The formal meeting place arranged by the Former Informant was an abandoned tea stall beside the border post road.
The intelligence was very clear.
Around noon.
North of the tea stall.
Morikawa Kai would approach Shisui.
The arrangement looked like a cautious meeting.
But the signs of bait along the way had already shown that the real problem wasn't at the tea stall.
Gen spread out the map.
The official route ran through the middle.
The traces of the Body Flicker Technique discovered last night were on the eastern path.
The two routes weren't far apart.
If Shisui followed the traces on his own, he could still return to the vicinity of the tea stall in a short time.
And precisely because it was so close, it was easier to think it wouldn't matter.
"They deliberately left two routes."
Gen pointed at the map.
"One for the record, one for the bait."
Crow studied it for a long time.
"How do you plan to proceed?"
"Advance along the recorded route."
Gen said, "At the same time, send a witness team to block the bait route."
Crow frowned.
"Split our forces?"
"Not to pursue. To secure the access point."
Gen looked at Shisui.
"Shisui stays off the bait route."
Shisui nodded.
He knew that rule had been made specifically for him.
If the enemy wanted to lure him away, the best thing he could do wasn't prove he could control the situation. It was make the bait fail.
The final arrangements were soon settled.
The main team would follow the official route to the tea stall.
Crow assigned an Anbu member and the Recorder to secure the entrance to the bait route and serve as witnesses.
On the Uchiha side, Itachi would observe from a distance, but he could not leave