Eve of the Mission

Early the next morning, Orochimaru's team advanced towards the Land of Ash. Their guides were the father and daughter duo Ye Zi had met the previous night: Bōjiān Shenmu and Bōjiān Yán Yè. The moment Kotoha saw Ye Zi again, her eyes lit up with eagerness. If Shenmu hadn't been glaring at her, she might have challenged Ye Zi to a spar on the spot; she was a true battle maniac.

All the way, Kotoha kept glancing at Ye Zi, her gaze fervent. Ye Zi, however, seemed completely oblivious. This strange behavior caught the attention of Kushina and Bei Xingye. They secretly observed Ye Zi and Kotoha, even speculating that Ye Zi's outing the previous night might have led to this situation. And indeed, that was the case.

Facing Kotoha's not-so-subtle provocation, Ye Zi ignored it, feeling somewhat helpless. He was puzzled. Even if Kotoha was a battle maniac, she should have targeted Kushina, a fellow female ninja. Yet, she was fixated on him. He didn't know that the reason Kotoha had set her sights on him was because he was the first ninja from a great nation she had ever fought.

"At this pace, we should reach the Land of Ash's perimeter by the Hour of the Dog today," Shenmu said, looking straight ahead at Orochimaru, who was leaping alongside them.

Orochimaru nodded slightly, his gaze flicking to Kotoha, who showed no seriousness about the mission. His displeasure was evident, easily picked up by Shenmu.

Seeing this, Shenmu offered a faint, wry smile. This mission was crucial, and for Kotoha, who had never handled a high-difficulty mission before, it was a significant trial that could transform her attitude. He had gone to great lengths to bring her along. Yet, he never expected her to deliberately challenge Ye Zi on the eve of the mission, and worse, to not achieve a complete victory. This morning, Kotoha's somewhat frivolous demeanor had earned Orochimaru's displeasure.

For fellow mission executors, a lack of trust was a terrifyingly unstable factor.

Orochimaru understood this. He acknowledged Shenmu's skill but not Kotoha's, who looked like she was out for a stroll.

Shenmu understood this too. Hence, amidst his wry smile, he began contemplating how to make Orochimaru see Kotoha's worth sooner, thereby dispelling Orochimaru's distrust.

The trees on either side blurred as they sped past. Shenmu's eyes, fixed on the path ahead, held a hint of solemnity. After much thought, he decided to let Kotoha take the lead, eliminating the first crucial enemy outpost in the Land of Ash.

The journey continued in silence until nightfall. As the crescent moon rose, Orochimaru's team finally reached their pre-determined location, far from the Land of Ash's outposts, allowing for a brief rest.

Although they were still a considerable distance from the scattered outposts of the Land of Ash, lighting a fire at night remained unwise. Each person found a spot to sit and began their short rest, eating their rations to replenish their energy.

Shenmu and Orochimaru, using the faint moonlight, examined a map of outpost distribution, cross-referencing it with the terrain to roughly pinpoint their locations. The accuracy of this intelligence map wasn't perfect, serving only as a reference. Many outpost locations were not marked.

"We can only confirm 7 fixed outposts. The rest patrol variable areas, with an estimated 30 unmapped outposts," Shenmu said, pointing to 7 dots marked in color.

Orochimaru studied the simple terrain intelligence map intently, his gaze lingering on the dashed lines between the dots. After a long pause, his eyes flashed, and he pointed to the right side of the map, where the outposts seemed more densely clustered. "We'll use this point as our breakthrough. It's the weakest link connecting the fixed outposts," he stated in a deep voice.

Shenmu blinked, looking at that area of the map, which clearly appeared to be the most difficult to breach. He couldn't understand why Orochimaru chose it.

Ye Zi and the others, having mostly rested, now gathered around.

Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Kotoha clenched her fist, a hint of excitement in her voice, "Now this is interesting."

Orochimaru cast a cold glance at her, then turned to his students. They all looked thoughtful, as if grasping something.

If one observed closely, the outpost distribution on this simple terrain map was centered around the 7 fixed outposts, forming a tight-knit vigilance network. This was discernible from the intelligence map. However, there was no detailed information about the timing of communication between the outposts. Therefore, carelessly touching even a small point on this network could potentially trigger a chain reaction.

The reason for choosing the seemingly most difficult point on the right was that it was the furthest from the fixed outposts. However, for an assassination mission like this, one had to be mentally prepared to face numerous enemies after the mission was completed, even before breaching the defenses. This was unavoidable.

The only difference was that the fewer seconds it took to eliminate an outpost before being discovered by the enemy, the more time the mission executors would have. This one second could even be enough for a timely retreat.

Shenmu was the first to understand, nodding, "I get it."

Simply put, assassinating the enemy leader deep within their territory was inherently a perilous, one-way journey. It was unrealistic to expect to infiltrate and assassinate the target easily. No matter what, one would have to face a large number of enemies after the mission was accomplished.

This was a mission with only one chance.

The time gained in the first step was not to increase the mission's success rate, but to increase the chances of a safe return.

Before the mission even began, Orochimaru had a general understanding of Shenmu and Kotoha's abilities. He looked at Shenmu and said calmly, "My team has individuals with strong reconnaissance skills. They will be responsible for locating the outposts, and then it will be up to you."

Shenmu nodded heavily, then suddenly looked at Kotoha and said seriously, "When it comes to silently eliminating enemies with potent poisons, Kotoha is more skilled than I am."

His words weren't a recommendation but a statement of fact.

Orochimaru glanced at the excited Kotoha with surprise and mused. He had no trust in her, especially in her current state, which made it difficult to have confidence in her.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Kotoha suddenly exclaimed, raising her hand, her face beaming with confidence.

"Can she do it?" Orochimaru asked, not looking at Kotoha, but at Shenmu.

Before Shenmu could reply, Kotoha looked earnestly at Orochimaru and said indignantly, "I can."

Seeing this, Shenmu rubbed his forehead in distress. At this moment, he found it difficult to say that Kotoha was indeed capable of undertaking this task.

"Orochimaru, she might be able to," Ye Zi suddenly said from the side, causing everyone present to look at him in surprise.

Kushina and Bei Xingye looked at Ye Zi, then at Kotoha. In fact, having understood the situation, they leaned towards Shenmu undertaking this task, as it was the most crucial step.

Ye Zi, having just spoken, looked at Kotoha again, his gaze sharp, and said sternly, "The time gained by silently eliminating outposts could be the barrier that allows us to retreat in time. If the mission fails, you die here."

When it came to assassination, Ye Zi believed he was no worse than Kotoha. However, for high-speed assassinations, he would inevitably create some commotion. Especially when lightning enveloped him, not to mention the sound, the lightning itself was a beacon in the darkness. Therefore, he couldn't be entrusted with this crucial first step.

The excitement on Kotoha's face slowly faded. She slowly looked at Ye Zi, her expression subtly changing. After a moment, she said with a solemn, serious tone, "I understand. If the mission fails, I will not return alive."

Orochimaru, who had remained silent, gave a slight curl of his lips. A guarantee backed by her life was enough to give him a preliminary level of trust in Kotoha.

Hearing Kotoha's words, Shenmu felt no worry. Aside from his exasperation at Kotoha's behavior, he had complete confidence in her in other aspects.

She's the rising star of our Grass ninja. Just wait, one day... Shenmu thought to himself.