The Trap

Guren and Yukimaru walked along a forest path. Guren was pale and looked disheveled. Her steps were unsteady, indicating that she had suffered serious injuries.

Yukimaru had already woken up. Kind-hearted, she followed behind Guren, looking at Guren with some concern. She wanted to go and help her, but the strong-willed Guren refused.

As the two walked, suddenly, Yukimaru felt a darkness before his eyes, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

Hearing the voice, Guren was startled and rushed to Yukimaru's side. She found that Yukimaru was burning up with fever, clearly suffering from a cold. He must have been soaked at the beach, and the exhaustion he had exerted to control the Three-Tails had left him weak and sick.

Guren frowned, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes. She picked up Yukimaru and quickened her pace, running forward.

Soon, Guren spotted a small hut ahead. Overjoyed, she quickly went inside, placed Yukimaru on the bed, started a fire, and then stayed by Yukimaru's side.

After a long while, Guren suddenly tensed up because she noticed someone approaching from outside.

"Who is it?" Guren wondered to herself, becoming wary as she silently approached the door and peered out, trying to see who had arrived.

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Yamato led the group to quickly catch up with Guren, and soon they arrived at an open space.

Yamato stopped, frowning as he looked around; clearly, something had changed.

"Yamato-sensei, why did you stop?" Naruto, being the most impulsive, was the first to ask anxiously.

"What's wrong, Yamato?" Kakashi stepped forward, came to Yamato's side, and asked.

"I sensed the seed I left on Yukimaru here; it seems the other side has seen through it." Yamato sensed it for a moment, then took a few steps to the left, arriving at a large tree. He extended a wooden stick from his right hand and burrowed it into the ground.

Suddenly, Yamato heard a few hissing sounds, like something burning. He quickly looked in the direction of the sound and saw an Explosive Tag burning rapidly in the hidden bushes nearby. The Explosive Tag was very well hidden; if it weren't for the burning sound, it would have been difficult to see it.

"Watch out, everyone! There's a trap!" Yamato exclaimed in alarm.

"What?" Upon hearing this, everyone immediately became alert.

The next instant, a sudden explosion erupted in the grass around them, boom, boom, boom, continuously engulfing everyone. In an instant, Kakkō shot into the sky, and countless shockwaves swept outwards. The nearby trees, as if made of paper, shattered instantly, turning into countless burning pieces of wood that flew into the distance.

The entire explosion site was shrouded in smoke and dust. After a while, the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, revealing the slightly charred ground and the still-burning splinters of wood.

In the center of the previously open space, everyone stood there, their faces showing some surprise, but they appeared completely unharmed. Even the surrounding ground remained unchanged. Only Kakashi was deathly pale, kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. If someone had seen Kakashi's eyes at that moment, they would have seen his Sharingan's Mitsudomoe spinning rapidly, before quickly returning to its original Mitsudomoe state.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you alright?" Naruto asked with concern, and the others followed suit.

Kakashi had recovered somewhat. He waved his hand and said, "I'm fine. You guys check around to see if the enemies are still there."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." The group dispersed and searched their surroundings. After a long time, they found no trace of anyone. Clearly, the other party had simply set up this trap and left.

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Guren arrived at the door and saw Kabuto Yakushi and Rinji walking over through the crack in the door.

Guren frowned slightly, clearly displeased with the two of them, but still opened the door.

Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses, looked at Guren, a fake smile playing on his lips, and said, "How is Yukimaru? Has he woken up?"

Guren said coldly, "He has a cold and is very weak now. I'm afraid he won't be able to complete Orochimaru's plan."

"Oh, really..." Kabuto Yakushi said nonchalantly, "We just rested for a day. I'll go with Rinji to find the Three-Tails. You take care of Yukimaru. We'll come back to you in a day to complete Lord Orochimaru's mission together."

Guren didn't agree immediately, saying hesitantly, "One day is too short; it will be difficult for Yukimaru to recover."

Upon hearing this, Kabuto Yakushi's expression immediately turned cold, and he sternly rebuked Guren, "Shut up! Do you intend to ruin Lord Orochimaru's plans?"

Upon hearing Kabuto Yakushi mention Orochimaru, Guren fell silent.

Kabuto Yakushi looked at Guren and said, "Let's come back in a day." Without giving Guren a chance to object, he took Rinji and left, quickly disappearing from Guren's sight.

Guren turned to look at Yukimaru lying on the bed, his face contorted in pain. Then, remembering Orochimaru's plan, she felt conflicted. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly, walk into the room, gently close the door, and then stand guard beside Yukimaru.

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Kakashi led everyone to an open space, Yamato immediately used Wood Release to build a house.

"Everyone, let's rest and discuss our next plan," Kakashi said to the group, then led the way into the house.

Once inside the house, everyone found a place to sit down together.

Kakashi looked around at everyone and said, "The enemy has now disappeared without a trace, and we won't be able to find them anytime soon."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, "Their goal is to capture the Three-Tails. If we find the Three-Tails and wait there, won't we find them?"

"Yeah, let's go find the Three-Tails right now." Naruto immediately agreed, already standing up, ready to set off to find the Three-Tails, leaving everyone speechless.

"Sit down." Yamato, who was standing next to Naruto, pressed him back onto the floor.

"Alright," Kakashi said, "Sakura's idea is not bad, but right now we have no idea where the Three-Tails is."

"Then we can continue searching for Orochimaru's subordinates. I believe Akamaru will find them sooner or later," Kiba said.

"Woof! "Akamaru barked softly beside him, indicating his agreement with Kiba's suggestion.

At this moment, Yamato spoke up, "I think we can split into two groups, one to search for Orochimaru's subordinates and the other to search for the Three-Tails. That way, we won't miss anything. Kakashi-senpai, what do you think?"

Sai also spoke up, saying, "This method is indeed good, but it disperses our forces, and they might be able to defeat us one by one."

Everyone looked at Kakashi, wanting to know what Kakashi decision would be.

Kakashi pondered for a moment before looking around at everyone and saying, "I've decided that we'll split into two groups."