That day, with Shimura Danzō's sudden appearance, Konoha, which held the advantage in Kage Level strength, successfully pushed its front line into the Land of Rain. Seeing his Iwagakure forces suffer heavy losses, Ōnoki flew into a rage and deployed a large number of troops to the battlefield in the Land of Rain.
Konoha also quickly sent in reinforcements. Seeing Konoha tied down, the Sand Ninja decisively attacked Konoha from the Land of Sand, opening up a new battlefield. The battlefield in the Land of Rain instead became little more than a place to pad the numbers.
At this point, the Third Hokage and Ōnoki had agreed not to intervene personally and had each returned to their village. Danzo, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
Danzo had not yet gone blind. His body was taut as he stared fixedly at the Third Raikage. "Lord Raikage, have you made your decision?"
The Third Raikage straightened his towering, mountain-like body and asked, "Is Konoha not afraid that Kumogakure will go back on its word again?"
"Hahahahaha!" Danzo laughed heartily. "Of course not. I believe that under Lord Raikage's rule, there is no chance of madmen like Kinkaku and Ginkaku appearing again."
"No chance? I understand. You may return. If Kumogakure agrees, we will surely find an opportunity to send troops. You'll know then."
The Third Raikage waved him off.
Danzo left Kumogakure with a gloomy expression, thinking to himself, Hmph. Sooner or later, under my leadership, Konoha will flatten this place!
At this time, Hyuga Ao led a group of Hyuga ninja, rushing all the way to the battlefield in the Land of Rain. Thanks to Taijutsu ninja's high mobility, they arrived swiftly.
Hyuga Ao went to meet Orochimaru. "Konoha Chunin Hyuga Ao, reporting with the Hyuga clan members under my command."
"Mm." Orochimaru looked up and swept his gaze over them before saying casually, "Good. Go find Jiraiya. He'll arrange your next mission."
After speaking, he continued writing and sketching on a scroll. Just as Hyuga Ao was about to leave the tent, Orochimaru said, "Wait. Hyuga Ao stays. The rest of you may go."
Hyuga Ao stopped and looked at Orochimaru in confusion.
Orochimaru carefully observed the current of wind around Hyuga Ao. It really had not been an illusion just now. If he had a question, he asked it directly. "Hyuga Ao, Nawaki wrote me a letter about you."
"Oh? What did Nawaki say about me?" Hyuga Ao asked.
Orochimaru recalled the contents of the letter, his expression turning strange. "He said that although you're a member of the Hyuga clan, you're sharp and eager to learn, and that you even borrowed my notes to read."
Hearing this, Hyuga Ao guessed that Orochimaru must have something to ask. She got straight to the point. "Lord Orochimaru, do you have a question? Don't worry. I'll tell you everything I know."
Orochimaru's expression softened slightly. He liked people who were direct and did not waste everyone's time. "Good. Since you put it that way, I want to ask: what is that wind around you?"
Asking someone directly about their secret technique was actually extremely impolite. But first, Orochimaru was genuinely curious. Second, they were not strangers. Finally, after observing how the wind moved, Orochimaru felt it could be of great help in dealing with Hanzō.
Hyuga Ao's eyes lit up. She was not afraid of being asked; she was afraid of being ignored. She had always wanted to build a good relationship with Orochimaru. After all, Uncle Snake possessed the core technology and could even turn into Auntie Snake sometimes. Who could resist a snake like that?
She countered, "What would Lord Orochimaru offer in exchange for the answer?"
"Oh." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly and appraised Hyuga Ao anew. To be able to ask such a question showed that she had a mind of her own, rather than being brainwashed into stupidity by Konoha.
Still, he did not dislike people like that.
Orochimaru smiled meaningfully. "That depends on what you want."
"Yin Seal."
Hyuga Ao blurted out the answer, leaving Orochimaru stunned. What use could a Hyuga have for the Yin Seal?
