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It was the seventh day. It was the seventh day since Orochimaru had assigned the mission, and it was also the seventh day since Haori had infiltrated the Land of Water.
At this point, it was clear that the tension in the Land of Water had increased even further.
In terms of infiltration and espionage missions, the number of ninjas Konoha had sent this time was already large enough. If Kirigakure hadn't noticed anything unusual in the Land of Water by now, then it was unworthy of being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
If that were the case, why fight the Shinobi World War at all? They might as well just surrender.
The activities of the Konoha ninjas in the Land of Water must have had some consequences. Kirigakure couldn't possibly not notice.
For example, Haori. At first, he had silently eliminated a team of ninjas. He had even thoughtfully used a genjutsu and electric shock attack method, so the crime scene didn't leave any blood or other obvious traces. He was also very secretive in how he dealt with the enemy corpses. He directly sealed them in scrolls and took them away, which was very convenient.
If any more enemies came to investigate, they wouldn't be able to find any signs of a battle in that deserted place. They wouldn't know that a team of their own ninjas had died there.
But could this guarantee that his whereabouts wouldn't be exposed? Theoretically, it was impossible. No matter how secretly and meticulously he did his work, he couldn't hide the fact that the enemy's team of ninjas had disappeared into thin air.
They were patrolling according to a set route. After patrolling, they would definitely have regular reports. If the report didn't come in on time, Kirigakure would know that something was wrong.
Confirming their deaths was only a matter of time.
Haori's method could only delay the time when his activities were discovered, not prevent it.
But when the enemy noticed something unusual, investigated, and discovered that a team of ninjas had indeed been killed by someone, the perpetrator, Haori, had already disappeared to parts unknown.
Considering the activities of other Konoha ninjas, and even the worst-case scenario of them being captured, Kirigakure would inevitably begin a search within their country. This was inevitable.
Konoha had also considered corresponding countermeasures for this situation. Simply put, each team of ninjas carrying out the mission was acting independently. Besides their own team members, they didn't know who else was participating in the mission, nor did they know each other's infiltration locations and routes. So, even if the enemy captured one or two people, they would at most know that Konoha was conducting infiltration. They wouldn't be able to use the captives to track down everyone along a single clue.
So, in this tense environment, what was Haori doing?
He was calmly being a spectator, eating melon seeds and looking around with his eyes. He was literally a spectator.
In the previous few days, he had encountered Kirigakure ninjas more than once. But with his superb disguise skills, even when he passed them by, they hadn't noticed anything unusual.
The Kirigakure ninjas hadn't discovered him, but he had gone a step further. When the situation allowed, he had killed another team of enemies. But this time, it was different from the first time. He had left a survivor and successfully extracted some intelligence from him.
Although the methods he used to extract information weren't very civilized.
The most important point was that he had learned about some of Kirigakure's next moves: because their supplies for large-scale operations had been destroyed, it was not feasible to launch a counterattack against Konoha immediately. This would require preparation. But the Mizukage wouldn't just sit back and watch Konoha take advantage of the situation and leave without a fight. So, they would naturally take revenge.
The way they would take revenge was actually the same as Konoha's approach, which was to send elite ninjas to infiltrate the Land of Fire. The difference was that Kirigakure's mission priority was to destroy and kill the enemy, not to gather intelligence.
But when Haori got this information, he immediately understood that it would be useless. Because Kirigakure would likely cancel this plan.
The reason was simple. Konoha had acted before them. Internal stability was paramount. Now that a considerable number of Konoha ninjas had infiltrated the Land of Water, Kirigakure's top priority was to eliminate the enemies on its own territory. As for retaliating against Konoha, they would have to wait until their own side was stable.
He didn't know whether Orochimaru's mission arrangement was a lucky guess or a deliberate plan. If it was the latter, then that's what "anticipating the enemy and seizing the initiative" was all about.
The Konoha ninjas had stirred up the entire situation in the Land of Water. It seemed like Kirigakure was overreacting, but was that really the case?
The activities of small groups of ninjas were equivalent to special operations. Kirigakure couldn't possibly ignore them. If they were to remain vigilant and keep an eye on the activities of Konoha ninjas, although it would consume a lot of energy, it would force them to be unable to do anything. But if they ignored them or relaxed their vigilance, the other side could potentially wreak havoc in the Land of Water.
The combat ability of small ninja units should not be underestimated. If they were left unchecked, they could potentially do something that would change the course of the war, or even carry out a beheading operation.
If there were enemies remaining in the Land of Water, there might be some reckless madman who would attempt to assassinate the Mizukage.
After all, the incident with the Third Raikage had been mostly figured out. Kirigakure, a non-participating third party in that war, hadn't figured out the exact identity of the Konoha ninja who assassinated the Raikage, but it was certain that it was a Konoha ninja who had done it.
On the battlefield between Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
So, the situation at this time… To be honest, Kirigakure would rather have Konoha launch another thousand-man attack, so that the two sides could engage in a head-on battle, rather than this sneaky infiltration.
Unfortunately, Konoha wouldn't do as Kirigakure wished. And most of the time, ninja missions weren't very aboveboard.
When Haori carried out the mission to retrieve the Byakugan from Kirigakure last time, it was the middle of winter. The Land of Water also often snowed at that time. But now that it was summer, the environment here felt a bit uncomfortable.
The amount of rainfall in the Land of Water was comparable to that in the Land of Rain, but the climate of the two places was similar but different. If the Land of Rain was gloomy and humid, Kirigakure was hot and humid.
It was almost noon. Haori brazenly sat in a roadside gazebo, holding and eating a piece of fruit that was written as "water melon" but read as "watermelon."
He behaved just like an ordinary person. The highest level of acting is to fool even yourself. Haori often treated himself as an ordinary person.
There were few ordinary people on the road in front of him. But occasionally, a ninja would pass by.
Haori looked listless, but in fact, he was thinking about what to do next. After all, he had been here for a whole week, and he hadn't achieved anything yet.
Should he infiltrate deeper into Kirigakure to get more information?
He abandoned this plan after only a moment's thought. It was still too risky. Entering Kirigakure Village in such a tense environment, to be precise, that kind of behavior would be called looking for death.
And the pre-mission combat guidance didn't recommend infiltrating Kirigakure.
Just as Haori was thinking, he glanced to the side and saw another Kirigakure ninja passing by. He pretended to be looking down and eating his melon, but his peripheral vision was enough to observe the situation.
The fact that a Kirigakure ninja was passing by wasn't the key. The key was that there was someone following him.
This caused Haori to feel a deep sense of confusion. Why was this person openly appearing in the Land of Water?
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