The night was as dark as ink.
The Sunagakure outpost was on guard against Konoha ninja's repeated harassment. Yet they failed to notice that, while they were keeping watch, three figures had overlapped their footsteps, evaded the puppeteers' Chakra threads, and quietly infiltrated the outpost.
On the outer wall of the second floor, Sen gestured to his two companions about what he had sensed.
"Forty-seven people in total. Sixteen on the third floor, seventeen on the second, fourteen on the first. The checkpoint is uncertain. Sōga is likely in the room at the far right of the third floor."
Hatake Sakumo nodded. It was more or less the same as the intelligence they had obtained earlier. Sure enough, reinforcements had been sent after the previous battle. As for the judgment that Sōga was on the third floor, it was based on Sunagakure's customs.
Because sand and dust were more severe on the lower floors, the wounded and Jonin were assigned accommodations on the higher levels.
He replied in sign language, "Once they launch their full assault, we'll rush straight to the third floor and decapitate Sōga."
After saying that, the three of them pressed themselves against the wall once more, as though three statues had always stood there.
More than ten minutes later, Explosive Tags suddenly detonated at one of the Sand ninja checkpoints. The alert Sand ninja immediately drew their weapons and rushed toward the scene.
Sen and the others pressed their ears to the wall, eavesdropping on the Sand ninja's conversation.
"Those Konoha bastards are here again. What a pain. Captain, should we call Sōga-sama too? He's an elite Jonin, after all. He could take a lot of pressure off us."
Another voice replied, "Hatake Sakumo isn't there, so this isn't the main attack. Don't call the two