Chapter 121: Hidden Thoughts
With Jiraiya's support, Minato Namikaze immediately felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.
Yet the moment he thought about agreeing to cooperate with Uchiha Kei, an even heavier pressure settled back onto him.
But pressure could also be motivation. Minato already understood exactly what he needed to do.
First, he would thoroughly organize the intelligence Kei had obtained from Ōnoki and make sure this negotiation ended smoothly.
This time, Minato intended to be more assertive. With this information backing him, he hoped to achieve greater results—and secure more political capital for himself.
As for exactly how Minato planned to do that, it was no longer Uchiha Kei's concern. Kei was still deep in the Land of Grass, searching for any trace of the Hidden Mist forces.
Fukuhiko Kōhei had truly been unfortunate—he could be described as someone who "died before his mission even began."
Though in a sense, his luck hadn't been the worst: at least he was still alive.
His departure left Kei's squad one man short, but somehow, that absence seemed to make the team even more coordinated.
Back when they were operating behind Iwagakure lines, it had been the same five of them together, with Kei as the squad leader.
"I never thought we'd end up right back where we started," Kakashi said, glancing at the familiar faces around him with a wry smile.
"You're our captain again, and we're the same old teammates."
"Is that so bad?" Kei shrugged indifferently.
"At least we all know each other. Besides, compared to before, we have two more skilled swordsmen—and our strength is on a completely different level."
That was true. Now, none of them were injured. Their chakra reserves were full. They had even routed and killed a significant number of Stone ninja in direct combat.
Their mood was reasonably good.
Although they still had to scour the heart of the Land of Grass for any Hidden Mist shinobi, staying optimistic was certainly better than brooding in frustration.
But searching was no easy task—especially in this dense forest. A single oversight could mean missing critical clues.
Even having a Hyūga and an Uchiha among them wasn't a perfect solution. Kei couldn't keep his Sharingan active at all times. Though he could withstand the drain, he had no intention of wasting chakra needlessly.
Hyūga Ayaka felt the same way. Maintaining the Byakugan constantly consumed vast energy. Even if the Byakugan's detection abilities were excellent, nothing was ever completely foolproof.
After all, human attention was finite. No one could truly maintain 360-degree awareness without exhausting themselves.
"So…should we split up to search?"
After two full days of fruitless searching together, Kei finally sighed and proposed the idea.
"This is Stone's territory," Ayaka said, her expression wary as she looked at him.
"If we split up, we'll be inviting trouble. And if someone's unlucky enough to run into Mist ninja, they'll be picked off easily."
"First of all, this is the Land of Grass—not the Land of Earth, and certainly not the Land of Water," Kei countered, shaking his head.
"Second, we've been searching together all this time, relying entirely on Byakugan. We've missed countless details, and our efficiency and thoroughness are terrible. If we keep this up, who knows how long it'll take to find anything."
His tone was so firm that for a moment, Ayaka wondered if he had some ulterior motive.
But she couldn't deny that he was right. Their search was painfully slow and inefficient.
So in the end, she fell silent.
She was already sick to death of this damned Land of Grass. Probably, the others felt the same.
They could sense that the war was drawing to a close. But the nearer the end came, the more dangerous and troublesome every mission became.
It wasn't as if Kei liked this place either.
In fact, he'd grown tired of all the little nations surrounding the Land of Fire—he had fought battles in nearly all of them.
But compared to them, he thought, the ordinary people who lived in these small countries must have been the ones who suffered the most.
The great nations were all separated by these small countries, and in most cases, wars between the great powers rarely spilled into their own homelands.
Under such circumstances, these smaller nations inevitably became the perfect buffer zones—and the true battlefields.
The Five Great Nations and their hidden villages were not exactly known for their compassion. No matter how peaceful and prosperous life looked inside their villages, no matter how benevolent their leaders appeared, it was all mostly just a façade for internal consumption.
When it came to dealings beyond their borders, they showed no such courtesy. Nearly every small country had been turned into a battleground for the Five Great Nations, and the devastation they wrought here was almost unimaginable.
Families torn apart, countless people displaced—tragedy had long since become routine. And the war orphans? They were prime resources that the great nations competed to acquire. After all, any one of those children could grow up to become a capable shinobi.
"I agree with the captain," Kakashi spoke up first.
"Our efficiency is far too low like this. We should split up. As long as everyone carries a signal flare, we'll be fine."
"I…I'll follow the captain's orders," Nohara Rin said after glancing at Kakashi. She thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Seconded." Imai Kenta was still smiling as always, looking exactly the same as he had a month or two ago.
Hyūga Ayaka swept her gaze over the others. When her eyes fell on Imai Kenta, a trace of sarcasm tugged at her lips.
But she didn't say anything—nor did she bother to remind Imai about the possibility that Uchiha Kei had other motives.
She simply nodded indifferently. In the end, she agreed to Kei's proposal as well. She figured as long as she was careful, nothing would happen. And the sooner this mission was over, the sooner she could leave this wretched place behind.
"All right, then—since everyone agrees." Kei looked around at them.
"Kakashi, you'll go with Rin. She's our medical ninja, so take good care of her. You two will handle the west. Kenta, you head east. Ayaka, you take the north. I'll scout the south."
"Understood."
Once Kei issued the orders, he immediately turned and started walking in his assigned direction.
The others exchanged glances, then set off one by one. With signal flares on hand, as long as they weren't too far apart, they'd be able to see each other's distress calls.
Still, they all knew that unless it was absolutely necessary, they shouldn't use them.
Because the moment those flares went up, the enemy would see them too—whether it was Stone ninja or Mist ninja.
Moving quietly through the trees, Kei kept an eye on the signs and traces around him as he advanced.
Naturally, he didn't bother activating his Sharingan. He saw no point.
After all, the reason the Mist had infiltrated this area in the first place was to target Kakashi and Rin—or rather, to create the conditions for Obito to awaken his Sharingan.
What Kei needed to do now was wait.
He had deliberately chosen a direction not too far from Kakashi, and had purposefully sent Hyūga Ayaka farther away—he didn't want that woman interfering.
As for Ayaka herself, Kei had indeed considered eliminating her, but weighing all factors, he'd decided to hold back—for now.
Even if he were to act, he would need the right time, the right place, and the right circumstances.