The Name of the Three Ninja (Part 1)

"Kakuzu! You have no martial honor! We were clearly allies! Why are you helping them?!"

Hanzō stared at Kakuzu before him and demanded an answer.

"We were never really allies. We were merely taking someone's money and doing their work. That was true for you, and it was true for Orochimaru as well.

Besides...

He simply paid far too much."

Kakuzu said gloomily.

"How much did he pay you to make you turn against us?!"

"I've already received sixty million ryo."

As someone who had always been poor, Chiyo fell silent.

Hanzō, who was even poorer, also fell silent.

Hiring Kakuzu had already cost him a huge portion of his savings. After Amegakure had been attacked by Konohagakure last time, he had spent another massive sum rebuilding the village.

He still had a large amount of compensation unpaid and was buried under debt.

A full sixty million ryo—he probably could not even get half that amount by selling his sickle and the breathing tube on his face.

"Hanzō is right! You have no martial honor! You tricked and ambushed this old woman!"

Chiyo admitted that she had been careless and failed to dodge.

"Mr. Kakuzu here is a man who once fought the First Hokage. He's much older than you, Granny Chiyo."

Orochimaru helped talk Kakuzu up.

Hearing Orochimaru mention the achievement he loved bragging about to everyone he met, Kakuzu could not help crossing his arms and straightening his back, trying to look even more like an important figure.

"Hey, puppet old woman, this operation has already failed. How about we retreat?"

Unlike Chiyo, whose son and daughter-in-law had died, Hanzō's grudge against Konohagakure had not reached the point of being irreconcilable.

Since Orochimaru could no longer be taken down, he intended to return early as well.

The reconstruction of Amegakure was not yet complete. The seventeen lines of defense from last time had performed quite well, and he planned to build a few more.

"Hmph!"

Chiyo snorted coldly, angrily flung down her sleeve, and left carried by the Minotaur Puppet. Seeing this, Hanzō immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leave as well.

"Orochimaru, about those sixty million ryo..."

Kakuzu rubbed his hands together. His already green eyes glowed an even brighter green.

"Kakuzu, leave me your contact information. Take this first—I didn't bring that much money with me. I'll pay the remaining balance in a few days."

Orochimaru planned to cover it with his own money for now.

He would find time over the next few days to dispose of that batch of supplies. After everything was settled, he would make a net profit of sixty million ryo this time as well, just like Kakuzu.

That meant the funds for the next batch of experiments would be secured.

He also needed Kakuzu's contact information. This gold-medal bounty hunter might prove useful someday.

A few days later, Orochimaru was recuperating in the camp after paying the remaining balance.

Both Chiyo and he had been seriously injured. Even with Chiyo's considerable Medical Ninjutsu skills, it would take some time to fully recover.

Not only did he have Tsunade, the strongest medical ninja, on his side, but Dragon Yuan could also heal injuries. The more severe the injury, however, the slower the recovery.

His injuries would certainly heal faster than Chiyo's.

"Aha, ahahahaha, chicken soup's here!"

Jiraiya walked in carrying a pot of chicken soup that looked and smelled delicious.

"Jiraiya, your chicken soup is far too precious. You should let the other companions drink it first."

Orochimaru refused.

The memories of the original owner contained information about Jiraiya's culinary skills.

Both had been civilian ninja, and although they had become the Third Hokage's disciples, they had been very short on money before becoming powerful ninja.

He had gone hunting for game with Jiraiya before, but the taste...

It was not merely bad. It had a very special flavor that reminded Orochimaru of canned herring.

"Orochimaru, what do you mean by that? Are you looking down on this great man's chicken soup?!

I specifically made this chicken soup because you were seriously injured. Don't you dare reject my goodwill!"

Jiraiya bristled, his face still marked with soot from making the soup.

"Hm? It smells pretty good. Jiraiya, you made this chicken soup? I never knew you had this skill."

Tsunade lifted the tent flap and walked in.

"As a doctor, I have a duty to inspect my patient's food. Leave this bowl of chicken soup to me!"

Tsunade looked at the rather appetizing chicken soup, somewhat tempted, and spouted nonsense with a straight face.

Even if they did not have to consume Soldier Pills in camp the way they did in battle, they mostly ate dry rations. A decent meal was a rare treat.

Pfft—!

The moment Tsunade took a sip, she sprayed it straight at Jiraiya. She had never tasted anything so strange.

Thus, another performance beloved by the Konoha Ninja unfolded in the camp.

During this period, with Chiyo and Lord Orochimaru—both vital combat forces for their respective sides—injured and absent, both sides had shown restraint, and no large-scale battles had broken out.

Tsunade knew her limits. After all, she was used to beating Jiraiya up, and besides, she could heal him afterward.

In truth, Tsunade's medical skills far surpassed Chiyo's. Chiyo's greatest specialty was poison, after all.

