Orochimaru's Intelligence

The situation in the Shinobi World changes as quickly as the weather in June, even more fickle than a woman's face.

The Sunagakure and the Konoha Village solemnly emphasized their Alliance and pledged to work together to combat the ninjas who were using their names to cause trouble on the border.

Immediately afterwards, Iwagakure began to establish diplomatic relations with Sunagakure. Although they were not yet Alliance, it was clear to everyone that they had benefited from this.

One moment the Shinobi World Four Great Ninja Villages seemed to be united against Konoha, but the next moment the tide turned. Sunagakure turned around and became close to Konoha again, Iwagakure also showed a desire for peace.

It's clear that all three ninja villages got what they wanted. Sunagakure took the opportunity to reclaim 11.5% of the mission's share. Stone Ninja, who clearly cooperated with Sand Ninja, also benefited and achieved their goal with great joy. Only Konoha ceded some of the profits to satisfy their greedy hearts.

The Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.

Inside the Raikage's Office, the Fourth Raikage, Ay, angrily slammed his fist on the brand-new desk, smashing it to pieces. He roared in frustration, "Ōnoki! You despicable bastard!"

Just moments ago, Ōnoki was the most proactive in contacting them, explaining the pros and cons and proposing to join forces against Konoha. But behind their backs, he colluded with Sunagakure, took a piece of Konoha's fat flesh, and then kept quiet.

"Damn it!" At this moment, the Fourth Raikage Ay's eyes were bloodshot, filled with anger, hatred, and even more so, envy. This time, Konoha returned such a huge benefit to Sunagakure. How could such a big commotion be kept secret from those who were interested?

It's obvious that Ōnoki from Iwagakure also benefited from this, otherwise, why would he turn against them so quickly?

So, after Four Great Ninja Villages went through all that trouble, you, Sunagakure and Iwagakure, got your share and then just left them to their own devices?

Sunagakure, after all, is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Twenty percent of its missions are high-level, which is enough to support a mid-level ninja village.

"Damn it! Ōnoki! You treacherous villain!"

The Fourth Raikage, Ay, was still furious because the Sand Ninja hadn't included him in their activities; he was also envious of the enormous profits involved.

The Five Great Ninja Villages in the Shinobi World have all suffered heavy losses in the Third Shinobi War. In fact, none of them want to start Shinobi World War at this time, otherwise they would have really been in line with the wishes of some small countries.

Although the Third Shinobi War was devastating, they still maintained their superior status as Shinobi World Five Great Ninja Villages. However, if the Fourth Great Ninja War were to break out now, and things really got out of hand, they could all fall from their pedestals.

"Pass down the order to incite hatred between the smaller ninja villages and Konoha, especially to say that the Mist Ninja are preparing to go to war with Konoha. In short, I want to ensure that Konoha's borders are never peaceful."

The Fourth Raikage, Ay, who gained nothing, was clearly envious, and now he could only make use of the current Mist Ninja.

Of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Sunagakure and Iwagakure chose to settle things peacefully, reducing the pressure on Konoha to two out of five. Although he was reckless, he didn't want to give away the advantage to others for nothing, meaning that Mist Ninja would still have to take the lead.

Snowflakes fell on the front lines of the Land of Whirlpools, seemingly putting a temporary pause on the war between the two sides.

The heavy snow symbolizes the passing of a year, and the Shinobi World welcomes a new year.

That year, Uchiha Itachi was eight years old, Uchiha Yoru and Kakashi turned seventeen, and were also the most dazzling geniuses of the year.

One is Hatake Kakashi genius who graduated as Genin at five, Chunin six, and Jōnin twelve. The other is a genius from the Uchiha Clan, a student of Sannin, one of the Orochimaru, and now a genius commanding a nearly thousand-strong Ninja legion on the front lines.

His calm mind, command of Ninja legion several times larger than his own, and numerous battlefield achievements have established him as a genius no less than, and perhaps even surpassing, Hatake Kakashi.

This year has been incredibly difficult for Konoha. First, the Hyuga Clan split, then came the Orochimaru Incident, a potential Hokage candidate, and then the border, which had just begun to stabilize, suddenly became unstable.

The repeated upheavals in Konoha, in particular, fueled the greed of neighboring small and large countries, and the turbulent borders kept Konoha busy dealing with them for almost the entire year.

Konoha could only choose to defend itself against external threats, while internally it began to beautify everything, making the entire Konoha Village seem to be in a peaceful environment, unaware of the turmoil on the border.

The Land of Whirlpools.

