After a short conversation with his team where Kakashi explained the situation it was decided that they would continue with the mission. Kakashi had hoped for them to get cold feet so he wouldn’t have to deal with whatever trouble would be ahead. Then again he knew for a fact his team would want to continue. 

Having made their decision, Kakashi ventured inside the cave while keeping Yosuke safe. Seeing as the cave is completely dark the group had no other option but to light up a lantern. Fortunately Yosuke had come prepared with a few of them and the necessary fuel. Though after half an hour of walking they had become unnecessary. 

“Wha! So pretty!” Sakura’s eyes almost shone as she looked around the chamber they had just entered. All around them bright crystals illuminated the place with a myriad of colors. 

“Looks like I have my work cut out for me.” Yosuke said while looking around. First of all he would be taking some crystals as samples. Then he would need to take some samples from the many herbs that grew around. A few of them he already knew about but most were new. 

Without further ado Yosuke began gathering samples with the help of team Kakashi. The kids had tried to help collect them samples but they ruined them more often than not. In the end it was decided that Yosuke would be doing the collecting while the kids stored them afterwards. 

Kakashi had been delegated guard duty and to tell the truth he much preferred that than going on his knees to collect plants and what not. That didn’t mean he was paying attention to his surroundings. The task was dule and he felt extremely tempted to just take out his book and read. 

The chamber the group were going through was massive. They had been walking for the better part of an hour and there didn’t seem to be an end to it. The place was like a jungle made out of rock and crystals. Massive pillars held the roof of the cave far above them. Giganting stalactites and stalagmites dotted the place cutting vision after a hundred meters or so. As the group continued traveling they heard voices which made the ninjas guarded instantly.

“Sakura, stay back and protect the client. Naruto, sasuke cover the flanks. I will go a bit further to try and figure out who we are dealing with.” Once everyone nodded Kakashi jumped and attached himself to one of the pillars horizontally before jumping again towards another. 

He would advance ahead until he would close to losing line of sight of the rest of the team. Once there he would signal them to move forwards once he determined the coast to be clear. 

This happened a total of four times until he finally had line of sight of the possible enemies. A group of almost twenty people were standing in a clearing within the cave. No crystals, stalagmites, stalactites or columns were to be seen in a circle of around twenty meters radius. 

Kakashi stopped and began to listen to the rather loud conversation those who seemed to be the leaders of this group were holding. Thanks to the empty space their voices reverberated around reaching Kakashi with little to no problem. 

“I am telling you it should be here you useless idiots! You all are useless! Search for it again! There must be a clue around here” A tall man said with a shrill tone of voice. He wore a black Kimono with a white dragon. A shaved head and a mustache with some white hairs.  

“This is going to be a long mission” Kakashi couldn’t help the murmure that escaped his lips. Yosuke had given him a description of the Sendo clan’s leader and the man fit it to a T. 

“Better to avoid confrontation. Though I am curious what this man is looking for… Nothing good that is for sure. I should stay a bit longer” With that though Kakashi kept listening for a while longer.