Hyuga Ao lifted the tent flap and found Jiraiya sorting through some documents.
"Sensei, you wanted to see us?"
"Yo, you're here." Jiraiya set down his pen and rolled his shoulders and neck. "Time is tight, so I'll keep this brief. I'll explain Team Nine's arrangements."
Jiraiya rose and walked over to Hyuga Ao and the others. "Having two Hyuga in one team is too extravagant. Ao'er, Ying, how far can your Byakugan see now?"
"Ten kilometers."
"Three kilometers."
"Good!" Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction. "Ao'er, you're the strongest, and you're a Taijutsu ninja. Go find Orochimaru and tell him I sent you. Ying, go find Tsunade and give her a hand. Minato, you come with me."
"Yes." *3.
The three of them went their separate ways.
Hyuga Ao went alone to find Orochimaru.
At that time, the front line had a regular force of fifteen hundred people.
One thousand had been brought from the village by the Sannin. The remaining five hundred were people from the previous border defenses who had been scattered, along with ninja who had gradually arrived while escorting supplies.
Among the Sannin, Tsunade was in charge of medical care, Jiraiya handled logistics, and Orochimaru oversaw everything while also managing command.
Hyuga Ao took Jiraiya's orders and went looking for Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was currently staring at a map of the Land of Fire's borders.
Hyuga Ao opened the tent flap and walked in first. "Lord Orochimaru."
"Hmm." Orochimaru answered faintly, then called over a ninja. "Go get Nawaki."
Hyuga Ao observed the Orochimaru of this era. How rare. Orochimaru before he went dark.
He was properly dressed in a Konoha Jonin vest, his forehead protector tied normally around his forehead. He had yellow snake-like eyes, purple eyeshadow, and a pale face—but not the deathly white of a corpse. There was even a hint of color in his cheeks.
Was this fair-skinned-and-ruddy Orochimaru? I'm in love with it.
A whole new version that no one has ever seen before. Hyuga Ao sighed inwardly.
With his handsome, even somewhat feminine face, powerful strength, and status as the Third Hokage's disciple, Orochimaru must have been extremely popular among young kunoichi at this point. Maybe they even discussed whether he or Jiraiya was the top or the bottom.
Speaking of tops and bottoms, Orochimaru was truly a perfect candidate for cross-dressing. All he needed was a change of clothes and some beautiful makeup, and he could go compete with Tsunade for Jiraiya.
Actually, if Orochimaru really cross-dressed to compete with Tsunade for Jiraiya, there might be no place for Tsunade at all—even if Jiraiya and Tsunade could be considered the official pairing.
As she watched him, Hyuga Ao's thoughts began to wander.
Orochimaru, seated in the main position, stared helplessly at the distracted Hyuga Ao. What's wrong with this child?
At that moment, Nawaki walked in. "Lord Orochimaru, you wanted to see me?"
"Hmm." Orochimaru nodded. When he looked at Nawaki, his features softened, and he revealed a smile that could be considered gentle.
"Holy crap!" Hyuga Ao was stunned. Is this really Orochimaru? I must have met a fake Uncle Snake.
"Hyuga Ao will be joining your squad from now on, Nawaki."
Nawaki looked curiously at Hyuga Ao. Then he suddenly slapped his forehead and extended his hand. "I remember now. Kushina mentioned you to me. Hello, I'm Nawaki."
"Hello, Nawaki. Kushina often mentions you to me too."
Hyuga Ao reached out and shook his hand.
"What does Kushina say about me?" Nawaki asked.
"She says her big brother is careless, but that he's a good person."
"Haha." Nawaki scratched his head and laughed foolishly.
"Hehe." Hyuga Ao couldn't help laughing. He really is just like Naruto. No wonder Tsunade was influenced by Naruto.
On the way to Nawaki's camp, Nawaki gave her a detailed introduction to the situation of their squad.
To put it plainly, it was a connections squad. They were responsible for patrolling inside the camp—daytime patrols, at that—and only for one morning. Whenever they went out, they basically followed Orochimaru.
After hearing this, Hyuga Ao felt like she could barely keep her face from crumbling.
If Sasuke heard about these conditions, he would burst into tears on the spot.
Later, Orochimaru believed in survival of the fittest and natural selection. He raised his subordinates like poisonous insects in a jar.
His subordinates were either test subjects, test subjects with some value, or vessels—and backup vessels.
