Tsunade walked at the head of the team, the morning light gleaming on her forehead protector.
North by northwest, beyond that dense forest, lay the abandoned mine-the last hiding place of Sunagakure's remaining forces, and the endpoint of this two-month stalemate.
Thick bushes completely concealed the entrance to the abandoned mine.
From outside, it looked like an ordinary rocky hillside, with nothing unusual about it.
But a fresh drag mark on the ground stood out sharply.
It was no animal track, but a deep furrow gouged into the mud by something heavy.
Fragments of wooden fibers were still embedded along its edges.
Maki crouched and rubbed a little damp soil from the furrow between his fingertips.
The soil was moist and soft. The drag mark could not have been more than two hours old.
Beside him, Minato flicked a Flying Thunder God Kunai into his hand, lowered his stance, and darted into the pitch-black mine entrance.
Within seconds, he finished his reconnaissance and returned to Tsunade's side, rapidly reporting his findings.
"There are at least several dozen combat puppets hidden deep inside the mine, all on standby and ready to activate.
"I can't determine the exact number of puppeteers yet, but controlling that many puppets at once would take at least one full Sunagakure combat squad."
"The puppets are distributed through the main tunnel and two side passages in a crossfire formation.
"The ones in front are meant to draw our attacks, while those on the flanks block our retreat.
"There are also three trigger traps at the entrance, combining explosive tags with puppet poison mist."
Tsunade nodded slightly, quickly settled on a battle plan, and assigned their roles on the spot.
"Everyone, spread out.
"We'll draw the puppets into activating, then engage at close quarters.
"Remember their key weaknesses: