Undercurrents

"No... he only told me to notify you first."

The equally agile girl led the way, repeatedly using the Body Flicker Technique on the rooftop, while occasionally replying.

Several months have passed, and she has adapted to this high-flying movement pattern. Even when using the Body Flicker Technique repeatedly, she will no longer make the mistake of overexerting herself and breaking the roof as she did at the beginning.

Yugao, who followed behind, then fell silent.

When moving quickly, talking can disrupt your breathing rhythm.

Sakura was moving very fast as she focused on getting there, and even for her, keeping up with the girl at the same time was not an easy task.

Of course, if it's just a matter of getting distracted by other things, Yugao still has that kind of leisure time.

She was thinking about Sakura.

As Taijutsu- type ninja, she would naturally care about her teammates' Taijutsu abilities. The Body Flicker Technique the girl used was Taijutsu -Body Flicker Technique, which is a great testament to the user's Taijutsu level. Her speed was so fast that even ordinary Taijutsu ninjas couldn't keep up with her, making her an anomaly among Ninjutsu- type ninjas.

"And she hasn't even used her Monstrous Strength Technique yet," Yugao thought to herself.

The Monstrous Strength Technique Nintaijutsu of such a high standard that it completely disrupts the balance. Although everyone uses Chakra to enhance their physical body, the Super Monstrous Strength Technique, with its ultra-refined Chakra technique, is clearly a trick that rough men and strong women can't handle. Yet, it can also greatly enhance Taijutsu...

Yugao's feelings about this kind of Nintaijutsu were extremely complicated.

Fortunately, there are only two people who have mastered the Monstrous Strength Technique, and Sakura is one of them. Otherwise, if every Ninjutsu- type ninja had the Monstrous Strength Technique, then those of them who specialize in Taijutsu would be out of a job.

With her Monstrous Strength Technique, Sakura's Taijutsu skills are definitely not bad. Coupled with her powerful Water Release and Ice Release techniques, her strength is undoubtedly among the best even among Jonin.

However, precisely because of her overwhelming strength and her accustomed tactical system of fighting alone, Sakura has not been able to integrate well into the team's coordinated battles during the team's integration period. For now, she can only be temporarily positioned as a turret role that releases Ninjutsu from a distance for strong attacks.

This is clearly a huge waste of her talent.

The thought of Sakura's strength only flashed through Yugao's mind for a moment, and then soon, the girl led her to the meeting place: the platform of the Hokage Building.

Shino was already there waiting for them.

"Let's go, we'll walk as we go!"

With a wave of his hand, he put on the mask and Body Flicker Technique left the stage.

"A large-scale disturbance has occurred among the Sound Ninja in the northern region of the Land of Fire; they seem to be searching for something..."

Shino hurried forward, glancing back at Sakura Haruno as he went.

"Someone saw a distress signal from Konoha Ninja in that area, so our primary mission is to rescue the Konoha Ninja trapped in that area, and secondly, to repel the Sound Ninja..." Shino, turning around.

"This could very be a dangerous mission; you need to be mentally prepared."

"Is it because of Orochimaru?" Yugao asked.

Shino's expression was grave. "There's no information indicating where Orochimaru is, but the Sound Ninja's large-scale operation is definitely related to Orochimaru. Based on our deductions, Orochimaru's injuries during the Chunin Ninja Exams weren't serious, and he's likely fully recovered by now. So the worst-case scenario is that we'll be facing Orochimaru..."

"If that happens, Lady Tsunade has ordered us to abandon the mission and retreat immediately until reinforcements from the Anbu arrive!"

"..." Yugao and Ying were both silent for a moment, which was rare for them, and their expressions were both very bad.

Abandoning their mission and waiting for reinforcements means the Konoha Ninja trapped there will face an extremely difficult situation, and Orochimaru will be able to do whatever he wants there...

After all, it's quite far from Konoha, and the village's power can't reach it from there.

But doing that would essentially mean abandoning your fellow villagers...

This goes against the Will of Fire that Konoha has always promoted, and no one wants to see this happen, since no one wants to be the next Konoha Ninja to be abandoned.

In the ensuing silence, Shino spoke again.

"Also, Tobi, Lady Tsunade specifically asked me to remind you to stay calm, follow instructions, and not act rashly."

