Following Orochimaru Was Absolutely the Right Choice

The chaos at Konoha's main camp in the Land of Rain finally came to an end. Unfortunately, it was ended by an attack from the Iwa Ninja.

Early that morning, Aburame Tetsumaru sensed that something was off. He quickly realized it was not his own intuition, but a message from his insects. They had sensed abnormal Chakra fluctuations.

Aburame Tetsumaru activated Insight and observed the Chakra Grand Circulation within his body. The circulation's fluctuations were regular and frequent, forming beautiful fish-scale ripples under Insight.

A large number of Chakra radiation sources were approaching. It could only be a large force of ninja.

Having become exceptionally experienced at running away, Aburame Tetsumaru did not hesitate. He found his subordinates, ordered them to stick close to him, then searched the entire camp for Orochimaru.

Soon, Aburame Tetsumaru made contact with six Kikaichū colonies in the camp. Through the coded language of insect dances, they exchanged information and quickly determined the situation of several clan members.

All six Aburame ninja had already fled the camp. Two captains had left with their subordinates. Of the four ordinary members, one had persuaded his captain, while the other three had failed and could only run away on their own.

Fine. In the end, I was the only one from the entire clan still in the camp. They were all Old Six.

Aburame Tetsumaru laughed. The Aburame Clan truly deserved to be a ninja clan that survived peacefully until the end. Their ability to assess the situation and adapt on the fly was incredible.

Naturally inconspicuous, steady-tempered, versatile in their methods, cautious in their actions, and decisive when trouble arose—the Aburame Clan embodied the true spirit of ninja.

Aside from those clan members brainwashed into wooden puppets by Root, they could no longer even be considered human. They were merely breathing tools.

Still, Aburame Tetsumaru was not worried. Running fast did not mean running far. With the enemy situation still unclear, fleeing blindly could easily send him straight into the enemy's main force. He needed to find a reliable answer to follow.

Why Orochimaru?

Because among everyone in the camp, Orochimaru was the only one Aburame Tetsumaru knew had survived until the end.

And before the plot began, this slippery man had only suffered one setback in the Yondaime election. He had not encountered any other major defeats, so his judgment and luck were both trustworthy.

More importantly, as a top-tier ninja who had fought his way through the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, Orochimaru had reportedly never suffered serious injuries except when facing Ibuse Hanzo. His luck was even more trustworthy.

Of course, he could not stay too far away. Being far away was another matter entirely. For example, Orochimaru's disciple Senju Nawaki had left Orochimaru's protection to carry out a mission one day not long from now, then died.

Aburame Tetsumaru focused on searching the camp through Kikaichū and Scout Insects. He firmly believed Orochimaru had to be inside the camp, because he was certain that Orochimaru had come to the Land of Rain to replace Jiraiya on the Hokage's orders and undermine the newly appointed commander.

Then an enemy assault on the camp was an opportunity Orochimaru absolutely could not miss. The commander's incompetence and inaction had allowed the enemy to attack; Orochimaru could step forward, turn the tide, and drive them back in one stroke, earning the fanatical support of the ninja.

By then, let alone sidelining an airborne commander, replacing him outright would not be a problem.

Orochimaru would not let such a rare opportunity slip away.

Unless it was too dangerous. Unless his own life was at risk.

Aburame Tetsumaru found him. He immediately led his two subordinates toward the target defensive line.

At this point, Uchiha Kei and Kurama Yun were already growing impatient. The faint unease and vigilance in their hearts had been aggravated by their captain's elaborate maneuvers. But the intimidation he had established in such a short time was substantial, and they truly did not dare challenge him. This left Aburame Tetsumaru deeply satisfied.

They soon approached the target: a boy with short brown hair. Well, he was actually a year older than Aburame Tetsumaru, but his baby face and signature foolish grin severely lowered his apparent age.

All right, he was only twelve this year. He really was a child.

On the other hand, Aburame Tetsumaru was clearly only eleven, yet he had used his height advantage and a series of disguises to pose as a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth, openly giving orders to subordinates thirteen or fourteen years old.

At the sight of Nawaki, Aburame Tetsumaru finally breathed a sigh of relief. Finding Orochimaru was difficult, but finding Senior Nawaki was much easier. Senior Nawaki was not only Orochimaru's first disciple, but also the younger brother of Tsunade, Orochimaru's fellow disciple. Their relationship was extraordinary, and Orochimaru would never abandon him.

So as long as he stuck close to Senior Nawaki, he would be following Orochimaru. The plan was perfect.

"Senju Nawaki!" Uchiha Kei recognized him at a glance and blurted it out in irritation.

