Land of Fire, a hot spring hotel somewhere.
The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the wooden corridor, dyeing the entire hotel a warm orange-red color.
The air is filled with a faint smell of sulfur, mixed with the sound of spring water flowing from the bamboo tube, making people relax unconsciously.
Sasuke The group finally arrived at this hot spring hotel located deep Yamanaka in the evening after traveling for most of the day.
The hotel is small and hidden in the dense forest. If Suigetsu hadn't seen the billboard with sharp eyes, he wouldn't have known there was a hot spring here.
Soon after, a group of people pushed open the door to the room, and the wooden floor made a slight creaking sound.
The room is very spacious, covered with clean tatami mats, with a low table in the center and a tea set on the table.
The window was half open, and the cool evening breeze blew in from the window, bringing with it the scent of the mountains and forests.
Suigetsu couldn't wait to take off his shoes, strode to the low table, and sat down cross-legged.
He took out the scroll from the Akatsuki stronghold from his pocket, spread it out on the table, and patted it excitedly.
"Come on, come on, Sasuke, look at this!"
Sasuke and Ning Xue came over and sat down beside him.
The white clothes on Sasuke were still stained with mud and blood, the cuffs were scorched black by the flames, and the dried blood stains on the skirt formed dark red lumps.
His hair was a little messy and there was a shallow scar on his face.
That was left over from the Hidan ceremony, and it has not completely faded away.
Ning Xue is equally embarrassed.
The black robe is full of scorch marks and scratches, and there are several cracks on the edges of the mask, which were shattered by the shock wave during the battle with Kakuzu.
His white hair hung down from the edge of the mask, a little messy, but he still maintained his cold and calm posture.
Suigetsu pointed at the map on the scroll and crossed his fingers over the locations marked with red marks.
"These are the temporary bases of Akatsuki in Land of Fire.
Some are abandoned ninja bases, some are natural caves, and a few are wooden houses hidden in the mountains and forests."
He paused, raised his head and looked at Sasuke, with the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
"It took me a lot of effort to get the map from that Akatsuki member's younger brother."
Sasuke didn't answer. His eyes fell on the map, from north to south, from east to west, keeping the location of each red mark firmly in his mind.
Ning Xue's eyes also fell on the map, and his brows furrowed slightly.
The distribution of those strongholds is very scattered, some are on the Land of Fire border, some are close to towns, and some are hidden in deep mountains and old forests.
But without exception, every stronghold is far away from Konoha's perception range, and it is obviously carefully selected.
"These strongholds..."
Sasuke's voice suddenly became deeper.
His gaze stopped at an inconspicuous location on the map.
It's marked with a red mark.
He remembered that there was a dense forest there, and deep in the forest there was a secret stronghold that had been abandoned by the Uchiha Clan for many years.
Sasuke's eyes were lowered, and his voice was cold and determined.
"I know where it is."
He said no more.
Stand up, walk to the tatami in the corner of the room, sit down cross-legged, close your eyes, and start to recover Chakra.
Suigetsu glanced at him, then at Ning Xue, shrugged, and did not ask any further questions.
Ning Xue also didn't say much.
He put down the map in his hand, took a long breath, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
As long as Sasuke successfully finds Itachi and turns his hatred towards Danzo as he expected, everything will develop in that direction.
At this moment, the sliding door of the room was suddenly opened.
"Sasuke~!"
A sticky voice came from the door.
Karin was wearing the bathrobe provided by the hotel. Her long red hair was wet and spread over her shoulders. She had obviously taken a shower.
There was a faint blush on her face, the red eyes behind her glasses were sparkling, and her whole person exuded a kind of eager excitement.
Her eyes quickly scanned the room.
Jugo stood silently by the door.
Suigetsu is sitting cross-legged in front of the low table with his legs crossed.
Ning Xue leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, and his expression under the mask was not clear.
Finally, her eyes were fixed on Sasuke in the corner.
"Sasuke~!"
Karin rushed to Sasuke's side, pressed close to him, hugged Sasuke's arms with both hands, buried his face in his shoulder, and his voice was so sweet that it could make people laugh.
"This is a hot spring hotel~ Do you want to take a bath in the hot spring together?"
Sasuke was made to open one eye by her movements, looked at her expressionlessly, and was about to speak.
"Yes! There is a hot spring here!"
Suigetsu clapped his hands suddenly, his eyes lit up, as if he suddenly realized something.
"Sasuke, little brother, Jugo, how about we go to the hot springs?"
The smile on Karin's face froze instantly, and the veins on his forehead faintly appeared.
This bastard Suigetsu is unforgivable for disturbing the world between her and Sasuke!
"Xinei!"
Karin suddenly let go of Sasuke, stood up, and punched Suigetsu firmly on the head.
"Bang!"
Suigetsu's head exploded instantly like a watermelon hit by a hammer, turning into a pool of water splashing everywhere.
