Tracking!

Yei used his Byakugan to look toward the tree hollow. Only after carefully checking and finding no danger did he move closer.

"Uneaten food, bloodstained bandages? There were probably several people. They left in such a hurry—could something unexpected have happened?" Yei studied the traces inside the tree hollow and began to speculate.

From the traces within, he determined that at least five or six people had rested here before. Like them, they might have been a ninja squad.

And since they had left so hastily, some sudden circumstance had likely forced them to depart before they could clean up the evidence they had left behind.

Ninja operations were generally carried out with great caution. They would not leave behind too many traces that could expose their location.

For them to leave without clearing away their things like this, there had to be a rather urgent reason...

If their previous deduction was correct, and those responsible were rogue ninjas from Mist, then this suggested that they were very likely being hunted as well!

No matter what, they had finally found a clue!

Yei took a sealing scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch and spread it on the ground. Forming a hand seal, he activated it. With a soft bang, white smoke rose, and a pitch-black Summoned Ninja Crow appeared, its scarlet eyes fixed on Yei.

This was Shisui Uchiha's Summoned Ninja Crow, used by their squad to keep in touch with one another.

"Go tell the others about what happened here," Yei told the crow.

The ninja crow let out a few caws, flapped its wings, and shot into the sky.

Before long, Kakashi and the others arrived after receiving the message.

Kakashi looked at Yei and asked, "What did you find?"

Yei answered directly, "I found a tree hollow. There are things left behind by ninjas inside. They probably left in a hurry and didn't have time to clean everything up."

Yei explained his deduction, and the others all nodded.

Asuma said lightly, "The Byakugan really is convenient. If it were me, I definitely would've overlooked this place."

This tree hollow had been specially concealed. There was no way to tell from the outside that it was hollow within. If not for the Byakugan's ability to see through things, even sensory-type ninjas would have had difficulty detecting these inanimate objects.

Kakashi had been searching in another direction. If his summoned Ninja Hounds had been here instead, they might have been able to discover this place as well.

"Summoning Technique." Kakashi summoned his Ninja Hounds again.

Pakkun moved closer and sniffed. "These scents appeared at that Border Outpost earlier. They should have been there too."

At those words, everyone present was stirred. They had finally found some traces to follow!

"Can you still find these people's scent?" Kakashi asked Pakkun.

"I'll try." Pakkun scratched himself with a hind leg, his nose twitching. Seeming to find something, he dashed off in one direction.

The other Ninja Hounds did the same, scattering in different directions.

Pakkun soon returned and said to Kakashi, "They should have used something like Shadow Clones. The scent is coming from three different directions."

"This..." The group was momentarily speechless. They really were cautious...

"Should we split up and search?" Asuma looked to Kakashi. Kakashi was the jonin leading the team, and during the mission, his orders were absolute.

Even though Asuma was the Son of Hokage, he still had to obey the orders of the jonin leading the team during a mission.

Kakashi shook his head. "They were able to easily kill everyone at the Border Outpost, and still had the leisure to erase their traces. They definitely aren't weak. There should be jonin among them. Splitting up rashly would be too dangerous."

The others nodded. He was right.

Other than Kakashi, everyone else was only Special Jonin. The squad was neither particularly strong nor particularly weak. If they encountered a team of jonin, they would still be in some danger.

If they encountered S-Class Rogue Ninjas, they would be in even greater danger. After all, those who could become S-Class Jonin were among the strongest of the jonin!

"Then let Shadow Clones split up instead," Yei suggested.

Shadow Clones were an extremely practical ninjutsu. They could be of great use in tracking, escaping, and many other situations.

They were one of the essential ninjutsu for all ninjas.

The ninjas who had left this place had also used clone-type ninjutsu, allowing them to evade pursuers to some extent.

In this situation, having Shadow Clones split up was the best choice!

Kakashi nodded. "Then we'll do that. We'll split up from the Shadow Clones."

All four of them had considerable status: two were from powerful ninja clans, one was the Son of Hokage, and one was an Anbu jonin of the village. All of them had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique.

Without hesitation, each of them created two Shadow Clones, which set off in different directions under the guidance of the Ninja Hounds.

One Ninja Hound led the four men's Shadow Clones in one direction. However, after traveling some distance, it suddenly stopped and looked at Kakashi. "The ones in this direction should have been clones. The scent vanished after reaching this place."

The four exchanged glances. Kakashi said, "Alright, go back first."

"Mm." The Ninja Hound nodded, and its body turned into white smoke before vanishing.

"Dismiss the clones on this side," Kakashi said. Forming a hand seal, he vanished with a bang.

The other three did the same.

The moment the clones here dispersed, the people in the other two directions were all slightly startled as they received the memories sent back by those clones.

"Only two directions left..." Kakashi looked ahead, narrowing his eye.

Yei activated his Byakugan and searched as thoroughly as possible for any trace, but found nothing along the way.

After traveling some more, Asuma landed on a tree branch and signaled for everyone to stop. Without wasting words, he said directly, "They're in the other direction."

The original body was here. A clone in another direction had found a few clues, discovered through Yei's Byakugan.

Since both Yei and Shisui possessed eyes capable of sensing enemies, they still needed to continue tracking them. And because Kakashi was the captain, Asuma over there dispelled his clone and relayed the information back to the original body.

Shadow Clones were extremely useful. Once dispelled, their memories and experiences would synchronize with the original body. They could even be used for training, though not everyone could bear the price of doing so.

Only shinobi with powerful physiques and abundant vitality could withstand such consumption.

"Time is of the essence. Let's go!" Although their original bodies had headed in the wrong direction, it was the same as long as the clone had found them. It was just that they were already some distance away and needed to pick up the pace.

This showed that if they possessed space-time ninjutsu, their movements would be far more convenient. Unfortunately, none of them had learned any space-time ninjutsu...