Discovered

At that moment, Yemo was perfectly calm, listening with both ears pricked. He might very well hear some secret from Blue B.

Kuruda asked in confusion, "Brother Blue B, why did you come down? What happened?"

The other Kumo Jonin was also puzzled. According to their earlier arrangement, Brother Blue B had been resting in secret with their other two companions.

"If I hadn't come down and let you two keep talking, I'm afraid someone would have overheard everything about our objective this time," Blue B said mildly. Yet his steady voice carried an authority that could not be defied.

Blue B's words startled all three of them. Kuruda's expression changed drastically, his face full of shock and his mouth hanging wide enough to fit an egg. How could they fail to understand what Brother Blue B was implying?

Kuruda and the other Jonin weren't the only ones whose expressions changed. Yemo was even more shocked than the two of them. How is that possible? He actually discovered me? Yemo could hardly believe it.

The pitch-dark night, the bushes, and Mind's Eye of the Kagura's ability to conceal Chakra were on his side. Yemo hadn't moved a muscle or made a sound, either. Not even a Jonin could have detected him. That wasn't blind arrogance but confidence. Yet Blue B's implication was that someone was hiding nearby, secretly listening in.

Kuruda and the other man were powerful Jonin, after all. Their shock lasted only a moment before they reacted, gripping their Kunai tightly in their right hands and sweeping their sharp gazes over the surroundings for the slightest suspicious movement.

The intruder had been right under their noses for so long without being detected and was clearly not to be underestimated. They just didn't know where this expert had come from. If he was from Konoha, they would be in trouble.

Hidden in the shadows, Yemo watched the scene with extreme tension, his forehead already covered in cold sweat. But the more dire the situation, the less he could afford to move.

Yemo was gambling that Blue B had likely sensed his presence but didn't know his exact location. To be honest, Yemo still didn't believe Blue B knew exactly where he was.

"Friend, there's no point in hiding now, is there? Come out!" Blue B said calmly.

His eagle-sharp gaze suddenly turned straight toward Yemo. Seeing that, Yemo's heart plunged into an abyss. His position had been discovered.

Following Blue B's gaze, Kuruda and the other man watched Yemo's location warily, gripping their Kunai tightly. At the slightest movement, they would immediately throw them.

I'm finished!

That was the only thought in Yemo's mind. He had just been gambling that the other side didn't know where he was, but now Blue B was looking right at him.

Since I've been discovered, there's no point hiding anymore. I might as well come out and look for a chance to escape, Yemo thought quickly.

Yemo gritted his teeth and was about to stand when footsteps suddenly sounded behind him. He froze in surprise, forcing himself to stop as he stiffly turned his head to look back.

Fuck, how is there someone behind me too?!!! Yemo cried inwardly in disbelief. He had been hiding there all this time without noticing that someone was not far behind him. Could anything be more fucked up than this?

At the same time, the four Jonin who appeared to be sleeping by the campfire woke instantly at the sound of footsteps. In fact, they had already woken when their leader, Blue B, appeared, but had made no move. Rustling also came from around the fire as the two Jonin hidden in the shadows moved.

Under the watch of nine pairs of eyes—no, ten—a slender figure slowly emerged from the darkened forest.

Kuruda tilted the Kunai in his hand slightly, preparing to throw it. As soon as Brother Blue B gave the order, Kuruda would throw the Kunai at the newcomer's forehead with difficulty.

In the moonlight, no one could make out the newcomer's face. Judging by his slender figure, they thought he was a woman, but when he emerged and the orange-yellow firelight illuminated his face, they realized he was actually a beautiful man.

Once the Kumo Ninja saw who it was, their expressions changed slightly, their faces turning solemn. Even Blue B looked grave. The newcomer was a powerful man they all knew.

How is that possible? It's actually him!

Yemo also stared at the newcomer in stunned disbelief, his eyes so wide they looked ready to pop out. His astonishment was practically written across his face.

Blue B's expression grew grave. "I didn't expect it to be you, Orochimaru. To think you'd show up here!"

"How is that possible? Orochimaru, how are you here? Weren't you at the border?" Kuruda said, shaking his head as though he had seen something unbelievable.

Long black hair, purple eye shadow extending to the sides of his nose, pale skin, and blue-green Tomoe-shaped earrings-above all, those distinctive golden vertical pupils. Orochimaru was the only person in the world with snake-like eyes.

Facing nine Kumo Jonin, Orochimaru showed no tension at all, as though he were facing a group of Genin. He gently stroked his long black hair with his right hand like a woman and grinned. "It seems my teacher was right. You Kumo Ninja really do have an ulterior motive."

"But it seems my teacher underestimated Kumogakure's resolve. Nine Kumo Jonin, the famous Black Lightning Kuruda, and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B."

The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki!

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Yemo's eyes narrowed. Blue B was actually the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. It seemed he was the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki before Killer B, which explained the feeling Yemo had gotten earlier.

Yemo finally understood what the two strange powers he had sensed in Blue B were. One was the power of a seal, and the other was the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast power. No wonder it had been so savage and powerful.

What surprised Yemo even more, however, was that Kumogakure had actually sent out the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. A Jinchūriki had a Tailed Beast's power sealed inside them. They might not seem very strong ordinarily, but once that power went berserk, even a child only a few years old could unleash enough power to take on a Kage Level expert.

To every village, a Jinchūriki's power was like a nuclear weapon. Under ordinary circumstances, a village would never allow its Jinchūriki to leave, because many factions wanted to seize the Tailed Beasts.

Yet Kumogakure had actually sent out even the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. That was enough to show how much importance it placed on this objective. Yemo was intensely curious about what could be worth such a price to Kumogakure.

"Orochimaru, it seems I really underestimated Konoha High Command. They quietly transferred you back in secret," Blue B said, his tone already steady. Although Orochimaru was one of the Sannin, a name that made countless ninja blanch, Blue B wasn't afraid of him.

The corners of Orochimaru's mouth rose slightly. "You Kumo Ninja started a war at the border for no reason. Did you think we couldn't see through it? Jiraiya can be unreliable at times, but he has no trouble guarding the border in my place. I went to a great deal of effort to track you people down."

Hidden in the shadows, Yemo heard their conversation clearly. So Orochimaru had been the one guarding the border. As one of the Sannin, Orochimaru's strength was beyond question. He was a Kage Level expert, capable of leading a war, and he was a steady man.

As for Jiraiya, his strength went without saying. He was also one of the Sannin, but in Konoha High Command's eyes, he couldn't compare to Orochimaru. Simply put, Jiraiya was somewhat unreliable.

Blue B suddenly smiled. "Orochimaru, you may be one of the Sannin, but aren't you being a little too arrogant? You tracked us down alone. I wonder where you got that confidence."

Yemo's heart sank. The nine Jonin were extremely strong, but Orochimaru was powerful enough to handle nine ordinary Jonin. Among them, however, were Black Lightning Kuruda and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B.

Orochimaru would have to be careful fighting Blue B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, alone, to say nothing of Black Lightning Kuruda and the other seven Jonin beside him. Orochimaru's chances of victory were zero.