Because they were so far away, Guy's team could not hear what the two sides in the valley were saying. They only vaguely saw that some sort of deal seemed to have been reached. The foreigners handed Akatsuki a box, and the two Akatsuki members hurried off.
"These foreigners are suspicious!"
Neji's expression turned grave.
Precisely because he knew Hyuga Kagami's current condition, he was especially sensitive to Akatsuki's movements. This strange scene naturally filled him with unease.
Rumble...
Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from the distant valley, and even the ground seemed to tremble.
Following the sound, Guy's team saw the armored foreigners board an ironclad ship capable of traveling on land and depart the valley amid flying sand and stones.
Rock Lee asked Neji, "Who exactly are those people?"
Neji shook his head.
Not to mention someone like Neji, who had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy—even Guy, a Jonin instructor who had lived through the Third Shinobi World War and carried out countless missions, could not make heads or tails of it.
Tenten asked, "Guy-sensei, we've already sent the intelligence back to the village. What should we do now?"
Guy said seriously, "Since this involves Akatsuki, we can't just stand by and do nothing."
No one could determine whether Akatsuki was plotting another conspiracy against the Five Great Shinobi Villages. As a Konoha ninja, Guy had to investigate it to the end, no matter the risks.
"Yeah!"
Neji and the others nodded without hesitation.
The tracks left by the ironclad ship as it moved across land were far too conspicuous, so rather than following the foreigners aboard it, Guy's team pursued the direction in which the Akatsuki members had departed.
They chased them until nightfall, when they unexpectedly came across a battlefield in a small forest