Open Up for a Special Delivery

"That's right!"

Tsukimi shed her usual languor and made her decision with a solemn expression.

"Mount Tenmoku is the heart of Rasa's experimental operation. He's spent a year building it up, so it's bound to be heavily guarded, with traps and barriers everywhere. If our squad barges in, the risk is too high. Once he knows we're there, Rasa will have plenty of time to destroy everything, and all the leads we worked so hard to uncover will be wasted."

"So the safest course is to contact the border forces for support," Kurenai said with a slight nod, agreeing with Tsukimi. "Once reinforcements arrive, we can cut off every escape route and keep Rasa from destroying all evidence of the experiments when he's cornered."

Orochimaru's golden, slit-pupiled eyes narrowed. His gaze swept over the transport convoy preparing to leave the valley, undisguised interest gleaming in his eyes.

He had already begun studying Hashirama Cells. Rasa's experiments in adapting Living Puppets had stirred his curiosity and his urge to investigate.

"Combining living bodies with puppets, and even accounting for the effects of toxins... Hehehe. A fascinating line of research." Orochimaru licked his lips, amusement in his voice. "If I get the chance, I must see the results for myself."

Orochimaru's this interested? Has he already started transplanting Hashirama Cells? Is he hoping Rasa's experiments will give him ideas?

In the original story, Sand Hidden still hadn't produced Living Puppets by the Fourth Shinobi World War, so Rasa probably failed in the end. But judging by this, could Orochimaru have been the one who stopped him in the original timeline? Did he take inspiration from it and use that to advance his research into Hashirama Cells?

You know what? That's actually possible!

Tsukimi pushed aside her wandering thoughts and adjusted the plan.

"Asuma, remember this. I'm changing our assignments."

"Asuma, take all the intelligence we've gathered and head for the Land of Fire border immediately. Request support from the border forces. Once you bring the reinforcements here, wait for our signal. Avoid fighting on the way if you can. Getting the request through comes first."

"Kurenai, Orochimaru-sensei, and I will go ahead to Mount Tenmoku and conduct covert reconnaissance."

"Repeat that back to me!"

Seeing Tsukimi's serious expression, Asuma reluctantly repeated the plan. Then he began protesting, his displeasure written all over his face.

"Why do I have to go for reinforcements?"

His eyes burned with fighting spirit as he stared toward Mount Tenmoku. All he wanted was a head-on fight. He had no desire to go to the rear for help.

"You've done all the work tracking these leads down, and I've barely helped. Now that we've finally found the enemy's lair, how can I miss the fighting? If Obito finds out, he'll laugh at me for three days and nights! Let me go to Mount Tenmoku with you!"

Great. He's let his bloodlust go to his head. Asuma had spent two years hanging around Obito. He hadn't picked up a single good trait, but he'd learned to be every bit as impulsive and reckless.

Obito, you're a terrible influence!

Tsukimi had expected him to refuse. She smacked the back of his head and snapped,

"What are you thinking, you idiot? You think the three of us are going to reach Mount Tenmoku and start a fight? They've spent a year building that base. There are only three of us. Forget fighting—even escaping would be hard if they surrounded us. We're going to scout their defenses!"

Tsukimi pointed toward Mount Tenmoku. "We're at the stage where we close the net. We have to wait for the border forces. Otherwise, we'll be pushing deep into enemy territory alone, and everything we've done so far will be wasted. The sooner the border forces arrive, the better."

"All three of us can sense and scout. You have plenty of stamina, and you're fast, so you can bring the border forces back sooner. There'll be fighting then, won't there? Got it?"

"Ha... Right. The three of you can only sneak in and scout." Asuma rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "The reinforcements are the key to winning. I had it all wrong."

"You idiot. You've spent so long hanging around Obito that you've learned to stop using your brain, just like him!"

Asuma was about to argue that he was nothing like Obito when Orochimaru handed him a black token engraved with a specialized communication seal.

"This is a contact token for the Land of Fire's Western Border Command," Orochimaru explained. "It bears a Chakra seal they can identify. Once you reach the border forces' garrison, show it to them and you'll be able to meet the frontline commander directly. Give the commander a complete report."

After Asuma took the token, Orochimaru pointed to the markings on its surface. "It also has a one-use Chakra messaging function. If anyone stops you, channel a little Chakra into it, and you can contact the commander that way. Remember, don't let it fall into Sand Hidden's hands. If it does, the seal will self-destruct."

Asuma tucked the token securely against his body, then looked at Tsukimi.

"Be careful. Don't make any rash moves. I'll get there as fast as I can, so make sure you wait for me!"

"Just get going!"

Damn it. Asuma was such a reliable, levelheaded guy in the original story. Look at him now. Idiot Two and Idiot Four have become Konoha's two biggest fools. It's giving me a headache!

Under cover of night, Asuma sped toward the Land of Fire's western border. Before long, he vanished into the forest.

Only Tsukimi, Kurenai, and Orochimaru remained on the cliff. The transfer station in the valley was still brightly lit, with Sand Hidden ninja hurrying back and forth.

A short while later, a supply convoy was ready to depart. Its wagons were loaded with Green Velvet Grass powder and toxin stabilizers, bound for the Mount Tenmoku Base.

Kurenai looked down at the convoy and asked Tsukimi quietly, "Should we slip in with them to get close to the base?"

"No. We can't take that risk." Tsukimi shook her head.

Rasa was no saint. He would sell out his own village's Ninja to get what he wanted. He had surely prepared contingencies along the road to Mount Tenmoku, and he wouldn't be short on sensory Ninja. An unfamiliar Chakra signature slipping into the convoy could easily put them on alert.

"We don't need to make contact with the convoy. My Shadowkhan can follow it."

A record Tsukimi had read in the archives came to mind. She turned to Orochimaru and asked,

"Orochimaru-sensei, I looked through the transfer station's supply ledgers. Shipments to Mount Tenmoku have become noticeably less frequent lately, and the quantities of the different materials have settled into a consistent ratio instead of changing repeatedly like they did at first. Can we tell how far their experiments have progressed from that?"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly. After a moment's careful thought, he gave his assessment.

"Reduced supplies and fixed ratios suggest they're past the early stage of extensive trial and error. Their experiments have likely entered the critical adjustment phase."

Orochimaru paused, then continued. "At this point, they no longer need to burn through raw materials. They need to fine-tune their parameters again and again. If a round of testing succeeds, and the living body, the Puppet components, and the toxins don't break down from a rejection reaction, it will mean Rasa's Living Puppet experiment has achieved its first success."

Kurenai's heart sank. Her hands clenched before she realized it. If the experiment succeeded, a group of Living Puppets capable of inflicting corrosive poison would be unleashed. The consequences were too dreadful to imagine.

Tsukimi wasn't so pessimistic. The experiment hadn't succeeded yet. Even if it achieved an initial success, that would only prove the method worked. Scaling it up to mass production would take no less time or money than the early experiments.

Rasa wouldn't get that far. They were about to show up at his door with a surprise.

Rasa, open up! We're here to make your day!