Chapter 91 (Patreon)

Sometime between eight and nine that morning, a voice broke the silence inside the cave.

“Mihawk, don’t tell me you stayed awake all night.”

Shikamaru stared in surprise at Nerona Mihawk, who was sitting cross-legged inside their tent.

Mihawk had been in the same position before Shikamaru went to sleep. Now that morning had arrived, he still had not moved, making it seem as though he had spent the entire night awake.

Shikamaru’s voice pulled Mihawk’s attention back to his surroundings.

Mihawk opened his eyes and looked at Shikamaru, who was still rubbing the sleep from his face.

“I slept for a few hours,” he replied calmly. “Unlike you, I can sleep sitting up just as easily as I can lying down.”

“Seriously... You’re unbelievable.”

Shikamaru muttered under his breath before opening the tent and stepping outside.

They had brought three tents with them.

Hinata and Ino shared the first. Mihawk, Shikamaru, and Shino used the second, while Kakashi and Chōji occupied the last one.

Shikamaru was not the first person to wake up.

Shino had already left the cave some time ago.

About half an hour after Shikamaru emerged, the others began leaving their tents one after another.

Kakashi took a storage scroll from his pack and unsealed the water stored inside. After everyone had washed their faces, they ate the rations they had brought with them, finally silencing their empty stomachs.

“Whoosh!”

At that moment, a figure shot into the cave from the forest.

It was Shino, who had left early that morning.

The moment he returned, he delivered a warning.

“Something’s wrong.”

His words immediately drove away the last traces of sleepiness from everyone’s faces.

Shikamaru’s expression became serious.

“What happened?”

“It will be faster if I show you.”

Instead of explaining, Shino turned around and rushed back into the forest.

Mihawk and the others exchanged glances before immediately following him.

All seven of them moved swiftly through the trees, heading in the direction Shino had indicated.

Before long, they entered an area covered in thick mist.

Despite the poor visibility, a pillar of light could be seen rising beyond the trees and stretching high above the forest.

“Aaaagh!”

A distant scream echoed through the mist.

Shikamaru listened carefully before narrowing his eyes.

“It came from somewhere ahead of us. We’re still a fair distance away.”

Ino looked uneasy.

“That person sounded like they were in terrible pain. What’s happening over there?”

Kakashi turned toward Shino.

“Do you know what caused it?”

Shino shook his head.

“No. I noticed the pillar of light and returned to inform everyone immediately.”

“We’ll know once we get there,” Mihawk said calmly. “There’s no point guessing from here.”

Kakashi and Shikamaru agreed.

The group increased their speed.

Several minutes later, they burst out of the forest and arrived at the shore of an enormous lake.

The pillar of light was rising from somewhere near its center.

Shino stared across the mist-covered water.

“My insects detected an immense amount of chakra coming from the lake,” he reported. “They also reacted as though they were near something extremely dangerous.”

Kakashi looked toward Hinata.

“Hinata, take a look.”

“Yes.”

Hinata focused chakra into her eyes.

“Byakugan!”

The veins around her eyes became visible as her vision spread across the lake.

The moment she saw what was hidden within the mist, she gasped.

Hinata turned toward Kakashi with a grave expression.

“There’s an incredibly powerful chakra inside the lake. I’ve never seen anything close to its size or range before.”

She paused briefly.

“It has to be a tailed beast.”

“Damn it,” Kakashi muttered. “Did they begin their plan this quickly?”

Shikamaru looked toward him.

“Kakashi-sensei, what do we do?”

His gaze shifted toward the pillar of light.

“The safest choice would be to wait for the Fifth Hokage’s orders. But by the time reinforcements arrive, Orochimaru’s people might have already controlled or sealed the Three-Tails.”

Kakashi remained silent.

He understood the danger of waiting, but leading two teams into a battle involving a tailed beast without knowing the enemy’s strength would be even more reckless.

After considering their options, he finally made his decision.

“No one acts on their own. We’ll remain here and wait for reinforcements.”

“Yes.”

Shikamaru and the others accepted the order.

Mihawk slowly closed his eyes.

His Observation Haki spread silently across the lake and the surrounding forest.

He did not remember every detail of the Three-Tails incident.

He had already forgotten exactly how Isobu had appeared here and which of Orochimaru’s subordinates possessed the ability to control it.

However, there was one thing he remembered clearly.

Two members of the Akatsuki would eventually come to capture the Three-Tails.

Deidara and Tobi.

Tobi’s true identity was Uchiha Obito, one of the men secretly manipulating events from behind the scenes.

Deidara was not someone Mihawk considered a genuine threat.

His Explosive Clay was dangerous to ordinary shinobi, but Lightning Release could neutralize it. Kakashi, for example, possessed both the ability and experience needed to deal with him.

Gaara’s defeat did not mean that Deidara was stronger than every Kage-level shinobi, either.

During their battle, Gaara had been forced to protect the entire Hidden Sand Village while fighting. Deidara had deliberately targeted the village, forcing Gaara to divide his attention and use a tremendous amount of chakra to shield everyone below.

Without that burden, the outcome would not have been so simple.

Deidara’s C4 Karura and C0 were his most dangerous techniques, but only because of the enormous areas they affected.

For Mihawk himself, they were not enough to cause much concern.

With his speed and Observation Haki, Deidara would have little chance of completing either technique before Mihawk reached him. Even if an explosion went off, Mihawk’s Armament Haki was more than capable of protecting him from the force.

The real problem was everyone else nearby.

If Deidara used one of his large-scale attacks near the lake, Kakashi’s group and the reinforcements could easily be caught in the blast.

Compared to Deidara, Obito was far more troublesome.

Kamui allowed him to transfer parts of his body into another dimension, causing attacks to pass through him.

However, the technique did not make him completely invincible.

Obito had to become solid whenever he wanted to touch or attack someone.

Against Mihawk’s Observation Haki and speed, that brief opening would be extremely dangerous.

Mihawk might not be able to kill him immediately, but Obito would have an even harder time landing a hand on him.

Knowing that the two of them would eventually appear gave Mihawk an idea.

Perhaps he could intercept them before they reached the lake.

Obito could escape through Kamui if he realized the situation was unfavorable, but Deidara would not be so fortunate.

As long as Mihawk reached him before he began filling the area with explosives, eliminating him would not be difficult.

However, after extending his Observation Haki farther through the forest, Mihawk could not detect Deidara’s presence.

He had already memorized Deidara’s aura during their previous encounter.

Either the Akatsuki pair had not arrived yet, or they were still outside the range of his perception.

Although Mihawk failed to locate the so-called artistic duo, he detected several familiar presences approaching from another direction.

He slowly opened his eyes.

“The reinforcements are here.”

“Rustle!”

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Pakkun burst out of the distant forest.

A large group of Leaf shinobi followed closely behind him.

Many were familiar faces from their academy generation, while several others were people Mihawk knew less well.

Among them was Sai, the newest member of the re-formed Team Seven.