Makima slowly withdrew the hand she had reached toward Anya. She turned to Yuri, her face expressionless, her voice so calm it sent a chill down his spine.
"Yuri, send the signal. Surround the Library. Now."
She offered no explanation, but every word was an absolute command.
As soon as she finished speaking, she ignored everyone else, turned, and strode toward the Library's entrance with steady, resolute steps.
The tightly controlled killing intent radiating from his squad leader was unlike anything Yuri had seen before. Shaken, he growled into his Communicator:
"Move! Repeat, move now! Seal off the entire area!"
Then he gave Anya a firm shove and said urgently, "Go home! Now! Hurry!"
An instant later, a piercing alarm split the air! The Counterintelligence Squad's elite operatives, already positioned around the area disguised as ordinary Military Police Force officers, surged out alongside the real Military Police Force from street corners and rooftops.
Within a minute, they had surrounded the entire Library.
Soon, a translucent sealing Barrier rose like an enormous overturned bowl, enclosing the Library completely. People could enter, but no one could leave!
Inside the Library, Kabuto Yakushi had never taken his eyes off the closed door to the workroom.
Suddenly, a dense rhythm of synchronized footsteps sounded outside. Through the glass, he saw countless uniformed Kumogakure Military Police Force officers pour in like a tide, surrounding the Library in an instant.
What was going on?
Kabuto's heart sank. I haven't even made contact, and the operation hasn't been exposed. How did they find out?
A chilling possibility occurred to him. Could Morio Okawa have defected? Was this meeting a trap for me from the very start?
But years spent walking the line between life and death had honed his instincts, and he immediately sensed something was wrong.