Yechen found the situation far too suspicious, so he summoned a messenger ninja and had him contact the Northern Defense Line's Command Center to check on the situation there.
About forty minutes later, a reply arrived. The other defensive outposts still showed signs of Kirigakure reconnaissance squads, just as before. Only their area had none.
Something had to be behind this anomaly. Sea-Viewing Cliff was the weakest outpost along the entire Northern Defense Line. Even if Kirigakure knew he was stationed there, they could not possibly send no reconnaissance squads to investigate.
As one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, they had their pride. There was no way one man alone could scare them off.
There must be something wrong here.
With that thought, Yechen immediately gave an order.
"Pass on my orders. Strengthen the watch tonight, and don't let your guard down for a moment. Double the number of nighttime patrol squads."
Everyone's expression shifted slightly at his words, but they quickly collected themselves and shouted,
"Yes, Captain!"
Yechen waved a hand, and the Squad Leaders left one after another.
Gazing toward the far side of the sea, Yechen sank into thought. He did not know whether Kirigakure would launch a sneak attack tonight, but being prepared could hardly hurt.
Yet the night passed, proving that he had overthought it.
By the next morning, there had not been the slightest disturbance.
Yechen did not stay at the outpost that day either. Once again, he went out to sea with a team on patrol.
But just like yesterday, they found nothing. The other teams had not seen a single soul either.
In contrast, Kirigakure reconnaissance squads were becoming increasingly active around the other defensive outposts.
This frustrated Yechen to no end. They could at least send a few small fry