Moriyue and Kazeki had come to Konoha already prepared to carry out a mission, so they did not actually have much to prepare. What they needed now was intelligence—information on Orochimaru or Sasuke.
At the very least, they could not search blindly like headless flies. They needed a general direction. Konoha's intelligence network was not weak, but using it to search the vast Ninja World for a long-term rogue ninja with an extremely high awareness of counter-surveillance was no easy task.
Besides, Konoha's intelligence division certainly could not mobilize everyone just to search for Orochimaru. They had their usual work to do, such as remaining undercover in other villages, contributing to the training of a new generation of spies, or stirring up wars in other villages.
Fortunately, Sakura had intelligence on that front, and so did Moriyue. More importantly, the target they needed to capture had encountered them before, so he should not be impossible to find. Their next steps ought to go much more smoothly.
The scorching sunlight always gave skin a stinging sensation, like being pricked by needles. Yet as time passed, the heat within the sunlight gradually faded. After the hottest part of the day had passed, the sunlight that had once seemed harsh now looked old, its rays offering only a faint warmth.
Outside Konoha, Yamato and the others had long been waiting. In the short time they had spent together, they had learned a little about one another. They were all Konoha ninja, after all, and could quickly become familiar with each other. Naruto and Sakura, however, still did not think much of Sai. At most, they had grown somewhat closer to Yamato.
By the time Moriyue and Kazeki arrived at the meeting point, Yamato's group had completed their final preparations. In Yamato's eyes, Sai