Intelligence Brought by Hatake Sakumo

But compared to Scorch Release, the Uchiha Kagami before him clearly interested Orochimaru more.

After the others left, he used a Summoning Snake to contact his subordinates in Konoha and gathered more detailed intelligence on Kagami Uchiha.

Before this, he had only known that the kid was an Uchiha who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at a very young age.

It was not as if he had never seen a Three-Tomoe Sharingan before. It was merely decent, neither outstanding nor lacking.

But this kid's ocular power clearly surpassed that of an ordinary Three-Tomoe by far too much. Orochimaru even suspected that he had awakened the legendary Mangekyo!

Kagami Uchiha had not deliberately concealed information about himself.

Exceptional Uchiha Ninja Swordsmanship; using his ocular power to assist with the Seal when the Nine-Tails ran wild; mastering an A-rank ninjutsu developed by Minato Namikaze in just two days...

Nintai Gen—proficient in all three disciplines!

Beyond that, he possessed an invisible slash whose power could be considered a Kekkei Genkai.

Coupled with his cold and decisive nature, someone like that...

Unless there was an overwhelming gap in raw strength, even Orochimaru could not think of a strategy that would defeat him.

Poison, ambushes, and the like were jokes beneath the Sharingan's gaze.

If I summon Manda, can I defeat him?

Orochimaru was already considering using his trump card.

"What is the upper limit of the ninjutsu Kagami-kun used to kill Pakura?"

"I have no intention of prying into the secrets of your ninjutsu. This is only for planning the missions to come."

Kagami Uchiha pondered for a moment before saying, "If the opponent is unprepared, it should be able to kill an elite jonin."

"Strictly speaking, even the Hokage is only an elite jonin..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is it really wise to reveal such a first-strike killing technique so soon?"

"Ninjutsu is developed to be used."

"What is there to hide? Lord Orochimaru, I advise you not to dwell too much on this ninjutsu." Kagami Uchiha looked at Orochimaru with amused interest, speaking as though an elder were instructing a junior.

"By the time you figure out how to guard against this technique, I'll have already upgraded it several times over."

"This is the composure of a genius..."

Orochimaru did not take offense and quietly ended the topic. "Minato-kun... Why do you think Sunagakure suddenly increased its infiltration into the Land of Fire?"

"According to the intelligence we have, they seem to be searching for someone. Who could be worth such a massive effort?"

"It's the Third Kazekage."

It was not Kagami who spoke. He would not be foolish enough to reveal such information himself.

A silver-haired man covered in blood lifted the curtain to the command room and suddenly appeared.

"Big Brother Sakumo!"

"Senior Hatake!"

Even Orochimaru was filled with shock when he noticed the dense wounds covering Hatake Sakumo's body.

The worst was at his wrist—half of his palm had been sliced open!

Hatake Sakumo's face was pale as his gaze fell upon the stunned Kakashi.

"It's been a long time, Kakashi."

Thud!

Unable to suppress his emotions, Kakashi threw himself into Hatake Sakumo's arms and sobbed silently.

His uninjured hand gently patted Kakashi's back, Hatake Sakumo's eyes filled with tenderness.

And guilt.

No matter what, Kakashi was only a child. Leaving him behind and walking away like that had been far too wrong.

After the touching reunion between father and son, Orochimaru asked the crucial question.

"Big Brother Sakumo, what did you mean about the Third Kazekage...?"

Suddenly, a Nara Clan ninja rushed in without reporting first. The news was simply too explosive—he had to tell Orochimaru immediately.

"Lord Orochimaru! Intelligence from Yamanaka En! They were searching for the missing Third Kazekage, so they..."

"Uh..."

He swept his gaze around and spotted Hatake Sakumo.

Orochimaru frowned and pointed at him. "Guard the door. Don't let anyone else in."

"Big Brother Sakumo, continue."

Compared to the intelligence inside those Sand Ninjas' minds, Orochimaru cared more about what Hatake Sakumo could tell them.

He was also curious about who had been able to wound Hatake Sakumo so severely.

"I encountered Sasori of the Red Sands from Sunagakure, Chiyo's grandson."

"The genius puppeteer. I've heard of him."

Skipping the need for explanations, Hatake Sakumo's next words plunged the room into deathly silence.

"He assassinated the Third Kazekage and transformed both himself and the Third Kazekage into Human Puppets."

"I fought him. You could say we both suffered losses, but he got away."

"So that's how it is..." Kakashi looked at his father's battered body, then had a thought.

"Then as long as we tell Sunagakure about this, they'll give up the war and hunt down Sasori of the Red Sands, right?"

Only Kakashi present was that naive.

Orochimaru shook his head. "Without the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet corpse, Sunagakure will not believe us."

"They will only think that not only the Kazekage, but Sasori of the Red Sands as well, was killed by us."

"Even if they believe it, it won't help." Minato's mind worked quickly as well.

"Granny Chiyo is a smart woman. When she learns this news, she will claim it is a Konoha scheme to sow discord and destroy Sunagakure's unity."

"They'll only commit more forces to the war. What began as a search for the Third Kazekage will become revenge against Konoha for the Kazekage."

Kagami Uchiha chuckled as he looked at Kakashi. "The best way to shift internal conflicts is to turn them into external conflicts."

It was not just ninjutsu talent—Kakashi felt that his intelligence had been thoroughly crushed as well.

Noticing his disappointment, Hatake Sakumo rubbed his head.

"How to arrange things specifically is your concern. I only came to tell you this before leaving."

"Leaving... Father, where are you going?!"

Hatake Sakumo sighed and smiled bitterly. "Sasori of the Red Sands is after me. As long as I leave the Land of Fire, he will follow."

More importantly, he feared that Sasori of the Red Sands would target Kakashi. Someone who had dared to assassinate the Kazekage—and succeeded at it—was far too dangerous.

Orochimaru's brows drew tightly together. "There is no need to trade pieces. In my view, Big Brother Sakumo is more important than the Third Kazekage and Sasori of the Red Sands combined."

"I can pull some strings. With this information, we can completely erase the impact of your previous departure."

To be fair, Orochimaru hoped that Hatake Sakumo would return to Konoha. Back in their early days on the battlefield, the three of them had received considerable care from Hatake Sakumo.

After Hatake Sakumo left, Tsunade had been so furious that she stopped speaking to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even he and Jiraiya had many grievances toward the Third Hokage.

Anyone with sense could see what had really happened back then.

Hatake Sakumo shook his head with a smile. "No need. I've grown used to my current life. Being free and unrestrained feels quite good."

"Is that so..." Orochimaru did not press the matter and chose to respect Hatake Sakumo's decision.

"Father! I also..."

Hatake Sakumo stopped Kakashi before he could continue. He lowered himself to meet his eyes and smiled gently. "When you've grown into a ninja capable of standing on your own, then make your own decision."

He turned to Minato and Kagami. "Minato-kun, Kagami-kun, I'll have to trouble you to look after him. I'm very relieved that Kakashi can follow you two."

"Senior Sakumo, I will definitely protect Kakashi." Minato nodded firmly.

Other than Kushina, Konoha was the most important thing in Minato's eyes. He deeply respected this great ninja who had devoted most of his life to Konoha.

Kagami Uchiha turned his gaze toward Orochimaru. "Now that you know this intelligence, what do you plan to do, Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru's long tongue instinctively licked his lips as he said chillingly, "Of course, we'll take advantage of Sunagakure being leaderless and hit them hard!"

"A very wise choice." Kagami Uchiha nodded in satisfaction. If it had been those old men in the village, they might have discussed using this news to negotiate peace with Sunagakure.