"Shinku Yuhi has been eliminated. The killer is poison mist."
Eliminated by poison mist again?
Tsunade froze, glancing suspiciously around.
The air definitely contained poison, but could it really be this potent?!
"Such a fool, hahahaha—someone actually died from poison again! This cracks me up!"
Jiraiya?
Tsunade turned toward the voice and indeed saw that idiot laughing smugly.
"Huh, Flat Chest!"
Jiraiya hesitated slightly, not expecting to run into Tsunade.
Before Tsunade could scold him, suddenly—
"Wait, the poison is intensifying!"
Her expression changed dramatically. She no longer strolled leisurely but started running quickly.
"The poison's getting stronger?"
Jiraiya was taken aback, though he personally felt absolutely nothing!
Trusting Tsunade's judgment, he spaced out for a second before immediately following her lead.
At the same time, others sensed the danger too.
Weapons? Food? Intel?
Run first, ask questions later!
"Damn it, I originally wanted to search for more notes, but now..."
Shishio ran while tightly gripping a note.
The page he obtained recorded that the poison would intensify at regular intervals across the entire area.
"Let's regroup with the others first. Maybe they've got different information."
Shishio scratched his head in frustration and muttered to himself.
With their current intel, there was no way to resolve this crisis yet. All they could do was keep running!
The six surviving participants scattered from various directions, all heading toward Sunagakure Village.
"Grrr—grrr—grrr!"
Shinku Yuhi sat upright, feeling murderous rage brewing inside.
Beside him, Gekko Nightdance weakly lay on a chair, turning his gaze with difficulty toward the enraged one.
"Another down."
Kakashi Windseer watched amusedly.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Gekko Nightdance disdainfully remarked. "Can't even handle basic running?"
"I was tricked by Orochimaru! That bastard!" Shinku Yuhi shouted furiously before collapsing back down exhaustedly.
"Huh?"
Gekko Nightdance looked confused—what just happened?
"Oh right, you died early," Shinku Yuhi explained as he sat there helplessly recounting his experience.
Orochimaru didn't kill him directly.
But when pulled into sand, after escaping, countless puppets attacked him.
Although those puppets were clumsy and couldn't truly threaten his life, unfortunately for Shinku Yuhi, his genjutsu proved equally ineffective against them.
During hand-to-hand combat, his leg got injured—following exactly the same pattern as Gekko Nightdance's story.
"That's certainly his style," Gekko Nightdance quietly admitted.
He was utterly calm, rational, and decisive—truly a natural-born commander.
"This match is really testing intelligence-gathering skills!" Kakashi Windseer mused thoughtfully.
Orochimaru, possessing two pieces of critical intel, clearly held the advantage.
Too bad they couldn't see current developments firsthand.
"Hmph, seeing how anxious you guys are, I'll let you have a look then."
Akaba rubbed his temples before once again channeling chakra through his body, enveloping Kakashi Windseer, Shinku Yuhi, and Gekko Nightdance within its energy field.
The next moment—
Kakashi Windseer opened his eyes only to find himself surrounded by total darkness.
"What the—"
Gekko Nightdance's voice emerged beside him, "There seems to be a massive white fabric stretched out ahead."
Crack!
A sound rang out, followed by a beam of light projecting onto the white cloth from behind.
Then, everyone saw a desert landscape.
"I understand now. Akaba is showing us his memories by turning them into an illusion."
Shinku Yuhi, who also studied genjutsu, immediately understood what was going on.
"Pay attention."
Kakashi Windseer commanded sharply.
The three looked at the white cloth, where the large screen now displayed a bird's-eye view of a desert.
Not only that, all six individuals were marked with positions, some symbols different from others.
There was a small caption below:
"Purple symbols: Individuals possessing special intelligence."
"Red symbols: Highest number of kills."
"Blue symbols: Best equipped."
Looking at the screen, the three people marked with purple symbols were Orochimaru, Shishio, and Shinnosuke.
Moreover, Orochimaru's avatar bore a blue symbol as well.
"No wonder this guy is amazing!"
Though they had been tricked by Orochimaru before, Shinku Yuhi still deeply admired him.
