traveled quickly, and within a few days, the four-person team reached the border between the two countries.

Konoha's Border Outpost there had already been destroyed, reduced to ruins.

"How horrific. Was everyone inside wiped out?" Anger flashed across Kakashi's face as he saw the Konoha corpses lying on the ground.

"Who did this? How could they be so inhuman?" Asuma's expression was grave. As a Konoha shinobi himself, he could not help feeling angry at the sight of his comrades' deaths.

"Damn it!" Shisui Uchiha slammed a fist against his thigh, his face dark.

Although they had learned from the Fourth Hokage that the Border Outpost here had been destroyed, seeing it with their own eyes still filled them with rage!

Unlike the other members of the Uchiha Clan, Shisui Uchiha had a relatively gentle personality and lacked the Uchiha Clan's arrogance and coldness.

He regarded the village as more important than his own clan, which made him quite an oddity within the Uchiha Clan.

Kakashi looked at Yei and asked, "Did you find anything?"

Yei possessed the Byakugan bloodline, so he might discover some clues.

Yei activated his Byakugan and swept the surrounding area, then shook his head. "They were extremely clean and efficient. Almost every victim was killed in a single blow, and there weren't many traces left. They should have cleaned up before leaving!"

The Border Outpost had clearly experienced a battle. All the Konoha shinobi inside had been killed, leaving behind only traces of battle and the corpses of Konoha shinobi.

The enemy had acted cleanly and efficiently, and they were experienced enough to cover their tracks thoroughly. Yei found nothing useful.

Upon hearing this, the other three's expressions darkened.

After thinking for a moment, Kakashi formed hand seals, pressed a hand to the ground, and shouted, "Summoning Technique!"

With a bang, white smoke rose, followed by several Ninja Hounds appearing in the area.

"Pakkun, I'm counting on you. See if there are any unusual scents here," Kakashi said to one of the small Ninja Hounds.

"Got it." The Ninja Hound named Pakkun nodded. Under his command, the Ninja Hounds scattered in different directions.

Before long, the Ninja Hounds returned.

Pakkun, who led them, shook his head. "Several days have passed, so most of the scent has already faded. Also, there was likely a Water Release shinobi among those who fought here, and they washed the scents away. Even if anything remains, it's mostly the smell of blood..."

"Mm, you can go back first." Kakashi dispelled the Summoning Technique, then shook his head at his three teammates. "The smells here are too mixed up. Even my Ninja Hounds can't identify anything useful."

Glancing at the darkening sky, Kakashi said, "Tomorrow, we'll investigate the surrounding area with the Border Outpost as the center. If anyone left in another direction, we might still find some clues. I'll be relying on you tomorrow, Yei."

"Alright." Yei nodded.

"Let's bury our comrades' bodies first. We can't leave them exposed in the wilderness..." Kakashi said in a low voice as he looked around.

They nodded and gathered the bodies of all the fallen Konoha shinobi together. Finally, Kakashi used Earth Release to bury them where they lay.

Kakashi looked at the three of them and said, "Let's leave this place first. We'll rest up, then begin investigating nearby."

The three nodded.

They rested at a location not far away. After traveling continuously, they were somewhat exhausted, which would affect any battle that might break out next. They planned to rest for the night first.

In the morning, after recovering sufficiently, the four began their search with the Border Outpost as the center.

This was when Yei's Byakugan proved useful. Within its field of vision, Yei could find many things that ordinary people could not see.

At a location not far from the Border Outpost, Yei discovered a concealed tree hollow. Inside were many bloodstained bandages, as well as some things that had not been completely cleared away...