Frontier Outpost

The border of the Land of Fire.

Raindrops hammered against their conical hats, producing a dull, rhythmic thud.

Muddy water slid down the edges of the hats, dripping onto their already soaked shoulders.

Orochimaru was the first to stop, and following him, Hiroki, Kushina, and Nawaki came to a halt as well.

They had already caught sight of their destination: a village enclosed by tall wooden walls.

The walls were a sodden, dark brown, topped with crude watchtowers, and several flags bearing the Konoha emblem hung listlessly in the rain.

This was the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.

Two Konoha ninja wearing rain gear stood at the gate, their expressions as gloomy as the weather; one could assume that long-term exposure to this miserable climate was the reason they looked so sour.

This was Outpost 99, the outpost on the border of the Land of Fire closest to the Land of Rain.

Beyond this point lay the Land of Rain.

"Konoha ninja?" The guard at the gate stepped forward, his hand not leaving the long spear he held, his eyes sweeping over the four of them, lingering especially on the three children.

It was rare for a jonin-led team to be sent to the front lines.

Orochimaru took a scroll from his robes and handed it over. "Orochimaru, leading Team 7, here under the orders of the Third Hokage."

When the guard heard the name Orochimaru, he visibly relaxed, but he still carefully inspected the scroll, confirming the Hokage's seal before putting away his weapon and stepping aside to clear the path.

"Go on in. Captain Kitagawa is waiting for you at the command post. It's the house at the very back of the village."

His voice was weary, and he had dark, heavy circles under his eyes.

The four of them walked into the village.

Beneath their feet was a muddy dirt road that sank slightly with every step.

The houses on both sides of the road were primitive, mostly constructed from wood and thatch, with various tools and herbs hanging under the eaves. The village was deathly quiet; civilians were nowhere to be seen, and the occasional ninja who hurried past under the eaves would only glance at them briefly without a word. The air was a mixture of rain, damp earth, and a faint scent of medicinal herbs.

Nawaki walked in the middle, looking around with curiosity. There was no tension in his eyes beneath the hat, only a sense of excitement. He whispered to Kushina beside him, "So this is the border? Doesn't look like anything special."

Kushina ignored him. She pulled her hat low and kept her hands in her pockets, observing the surrounding environment with vigilance. She didn't like the atmosphere here; it felt somewhat like her home, the Land of Whirlpools.

It was precisely because of the atmosphere in the Land of Whirlpools that her mother had sent her to the Land of Fire.

Hiroki walked at the very back. His gaze swept over the tightly shut doors and windows, the sandbags piled under the eaves, and the numb expressions on the faces of the ninja.

His hand rested on his ninja tool pouch, never relaxing for a second.

It wasn't just him; the other ninja were the same. Almost every one of them kept one hand hanging low, ready to draw a kunai at a moment's notice.

This was the front line!

He looked at Nawaki walking in front, who was kicking a small pebble along the road, seemingly oblivious to the impending danger.

He was twelve years old this year, and he was destined to die this year.

He wondered if it would be this time.

Hiroki took a deep breath, which only made him more guarded. To be fair, he didn't have deep feelings for Nawaki, but if there were a chance to save him without paying a price, he would certainly be willing. However, if it meant putting himself in a dangerous situation...

Then he would rather let Nawaki die alone.

This thought appeared in Hiroki's mind, devoid of any emotion.

After all, no one knew if the scenario that killed Nawaki might also drag Kushina and himself down with him.

The group walked into the command post.

The command post was the only brick-and-mortar building in the village.

Pushing the door open, a wave of damp, musty air mixed with the smell of tobacco rushed out to meet them. The room was small, with a massive map spread across the center, covered in lines and symbols marked in various colors.

A tall, middle-aged man stood before the map. He wore a Konoha jonin flak jacket, though the garment was old, and a scar ran from his forehead down to his chin. He had a nearly burnt-out cigarette dangling from his mouth.

He was Kitagawa.

The primary person in charge of this command post.

"Orochimaru-sama." Kitagawa nodded at Orochimaru, acknowledging his arrival.

He pointed to the map. "You've come at the right time. The situation is worse than we anticipated."

Orochimaru walked to the map, and Hiroki and the others gathered around.

"Three days ago," Kitagawa said, tapping a red circle near the border line on the map with his finger, "our Third Patrol Team went missing here. Three people: two chunin and one genin. No sign of them alive, no bodies found."

"Missing?" Nawaki couldn't help but interject, "Were they captured by ninja from Amegakure?"

Kitagawa glanced at him, not answering, and continued: "We sent people to investigate the scene. No signs of a struggle, no blood, nothing. It's as if the three of them simply evaporated into thin air."

"The only clues come from local villagers who witnessed multiple Amegakure ninja squads moving through the forest, but as of now, we don't know their numbers."

"There have been at least five sightings, but we have come up empty-handed every time. Even the ninja from the Hyuga clan cannot keep their eyes on the entire defensive line at all times."

