Rumble—
Thunder rumbled in the distance from time to time, and the gloomy sky seemed to press down on the ground!
Three days later, at the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire.
A few youthful faces had appeared.
Whoosh—
The frigid wind howled, and every Konoha Ninja who had just arrived looked grave!
The oppressive climate here was worlds apart from the peaceful atmosphere within Konoha. The pervasive air of slaughter made everyone tense without realizing it.
"Woof! Woof!"
Jialong followed closely behind Inuzuka O, then suddenly barked twice!
At the sound of Jialong's barks, Inuzuka O's expression tightened. His gaze grew solemn, and he stopped walking!
The few ninjas beside him, including the bespectacled youth Aburame Shino, stopped as well and looked at Inuzuka O.
"Jialong says there's a lingering smell of blood here. If he's right, there must have been a battle nearby not long ago!"
Inuzuka O spoke gravely. Though his face was still youthful, his expression was resolute as he looked at the other ninjas, waiting for their opinions.
The others exchanged glances at his words.
Their mission was to reach the designated ninja outpost as soon as possible. But now that they had encountered this unexpected situation, they weren't sure whether they should investigate.
Just then, Aburame Shino spoke softly.
"The others can head to the outpost first. O and I will investigate here. If we don't find any useful information, we'll catch up as soon as we can."
The other ninjas nodded in agreement.
And so,
the two stayed behind together to search the area, while the other Konoha Ninja continued on their way.
"Jialong, keep looking. Where is the blood coming from?"
O lowered his head and spoke quietly to Jialong.
"Woof! Woof!"
Jialong barked twice toward a