Forget about it.
Whether it's a group of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, or trolls, it doesn't matter.
Whatever stands in our way, we will deal with it.
Seimei thought as he shook his head slightly before focusing on the conversation.
Touma asked, "So, when do we leave?"
Hearing this, Seimei thought for a while before looking toward Haneda and Touma.
"Let's leave today," Seimei explained, "Our main mission is to track the culprit of those missing villagers, merchants, and caravans. So, if we want to find the culprit or the group of chakra beasts responsible for it, we need to reach the sites of incidents as soon as possible."
"The later we go, the harder it will be to discover the clues and track the culprit."
Haneda, "I agree."
Touma also nodded in affirmation.
Seimei rolled the mission scroll and stuffed it into his bracelet's storage seal. Then, he responded, "In that case, let's meet at the western gate of Konoha after two hours."
"Pack all the necessary things, including your weapons, potions, pills, food, and combat gear. Since you both have storage seal scrolls, you can also pack any things you deem necessary for the mission."
"Then, we will head straight to our target locations. Since it's almost 200 kilometers away, it will probably take three hours even if we jog leisurely."
"Alright. Disperse."
Haneda nodded seriously and said, "I will meet you guys in two hours then."
Touma complained, "Let's hope this mission will allow me to unwind a bit and won't be too boring."
Hearing this, Seimei and Haneda thought: Tsk!! Battlehungry tsundere Uchiha indeed. Can't blame him, though. Tracking missions are truly boring as hell.
With them, all three of them activated the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from the spot. They all headed toward their respective homes to restock their combat supplies and prepare for the mission.
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After exactly two hours, Seimei, Haneda, and Touma met each other at the west gate of Konoha, which was pointed toward the direction of the hilly area 200 kilometers away.
Ishimori Haneda wore a black, full-sleeve t-shirt and a normal green jacket that almost mimicked a standard Chunin vest. He wore black trousers, a pair of grey ninja boots, and several ninja pouches.
He had a short ninja sword sheathed on his back, which he could pull out at a moment's notice to strike his enemies.
Uchiha Touma wore a typical navy-blue, half-sleeve, high-collared, thick t-shirt with a Uchiha fan emblem printed on its back. He wore a custom-made pair of pants that went down to his knees, and standard, open-toe ninja boots.
He also had a couple of ninja pouches strapped to his thighs and wore a bracelet containing a storage seal to keep his valuables and weapons safe..
Meanwhile, Seimei wore a black, full-sleeve turtle-neck t-shirt and a navy-blue, slim-fit trench coat that went down to his knees. He had black trousers and black boots. Inside his turtle-neck t-shirt, he wore an almost non-existent, yet extremely durable, inner armor.
Seimei also had a bracelet imbued with a storage seal, where he kept all his ninja essentials safe.
All three of them had come fully prepared and ready to set off any time.
Seimei, who was last to arrive, said with a light smile, "Since we are all here, let's go."
After saying that, he exited the west gate of Konoha.
Behind him, Haneda and Touma also nodded in affirmation and followed behind him.
Once they were all outside of the gate, they used the Body Flicker Technique to race toward the targeted locations.
After almost two hours of dull, monotonous, and leisurely journey…
Haneda broke the silence, "According to the map, we should reach the site where most of the disappearances occurred within fifteen minutes at this pace."
Touma, "I know. Once we get closer, I will immediately activate Sharingan to make sure we don't miss any traces."
Uchiha Touma, who now had two-tomoe Sharingan, wasn't boasting.
Seimei knew how terrifying Sharingan's ability to find the smallest details can be. With a mature three-tomoe Sharingan, Seimei could easily detect and count even the smallest dust particles in the atmosphere if he chose to do so.
Even if you threw tens of millions of tiny bugs smaller than a mustard seed at him and asked him to count those tiny flying insects, Seimei could still count their exact number accurately within a couple of seconds.
This was the insight ability of the Sharingan.
Even though Touma only had a two-tomoe Sharingan, his ocular power was nothing to scoff at.
Finding and tracking the almost undetectable traces left behind by a third-party?
Doing such a thing was as easy as drinking water for him.
Seimei simply nodded and said, "Very well, Touma. You do that. I have also kept my sensory range active. If there is any activity within ten kilometers around us, I will detect it immediately."
Well, to be more specific, he wasn't just sensing using basic sensory chakra field, but he was also using his Tenseigan's farsight and 360-degree perception to see every detail around him.
But yeah, there was no need to explain all that in detail to them.
Haneda injected, "Hey Seimei, Touma…"
"Do you really think the culprit behind those disappearances is a group of unknown or extremely rare chakra beasts?"
"What if the witness's mind was very muddled due to fear?"
Seimei thought for a while with a contemplative look on his face before replying without even turning back, "I am not sure, Haneda. Before we see concrete evidence, anything can be possible."
"It can be an unknown group of intelligent chakra beasts."
"The culprit behind the recent abductions can also be a group of ninjas, who are extremely proficient in Genjutsu. And these guys are capturing people for some reason we haven't featured out yet."
"But that's why we are here—to figure out the reason behind their actions."
"We will find out the truth before more unfortunate people become victims of their ploy."
"We will find them. And if possible, we will end them."
Haneda smiled, "I see."
With this, they once again fell silent and continued forward.
However, after traveling for nearly five minutes, Seimei's Tenseigan suddenly perceived multiple movements in the distance, nearly 10 kilometers away, almost near the site of disappearances.
"Hmm?" Seimei halted his movement all of a sudden while muttering, "Who could those guys be?"
Seeing Seimei halt, Haneda and Touma also stopped and came beside Seimei, looking at him with a questioning look.
Touma asked, "Why did you stop, Seimei? Did you sense anything?"
Seimei nodded and quickly focused his Tenseigan's farsight ability toward the exact location he perceived the movements.
His vision quickly turned black and white. He could see colorful particles dancing in the air that looked absolutely mesmerizing against the black-and-white background.
He could also see the blue chakra around and inside the living beings surrounding him. His vision expanded toward the point he focused his eyes on. This feeling wasn't anything like seeing distant things through a telescope.
No.
It was as if he traveled to the new location himself within the blink of an eye, making it effortless to see and perceive all things, no matter how far he actually was from the new location.
There, he clearly saw eight suspicious people with a considerable amount of chakra reserves.
After observing their movements for a while, Seimei finally opened his mouth.
"I sensed eight people with a considerable amount of chakra."
"Two have Jonin-level chakra, and the remaining six have Chunin-level chakra."
"And judging by their control over their chakra, it's very likely that they are trained Shinobi at the very least."
"They are also snooping around the location we are supposed to inspect to find clues to complete the mission."
Touma frowned and said, "That's suspicious as hell."
Haneda nodded, "I think so, too."
"Let's go and see what they are doing here. For all we know, they could either be rogue ninjas, Shinobi from independent clans, or the very culprits we are after."
Seimei's lips curved upward as he replied, "You're right. Since they are here, it's better to go after them and say hello."
With that, three of them rushed toward the eight suspicious individuals' location at a speed that would be almost impossible for ordinary Genin to track.
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