"To date, we have searched for these so-called Amegakure squads over a dozen times, yet we still haven't found a trace. This ninja from the Inuzuka Clan can corroborate what I've said." As he spoke, Kitagawa gestured toward a ninja in the corner.

The other party nodded. "We haven't found any traces so far, but we still can't rule out the possibility of it being false intelligence. The rainfall in this area is too heavy; it's difficult for scents to linger long enough."

Kushina frowned. "No traces? That's impossible. Even if they encountered an irresistible enemy and were subdued instantly, it's impossible to leave absolutely no traces behind."

"Exactly. You're right." Kitagawa nodded, then pressed his cigarette butt into the ashtray beside him to extinguish it. "But this is already the second patrol team from our outpost to go missing this month. Same method, same result."

"In this outpost, I am the only elite jonin who might be able to fight back against such an enemy, but I cannot leave the outpost for too long with a team. Otherwise, the outpost might be wiped out by the enemy directly, and subsequent logistics teams would be unable to transport supplies here for a long time."

"We have also tried to contact other nearby outposts, but unfortunately, the disappearances haven't only occurred at our outpost. All seven nearby outposts have been attacked recently."

"This is the intelligence we have at the moment."

Hiroki had remained silent the entire time. He hadn't sensed any wifi in the outpost, which was strange. It wasn't like being in the village, where there was always a state of constant surveillance by many Anbu and Root ninja.

"Besides the patrol teams, are there any other anomalies?" Orochimaru's voice was calm.

"Yes." Kitagawa's expression became even more solemn. "The activity of Rain ninja along the border is becoming more frequent and larger in scale. It used to be just reconnaissance squads of two or three, but now combat squads of over ten people appear frequently. They don't actively cross the border, but they are always operating within our sensory range, as if they are provoking us, or perhaps searching for something."

He picked up a file from the side and handed it to Orochimaru. "This is the intelligence record from the past week. You can take a look."

Orochimaru took the file and browsed through it quickly, but soon set it back down.

There was a lot of recorded information, but what Kitagawa had just summarized was basically a compilation of the most important information in the file; the rest were either trivial matters or information from which no traces could be discerned.

But that was to be expected. If they could analyze something just by relying on intelligence data, wouldn't that imply that they, the garrison, were incompetent? That they couldn't make any effective contributions?

Orochimaru thought for a moment, then looked at the three children from Team 7.

"Hiroki, Kushina, Nawaki, you stay at the outpost."

The three children immediately quieted down and looked at him.

Orochimaru stood in front of the map, the firelight casting flickering shadows on his face, his golden snake-like pupils appearing exceptionally cold. "For this mission," he spoke slowly, his voice devoid of any emotion, "because the enemy's strength is unclear, you had best stay at the outpost and go nowhere!"

"I am not certain if I can protect you under the current circumstances! Furthermore, this mission is primarily to be completed by me."

Orochimaru paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them in turn.

"And your mission is to keep yourselves safe."

Land of Rain, border, a village without any living people, four jonin squads were also looking at a map.

"How many squads have we cleared?" The Scarred Man frowned as he looked at the map. "Why are these Konoha ninja so diligent with their patrols?"

"Three squads," the thin ninja replied. "God knows why they're so diligent. Maybe Konoha pays them well."

The Scarred Man curled his lip but didn't refute it.

If he could earn as much as those from Konoha, he certainly wouldn't have defected. The Scarred Man changed the subject: "That employer wouldn't be trying to trick us, would he?"

"Unlikely. I just saw that the mission target has already entered the outpost."

"Oh? They've already entered the outpost? Next, according to what the employer said, he will provide Orochimaru with false intelligence so that we have the opportunity to lure him away, right?"

"That's what the employer said, and he also told us there is an insider in the outpost. We don't need to worry about that elite jonin in the outpost; we just need to destroy the main gate, and the insider will strike immediately!"

"Since that's the case, then get ready. It's time to act. Monkey, you are responsible for assassinating the target."

"Understood."

"Black Bear, you and Rattlesnake prepare to lure Orochimaru away."

"Understood."

"Understood. I will notify you immediately after the mission is completed. Once you hear my signal, I suggest you withdraw regardless of whether the mission is completed or not."

"I know," the Scarred Man nodded. "I will be responsible for clearing out all the ninja near the outpost. Rattlesnake, remember not to let your chakra fluctuations be too obvious!"

"There are many Hyuga ninja here; we could be exposed at any moment."

"But—"

"No buts. Trust in my sensory ability!" The Scarred Man took a deep breath, then touched the ground with one hand and held his forehead with the other, quickly spreading his chakra!

"You all start preparing! I'm going to start sensing and prepare to assassinate their ninja!"

[Ding-dong~]

[Detected new WiFi signal "Scar_Soma Benigaki", signal strength: weak. Connect?]