Three days later, at a barren dune in the Land of Wind.
Lin Ze's White Tiger Clone stood atop a dune, his black robe snapping in the hot wind. He still wore that white tiger-striped mask, revealing only a pair of calm eyes.
He looked around. Apart from rolling dunes and the occasional gust of windblown sand, there was no one in sight.
"No one's here?"
Lin Ze frowned slightly.
This was the rendezvous point Nagato had designated, yet it was deserted.
With the Rinnegan's sensory abilities, Nagato could not possibly have failed to notice his arrival.
Unless...
"Hee-hee, looking for us?"
A teasing voice suddenly came from beneath his feet.
Lin Ze looked down and saw a White Zetsu emerge halfway from the sand, an infuriating grin on its comical face.
"Lord Nagato changed his mind." White Zetsu tilted its head. "The real location is in the Land of Rivers~"
Lin Ze's brow furrowed further beneath his mask.
"The Land of Rivers?"
"That's right, that's right!" White Zetsu clapped. "Come with me! I'll take you there!"
With that, its entire body emerged from the sand, and it moved rapidly southeast.
Lin Ze followed in silence, feeling somewhat helpless.
This was why he had never managed to catch Obito and the others over the past three years-they were far too cautious.
They changed the location at the last minute for every rendezvous, and a White Zetsu always served as a guide, leaving him no opportunity to pass on a message along the way.
I'll just have to play it by ear.
Lin Ze collected his thoughts and followed silently behind White Zetsu.
The Land of Rivers, the Hidden Cave.
Lin Ze's White Tiger Clone followed White Zetsu through the intricate network of caverns for nearly half an hour before