Yet medicine and poison had always been closely intertwined.

Chiyo possessed profound expertise in pharmacology, and Puppet techniques were especially demanding when it came to Chakra control. As a result, she had also cultivated exceptional Medical Ninjutsu.

Looking across the entire Shinobi World, Chiyo's medical abilities were likely among the very best beneath Tsunade's.

After Tsunade's treatment, coupled with Dragon Yuan's restorative effects, Lord Orochimaru had recovered seven or eight tenths of the way and regained most of his strength. A few more days of rest would see him fully recovered.

As for Chiyo... Kakuzu's stab had been no light blow. She was probably still having trouble even getting out of bed.

But things rarely went as smoothly as people hoped.

"Something terrible has happened—Lord Orochimaru!"

A ninja rushed in, shoving aside the tent flap.

With the Third absent, everything in the camp was decided by Lord Orochimaru, the Deputy Commander.

"Fi-fire-firefirefirefire..."

Perhaps he had run himself ragged, because he could barely catch his breath.

"Are you my little, little apple?"

Lord Orochimaru suddenly blurted out the line, leaving the ninja completely dumbfounded. Was this some new passphrase?

Not a fellow townsman, then!

Lord Orochimaru had only said it because the other man's rhythm had nearly matched it perfectly. It seemed he was not from that place either.

Tsunade patted the ninja on the shoulder, green light glowing from her hand.

Only then did Lord Orochimaru notice the small wound on the man's shoulder.

"What happened, Teacher Ma?"

Lord Orochimaru knew this ninja. His name was Ma Xianyi, and he had once served for a time as a Chunin instructor. After the war broke out, however, he had returned to the frontline combat units, and people respectfully called him Teacher Ma.

"Lord Hokage's unit was attacked by the Third Kazekage. Hanzo has also mobilized every Rain Ninja he has. Lord Orochimaru, please, think of something quickly!"

The Third Kazekage was different from Kakuzu.

Though both were Kage-level, the Third Kazekage was hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history. Never mind whether that "strongest" was as questionable as Hiruzen Sarutobi's title of strongest Hokage in history.

Judging from his past record, the Third Kazekage, who also possessed a Ryūchi Cave summoning contract, had strength that placed him among the top tier of Kage-level fighters.

Kakuzu and Hanzo had dared to consider keeping the Third behind because they held the home-field advantage. The odds of success were low, but there was at least a sliver of possibility.

Hanzo and Chiyo had planned to hunt Lord Orochimaru because they judged Lord Orochimaru and Kakuzu to be roughly evenly matched—lower-middle among Kage-level fighters, middle at best. Sending a peak Kage-level fighter and another Kage-level fighter against him had seemed like a safe bet to them.

But now that Hanzo and the Third Kazekage had joined forces, no matter what else, their combination was at least more reliable than Hanzo and Kakuzu's.

Whether they succeeded or not, the Third definitely could not defeat two opponents who were both Kage-level.

If the Third wanted to run, he could certainly escape. But the troops under his command would probably be wiped out.

But given Konoha's current state, before that business with White Fang's suicide had happened, ninja surely valued missions above their lives—not just their own lives, but their comrades' lives as well.

Besides, Konoha had a tradition of the Hokage staying behind to cover the retreat.

If the Third was finished, he would most likely be next.

Perhaps if the Third died, he might even take office as the Fourth Hokage. But the problem was that Danzo would never agree to it.

Danzo was in his prime as well. Over the years, he had built up a certain foundation of both connections and prestige.

The other two advisers had all their power tied to the Third's position as Hokage. They had always been a small clique alongside the Third and Danzo.

Konoha F4 was not called that for nothing.

As long as Danzo guaranteed that the two of them retained their current positions, they would absolutely support their old classmate.

After all, if the Third died, he would not be the one enjoying the feast.

Having grasped the situation, Lord Orochimaru made an immediate decision. He would take Tsunade and Jiraiya to stop Hanzo.

The other Jōnin would set out first to support the Third, while the Chunin would lead the Genin as the second wave of reinforcements.

The situation was critical. The Third might be able to hold out a while longer, but the ninja troops under his command could not.

Only the elite Jōnin had the ability to reach the destination in a short time.

If they brought along those brats who had just graduated, then by the time they arrived, the corpses would probably already be cold.

With his mind made up, Lord Orochimaru did not hesitate any longer. He immediately ordered the entire army to set out and support the Third, while he and his two fellow disciples went to stop Hanzo.

In the original timeline, the title of the "Three Ninja" had been bestowed upon the three of them by Hanzo of the Salamander after he defeated them. But this time...

Lord Orochimaru swore to change history. The greater his impact on the Shinobi World, the more he could gain.

Blazing fighting spirit burned in Lord Orochimaru's eyes.