No one made a sound. Wu lowered his mask half an inch, covering his eyes.
Senju Chen waited for three seconds.
Then he reached out and pressed down the Youlan screen.
"I'm not here to slap you in the face." He pulled out a thin booklet from his suitcase and pushed it to the center of the table, "This is the "Recommendations for Correction of Latent Operations". There are three exposure points, plus eleven corresponding corrections. Change the scrolls at the wrong time, light cigarettes under cover and the interval is no less than two hours, and the avatar's remains should be buried no less than half a meter deep, or simply dissolved with water."
He paused.
"These are not orders. Public Security Department can't control Anbu. These are suggestions. You can burn them."
Wu's fingers stopped at the edge of the book.
"What I want to say is the second thing." Senju Chen said, "Captain Wu is worried about the wreckage. This worry is right, and I can't solve it - the machine will definitely fall. No matter how high it flies, it will fall."
"So I propose a plan."
He pulled the map half an inch towards him and placed his finger on Eagle Claw Gorge.
"The drone is responsible for 'seeing'. Anbu is responsible for 'wiping'."
"How to wipe it."
"There are two kilometers around the blasting point. The area was cleared by Anbu four hours before the operation. All metal fragments, including bolts, were recovered within one hour after the operation." Senju Chen said, "The fuselage is equipped with a self-destruct module. Once out of control or the height is less than 300 meters, the module will be activated. When it lands, only powder will be left."
"The powder is also evidence."
"The powder cannot be brought to the daimyo's table." Senju Chen said, "Captain Wu, what Land of Earth wants is not the truth, but something that can be lifted. Things that cannot be lifted have no political existence."
Wu was silent for a long time.
Then he stretched out his hand, took the booklet, and opened the first page.
"Three exposure points." He said, "The first one is my person."
"I know."
"You didn't mention it on Council of Elders."
"There's no need to mention it." Senju Chen said, "He has to come back."
Wu closed the book and stuffed it into his arms.
"[Frost's Descent]'s mopping part, Anbu took over." He said, "But there is one thing I want to say first."
"If someone died that night." Wu raised his head, and the voice under the mask became warmer for the first time, "Whether it was our people or theirs - I will take the blame."
Senju Chen looked at him.
"That day will never come."
"Hope."
The meeting should have ended here.
When the iron door was pushed open, the wind brought in a breath of cool air from the stairwell.
"Minister." A Public Security Department ninja came in and said, "Border emergency report. Last night, the fifth wing sent back the picture, and the technical team completed the comparison."
"Say."
"Three ninjas appeared in the night camp of the Fifth Regiment." The man paused, "They do not belong to any of the rosters of the five Regiments Iwagakure."
Hiraga has connected the film to the terminal.
The faint blue light spread out for the second time.
The picture was very dark and grainy. Three figures walked out of the shadows on the west side of the camp. Their movements were very light and there was almost no sound of footsteps.
"Forehead Protector." Senju Chen said.
Hiraga Zoom.
Three pieces of metal Forehead Protector, the front is smooth without a single scratch. They are ground smooth.
"What's the nature of Chakra."
"One of them solved a water seepage landslide outside the camp area." Hiraga called out the next paragraph, "It's not Earth Release reinforcement. It's..."
The man in the picture Hand Seals with one hand, pulled out a water column from the palm, rushed the gravel into the pit, and then drained it dry.
Senju Chen took two steps forward and stood in front of the terminal.
"The third person," he said, "Overlay the trajectory of his actions."
Hiraga's fingers tapped a series of keys on the keyboard.
A white line appeared on the screen, starting from the west side of the camp, making a very ugly, zigzag arc, and finally disappeared behind the supply pile on the east side.
That line is not pretty. It bypasses three open areas, two straight roads that are obviously closer, and turns back once in a rocky area.
Senju Chen stared at the white line without moving.
"Hiraga."
"Here."
"Stack up all the observation points we took during the nineteen days."
Hiraga's hand stopped for half a second.
Then he hit the last key.
A group of red dots light up on the picture.
They never touched the white line once.
Every time the white line turned, it passed through the narrowest gap between the two red dots. Seven times.
Hiraga zoomed in and zoomed in again. His fingers were still on the keyboard, and his fingertips pressed against a key without letting go.
"Minister..." His voice was shaking a little.
"Say."
"These seven points he bypassed." Hiraga swallowed, "These are the seven observation altitudes we changed during the nineteen days."
The cold white light was on overhead and there was no sound.
"This person has our route parameters in his hands."
The command post was located underground at the border post, with a sand table and a square box terminal, and a faint blue light spread out against the wall. Wu led six people leaning against the wall, and there was no sound under their masks.
Hiraga reported the time, "At four quarters of Hai hour. All twenty-seven aircraft left the field, altitude 800."
"Clear the place?"
"The two kilometers around the blast site have been cleared," Wu said, "The recovery team is on standby three hundred meters away from Eagle Claw Gorge."
"Self-destruct module."
"All twenty-seven units passed the self-inspection." Hiraga said, "If it is less than 300 meters, or out of control for more than three seconds, it will start."
Senju Chen pressed his hand on the edge of the sand table. "At the same time, five groups at the same time."
On the sand table, five wooden signs were inserted thirty miles outside the actual control line.
Zi Shi.
The sentinel of Fourth Regiment is called Tsuchirai. He is fourteen years old and is in the third grade of the Ninja Academy. He was drafted into the reserve service for only two months. He took a nap at the camp gate with a spear in his arms and was woken up by the cold wind.
Then it dawned.
It's not bright from the east. It's bright from above.
The top of the five camps exploded into a pale sky at the same time. The light came down from directly above, leaving no shadow. The shadows of the tent ropes were flattened, the wooden rails of the stables were flattened, and even the bridge of the nose on the human face was not shadowed. Everything in the camp was completely pulled out from the darkness - how many tents, which rows were empty, which slope behind which the latrines were dug, and how many layers of food were piled up.
It's all spread out there.
Lei raised his head and opened his mouth. The whistle in his hand hung on his lips and he forgot to blow it.
"Enemy attack--!"
"Which direction!"
"Up, up!"
There is nothing above. There is only light. Under the light, there is themselves.
The camp of the first regiment was in chaos. Ninjas rushed out. Hand Seals's, those who drew their bows, and those who were looking for cover, all shouted and crowded together.
The second camp was also in chaos.
The fourth camp is not in chaos.
There were more than 300 tents, but only about 70 people came out. The remaining tent curtains were motionless - because there was no one inside.
The captain of the first team, Kitsuchi, was carried out of the tent, dragging his left knee. He looked up for two seconds, his face sinking inch by inch.
What he was looking at was not the sky. He was looking at the lifeless Camp No. 4 on his right.
"The old man... put three shells as bait and placed them at the front." Someone behind him whispered.
Kitsuchi didn't answer. But his figure silently took half a step back.