"It seems his position is moving closer to Shinnosuke and Sakumo."
Gekko Nightdance remarked.
According to Orochimaru's style, if he knew Sakumo and Shishio possessed information, he would definitely strike without hesitation.
"Akaba, help me lock onto Sakumo."
Kakashi Windseer said in a calm tone.
"Alright, alright."
Akaba's voice sounded, followed by the scene changing to show a stretch of desert.
Not only that, the perspective shifted with time passing.
"What is this?"
While Yuhi Shinku was surprised, Nightdance already understood, "This is the very scene Sakumo saw!"
"Mm-hmm."
Kakashi Windseer nodded slightly, eyes fully focused on the image.
He concentrated hard, like he was living through this very viewpoint. A few seconds later, a slight smile curved his lips.
"What's wrong?"
Gekko Nightdance answered with a slight smile playing on her lips.
"As swordsmen themselves, she didn't believe Sakumo couldn't catch the slightest trace within his field of vision.
"The snake might be Orochimaru."
Sakumo murmured quietly.
After spending more than a day under the [True Illusion: Protect Konoha Village], everyone already knew each other's jutsu basics.
Seeing a snake appear in the desert undoubtedly indicated Orochimaru.
"Why? What's happening?"
Shinnosuke wasn't too concerned and kept walking forward.
"Not sure exactly, but something just doesn't feel right."
Sakumo's voice came through the screen.
"A disguised enemy?"
Shinnosuke pondered briefly, his gaze gradually turning serious.
From the beginning until now, the enemies encountered had only been puppets and poison mist; something about it felt off.
"It's hard to say for sure. Be careful."
The two exchanged whispers briefly before cautiously approaching the area.
They were both strong fighters taking on a single enemy. As long as they stayed alert, there was nothing to fear.
"It's me, Orochimaru."
The small serpent twisted, morphing into Orochimaru's human form.
Such an ability was unique to him.
"So you're looking for us for something?"
Sakumo didn't let down his guard.
"Not really, I just want to exchange some gathered intelligence."
"Orochimaru spoke, 'I obtained a manga page that says Sunagakure Village is conducting a Super Ninja Training Experiment. The ninja must obtain the antidote to survive.'"
"'So.'"
"'Let's cooperate and find the antidote.'"
Orochimaru clearly understood that both Sakumo and Shinnosuke were no easy opponents. He might stand a chance against one individually, but facing both at once—
Forget about winning or losing, if the poison activated mid-battle and chakra and physical stamina drained twice as fast, even with Orochimaru's superior equipment, it could end in mutual destruction, all of them perishing within the toxic mist.
Sakumo hesitated slightly, then glanced at the manga page in his hand and said, "Mine records that Sunagakure constructed a laboratory, including its coordinates."
"So that's it—the antidote and the lab. We each hold critical pieces of information."
Shinnosuke's eyes lit up.
Earlier, they hadn't understood why the intelligence included the laboratory and its coordinates.
We had been missing another critical piece of information all along!
"It seems I'm quite lucky—found something crucial right away."
Orochimaru smiled without asking for the exact location, stepping forward from behind, revealing his true form.
Sakumo frowned slightly.
"Let's go. We need to find the antidote. Once we have it, we'll be safe."
Shinnosuke clenched his fist and declared.
Sakumo shot a glance at Orochimaru, his intention obvious without needing to speak.
"Well then, cooperation is appreciated."
Orochimaru bowed and followed alongside the two.
The final scene showed the three walking together seemingly harmoniously toward the laboratory.
"Those two are about to get played by Orochimaru."
"That guy's seriously keeping his cool."
Two eliminated contestants sighed simultaneously inside the viewing room, feeling both admiration and resentment toward Orochimaru.
"Not necessarily."
Kakashi Windseer shook his head.
It wasn't blind faith in his son, but the clues in the information had already become quite clear.
If Sakumo and Shinnosuke remained vigilant enough, they would soon sense something was off—it all depended on whether these two had that level of awareness.
After all, Orochimaru was supposed to be their ally.
"What you said makes sense too. Sakumo's been holding a kunai the whole time—he clearly came prepared!"
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