The Adventurous Gamer Ninja - Daichi Hekima [Vol. 02]

Chapter 365 - In The Land of Earth: Rescue Plan 02

"This matches the blueprints Dragon gave me," Jiraiya said, smoothing the paper across the rickety table in the safe house. Around him, Kakashi, Danzo, Tobirama, and Daichi peered over the various documents scattered atop the table.

"This route here," Kakashi said, pointing to a narrow line drawn in faded ink, "it connects these old trade roads to a series of hidden tunnels indicated in the warlord's blueprints. If we assume the Finance Minister's shipments passed through there..."

Jiraiya nodded, tracing the path with a fingertip. "Right. That would mean they'd be heading west, into this region of rocky terrain."

Tobirama stood slightly apart from them, arms folded. "The terrain is difficult. Maze-like caverns, according to the warlord's intel. It's the perfect place for someone like Orochimaru to hide."

Danzo leaned forward, his single visible eye studying the map intently. "And patrol ninjas from the Hidden Stone village don't frequent that area. It's under the Finance Minister's direct jurisdiction. If there are no curious eyes, it'd be easy to set up a hidden facility."

Daichi was silent, absorbing their words and cross-referencing them with what he knew. 'All the information points to that western section. The memories from the minister also point to this location... So that's where Orochimaru built his lab huh. It's a few hours away, maybe five or six at most. Everything's coming together. Hang on a little bit longer sensei, Shizune senpai. We're coming'

The Genin's gaze drifted across the table. At that moment he spotted a loose sheet of paper rustling in the faint breeze coming through the open window. In a sudden gust of wind, the paper flew from the table and landed at Daichi's feet. He bent down and picked it up.

[Congratulations. You have encountered a Lucky break.]

Suddenly out of nowhere his system sent a message which surprised Daichi. 'What the? A lucky break? The system says this is a lucky break? Why would this be considered a lucky break?'

He frowned and began reading the document carefully. It was the intelligence report Jiraiya got from his contact. It was details about the auction that occurred a few months ago. The Finance Minister lost the land rights to the Intelligence Minister in that event. At first glance, it seemed irrelevant to Orochimaru's plans.

'Why would my system point this out? Why is this my Lucky break?'

While Daichi was pondering the reasons as to why the system is pointing him towards this paper, Kakashi glanced at his student? 'What did you find?'

'What if this isn't irrelevant?' As the genin digested the information on the paper in his hand, a bold theory took shape in his mind and his heart gave a quick thump. 'Oh my god.'

Daichi closed his eyes and immediately used his Hypercognition and parallel processing skills. A few seconds later he opened his eyes with clarity.

'Orochimaru is cunning. He's planned this every step of the way. He's misled us before. Mizuki's involvement, the series of fake bases... every time we thought we were closing in, Orochimaru had placed a decoy, diverting our attention and resources.'

He looked up and got everyone's attention. "Wait," he said quietly, but with urgency. "I think we may be falling for another trick."

Jiraiya turned, eyebrows raised. Kakashi tilted his head in silent question. Tobirama's expression remained impassive, and Danzo simply watched.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked.

Daichi held up the paper. "This report about the auction... The Intelligence Minister won the rights to a mineral-rich region a few months ago, defeating the Finance Minister. We know Orochimaru is cunning. He may have helped the Intelligence Minister secretly to secure that land. Why? Perhaps to use that area as his real base."