Two Old Schemers Make a Plan

By the third day at noon, the ninja forces were coming and going like clockwork. Bing San watched them return from outside, frowning at their happy, just-finished-an-exam expressions.

They walked back in small groups, arms around each other's shoulders. Every now and then, a couple of them even compared how many people they'd killed and whose death had been the most gruesome.

Bing San narrowed his eyes. Something was off about their mental state. Very off. Extremely off!

He sent out his One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones clone and made three or four rounds through the camp, inside and out, but still couldn't figure out what was going on. In the end, he returned to his own quarters to think it over.

Bing San counted on his fingers, going over everything he'd seen and heard these past few days.

As he continued to mull it over, Bing San suddenly slammed his scabbard down and cursed, "Damn it. I'm not here to fight a war anyway. Why should I care if they're acting normal? As long as they don't threaten my life, they can do whatever they want."

Suddenly, Bing San's perspective shifted. Orochimaru had summoned his intelligence clone. Bing San focused his attention on it.

Bing San glanced around at the dust-covered people in the tent and immediately understood: Orochimaru had something to discuss with him while they were on the march.

Bing San rubbed his cheeks, put on a fawning smile, and asked, "What do you need, sensei?"

Orochimaru spoke in a hoarse voice. "I heard that Bing San-kun captured a ninja from the Yuki Clan of the Land of Water?"

Bing San nodded. "I did, but the fellow surrendered on the spot. I handed him over to Uncle Torifu Akimichi to keep an eye on. Are you interested, sensei?"

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Of course I am. The few I captured are all ruined."

Bing San's brow furrowed, and his eyelids twitched a few times. Once he'd calmed himself, he said, "Torifu took him away. But if you want him, sensei, you can have him.

"Though it seems someone from Root put some kind of curse on him. I hope you don't mind."

Orochimaru smiled at Bing San and nodded slightly to show that he didn't mind.

The two chatted for a while longer. Bing San couldn't help wondering if Orochimaru had been on his way back to the army for over a month without reaching home because he was plotting something.

But Bing San had little influence and didn't dare ask.

He only pretended to be humble and asked Orochimaru for advice about ninjutsu, then mentioned how strange things had been on the Land of Water front.

Of course, Bing San didn't dare tell him that he suspected Madara Uchiha was involved. He only said he thought the Third Mizukage was acting strangely.

Orochimaru tapped his fingers on the table, frowning as he pondered for a long while. Suddenly, he licked his lips, leaned toward Bing San, and asked, "Bing San-kun, what do you think of the Uchiha's Sharingan?"

Bing San's hand trembled, and his heart began racing. So you've got your eye on the Sharingan already?

Bing San hastily replied, "It's a very useful eye."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "Want one? Your sensei could help you get one."

Bing San quickly shook his head. You're trying to set another trap for me. Don't think I don't know you just want to experiment on me.

Seeing Bing San's expression, Orochimaru pursed his lips. This kid's gotten clever. He's not so easy to fool anymore.

Looks like I'll need to find another one. But where can I get a suitable test subject? Should I try adjusting a few more children?

That's a little slow. I should just capture a few kids.

And so Orochimaru slowly trudged toward Konoha, answering Bing San's questions along the way while thinking about where he could find children for his experiments.

Meanwhile, after hearing a report from Bing San's power clone, Danzo had held several secret discussions with the Third Hokage. But judging by Danzo's face, black as the bottom of a pot whenever he returned, he probably hadn't gotten the answer he wanted.

Today, Danzo finally couldn't hold back and openly quarreled with Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Monkey, you're too soft. Fugaku Uchiha is clearly keeping the enemy around to preserve his own position.

"Look at this, look at the reports from the Land of Water front. There are barely any Uchiha names on the casualty lists."

The Third Hokage had his own misgivings, but couldn't voice them. He took a small puff from his pipe and replied unhurriedly, "Danzo, don't be so suspicious.

"I still trust Fugaku. Even his closest cousin, the one who looked after him, died in battle. He couldn't possibly have some dirty deal with the Land of Water."

The Third Hokage's eyes shifted slightly. He took another puff from his pipe and continued, "Still, the fighting on the Land of Water front has dragged on for a long time. We should bring Fugaku back to rest. Who do you think would be suitable to replace him?"

Danzo thought, You suspect Fugaku Uchiha of plotting something too, but you're acting as if you trust him completely. It's just the two of us here—who are you putting on a show for? He kept his complaints to himself, though. The matter still needed to be handled.

Danzo fixed him with a stern little stare and said in a businesslike tone, "Orochimaru is already on his way back to the army. Why not send him after he returns?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, sensing something was wrong. Orochimaru and his students had made great contributions on the Sand Ninja front, and their reputations were soaring. If they won on the Land of Water front too, wouldn't that old man's seat have to be handed over? Besides, given Danzo's personality, how could he possibly help Orochimaru?

Suddenly, the Third Hokage noticed Bing San standing nearby, serving Danzo tea. His eyes narrowed, the cloudiness slowly clearing as his gaze sharpened. The kindly old man puffing on his pipe disappeared, replaced by the Shinobi Hero, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

So that was why Orochimaru had been dragging his feet instead of coming back. He'd been planning this all along. No wonder that when Hiruzen brought it up, Danzo had sent Shimura Bing San to the Land of Water front in his place, leading Root.

Now it all made sense!

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe and declared, "Orochimaru has been on the road for so long and hasn't even made it back yet. Sending him straight to fight another campaign in the Land of Water would be inappropriate.

"Have Mitokado Homura transfer over instead. Since the Sand Ninja surrendered, the Rock Ninja have retreated from the Land of Rain front. And Hanzo of the Land of Rain has already said he's willing to join forces with us against the Land of Earth. They don't need so many ninja forces over there."

Seeing that Sarutobi Hiruzen was determined not to send Orochimaru, and had even assigned Mitokado Homura instead, Danzo's eyes shifted as he said, "Jiraiya is struggling to hold the line against the Rock Ninja. Why not send Homura to support him, while I personally take charge of the Land of Water front?"

The Third Hokage understood. Danzo was dead set on going to the Land of Water front. Because of the conditions there, the campaign wouldn't be resolved anytime soon. Both sides were exhausted, which meant whoever went there and held the line would earn a great deal of credit.

But he couldn't let Danzo go. What if Danzo and Orochimaru used the momentum of a great victory to force him from office?

The two plotted in the Hokage's office, completely selling out Fugaku Uchiha, who had been entrusted with the crisis. Back when no one else was available, they'd tricked him into taking his whole clan to defend the front. Now that they had men to spare, they wanted to strip him of his command.

Bing San stood to the side, pretending to be invisible. Inwardly, he couldn't stop complaining. No wonder the Uchiha were so resentful later on. Who could put up with this?

In the end, the two old schemers struck a deal. Mitokado Homura would lead the ninja forces from the Land of Rain front to replace Mitarai Zixiao's Rock Ninja garrison, while Jiraiya would lead the Konoha forces withdrawn from the Sand Ninja front to replace Fugaku Uchiha.

As for the standoff between the Taijutsu experts of the Hyuga family and the muscle-bound Third Raikage of the Land of Rivers, the two deliberately ignored it. One had to admit, during this period, the great clans were all targets for being weakened.