Just in Case

The two looked at Shinzhen, waiting for their nominal captain to make a decision.

"Ugh..."

Shinzhen let out a sigh.

"We're already here. We should at least go through the motions, or the mission report will be hard to write. We came all this way; even if there's no credit, there's still effort... If anything goes wrong, I won't take responsibility. You can handle it yourselves!"

Spying on an ally who was about to join the unified front was not something that could be brushed aside with a few casual words.

"Captain, no matter what, you can't dodge your responsibility as the leader, can you?"

"Is that so?"

Shinzhen smiled confidently.

"So what if I bear some responsibility? It's not like I'll be the one taking the blame."

To those in the know, Shinzhen was merely a clone of Mizuki's main body. Even if something went wrong, no one would trouble Shinzhen. In the end, Mizuki himself would definitely have to shoulder it.

"Fine, since you've agreed, we'll go prepare. There's no time to lose—we'll act tonight."

It seemed they would finally be able to vent the embarrassment they had suffered while "interviewing people" during the day in tonight's operation.

As night fell, Orochimaru, who was about to rendezvous with the Shinobi Allied Forces, took a moment from his busy schedule at the temporary residence provided by Mizuki. As he read through the intelligence on the Shinobi Allied Forces that Mizuki had submitted, he considered his next course of action.

Suddenly, Orochimaru frowned. A figure appeared out of thin air in the previously empty room—it was Gongzhi, Mizuki's physical clone in charge of the Land of Rain.

"What is it? Do you need something at this hour?"

Unless there was a reason, Mizuki and Orochimaru generally tried not to