The snow and ice covered the earth like a silver armor, and even the battlefields where battles once raged seemed to have quieted down.

Konoha Base

"Captain Yoru, recently the Mist Ninja have attacked several of our strongholds. In accordance with your strategic policy, Captain, we prioritized protecting the ninjas before ensuring the supply of materials. As a result, while we have suffered significant losses in supplies over the past few months, our casualties have not been substantial."

With the war temporarily over, the Konoha ninjas breathed a sigh of relief. During this period, they and the Mist Ninja had been constantly at war, with small battles every three days and large battles every five days. The entire forest had become a battlefield between their two countries.

The battles were almost evenly matched, with either the Mist Ninja ambushing them or them ambushing the Mist Ninja. Overall, the outcome was fairly good, resulting in a draw.

Both ninja villages tacitly kept their respective Ninja legion under a thousand men to avoid escalating the war. However, only Konoha thought this way. Mist Ninja, hiding behind the Obito in Kirigakure, was more angry. Although he controlled the Mizukage, Kirigakure was not under his sole control, especially given the risk of escalating the war and triggering the Fourth Shinobi War.

The Kirigakure faces numerous obstacles; from the daimyo down to the village's Jōnin, no one believes that now is the time to escalate the war.

Listening to the latest battle reports inside the tent, Uchiha Yoruro with a gratified smile, "A few supplies are nothing compared to the value of our ninjas."

The Jōnin inside the tent looked at Uchiha Yoru with a kind of fanaticism in his eyes. After all, ninjas are just tools, no matter who is in a position of power. Even the Third Hokage only talked the talk; he never actually did anything. But even so, the Third Hokage bewitched countless people with just his words.

Uchiha Yoru wasn't just talking; he was serious about carrying out his orders and ensuring they were carried out thoroughly. He prioritized the lives of ninjas above all else, and he would do everything in his power to protect even the wounded and disabled ones.

In Uchiha Yoru's words, they are all heroes! They are all us tomorrow!

"Keep a close eye on them. Although this blizzard has temporarily brought the Mist Ninja to a standstill, we must not let our guard down. I don't want our ninjas to be attacked again during the New Year holiday."

"Haha, Lord Yoru, don't worry, our Scout Squad has already expanded the search area, and we will definitely not allow the Mist Ninja to easily sneak over."

The ninjas inside the tent all wore hearty smiles. Having spent so much time together, they had almost figured out Uchiha Yoru's character. As long as it wasn't a mission or a battle, he was definitely a very easy person to talk to, and even liked to give pointers to talented people in the Camp.

In less than a year since Uchiha Yoru arrived at the front lines, he first proved his strength with solid battle achievements, and then, over such a long period of time, his powerful personal charisma has made countless people feel a sense of belonging.

As night fell, a blizzard howled. The Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Iron were not too far apart, and it seemed that the blizzard in the Land of Iron had caused a once-in-a-century blizzard to occur here. Both Konoha and Mist Ninja were caught off guard and chose to rest during this time.

The blizzard, with its howling north wind, was so strong that people couldn't open their eyes, and all living things in the world seemed to have chosen to cower in at that moment.

The world was utterly silent, especially the blizzard under the night sky, which exuded an aura of annihilation.

Inside a huge tree hollow in the forest, Uchiha Yoru cautiously glanced around and, finding no one following him, secretly breathed a sigh of relief before slowly stepping into the hollow.

"Teacher Orochimaru, with the recent truce, there probably won't be many experimental materials available."

Inside the empty tree hollow, Uchiha Yoru spoke calmly to the deserted surroundings. But just then, a figure slowly emerged from the ground, accompanied by his unique, hoarse laugh.

"Heh, the recent ceasefire wasn't just because of the blizzard."

After Orochimaru slowly appeared, he looked at Uchiha Yoruro with a meaningful smile. He had never imagined that his student would grow up so quickly.

In such a short time, he had already replaced the position that those people on the front lines once held in his eyes. Although he no longer cared about it, he had to admit that the other party had talent.

This wasn't just his talent in combat; he also possessed an almost innate political acumen and an exceptional command ability on the battlefield. He was practically a perfect genius. If it were Corpse Reincarnation Technique had been found to have too many problems, the body before him would have been the perfect vessel.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru shook his head, a hint of regret appearing in his greedy snake eyes. What a pity, turning to a body with a powerful soul would cause considerable damage to the soul, and he had already found another direction, so he had no choice but to abandon this perfect vessel.

"Teacher Orochimaru, do you mean there's another reason for the ceasefire?" Uchiha Yoru immediately showed curiosity upon hearing Orochimaru's words.

