"Actually, it wasn't just me. The other ninja scouting the area were spotted too."
"The ninja from Kirigakure discovered us operating near the border and thought we meant them harm. We almost came to blows."
Rock Lee scratched his head. "Luckily, everyone reacted quickly. We identified ourselves right away and explained that we were on a search mission and had no intention of crossing their border."
"But we still faced off for quite a while."
"They believed you?" Shikamaru asked.
"More or less, I suppose." Rock Lee sounded somewhat uncertain.
"But the Mist Ninja captain leading them still seemed uneasy. He said they would step up security along the border too, and told us Konoha ninja not to cross it."
"So the southern search team didn't find any clues either, and alerted Kirigakure instead?" There was a trace of helplessness in Yamanaka Kazumasa's voice as he arrived.
Rock Lee nodded. "Sorry. We should have been more careful."
Yamanaka Kazumasa waved a hand. "This isn't your fault."
"It's normal for Kirigakure to station patrols along its border. Our wide-scale search was too conspicuous. It was only a matter of time before they spotted us."
Shikamaru frowned. "In that case, if the enemy really was sent by Kirigakure, they must have received word by now. They'll be even more careful about hiding Hanabi's trail."
"Assuming they really were behind this." The confusion in Yamanaka Kazumasa's eyes deepened.
It seemed he also thought there was something odd about this attack.
But he couldn't work out what was going on.
Shikamaru looked dejected beside him too. "I really don't know anymore. We have no leads in any direction. Every seemingly suspicious trace has turned out to have nothing to do with this. It's as if the enemy vanished into thin air."
Silence fell over