Aburame Tetsumaru and Kurama Yun both glanced at him. Tetsumaru immediately remembered that this guy had graduated in the same year as Nawaki. That same year, Uchiha Fūka and Hyuga Tokuma from his own class had also graduated early.

The reason was that none of that year's graduates could match Nawaki, prompting the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Clan to mobilize lower-year students to graduate early and save face.

If Uchiha Kei was the Uchiha crushed by Nawaki's grades, no wonder he remembered it so clearly and could not let it go.

"Captain, if you need something from Nawaki," Uchiha Kei asked quietly, "can I avoid him?"

"No. I'm looking for Senior Nawaki to save my life. If you want to die, do whatever you like," Aburame Tetsumaru answered flatly.

Six minutes had passed since Aburame Tetsumaru sensed the danger. More and more ninja were noticing something was wrong, and the entire camp had already become noisy and chaotic.

Both subordinates specialized in Genjutsu and possessed sharp senses. They had both detected hints of danger, but their irritation at being dragged around by their captain had suppressed those feelings.

Aburame Tetsumaru's words immediately woke them up. They understood that danger was already imminent.

Kurama Yun asked in confusion, "Will finding Nawaki help us escape the danger?"

Uchiha Kei had the same doubts and looked over questioningly.

The gap between them at graduation had indeed been significant, but after two years of real combat, both had improved rapidly. Uchiha Kei in particular had awakened two magatama and believed he was no weaker than Nawaki, who had been heavily protected.

The key was that neither of them could gauge their captain's true abilities. They only knew he was very strong, capable of subduing Uchiha Kei, the squad's second strongest member, barehanded. Their Genjutsu had also been completely ineffective against him.

Their captain was clearly stronger than Nawaki, so why did he need Nawaki to save his life?

It made no sense.

After hesitating briefly, Tetsumaru told them the truth. "This danger is too great. I don't think I have enough strength to withstand it, so I need Senior Nawaki's help. Remember this: Senior Nawaki's strength is not the key to survival. His teacher, Lord Orochimaru, is the key."

"Oh? You have that much confidence in me?"

Orochimaru was standing directly behind Aburame Tetsumaru, watching the tall boy in the trench coat with great interest.

Uchiha Kei and Kurama Yun: I knew it. How could someone like the captain, who insults people whenever he opens his mouth, praise someone? He must have noticed Lord Orochimaru had arrived.

"Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru nodded elegantly, then looked at Nawaki, who had yet to realize he was being followed. A flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes.

He turned to Aburame Tetsumaru and said, "I remember you, little ninja from the Aburame Family. Did you still have that strange insect you brought during the Entrance Exam?"

"That one died that day. The insects I carry now have already gone through four generations of upgrades. You probably would not recognize them, my lord."

"Oh? Is that so?" Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "They have changed so quickly. Very nice."

"By the way, why did you come looking for me?"

Without any hesitation, Aburame Tetsumaru said directly, "A large enemy force has gathered outside the camp. It should be a large number of Iwa Ninja and Rain Ninja. I did not know how to handle it, so I came to find you, Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru blinked and continued asking, "Why?"

"Your strength, wisdom, and luck are the greatest."

Hahahahaha!

At those words, Orochimaru's eyes immediately curved into crescents, and he burst into laughter.

He did not continue speaking with Aburame Tetsumaru. Instead, still smiling, he used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive beside Senju Nawaki and asked his disciple, "Nawaki, why are you not asleep?"

"Ah! Lo—no, Teacher." Nawaki was overjoyed the moment he saw Orochimaru, and all the panic vanished from his face. He chattered excitedly, "Tonight is too strange. Just now, my heart was pounding and I felt short of breath, like an enemy had pressed a Kunai against my stomach. I simply could not sleep."

A sharp glint flashed through Orochimaru's eyes, and his brows relaxed considerably. This disciple might be foolish, but his talent was genuinely outstanding. He possessed huge Chakra reserves and powerful Taijutsu. Now he had suddenly displayed such keen danger intuition. That kind of talent could ensure a ninja survived a war safely.

The three people hidden in the darkness were all startled. Aburame Tetsumaru relied on the amplified senses of thousands of Scout Insects, while Kurama Yun and Uchiha Kei could only vaguely sense a trace of something wrong. At most, they felt slightly uncomfortable, not enough to wake either of them from sleep.

"There will be enemies tonight. Once the battle begins, stay behind me. Go prepare for combat."

"Yes!" Upon hearing there would be a battle and that he could fight alongside his teacher, Nawaki eagerly answered at the top of his voice, then darted into his tent like a wisp of smoke.

Orochimaru watched his disciple's dancing, excited back with an indulgent yet helpless smile. Once Nawaki entered the tent, he tilted his head slightly to the right and looked toward the ground on that side.