Water droplets spilled all over the floor, splashed on the low table, and splashed on the map.
Then, those scattered water splashes slowly gathered together and coalesced into a head again.
Suigetsu blinked, sat there intact, and shook the water stains on his head.
"Why are you hitting me?" He touched his neck innocently.
"Aren't you going to go to the hot springs? Can't we do it together?"
"Shut up!"
Karin's face turned red, I don't know if he was angry or angry.
She clenched her fists, wishing she could punch Suigetsu again.
Sasuke looked at this scene and sighed lightly.
Just think of it as the last time to relax before the war.
"Let's go." He stood up and spoke calmly.
Karin's anger disappeared instantly, and his eyes lit up again.
Although it's a pity that Sasuke couldn't soak in a hot spring alone, at least I could bathe next to Sasuke...
The corners of her mouth couldn't stop rising, and the image of Sasuke wearing a bathrobe with her collarbone exposed was automatically playing in her mind.
Changing room.
There are stacks of clean bathrobes and towels neatly placed on the wooden bench.
Bamboo clothes hangers hang on the walls, and the air is filled with the faint scent of wood and the heat of hot springs.
Suigetsu took off his clothes in a few moments and draped his yukata casually over his shoulders, revealing his muscular upper body.
He moved his shoulders and turned to look at Ning Xue.
Ning Xue was facing away from him, taking off his coat, revealing a gray sweater.
The mask has been taken off, but I don't know what he is doing in his hands, and he has not even taken off his turban.
"Brother, won't you take off your headscarf?"
Suigetsu tilted his head, a little confused.
"Isn't it uncomfortable to wear that thing while soaking in a hot spring?"
Ning Xue's movements paused slightly.
He was silent for a moment, took off his sweater, folded it, placed it on the bench, then picked up his bathrobe and put it on himself.
"Now is not the time."
His voice was flat, without any emotion.
Suigetsu The corners of his mouth twitched and he shrugged speechlessly.
"Okay, it's up to you."
He didn't ask any more questions, turned around, pushed open the door of the changing room, and strode towards the hot spring.
Sasuke has already entered first.
He walked into the hot spring wearing a yukata, immersed his body in the hot water, leaned on the rocks beside the pool, and closed his eyes.
Suigetsu followed him, couldn't wait to take off his yukata, and plunged into the water, causing a splash.
"Ah~ comfortable!"
He leaned against the edge of the pool, looked up at the darkening sky above his head, and let out a contented sigh.
Ning Xue and Jugo then walked in.
Jugo silently took off his yukata, walked into the hot spring, sat down in the corner, closed his eyes, and said nothing.
Ning Xue came in last.
He sat down not far from Sasuke, immersed his body in the hot water, and leaned against the rock wall of the pool.
The hot water reached the chest, taking away the fatigue and tension all over.
Ning Xue Close your eyes and exhale a long breath.
The fog was thick and there was a faint smell of sulfur in the air.
The sky above my head gradually turned from orange to deep purple, and a few stars began to twinkle in the sky.
Suigetsu swam twice in the hot spring, lay down by the pool, and patted the water splash with his hands out of boredom.
He looked at Sasuke, then at Ning Xue, then at Jugo, and finally gave up the idea of chatting.
Of these four men, two were taciturn and one was silent, so he couldn't talk to any of them.
"Alas..."
He sighed, leaned against the edge of the pool, and looked up at the sky.
Just when everyone was enjoying the rare tranquility--
"Ah--!!!"
A sharp scream came from next door.
That's the voice of Karin.
Suigetsu's head suddenly popped out of the water.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are there enemies?"
Sasuke opened his eyes, turned his head to look in the direction of the sound, and frowned slightly.
Ning Xue did not use Byakugan, but only used perception to observe the situation next door.
Next door.
At this moment, Karin is standing by the pool, half of his bathrobe has been taken off, revealing his fair shoulders.
There was a wooden basin on the ground next to her. There were towels and soap in the basin.
There was no one else around but her.
Her eyes widened, her mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg in, and the expression on her face changed from anticipation to shock, and then from shock to despair.
Because she sensed that Chakra of several people was next door.
She finally realized--
This is not a mixed bath.
There are separate soups for men and women!
She came in early and waited expectantly for Sasuke to show up, but after waiting for a long time, she only waited for an aunt to show up.
"Girl, this is the women's bath, the men's bath is next door."
Auntie kindly reminded me.
Karin was completely petrified.
She froze on the spot, her mouth open, unable to say a word.
"No--!!!"
There was another scream, more screamed than before.
When Suigetsu heard the scream, the corner of his mouth twitched and he turned his head to look at Sasuke.
"Karin Is she... okay?"
Sasuke closed his eyes again and spoke calmly.
"Don't worry about her."
Ning Xue withdrew his senses, said nothing, and just silently sank his body into the water.
(It's been quite busy these days.)