Getting Involved

"Ugh--! It stinks!"

The sudden stench made the man who pushed open the door cover his nose.

Looking at the mountain of coffins piled up in the room, the man waved his hand dismissively under his nose, his gaze wandering until he found his target among the pile of coffins.

"Hey, Brother Zen, you've been making quite a stir lately!"

What are you doing here?

The sound came from the pile of coffins, hoarse and dry, like a machine that hadn't been oiled for too long.

"Of course I came to see you because I have something to discuss. I don't like this stench of corpses. I wouldn't have come here if it weren't necessary." The person frowned, their eyes full of disgust. "Can't you clean up properly? Why do you have to make it so messy?"

"Get to the point if you have something to say, otherwise get lost."

The voices emanating from the pile of coffins were very cold.

"Tch! How indifferent! Brother Zen, if I remember correctly, you're still missing a clone, right? Interested in going to Kumogakure to complete it?"

"Kumogakure?"

"The Konoha and the Cloud Ninja recently teamed up to Chunin Ninja Exams. It seems quite exciting. How about we join in? It's easy to fish in troubled waters; maybe we can even get a high-quality clone!"

There was silence for a long time among the pile of coffins, as if they were considering the visitor's suggestion.

"Hey, hurry up and tell me if you're coming or not, this room smells too bad, I can't stand it anymore."

The visitor covered his nose and kept urging him on.

The stench of death in this room was so strong it was unbearable!

"Sounds good. I can bring the toys I've been raising over there to play with," the voice replied slowly.

"Alright! I'll go get the detailed intelligence. Brother Zen, you make some preparations, and we'll discuss the specific course of action later."

After saying that, the person left quickly, slamming the door shut.

"Kumogakure? Konoha... Let's have some fun this time!"

Amidst the cold laughter, coffins were erected one by one, their lids not yet closed. The outlines of figures of varying heights could be vaguely seen within them, their killing intent palpable.

Outside the main gate of Konoha.

A newly cleared flat area,

More than a hundred young Genin gathered together, keeping quiet under the guidance of their respective instructors, listening Lord Hokage's speech.

Orochimaru stood on a makeshift platform constructed using Earth Release, Orochimaru hands behind his back, his long black hair fluttering gently in the wind, his alluring face showing no signs of aging.

He was encouraging the Genin were about to go to Kumogakure to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"Teacher, it's been so long since I've seen you out and about!"

"Come and see Kakashi off."

Sakumo stood under an old tree outside the flat ground, smiling as he watched Kakashi's retreating figure.

Although there were over a hundred people gathered here, most of them were teenagers. Kakashi's height of 1.8 meters was quite noticeable. Konoha wasn't like Cloud Ninja or Stone Ninja, where there were many giants who were two meters tall. One meter was considered very, very tall.

In addition, Sakumo is also 1.8 meters tall, so he can easily see Kakashi standing below the stage.

Katsuki stood beside him, keeping him company.

"Katsuki, is it alright to send so many children to Kumogakure this time?"

Like many other elderly people in the village, Sakumo harbored deep distrust of the Cloud Ninja's character.

He had dealt with the Cloud Ninja a lot when he was young, so he was very familiar with their way of doing things.

"There shouldn't be any major problems." Katsuki found Shuyuan and Naruto among the crowd and offered them encouragement with a smile. "Minato isn't one to suffer losses, and the Flying Thunder God Technique is a great guarantee. With him here, we should be fine."

"Compared to the Cloud Ninja, I'm more worried about the Akatsuki Organization. I'm afraid that Madara Uchiha or his subordinates might cause trouble."

"... Katsuki, don't raise flags indiscriminately."

Sakumo offered a friendly reminder with a smile.

"Lord Hokage seems to be in a lot of interest in talking today! It's been five minutes and he's still not done?"

Looking at his watch, Sakumo clicked his tongue and changed the subject.

Orochimaru was still giving a passionate, impromptu speech on the high platform, which stirred up the enthusiasm of the Genin, especially the easily fooled kids like Naruto, who were all fired up and shouting excitedly.

Judging by their enthusiasm, they could probably demolish the Raikage Building right now, let alone participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"..." Katsuki shrugged, thought for a moment, and then said, "Maybe the Lord Hokage is in a better mood!"

Orochimaru has never been a long-winded person. When he was inaugurated as the Fourth Hokage, his speech lasted no more than three minutes. The fact that he could speak for so long without a prepared speech can only be attributed to his good mood.

In fact.

Orochimaru is indeed in high spirits right now. The murderer that Kimimaro captured not long ago is a top-notch research subject.

He and Katsuki conducted research together and gained a great deal, which made him very happy.

Looking at the energetic young Genin below the stage, and thinking about the Cloud Ninja's humiliation, he felt even better.

Orochimaru finished speaking ten minutes later.

Once the Lord Hokage finished his inspiring speech, Minato immediately ordered them to depart without further delay.

The procession stretched out like a long dragon, moving at a remarkably fast pace; in no time, the tail of the dragon disappeared from sight.

Sunagakure.

Rasa, the top candidate for the next Fourth Kazekage, listened with a stern face to the Lord Kazekage's admonition.

"Rasa, that good-for-nothing Sasori has greatly damaged the village's reputation. His Majesty the Daimyo and the nobles are very unhappy about it. I've received many letters here, mostly questioning me, the Kazekage..."

The Third Kazekage took a thick stack of envelopes from the drawer and slammed them onto the table.

Looking at the stack of envelopes, Rasa's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "But the responsibility for Scorpion's situation doesn't lie with you. That bastard let the village down..."

"There's no point in saying such things now." The Third Kazekage raised his hand to stop Rasa's advice. "The daimyo and nobles don't care about the details; they just need a result that satisfies them. Besides, as the Kazekage, failing to notice Sasori's unusual movements can be considered dereliction of duty."

Rasa's forehead furrowed into a deep frown, but he didn't say anything more.

"Rasa, your youngest son... Gaara, he's quite good. This time, let him perform well in Kumogakure. This is an opportunity to restore the village's honor. Tell him not to get entangled with Konoha. This time, the target is Cloud Ninja. Let him use all his strength to crush the younger generation of Cloud Ninja and show everyone that even if Sunagakure isn't number one, it's definitely not number one."

"Yes, I understand."

Rasa responded loudly.

"Go! Take the team to Kumogakure and tell the Shinobi World that Sunagakure has not fallen."

The Third Kazekage looked exhausted. He waved Rasa away, then slumped into the soft chair, remaining motionless for a long time. (To be continued)