On the Verge of Eruption

Within the Land of Cedars, at the Iwagakure army's encampment.

Ōnoki arrived with several Anbu and his only disciple, Deidara. While Deidara curiously looked around in every direction, Ōnoki appeared far more stern.

As they arrived, the encampment's commander, Shōno Takeo, immediately came out to receive them.

"Lord Tsuchikage." Shōno Takeo bowed slightly.

"Mm. How are things?" Ōnoki nodded, then asked directly, "Where are those people now?"

"After receiving the message from the swift hawk, I contacted the local Anbu to investigate," Shōno Takeo said respectfully. "They're currently in the mountains, but their exact location is unknown. They're all very strong, so the Anbu did not dare track them carelessly and risk alerting them. After all, they have Hyuga people with them."

The Byakugan was the Kekkei Genkai trackers hated most, because the other side could very well spot you directly!

Aside from the Byakugan, there were also all sorts of strange sensory abilities, which were equally troublesome.

Shōno Takeo was no fool. Although this operation could not be called particularly secretive, he knew that if they openly acted, it might affect Ōnoki's plans.

Therefore, he had not sent anyone to tail them, only gathered a rough estimate of their location.

"A wise choice. I don't know about those Konoha people, but the Raikage will definitely have brought his Sensor Ninja," Ōnoki said with an approving nod. "Although they may already know about our actions, they may not leave outright before they understand what we truly intend."

"Then what should we do now, Teacher?" Deidara asked curiously. He was still somewhat baffled about why he had come along this time. "What exactly is our mission?"

"You'll find out later." Ōnoki did not explain much, not even to his own disciple.

After all, he did not know how far this operation