He never underestimated anyone, especially Orochimaru, who had been in Konoha for so many years. How could his forces be completely wiped out so quickly? You have to know that even ten years after the start of the story in the original work, there were still people in Konoha who remembered his existence.

He's good, but he still lacks a certain depth of knowledge and experience, which will take time to overcome.

In response to Uchiha Yoru's question, Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely, "The commander-in-chief defending the border of the Land of Water, Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, has stabilized the rear. Although the skirmishes in the Land of Whirlpools are minor, there has been no substantial progress. Some people in the village don't want to drag this out any longer and want to end the war as soon as possible."

"After all, although the skirmishes on the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools were not significant, all the major ninja villages in the Shinobi World are currently recuperating, especially the villages of Stone Ninja and Kumogakure, which are secretly expanding their military power."

Upon hearing this news, Uchiha Yoru frowned even more. He really hadn't expected the village to start getting anxious. But then again, while things seemed largely unchanged since his arrival, some things had actually changed.

"Teacher Orochimaru, do you mean the village is preparing to send Shin'nosuke Sarutobi to the front lines to establish its prestige?!"

Although it was a question, he already knew what was going on. Uchiha Yoru's face immediately revealed a mocking smile. "Someone with no major achievements, yet trying to establish prestige on small battlefields, actually dares to dream of becoming Hokage Position. It seems this son of the Third Hokage is ambitious, but unfortunately, his strength doesn't match his ambition."

"Heh, with those old guys pushing them along, it won't take more than a few years." Orochimaru's eyes clearly showed a hint of mockery as he said this.

"The Third Hokage is getting old; the former shrewdness of Shinobi Hero has faded year by year."

When Orochimaru spoke of the Third Hokage, his eyes were filled with complex emotions, including hatred and sorrow. It was truly tragic that such a great Shinobi Hero had gradually become like this, and it also made him realize the fragility of life and how people lose their vigor as they grow old.

When Uchiha Yoru heard that Shin'nosuke Sarutobi was coming to the front lines, clearly intending to take his place, he mocked him and sneered, as if to say, "Does he think I'm made of clay?"

It's obvious they're here to undermine his prestige, and also to weaken the strength at the front lines.

After all, they're not one of their own, so they can afford to expend resources freely, gaining impressive victories while weakening Orochimaru's old guard. For the old guys in Konoha, it's a win-win situation, so why not?

"Heh, Lord Yoru, it seems the old fogies of your Uchiha Clan have been too busy watching Root."

Orochimaru imagined that the Shimura Danzō was so focused on keeping an eye on the Uchiha Clan, who was the most hostile to the clan, that they underestimated the other three old men.

With a gulp, Orochimaru spat out an intelligence scroll, then tossed it over, licking his lips and revealing a grotesque smile as he hoarsely said, "That idiot Jiraiya was recently sent to gather intelligence near Iwagakure, and it seems Jiraiya of the Sannin has arrived here. My research has also reached a crucial moment."

Another one of the Sannin? Princess Tsunade!

Upon hearing this name, Uchiha Yoru frowned, his face turning ugly. "Damn, what a great father!" he thought. "It's obvious that if Shin'nosuke Sarutobi has any problems on the front lines, this guy will step in to help him through the crisis. A classic case of arranging for a powerful protector."

"Doesn't Princess Tsunade have hemophobia?"

Uchiha Yoru frowned and said something, while Orochimaru revealed a hoarse smile, "I didn't expect that Lord Yoru would also know this secret. I really underestimated Lord Yoru's intelligence capabilities."

"It's true that Tsunade has hemophobia, but you seem to have forgotten Tsunade's abilities. It wouldn't be too difficult for the strongest Medical Ninja in the Shinobi World to sever and adjust the nerves that cause retinal pigment degeneration. Do you think she would still have hemophobia under such circumstances?"

After Orochimaru uttered this technical term, fortunately, Uchiha Yoru was also proficient in Medical Ninjutsu and knew what it meant. To put it simply, it meant severing the nerves in his retina that perceive red, making him Colorblind. Although it would have some impact, at least he wouldn't be affected by hemophobia.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoruro something. He hadn't thought of this. In the original story, he didn't use this method in Tanzaku City, probably because Tsunade hadn't reacted yet, or rather, she chose to avoid it before her life was in danger.

"Princess Tsunade!" Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoruro deep thought. It seemed he would need to tone down some of his methods in the future.

I stayed up too late writing last night and completely forgot to set a timer. Luckily, I woke up early this morning.