"Then let's set out!"
Tsunade and Orochimaru exchanged a glance before leading their respective teams off.
"Sis Tsunade, what are we going there to do?" Hyuga Ao asked.
"Kyoko didn't tell you?" Tsunade turned back in surprise and looked at Kyoko.
Kato Kyoko blushed. "I thought Ao'er knew."
"Fine. You're unreliable too." Tsunade pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. Then her expression darkened. "It would be nice if Dan were still here."
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
Dan Katō? Hyuga Ao had never met him before.
After asking around, she learned that Dan Katō had already died early in the war.
It was said that he had gone to steal the antidote for Ibuse's poison. While returning with the Spirit Transformation Technique, his hidden body had been discovered by the enemy, and he had died because his soul could not return.
A moment later, Tsunade came to her senses. "The poison the Sand Ninja are using this time contains several ingredients that require a certain flower."
"We saw it before when we passed through the Land of Rain on a mission. There's a flower field just outside the Rain Ninja camp."
"We're going there to gather it. Since we need to act covertly, there are only the three of us, making it easier to maneuver."
"Easier to maneuver?" Hyuga Ao looked suspiciously at Kato Kyoko.
Kato Kyoko smiled smugly. "Don't let appearances fool you. I still have the strength of a Jonin, you know."
Under the Land of Rain's unending drizzle and the cover of night, with Hyuga Ao's Byakugan scouting ahead, they reached the outskirts of the Rain Ninja camp without a hitch.
In the flower field, Tsunade was explaining the key points of gathering the flowers.
"Watch carefully. This flower is called Rain Flower, named for growing in the Land of Rain. Its corolla has five red-and-white petals, and its stamens are pale blue."
"We only need the corollas. We need enough to fill three scrolls. Ao'er, stand guard. Let's begin."
Tsunade, Kato Kyoko, and Hyuga Ao each created two clones and got to work.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Orochimaru led the scouting team in pursuit of the mysterious unit that had appeared that day.
Orochimaru's expression was grim as they followed the traces all the way. No, "follow" was not quite right. It was more like tailing them.
The newcomers had not concealed their tracks at all. They had arrived in a grand procession and left without the slightest restraint, practically announcing their presence to Konoha.
I've come. I've left.
Orochimaru's slit pupils narrowed, and his expression turned cold. When has anyone ever dared look down on Konoha like this?
Following the traces, Orochimaru's team soon arrived at the outskirts of the Rain Ninja camp.
After walking through the rain the entire way, Orochimaru had also calmed down.
Veiled in mist and rain, the Rain Ninja camp appeared indistinct. The drizzle outlined the camp's shape, and from a distance, it looked like a giant beast crouching on the ground, ready to bare its fangs at any enemy.
"What are the Rain Ninja trying to say?" Orochimaru muttered to himself.
Suddenly, Orochimaru thought of something. "Could it be the village?"
After thinking for a while, Orochimaru stopped, lacking crucial information. "Let's go see how Tsunade is doing."
Orochimaru led the team to rendezvous with Tsunade.
On a hill beside the flower field, Ibuse emerged from underground. It opened its enormous mouth, revealing a pair of placid eyes.
Those eyes observed the area for a moment before Ibuse slowly closed its mouth.
"Yo, you're here." Having sealed the gathered Rain Flowers into a scroll, Tsunade greeted them.
"How did it go?"
Tsunade shook the scroll in her hand. "Done. This is enough."
"Mm." Orochimaru nodded and swept his gaze around. "Let's go!"
The two Konoha teams joined up and prepared to leave.
"Explosive Tag Formation!"
Dense clusters of Explosive Tags surfaced from underground and coiled around everyone's feet.
"Watch out!"
Hyuga Ao reacted the fastest, sweeping out a palm and scattering the Explosive Tag Formation.
Everyone leaped aside. The scattered Explosive Tags erupted around them in sparks, illuminating the pitch-black figure behind the flames.
Looking at the figure, Orochimaru's expression grew solemn. He slowly spat out two words: "Hanzō!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Orochimaru gave the order. "Run!"
Several smoke bombs were thrown down. Eighteen figures burst out through the purple smoke and fled in different directions.
"Flash!"
The experienced Hanzō immediately determined which direction held the real body.
A sickle tore out through the chest of the Inuzuka Clan Jonin, killing him on the spot.
Hyuga Ao's pupils contracted. A Taijutsu Jonin had not even had time to react?
Hanzō swung the chain of his sickle. It hooked an Aburame Clan Jonin with unerring accuracy, and the Aburame Jonin transformed into a swarm of Kikaichū and scattered.
"Water Release: Cotton Water Needles!"
The fine, swift water needles nearly knocked all the Kikaichū from the air.
As the swarm dispersed, it revealed the pale-faced Aburame Jonin.
Hanzō swung his sickle without mercy and killed the Aburame Clan Jonin as well.
Taking advantage of this opening, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Kato Kyoko, and Hyuga Ao had already gotten far away.
Watching their retreating figures, Hanzō stood with his weapon lowered and let out a soft, inscrutable laugh.
"Lord Hanzō, why didn't you pursue them?" Hanzō's trusted aide asked.
"The Third Hokage and Danzo have been hiding their intentions, mixing truth with lies. They have no real intention of maintaining peace!"
"My ambush tonight was meant to tell them exactly how much weight Konoha carries in the eyes of the Rain Ninja!"
After saying this, Hanzō sighed. If the Land of Rain were stronger, would he even need to say such things?
The four of them raced onward. Though they were curious why Hanzō had not pursued them, the terror of having their intentions seen through left them all shaken.
They did not slow their steps and quickly returned to the Konoha Camp.
Just as the four of them returned, at the former site of the Konoha Camp—
A black figure was observing the traces Hyuga Ao had left behind that day.
"There's no mistake. No mistake at all. This is Divine Void Strike! But why?"
White Zetsu had originally been searching for the whereabouts of high-purity Shikotsumyaku. He had not expected to discover this by accident.
White Zetsu had seen it, and Black Zetsu, who secretly controlled White Zetsu, had naturally seen it too.
Black Zetsu racked his brain. He remembered every technique related to Kaguya's abilities, all of which he had continuously sabotaged over the course of a thousand years.
The last Hyuga Tenin had also left and never returned.
By all rights, the Hyuga's inheritance should have been severed.
Why could Hyuga Ao perform this strike?
Black Zetsu carefully sensed the spiritual will lingering in the earth and detected a familiar presence.
"Could it be... like Mother?" Black Zetsu was suddenly startled, frightened by the thought that had come to him.
The sudden thought took root and began echoing through Black Zetsu's mind.
Unable to stop himself, Black Zetsu began thinking in that direction.
The body shape was similar, and even the contours of the face were similar. Could this be Mother's chakra reincarnated? Black Zetsu thought.
He shook his head and expelled the idea from his mind.
Black Zetsu made up his mind.
Regardless, he would keep a close eye on her for now.
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