Danzo thought Orochimaru was an idiot.
Leaving aside the fact that Eiji would be difficult to kill, even if he somehow managed to bury Eiji, what then?
He knew Eiji was highly popular among the Uchiha. Some even regarded him as the hope of restoring the Uchiha to prominence.
If Eiji died, the Uchiha would go berserk that very day.
Across all of Konoha Village, who didn't know that he, Danzo, and the Uchiha had an irreconcilable grudge?
Eiji probably wouldn't even be cold before those Red Eyes came charging at him with blades.
Even if the Uchiha were as cowardly as could be, Hiruzen would certainly make trouble for him.
He had already lost his position as advisor. There was nowhere lower for him to fall.
"I know you're interested in that little brat, but dealing with him is indeed a little complicated."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
He thought Danzo was an idiot.
Who said he had to act personally? Did he not understand what it meant to use someone else's blade to kill?
"I'll leave behind some traces and make it look as though I'm in Kirigakure. Konoha naturally won't ignore that information. When the time comes, they'll certainly send Eiji to investigate."
"The lunatics in Kirigakure are even crazier than the Uchiha. He'll lose half his life if he goes there."
"If he still doesn't die, then we'll use the private soldiers we've raised outside. We'll wear him down until he's dead."
After their previous encounter, Orochimaru believed he already understood Eiji.
Seeing that Danzo was still hesitating, Orochimaru threw out another lure.
"Danzo, don't you want to become Hokage? At that child's rate of growth, you don't have much time left."
The word "Hokage" struck Danzo deep in the heart. It was the dream of his entire life.
What was the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish?
"Fine. You and I will work together. This time, we must kill him."
"Not for my sake, but for Konoha."
Orochimaru gave a cold laugh and quietly left the room.
You're as hypocritical as ever, Danzo.
Time passed little by little.
At the Hokage Building, Hiruzen received reports from various departments.
Orochimaru was very likely hiding in Kirigakure!
Hiruzen immediately summoned Kakashi.
"We not only need to search for Orochimaru's whereabouts, but also gather intelligence on Kirigakure. That place has always been sealed off, and we know far too little about it."
Even though it was peacetime, Hiruzen still felt that war could break out at any moment.
Without sufficient intelligence, they would suffer badly in the future.
"Understood. For this mission, I suggest Eiji and Tenzo again."
Hiruzen agreed without much hesitation.
The team complemented one another perfectly. It was a very reasonable arrangement.
The situation was urgent. That very night, Kakashi and Tenzo knocked on the door of Eiji's house.
When he learned they were going to Kirigakure, Eiji froze for a moment.
If he remembered correctly, the friend Kakashi had mentioned was hiding there.
Orochimaru, Orochimaru. You really cause trouble wherever you go.
Eiji did not dawdle and set off in a hurry.
In less than three days, they reached the border of the Land of Water.
What troubled them was that the boatmen would rather go hungry than sail farther into the Land of Water.
Tenzo went to negotiate with them, but ultimately returned empty-handed.
He sighed helplessly. "He said that going there recklessly would get him killed by Kirigakure's patrolling shinobi, so he refuses to go no matter what."
"The blockade here is even tighter than we imagined. No wonder Orochimaru is hiding here."
While Tenzo and Kakashi were still hesitating over how to sneak into the Land of Water without a sound, Eiji had already used the Sharingan to control one of the boatmen.
The boatman carried them toward the Land of Water.
"If we run into patrolling shinobi, we can quietly take them out. That won't be a problem, right?"
"It'll be a huge problem."
Kakashi furrowed his brows. "We're on the sea. How can you kill people skilled in Water Release without making a sound..."
Wait, something was wrong.
That kid Eiji seemed to be extremely skilled in Water Release!
Kakashi even felt that, if Eiji weren't looking after the two of them, he could simply skim across the surface of the water.
"As long as the Mizukage doesn't personally intervene, Eiji should have no trouble getting us out, right?"
"Don't worry, Seniors. Running away is what I'm best at."
Under normal circumstances, the Mizukage certainly would not intervene personally.
Who had the time? There were countless matters in the village.
But.
The current Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, was not a normal Mizukage.
He was a Mizukage controlled by the Masked Man.
Inside the Mizukage's Office, the Masked Man sat in the Mizukage's seat and examined the information on the village's shinobi one file at a time.
He needed to find some subordinates among them.
So far, aside from Kisame, he had not found any suitable candidates.
The Mizukage stood to one side, quiet as a wooden puppet.
He had been controlled by the Masked Man long ago and turned into a puppet.
As for the infighting and slaughter in the village, the Masked Man could not even be bothered to manage it.
If not for Kirigakure, Rin would not have died.
The Masked Man had done them a favor by not wiping them all out.
Besides, the Masked Man truly would not interfere.
"Someone's here."
Zetsu slowly emerged from the ground.
"Hm?" The Masked Man was puzzled. This place had always been isolated from the outside world. Who would be bored enough to come looking for them?
"Shinobi from Konoha Village learned that Orochimaru is here, so they sent several shinobi to investigate... It's the same three."
The Masked Man really wanted to curse.
Is Orochimaru sick in the head? The Shinobi World is so vast. Why did he have to run here?
And those useless fools from Konoha Village—how could the greatest boss in the Shinobi World possibly be Orochimaru's subordinate?
Has the intelligence of you people even exceeded two?
"What should we do? Let them in, or..."
The Masked Man's voice turned cold. "Stop them with everything we've got. I suddenly want to see whether that little brat can awaken his potential if he watches his comrades die right in front of him."
The Konoha Team drew closer and closer to their destination.
Honest Tenzo let out a sigh of relief. "Looks like we're lucky. We haven't encountered any Kirigakure shinobi."
Eiji slowly stood up. "Prepare to attack, Seniors. We've already been surrounded by Kirigakure shinobi."
He took out Explosive Tags and handed them to Kakashi and Tenzo. "Wait until they get a little closer, then blow them to hell."
Kakashi felt that something was wrong. "Our mission is to infiltrate Kirigakure, not fight them to the death."
Eiji spread his hands. "Senior Kakashi, either we kill them or they kill us. Pick one."
"That's..."
Kakashi felt that neither choice was particularly good.
"I think we can still talk this out. After all, both sides have signed a peace treaty. Attacking Konoha shinobi in public would be seen as provoking war, wouldn't it?"
Eiji drew Xiao Er. "Do you think the lunatics in Kirigakure care about that? They're practically all dead already."
He paused, then continued, "Besides, given our Hokage's personality, even if the three of us are left without intact corpses, he'll just brush it off with those words about putting the greater good first."
Kakashi fell silent. He remembered the tragic experience of the Hyuga clan.
Soon, a large number of ships surrounded them.
A short man holding a club stood at the front. Kakashi recognized him as the current Mizukage.
He was thinking of trying to struggle free when the other man waved his hand.
"Invaders detected. Kill them without exception."
Before you continue