The Pitfall

"Captain, what do you think of this location?"

Inside a cave, Shiranui Genma pointed at the map and looked at Uchiha Sou, while Might Guy and the Anko Squad leaned in, watching with curiosity.

"This position."

Uchiha Sou frowned as he studied the map, pondering for a moment before speaking.

"I'm worried. This location is a vital stronghold for the enemy; even if it isn't, given the geography, there are likely many enemies stationed there."

The village location Shiranui Genma had chosen was excellent, with high terrain that allowed for scouting from a superior position, and it was situated right next to a major transportation artery.

But the problem was that it was too good, which was exactly why Uchiha Sou felt uneasy.

Several days had passed since they finished off those Kirigakure Anbu, and during this time, they had followed their original plan to push deeper into enemy territory while searching for other squads.

It had to be said that the Byakugan was truly incredibly useful; relying on Hyuga Tetsu's Byakugan, they had managed to slip past large Kirigakure patrols time and time again.

Every now and then, they were even able to ambush smaller groups or stragglers of Kirigakure ninja.

However, they no longer had the luck they'd had when they first entered the enemy-controlled zone, and up until now, they hadn't encountered a single other Konoha squad.

This was foreseeable, and Uchiha Sou wasn't surprised, but since they had been in enemy territory for so long, it was time to find a suitable base.

For this choice, Uchiha Sou intended to be transparent with everyone, at least letting them know what he was doing.

"It's just picking a spot, is it really that much of a hassle?" Anko stared for a long time before whispering, "Even if there are people there, can't we just take them out?"

"Do you want to be surrounded and suppressed by Kirigakure at every turn?" Although her voice was soft, Uchiha Sou heard her clearly. "There are only eight of us. Have you thought about the consequences if we run into a large force?"

Anko pursed her lips and decided to stay silent. She really wanted to say that if Uchiha Sou hadn't forcibly merged them together, they could have relied on disguises to operate behind enemy lines.

According to the original mission plan, they were supposed to sneak into the major cities controlled by the Land of Whirlpools, then wait for opportunities to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage.

After all, the reason they were chosen—despite their young age—was not only because they had genuine strength, but also because children were easier to disguise!

"Let's keep looking." Uchiha Sou rubbed his temples helplessly. "You should just take care of Uchiha Shizuka and stop wasting time here."

Just thinking about Uchiha Shizuka gave him a headache.

The woman's current condition was truly dire, and if things continued like this, Uchiha Sou wasn't sure if she could hold on.

It wasn't as if he couldn't see that Shisui didn't seem particularly shaken by the death of that Uchiha Makoto.

Therefore, the awakening of his Mangekyo likely had something to do with this woman, Uchiha Shizuka. From what he had heard, she was apparently his older sister.

She's a teammate, she's an older sister, and she even risked her life to save you—no wonder you were able to awaken the Mangekyo!

Once he understood this, Uchiha Shizuka's importance became undeniable, but the fact that she was half-dead made things difficult for him.

If she actually died, wouldn't he be the one held responsible?

Although the original story never explicitly stated it, she clearly died, but now that he had intervened, the situation had naturally changed.

After all, everyone in the Uchiha clan except for me is a lunatic!

Uchiha Sou thought with some distress, while Uchiha Shisui, though worried about Uchiha Shizuka, was also leaning in to study the map and think.

After all, this matter concerned him, and for the sake of his sister's recovery, he felt it was best to clarify certain things so he could make better decisions.

"Captain, may I ask a question?" Shisui spoke after a long period of thought. "What exactly are we going to do? Since we are all together now, I think we can only make better judgments if we know the specific situation."

Shisui's words immediately drew the attention of the others, especially the Anko Squad, who turned their gazes toward him.

Up until now, Uchiha Sou had been acting mysterious and hadn't said much, so it was impossible for them not to be curious.

"Fine, since you've been wanting to know, I'll be blunt."

Uchiha Sou rubbed his temples before speaking with a sigh.

"We are currently deep in enemy-controlled territory with no reinforcements, no supplies, and no source of intelligence.

Furthermore, we have to execute an important, perhaps even suicidal mission. So, what do you think is our best course of action?"

Uchiha Sou's words caused everyone except Genma to start thinking, but before they could dwell on it too much, he spoke directly.

"The answer is simple: the residents of the Land of Whirlpools, who have long harbored deep hatred for Kirigakure, are our best potential partners.

As long as we can gain their trust, there will be people who will continuously provide us with information on Kirigakure's movements, and people who can provide us with supplies.

But the key issue is how we gain their trust, and that requires us to have enough manpower.

And don't underestimate them; while they cannot fight against Kirigakure ninja, they definitely have an advantage over us when it comes to sabotage in other areas!"

Uchiha Sou paused slightly here, and the others couldn't help but have their eyes light up; they seemed to be slowly understanding the significance of this plan.

They hadn't even considered relying on ordinary people; in fact, they had completely overlooked them!

But thinking about it carefully, the things these people could provide were truly unimaginable.

Even if they couldn't fight Kirigakure ninja, they could certainly sabotage facilities, find hidden strongholds, and provide all kinds of intelligence!

At this moment, the Anko Squad and Might Guy were completely excited, and Shisui's eyes were glowing slightly.

But soon, they frowned as well. They could understand why Uchiha Sou had forcibly merged them, but they still had one major problem left to solve: there were too few of them.

"So, we need more people now?" Anko was quite clear-headed at this moment; she asked this while looking after Uchiha Shizuka.

"Yeah, but I think we should find a suitable place to stay for now."

Uchiha Sou nodded, then glanced at Uchiha Shizuka, who remained unconscious.

"Her condition is too critical; we must find a way to treat her properly. It's a pity we don't have a medical ninja with us, otherwise..."

"Huh? A medical ninja?"

Anko paused for a moment, then, as if something had occurred to her, she spoke up with excitement.

"I actually know a place where we're very likely to find a medical ninja, and we might even find more of our own people there!"

"Hm?" Uchiha Sou blinked, then asked curiously, "What kind of place?"

"A prisoner-of-war camp, obviously!"

Anko laughed loudly, feeling as though she had finally scored a point.

"You're so dense. Konoha has captured so many Mist ninja, and they've naturally captured plenty of us as well. If we just rescue them, we'll have more people on our side, and we can check if there are any medical ninjas among them!"

As soon as Anko finished speaking, she suddenly felt that something was wrong, as she noticed several people gasping and staring at her with blank expressions.

This left her feeling bewildered, and she couldn't help but frown as she asked.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"."

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