Hyuga Ao couldn't help sighing. No wonder this was the trigger that sent Orochimaru down the dark path.
"Yo, Nawaki, you're back." A blond, crew-cut youth rose and greeted him.
"Where's Shikaku? Still handling documents?"
"Mm, mm, mm." A fat man beside him answered indistinctly while eating.
This lineup...
Hyuga Ao couldn't help feeling puzzled. In her impression, the people close to Ino-Shika-Cho were basically all candidates for the next Hokage.
Moreover, every generation's Ino-Shika-Cho had an excellent relationship with the Hokage.
Hyuga Ao lowered her eyes. No wonder Nawaki died just like that.
Thinking of Danzo, Hyuga Ao recalled the many fanfictions she had read in her previous life and the descriptions of Danzo in them. She couldn't help feeling a little wistful about his experiences.
On the battlefield of the First Shinobi World War, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been entrusted with the position in a crisis and became the Third Hokage.
In Danzo's eyes, he had been only one step away. But although he had been only one step away, at the time he had thought it didn't matter. My brother is becoming Hokage. It's practically the same as me becoming Hokage. I'll just devote myself silently from the darkness.
However, after the First Shinobi World War, the Second Shinobi World War, and the Third Shinobi World War, Danzo realized that although he remained in the darkness, Sarutobi placed very few restrictions on him—almost none at all.
And so he tested the boundaries bit by bit and went too far bit by bit. By the end of the Third Shinobi World War, no one could control him anymore.
Because Danzo had already become what he was, he deserved to die no matter how one looked at it. Every time he woke from a dream at midnight and remembered that one step he had fallen short, he gradually became a catalyst for the darkness.
However, Danzo's crimes could not be separated from the Third Hokage's. It could even be said that the Third Hokage had to take most of the blame for Danzo's actions.
Hyuga Ao smiled and greeted the current Ino-Shika-Cho. She had no intention of getting too close to them. Shikaku was simply too dangerous for her. In front of Ino-Shika-Cho, she would maintain the appearance of a refined young lady. They could all pretend together and leave it at that.
"Who is this?" A Pineapple Head youth walked out of the neighboring tent. His face seemed to carry a look of weariness no matter the time.
Shikaku stretched his body and sized up Hyuga Ao.
She wore white—the clothing of the Hyuga clan.
Although she had a forehead protector, the bandages visible on both sides of her temples indicated that she was from the branch family.
Her delicate, fair little face held a faint, almost imperceptible smile. Yet that smile was so light that it seemed she could switch to a cold expression at any moment.
Beneath that gentle face might lie edges no one could imagine.
This woman is beautiful—and dangerous. Shikaku reached his conclusion.
"Hello, Shikaku." Hyuga Ao greeted him.
At this moment, her identity came into play. Nawaki was the grandson of the First Hokage, while the others were the backbone of Konoha and the heirs of Ino-Shika-Cho.
As someone from the rule-bound Hyuga clan, Hyuga Ao naturally couldn't abandon proper etiquette. At this moment, that layer of decorum became a tool to protect her.
Hyuga Ao really didn't want to get close to Shikaku at all. He was clever, his heart was dirty, and he even had a friend who played with mind control. For someone like her, who had secrets, it was best to keep her distance.
Hyuga Ao maintained her refined-lady demeanor, and the four boys beside her found it difficult to force their way closer.
They began discussing the current situation.
The current situation was that although Amegakure had invaded the Land of Fire in one fell swoop, it did not want to advance any farther. Although no one could cure Hanzō's poison, Konoha could still deal with him if it truly wanted to.
Therefore, Hanzō did not want to have the Rain Ninja fight Konoha to the death. The Rain Ninja couldn't afford such a battle; they didn't have the resources for it.
The Rain Ninja relied on supplies from the Sand Ninja and Iwagakure to sustain themselves while engaging Konoha in some low-intensity battles to train their troops. Then they waited for the promised deployment of forces from the Sand Ninja and Iwagakure.
Konoha also had its concerns. Hanzō's poison was truly impossible to cure, and Konoha was unwilling to lose troops to the Rain Ninja's poison.
Therefore, until they found a way to counter the poison of Hanzō of the Salamander, Konoha could not launch a large-scale counterattack.
Both sides dragged things out, waiting for some kind of turning point to appear.
Before you continue