Orochimaru grew even more interested in Hyuga Ao. He rasped, "Your secret isn't enough."
Hyuga Ao smiled faintly and raised her left hand, pointing her index finger at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru straightened his back, wanting to see what new trick Hyuga Ao could produce.
He watched as the flesh at Hyuga Ao's fingertip slowly parted. A pale section of finger bone was pushed out and launched forward, tracing an arc before landing on Orochimaru's desk.
Orochimaru stared blankly at the finger bone before him, his thoughts seemingly grinding to a halt. Countless ideas collided violently in his mind, and many of his former certainties were overturned. The gates to a new world slowly opened before him.
He carefully picked up the section of bone as though it were a priceless treasure. After a long while, he looked up at Hyuga Ao's slender, flawless finger. His eyes burned with fanaticism.
"How about you become my disciple? No, I can't say you're becoming my disciple. We'll only have a teacher-student relationship publicly; in reality, we'll be partners. But you'll still count as my student, and you can come to me for anything."
As he spoke, he seemed afraid Hyuga Ao would refuse and added, "I want to know how you obtained that. Since you showed it to me, you must want something from me as well. What do you say? Any condition can be negotiated!"
Hyuga Ao looked at Orochimaru, who had completely shed his usual aloofness and now resembled an ordinary engineering nerd. She sighed inwardly. Still, this version of Orochimaru was indeed safer.
She nodded in agreement. "Why not, Teacher Orochimaru?"
"Hahahaha, good!" Incredibly, a man like Orochimaru was now laughing so freely.
Immediately afterward, Orochimaru composed himself and asked, "Do you have any plans for what you'll do next?"
Hyuga Ao bowed slightly. "I'll follow your arrangements, Teacher."
"Mm." Orochimaru thought for a moment. "How about this? From now on, you'll be my assistant. But you won't have to do much. You may read any of my books, ask me questions, and arrange your own schedule. However, when I occasionally conduct research, you'll need to cooperate with me."
Hyuga Ao tilted her head. Those are excellent conditions. Not bad!
"Teacher Orochimaru, I want to learn Sealing Jutsu."
"Hm?" Orochimaru looked at Hyuga Ao's forehead. Although it was hidden beneath her forehead protector, he suddenly realized that his precious, beloved disciple's life was still controlled by the Hyuga clan. His eyes grew unfathomably dark, and he nodded. "Good."
Before long, news spread through the Konoha Camp preparing for war as swiftly as if it had grown wings.
The aloof, ascetic heartthrob Orochimaru had actually taken a ten-year-old girl from the Hyuga branch family as his disciple.
For a time, everyone was dumbfounded. The men all condemned this filthy transaction between a powerful figure and a great clan, while the women cursed the unknown little vixen for seducing their heartthrob and wished they could take her place.
The one most shocked of all was Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was suffering inside. Tsunade had run off with someone else, but that was fine—he still had Orochimaru. But now Orochimaru had taken a female disciple, while he had only taken one disciple!
But all of that was just a joke.
Jiraiya found Orochimaru and sat down before him in a broad, imposing manner, his expression solemn. As companions who had grown up together, he understood Orochimaru better than anyone. Orochimaru definitely had some unknown secret.
Jiraiya said gravely, "Orochimaru, why did you choose to take Ao'er as your disciple? You owe me an explanation."
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya. Am I really that untrustworthy? Irritated, he said, "Eternal loser, don't bother me over things like this in the future!"
After being harshly berated by Orochimaru, Jiraiya was relieved instead. "Fine. Since you've taken someone as your disciple, you'd better teach her properly. Hyuga Ao was in my class before, so if there are any problems, I'll come to you!"
"Hmph." Watching Jiraiya leave, Orochimaru picked up another scroll and began reading. It contained some data from Hyuga Ao's examination the previous night. As he read, Orochimaru became completely absorbed.
Only the words "stinking toad" were left to scatter on the wind.
Before you continue