Shisui understood what Zou Hyuga meant and could only say, "Please be careful, sir."
Then he left and returned to the camp where his team was staying.
At the edge of the camp, Yamato stood watch with his arms folded across his chest. Seeing Shisui, he smiled. "Shisui, out scouting this late?"
Shisui nodded slightly and returned to the campfire, Zou Hyuga's words still flashing through his mind.
Zou clearly knew where the Akatsuki base was, yet his expression had turned incredibly grave when he mentioned the Akatsuki Leader. He had also told Shisui that their leader was not the Masked Man.
Shisui could not imagine a ninja stronger than the Masked Man.
The Masked Man had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan back during the Fourth Hokage's tenure and mastered space-time abilities. Even after all these years and several major battles, his eyesight showed no signs of deterioration.
Perhaps that had something to do with the white Zetsu cells Zou had mentioned. White Zetsu were those monsters that could travel underground.
Kakashi, sitting nearby, noticed something was off with Shisui. He offered him some grilled fish and asked worriedly, "Shisui, did you find an enemy out there? Or is something on your mind?"
Shisui shook his head gently, then disappeared into the camp.
Kakashi stared at the spot where Shisui had vanished, looking puzzled. He finished the grilled fish without dwelling on it.
Without Shisui's support, their mission in Kirigakure would not have gone so smoothly.
But this battle had once again exposed his inability to deal with the Masked Man.
Compared with Shisui, Oto, and Zou, he was gradually falling behind in strength.
Perhaps he needed to keep refining his Lightning Release.
After several days of travel, Kakashi led his team back to the village and went straight to the