Things developed more smoothly than expected.
In other words, it would not be difficult to find Rinkaichū without the "unexpected first" guy Naruto present.
Kai and the others squatted near the old tree, making no sound and even breathing very lightly.
Rinkaichū on the tree lay quietly on the trunk, its abdomen slowly squirming, as if it was also waiting for a certain moment to arrive.
A few hours passed, and the sky turned from twilight purple to dark night.
There was a slight "click" from the branch, like the sound of a thin shell cracking.
Kai's eyes narrowed, and his body, which had been lazily leaning against the tree, instantly straightened up.
Shibi also straightened his back immediately, and his eyes under the sunglasses were firmly fixed on the Rinkaichū.
Suzumebachi was so nervous that he clenched the fragments of the scroll in his hand, a thin layer of sweat forming on his palms.
The eggs laid by Rinkaichū hatched.
A wet little figure crawled out of the egg shell.
It glowed with a translucent luster in the moonlight, and its wings were folded crumpled at its sides.
It squirmed a few steps and stopped, as if it was adapting to this new world.
Kai moved.
With a flash of his body, he instantly cleared away all the insects and fallen leaves that might interfere with Rinkaichū.
Shibi took action at the same time, and several tiny swarms of insects slipped out from the cuffs, silently bypassing the newly born Rinkaichū, and setting up a fine warning net around it.
Suzumebachi didn't hesitate at all. When Shibi took action, she had already stepped forward.
With both hands, he carefully handed the broken scroll fragment to Rinkaichū.
Shibi took the fragment, held his breath, and gently placed the old piece of cloth directly in front of Rinkaichū.
The smell left by Tsuchibachi and others over the years has been carefully cleaned away, leaving only the smell of ancient paper from the scroll itself.
Rinkaichū stopped walking and his tentacles trembled slightly, as if he was trying to distinguish something.
Then it slowly poked its head out, took a deep sniff at the scroll fragment.
The movement was very light, but the heartbeats of the three of them seemed to have stopped for half a beat at that moment.
Rinkaichū's tentacles have been fixed for a long time.
Then its tiny body vibrated slightly, and the wings on its back unfolded little by little.
It gradually hardens from softness, from translucent to a tough film.
It raised its head and moved its tentacles briefly in the air, as if trying to determine its direction.
After a few breaths, it flapped its wings slightly, made a fine buzzing sound, and flew up from the tree trunk.
Suzumebachi clenched his fists fiercely, suppressed his voice and shouted:
"It's done!"
She immediately looked at Shibi, with nervous anticipation in her eyes.
Shibi stared at the slowly rising Rinkaichū, and nodded after a moment:
"There should be no problem, but the final result cannot be 100% certain."
"After all, this thing is very old according to what you said, and although we have cleaned up the smell in advance, it's hard to tell."
Suzumebachi and Kai nodded at the same time.
This is also the only concern in their minds.
Rinkaichū has been on Tsuchibachi for too many years, and the smell has already penetrated into the fibers of the remaining pieces.
Even if Shibi specially handles it, it cannot guarantee that it will be foolproof.
But in the end, the first step is done.
Kai looked at Shibi with a grateful tone. "Shibi, thank you very much this time. Let's catch up on old times later."
Shibi grinned and patted Kai on the shoulder. "Okay, go ahead. Business is important. We'll talk about the rest later."
Kai nodded and said nothing.
Suzumebachi stood aside and looked at Shibi deeply.
That look was not filled with arrogance and hostility when they first met, but instead had a touch of complex softness.
She nodded slightly towards Shibi, without saying anything else, turned around and followed Kai's footsteps.
Shibi stood under the moonlight, watching the two figures being pulled by Rinkaichū and gradually disappearing into the depths of the forest.
He looked at it for a while, then slowly collected the swarms of insects that escaped from his sleeves, turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
Kai and Suzumebachi did not delay and followed the flight path of the little Rinkaichū all the way.
At first, its speed was a bit slow, as if it was not familiar with its own wings, and it would fly and stop at intervals.
But after about a quarter of an hour, its flight gradually became smoother.
The speed is also getting faster and faster, like a shallow light trace, traveling silently through the forest.
Although Suzumebachi's speed is not as fast as Kai's, he can barely keep up with him when running with all his strength.
Two people and one insect walked through the night for most of an hour.
Suzumebachi suddenly stopped and his eyes lit up:
"This is the direction to Land of Earth! Not the direction to Land of Rice Fields!"
Kai also nodded slightly.
This is indeed a good sign.
Judging by time, Tsuchibachi and their four members should have been sent to Land of Rice Fields Spirit Mountain by Ninkame.
If Rinkaichū is tracking the smell of Tsuchibachi and their bodies, then it should turn to the direction of Land of Rice Fields, not fly towards the hinterland of Land of Earth.
But it didn't.
Kai's heart felt a little hot.
This shows that the scent source locked by Rinkaichū is the original scent of Ancient Insect Master Secret Techniques Scroll.
The body of the scroll is being stored in a corner of Land of Earth.
This trip, I really hope to get the complete ancient secret scroll.
But Kai didn't let his guard down.
After all, the mission reward is a random high-level gift pack.
It shows that the difficulty of the task may not be low.
It is very likely that you will encounter some powerful beings.
"Like... that old guy."
Kai narrowed his eyes slightly.
Two days later.
The outline of Iwagakure gradually appeared in front of the two of them.
"Sure enough, I'm back."
Kai didn't rush in in a hurry.
He stopped and carefully put Rinkaichū into a small box, leaving only a small gap for it to breathe.
"Take some tidying up first, you still have to be careful when entering the village."
Suzumebachi suppressed his excitement and nodded gently.
The two simply tidied up and entered through the side door Iwagakure.
Suzumebachi is originally Iwagakure. Although Kamizuru Clan has been marginalized, her face will not make the gatekeeper ninja suspicious.
Not to mention Kai.
Some disguise and paperwork.
The gatekeeper ninja took a few glances and saw that there was nothing suspicious about the two people, so he waved his hand and let them go.
The two entered the village, and Kai found a secluded corner and opened the small box.
Rinkaichū stretched out its tentacles, swayed gently in the air, and then flapped its wings in one direction.
Kai and Suzumebachi looked at each other and followed quickly.
Rinkaichū walked through the streets of Iwagakure. The speed was not fast, but the direction was firm.
It went around several alleys and passed through a residential area.
As we go deeper, the surrounding buildings become more and more impressive.
There are fewer and fewer pedestrians, and there is a sense of solemnity in the air.
Finally, Rinkaichū stopped in front of a mansion.
Its wings were trembling violently, and its tentacles were constantly swinging toward the inside of the door, and its reaction was extremely strong.
Kai looked up.
It was a very large and heavily guarded house.
There were two Iwagakure Chunin standing in front of the door, and the presence of secret whistles could be vaguely felt on the roof and in the darkness.
The entire mansion exudes a calm and depressing atmosphere, like one of the core of power of Iwagakure.
Kai glanced at the family crest on the door and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The face of Suzumebachi beside him had changed drastically, and his voice was almost suppressed and squeezed out of his throat:
"This... this is actually Third Tsuchikage's mansion?!"