A few days later, In a narrow valley outside the Land of Rice Paddies.

Whoosh… whoosh…

A group of shinobis silently flicker through the valley while hiding their presence. These shinobis are wearing the flak jacket and headband of the Shinobi Alliance and are a group composed of shinobis from Konoha.

"Wait! I can sense his presence nearby." Anko signals her group to stop.

She turns towards a Hyuga member at her party.

"Tokuma, scout the area ahead! Don't miss a single thing."

"I am on it!"

Tokuma nods and makes a ram hand seal in front of his Byakugan.

"Byakugan!"

He activates his Dojutsu and surveys the area ahead.

Hmm…

After a few seconds, Tokuma frowns and turns towards Anko.

"Captain! I have found the entrance to the hidden bases of Orochimaru."

"Very well, lead the way!"

The rest of the group takes out their weapons and enters a high alert state, ready to combat any unseen enemies. Tokuma leads them toward the base of a giant tree. A giant boulder is resting against the trunk of the tree.

"There is a path behind this boulder. However, I suspect it is a trap." Tokuma informs the rest of the party.

"Ranka, look for any booby traps or hidden mechanisms."

"Yes, captain!" Ranka, a special jounin, takes the lead to analyze the trap.

Ranka takes out a few tools and gets on the work.

Click… clack…

After a few seconds, he unlocks the mechanism.

Rumble…

The giant boulder shakes and moves sideways to reveal a path. Anko and the rest of the team take a step forward.

"Wait!" Ranka warns them to stop.

He takes out a small wooden doll from his backpack and tosses it inside.

Boom…

With a small explosion, the wooden doll turns to cinders. The expression of the team turns ugly and they throw a thankful glance at Ranka.

"I will disable the trap!"

After a few more minutes,

"The path is clear! Let's move in." Ranka signals them from inside.

"I will send my bugs to scout a map of the area." A member of the Aburame clan takes the lead.

"I will leave it to you, Muta!" Anko nods at him.

Muta places his finger on the ground and releases a multitude of insects on the ground. The insects crawl across the floor, roof, and walls of the hideout.

The rest of the group patiently waits outside. Anko bites her lips as she silently waits for the Muta to finish scouting.

A few days ago, the Recon division of the Allied Shinobi force issued a mission to scout the whereabouts of Kabuto and Akatsuki's headquarters.

Anko and her infiltration and reconnaissance party also enlisted for this mission. Her team consists of Muta Aburame and Tokuma Hyuga. Both of them were part of her former genin team after her rescue from Orochimaru's clutches. Ranka and Dango Mitsuki also volunteered to join the team of their own accord. Ranka has a crush on Anko, while Dango is a close friend of Ranka.

Also, Ranka is a special jounin who specializes in trap dismantling while Dango is a sensor. So, Anko readily agreed to their request since it will increase their chance to track Kabuto's trails.

Anko decided to track Kabuto since being a former test subject of Orochimaru and a bearer of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven; she can sense Orochimaru's presence from far away.

This is part of the reason their group encountered several of Orochimaru's hidden lairs in the past few days.

"Let's go!" Muta recalls his insects and guides the way.

Ranka and Tokuma are also alert for the presence of any hidden trap or mechanism.

The group sifts through the hideout and finally arrives in one of the laboratories.

"There is someone here!"

Takuma spots three bodies on the ground.

Ranka inspects the bodies and remarks.

"There is no doubt about it. It's Kabuto's doing."

The group notices snake-bite marks around the neck of the three Iwa shinobis.

"It has been almost two to three days since these people died. They must have stumbled across Kabuto by chance." Takumo inspects their body with his Byakugan and shakes his head.

Anko leans over and wipes the dry blood from the corpses.

"This method of killing… Kabuto is becoming more like Orochimaru. But why would he leave a trail like this? He could easily get rid of these bodies." Anko frowns.

"Is this deliberate? What does he intend to do?" Takumo speculates.

"No doubt Kabuto is carrying Orochimaru's will. Now, he is going after the hidden leaf and has joined hands with Akatsuki." Anko clenches her fist.

"Let's leave this place. He is long gone from here." Anko walks towards the entrance. The rest of the group follows her.