The girl wearing the cat-face mask was taken aback.

This particular instruction immediately gave her a very bad feeling.

She doesn't have a particularly hot-blooded personality like Naruto. Although she felt uncomfortable hearing the order, she wouldn't directly disobey it...

Why did Tsunade specifically emphasize this point?

Unless--

"Also, just confirmed news: your former teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, is on a mission and hasn't returned to the village yet. The mission location... is in that area."

Sakura gasped instinctively.

The moment Sakura Haruno heard those words, she concluded that Orochimaru's elaborate scheme was definitely aimed at Sasuke.

As expected, Orochimaru still harbored designs on Sasuke.

He probably always coveted Sasuke's body... However, unlike in the original story, he didn't have his hands severed by the Third Hokage, so although he was severely injured in the Konoha Crush Plan, given Orochimaru's regenerative abilities, he would probably have fully recovered in a short time.

Since he hadn't suffered any serious injuries, Orochimaru had absolutely no reason to urgently change bodies. This is completely different from his character in the original work.

However, on the other hand, because the Cursed Seal Orochimaru placed on him was dealt with by Kakashi's Evil Sealing Method and Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu, Sasuke was not affected by the effects of the Cursed Seal and his mind did not turn evil. Instead, he gradually recognized his own path, which completely ruined Orochimaru's plan to kidnap Sasuke.

Orochimaru was getting a little anxious.

If Sasuke to grow unchecked, in a few years, when Sasuke reaches the level of Itachi, Orochimaru will no longer have the ability to harm Sasuke.

So even though he didn't have any urgent need for a body to reincarnate, he still launched a plan to seize Sasuke's body and try to capture Sasuke back to his base.

However, Orochimaru couldn't resort to force this time Sasuke from Konoha. After all, the village hadn't suffered heavy losses in the Konoha Crush Plan and still had considerable strength. Sasuke also had no intention of leaving the village. With just the Sound Ninja Four-Person Group, even if Kimimaro were added, along with the rest of the misfits from the Otogakure, they wouldn't have any chance.

However, since we can't kidnap Sasuke from the village, why not just capture him while he's away?

According to intelligence sent back by spies, Sasuke has recently been promoted to Chunin and occasionally takes on missions on his own.

Orochimaru's method is then quite simple.

If you time your missions carefully, and then release a mission that only the Uchiha would be interested in when Sasuke accepts it, you can Sasuke out of Konoha.

For example, you could post a low-paying, time-consuming, and difficult task, and then add content that only the Uchiha would be interested in as the reward, such as documents about the origin of the Uchiha clan crest or the family tree. Sasuke, who longs to rebuild the glory of the Uchiha, would definitely take the bait.

Or, to put it more simply, as long as they keep an eye on Sasuke's movements and send out intelligence when he leaves the village on a mission, Orochimaru can simply lead his men to intercept him...

Everything can spring up.

The Sound Ninja they had previously searched for, the sudden defections involving Orochimaru... were merely preludes to this event.

Sakura Haruno could probably guess some of the key points here.

After a long pause, she managed to say with difficulty, "This isn't a coincidence... is it?"

"Indeed, someone leaked information about Sasuke Uchiha's mission outside the village... Clearly, Orochimaru's mobilization is for this remnant of the Uchiha."

"In that case, since Orochimaru values him so much," Yugao calmly offered her prediction, "We might very well really be facing Orochimaru."

"Unless someone can stop him," Shino coldly asserted, "The probability of him appearing is one hundred percent."

"So, Tobi, did you hear me? Obey orders, don't be reckless. Forcing your way into Orochimaru will only result in another person dying!"

The cat-faced figure remained silent for Anbu.

All emotions are hidden behind a mask.

"... knew."

He spoke hesitantly.

Shino turned around and looked at her carefully. The girl's expression was hidden by the mask, so he couldn't see her eyes or what she was thinking.

Did he really agree, or was he just saying it to appease himself?

"..." Shino turned his head, fell silent, and stopped talking, focusing only on continuing on his way.

During the high-speed maneuver, the wind whistled through our ears.

It perfectly captures the undercurrents of emotion surging within a young girl's heart.

(Please recommend, comment, and add chapters!)

(Because it got a recommendation, although it's a bit much, I'll still add an extra chapter as usual.)