"We found the place, but how do we get in?"
The four-man team hid quietly beside a pile of jagged rocks. Yuki looked down at the entrance concealed beneath the stone formation, then turned to Kurenai-sensei with a puzzled expression.
Although the tunnel was right below them, simply destroying the outer obstacles would create too much noise. It would alert anyone inside, making the rescue mission impossible before it even began.
"This barrier isn't too complex, but I need some time. By the way, once we're inside, we might have to split up. Yuki, be prepared," Kurenai instructed while beginning to dismantle the stone formation's seal.
Though Shino and Kiba were excellent members of Team 8, Kurenai knew Yuki was the exception. The boy possessed the skill and mindset of at least a Chūnin; she felt relatively safe letting him operate independently.
Speed was of the essence to locate the villagers and gather intel on why this base existed. Staying in a group of four would be inefficient. Kurenai decided to let Yuki lead the search for the villagers, while she—the Jōnin—would handle the more dangerous task of intelligence gathering. It was her way of protecting her students.
Yuki nodded, understanding the urgency. Since they couldn't help with the barrier, the three students waited in silence for Kurenai's good news.
Sniff, sniff... Hm? This scent?
Kiba, getting bored, began pacing around the perimeter. Suddenly, his nose twitched. In his jacket, Akamaru let out a soft, low bark.
Beyond the high ground was a sheer cliff face dropping into the sea, but a specific scent was wafting from that direction. Driven by curiosity, Kiba walked to the edge of the slope. Below him were the crashing blue waves and dark jagged reefs ten meters down.
No, the smell is coming from the cliff wall. After a careful sniff, Kiba identified a faint, metallic scent—the smell of blood. He leapt down, his fingers digging into the vertical rock face like claws.
Climbing down toward the source, Kiba found a narrow fissure. It was barely wide enough to fit a hand, but it looked incredibly deep. That nearly imperceptible scent of blood was leaking from within.
The scent was so faint that it would have been impossible for anyone without the Inuzuka's extraordinary sense of smell to detect. Fortunately, Kiba had been keeping his senses sharp since landing on the island.
"I see. This must be a ventilation duct to provide airflow for the underground facility," Yuki remarked after he and Shino joined Kiba at the fissure.
"Shino, can you...?"
"I can."
As if reading Yuki's mind, Shino extended his hand toward the crack. A black swarm of Kikaichū (Destruction Bugs) poured into the crevice like a dark tide.
As a master of insect techniques, Shino could sense the geography inside through his bugs. Simultaneously, Yuki activated his Byakugan, using his X-ray vision to peer through the rock.
The fissure was narrow for the first meter, but the space inside widened significantly—enough for a child to walk through. Deep within, Yuki could see traces of artificial construction. This was definitely the place.
"There are no enemies within a one-kilometer radius of this section. It seems to be a peripheral area of the base... Shino, start digging from the inside. Keep the noise down."
With Yuki confirming the coast was clear, Shino's bugs began gnawing at the soil layer like a colony of termites. While the Kikaichū weren't as fast at digging as they were at devouring chakra, widening a fissure was a simple task for them.
The process was slower than manual digging but nearly silent. Thousands of tiny insects eroded the earth until the opening was large enough for a person to squeeze through.
"Shino, you go back to Kurenai-sensei. Once she breaks the barrier, you two infiltrate through the main entrance. Kiba and I will enter through here to find the kidnapped villagers."
"Split up...? But Kurenai-sensei wanted us to stay together while she went off alone."
"Sensei's scouting abilities are her weakest point. Having you with her will make the mission easier. Tell her not to worry about me; you two focus on the intel."
Shino nodded and climbed back up the cliff to wait for the barrier's release. Yuki gave Kiba a look, and the two of them crawled one after the other into the narrow stone passage.
"There's a definite smell of blood in here, but judging by the intensity, it's several days old," Kiba whispered from behind.
Blood inside the vent? Did someone try to crawl out? But they couldn't have fit through the exit... Wait, maybe the glass bottle with the SOS note was sent out from here?
Thinking of this, a smile played on Yuki's lips. If that was the case, the prison holding the villagers couldn't be far.
Soon, the duo reached a tight stone crevice where dark red bloodstains were splattered on the rock. Someone had clearly been severely injured here. Further ahead, the passage was almost entirely blocked by a wall that looked slightly different in color and texture from the surrounding rock.
I see. Someone tried to escape and got caught, and they patched the hole afterward.
After checking the thickness of the patch with his Byakugan, Yuki placed his palm against the wall. He channeled his chakra and delivered a focused Gentle Fist shock! The poorly packed wall crumbled silently inward.
"Whoa! So this is the enemy base? Feels like an ambush waiting to happen," Kiba whispered, looking down the dark corridors.
"Relax. With me here, if there's an ambush, we're the ones doing it. Can you track that blood scent?"
"Yeah. It goes this way." Kiba pointed toward the left corridor.
Yuki patted Kiba's shoulder to ease his tension and led the way, his Byakugan scanning behind every corner.
As they crept deeper into the Akabane base, several hundred meters away in a large, damp room, a thick smell of blood permeated the air of a massive cell.
"Cough... cough cough."
A weak, racking cough echoed. Yuto, an eight-year-old boy who had been held captive for days, took a deep breath. Every lungful of air felt like his chest was being torn apart. Around him, five adults sat in the cell. They remained indifferent to the child's deteriorating state, staring at the walls with hollow eyes. They had long since abandoned the will to survive.