Back at the entrance, Dango takes out a sealing scroll from his storage and makes some hand signs.

Poof…

A sealing formation appears around the entrance of the hideout and seals it.

"These things made by the Sealing team sure are handy," Ranka remarks and places a mark on the tree to act as a signal for other members of the recon division should they stumble across this place.

"Where to next?" Muta turns to Anko, who closes her eyes and contemplates.

"This way!"

After a few seconds, Anko opens her eyes and points in a direction.

"This place…"

The rest of the group frowns.

"We are at the border of Land of Sound or the former Land of Rice paddies. Up ahead is the desolate land of the Mountain Graveyard, a place where multiple gigantic creatures met their end." Dango remarks.

"We have to be careful!" Muta releases his insects to scout the area.

------------------------

Back at the seas,

Maroi leads the path for Naruto and his group.

"Huh?! Where are we going? And what's the secret S-rank mission?" Naruto turns towards Guy and Yamato.

"Uh-oh!" Guy and Yamato's expressions pale at Naruto's question.

'How do we tell him that it is a secret S-Rank mission for us to protect him from Akatsuki? Not the other way around.'

Ahem…

Guy clears his throat…

"Umm… the secret S-Rank mission is to…" Guy turns towards Yamato and Aoba for help. Sweat drips down Yamato's and Aoba's faces as they rack their mind to seek an excuse.

"Survey and tally dangerous animals on a barren island," Maroi adds.

"Ah… yes… there is a group of giant, dangerous, summoning animals on an island. This time, your mission is to subdue these animals and prevent them from falling into Akatsuki's hands." Guy quickly adds more bullshit to Maroi's crap.

"Eh… how do you know about this secret mission?" Naruto turns towards Maroi with suspicion.

"Umm… that's…" Maroi also sweats at Naruto's words.

"It's a secret S-Rank mission commissioned by both the Hokage and Raikage after their meeting at Kage Summit." Yamato quickly comes to the rescue.

"Yes, that's how it is! In this mission, I am the representative of Kumogakure." Maroi swiftly adds to Yamato's lie.

"Oh! So, that's how it is!" Naruto bumps his fists in understanding.

"Hehe… this is my first S-Rank mission. I can't wait to complete with an outstanding achievement." Naruto grins foolishly.

"Wasn't your mission to destroy the Sky fortress of Land of Sky also an S-Rank mission?" Yamato inquires.

"It was… but that time there were too many groups on the mission. So, I didn't get the full credit." Naruto shakes his head.

'Also, Izuna Nii-san stole all the limelight.' He silently adds in his mind.

"However, this time it's my solo S-rank mission and a secret one at that. I can't wait for it." Naruto jumps around in excitement on the deck.

Swash…

The boat sways slightly from the waves, and Naruto falls to the deck while clutching his stomach.

"I am seasick again!"

Yamato makes a wooden bucket with wood release and gives it to Naruto to puke.

"Thank you, Yamato sensei!"

Naruto pukes in the bucket and moves toward his cabin.

"Have some rest, Naruto!" Yamato waves at him.

Phew…

After Naruto's departure, the rest of the group heaves a sigh of relief.

"He is getting smarter! It's getting harder for us to fool him." Yamato wipes his sweat.

"I feel sad for Naruto. He will be heartbroken once he reaches the destination and become aware of the lie about the S-rank mission." Guy clutches his fist as tears flow from his eyes.

"Oh… the betrayal of youth!"

"Well, the part about the strong wild summoning animal isn't a lie!" Maroi murmurs.

"What? Really!"

Yamato and Guy turn towards Maroi with shining eyes.

"Umm… yes. There is a group of wild summoning animals on Genbu island. All of these animals are under the supervision of Bee-sama, who fights against these animals for training. Now, since Naruto is also moving to the island, he can also spar against them under the pretext of an S-rank mission. Also, these animals are super strong, and ordinary jounins can't subdue them. So, it will also raise the bar of the mission." Maroi replies to them with a slightly awkward face.

"Yes, that's it! We will talk to Lord Bee about it." Guy and Yamato nod at each other.

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A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, 'The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World' is out.

Also, check out my pat reon www.pa treon.com/ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at the latest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both series combined in advance.