Two of the three people in hiding froze, while Captain Tetsumaru used the Body Flicker Technique without hesitation. In the next instant, he stood where Orochimaru had been looking.

Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction and instructed him, "Come with me to the east later. Let us see what level the incoming enemies are at."

"Yes." Tetsumaru accepted the order, then stepped back and stood behind Orochimaru's right side.

Kurama Yun and Uchiha Kei immediately emerged from hiding and stood behind Tetsumaru. The corner of Tetsumaru's lips lifted. His two subordinates were not slow to react. They were becoming more and more satisfying.

Senju Nawaki emerged from his tent after packing his equipment and made a great fuss over the sudden appearance of three ninja. Then he noisily woke his two teammates.

Fortunately, Nawaki's two teammates were seasoned ninja. They had prepared for battle before sleeping, and soon the group of seven headed east.

Before they reached the halfway point, fighting erupted in the south. Soon afterward, battle began in the north as well.

Through more than seventy Ghost-faced Moths spread throughout the camp, Aburame Tetsumaru saw the scenes of battle and quickly determined that the Iwa Ninja formed the main force in the south, while the Rain Ninja were the main force in the north.

Then who was waiting in the east, where they were headed?

The east was the open side of an encirclement. There were no enemies there at all. Orochimaru arranged for six people to stand at the eastern gate and organize the orderly retreat of Konoha Ninja. Intact squads were directed to join the defense and delay the enemy layer by layer, while scattered stragglers had their names recorded before being sent to gather at the next assembly point.

As Orochimaru discussed matters with several Jonin amid fierce arguments, too occupied to pay attention to this side, Uchiha Kei finally could not stop himself from asking, "Why are we retreating? Konoha is the strongest ninja village in the Shinobi World."

Kurama Yun burst into a string of giggles and did not answer at all.

Uchiha Kei's mouth twitched, but he did not dare ask further.

Because Kurama Yun had been assigned to record the names of scattered ninja, the shy little girl with a touch of social anxiety had gone offline. The one currently online was an outgoing big sister with zero social restraint.

Talking to this big sister gave one a profound understanding of the saying, 'When women start acting like hooligans, men have nothing on them.' In three sentences, she could drag someone into indecent territory, and then nobody knew where she would take it. Dirty jokes would rain down from every direction.

Uchiha Kei was afraid of exactly that. Being teased by a female hooligan was terrifyingly embarrassing. He preferred speaking with the decisive young woman; even arguing with her felt perfectly natural. At worst, they would fight, and he would not lose to Kurama Yun anyway.

Uchiha Kei turned his gaze toward his captain. Aburame Tetsumaru sighed. He had just told more than ninety people where to gather, speaking more in this short time than he had in the past two months. His throat was dry, and he did not want to talk.

Yet the tactless Uchiha Kei continued pressing him. "Captain, you insisted on finding Lord Orochimaru. That cannot have been just for this, right?"

If there had not been so many people around, including several Jonin, Aburame Tetsumaru felt his hand would already have been plastered across this Uchiha's face.

Suddenly, a Ghost-faced Moth sent back an image. In the north, a ninja, surrounded by a large number of Rain Ninja, crossed the damaged camp wall at an unhurried pace.

This ninja wielded the unusual weapon of a chain sickle and wore a full-face Breathing Mask. After crossing the wall, he reached up, removed the mask, took a deep breath, then exhaled a massive cloud of murky purple poisonous mist.

Giant Salamander Hanzo.

No, Ibuse Hanzo.

This was the scene Aburame Tetsumaru had feared most deeply since entering the Land of Rain: Hanzo, honored as the Demigod, bringing his battle into the area around him.

The strongest ninja alive had entered his strongest combat state less than two kilometers away from him. This was truly deadly.

"You will know the answer soon enough." Without even looking at Uchiha Kei, Aburame Tetsumaru ordered Kurama Yun, "Switch out!"

Upon receiving her captain's order, Kurama Yun did not dare delay. She wiped her face and switched into a valiant, battle-ready young woman. With one hand, she tied her loose hair into a short ponytail, then straightened the forehead protector hanging crookedly around her neck and tied it properly.

Then, with a thunderous boom, a gigantic giant salamander appeared amid a cloud of white smoke. Before the smoke had even dispersed, dense purple fog surged outward, instantly engulfing a quarter of the camp.

Less than a second after the insects' visual transmissions entered the poisonous mist, they were cut off. In the final images they sent, the shells of other insects within view could almost be seen dissolving in the poison fog.

Aburame Tetsumaru knew that all the insects had been poisoned to death.