Commander's tent.
There was an indescribable gloom about Orochimaru. He listened quietly to the entirety of his subordinate's report, after which a strange look naturally crept onto the corner of his mouth.
"The ones who ambushed this small supply team were a ten-man squad of Sunagakure elites?"
"A newly formed Genin squad actually managed to brute-force kill six elite Chunin of Sunagakure?"
"Well—this is getting more and more interesting!"
He could not help licking the corner of his mouth, revealing a chilling smile.
Picking up the mission scroll from the desk, Orochimaru began to carefully read the briefing of this mission, paying special attention to the parts detailing Uchiha Jin's squad.
Two minutes later.
Putting down the scroll, Orochimaru wore a look of surprise at the corner of his mouth: "There's actually an Uchiha as well? And he's in the same squad as Hashirama's son? Old man, what on earth are you trying to do?"
Meanwhile, in response to this.
Toyama Ryuichi and the other few surviving Jonin all stood respectfully in place, quietly awaiting Orochimaru's decision.
After pondering for a long time, Orochimaru spoke: "Takada Fujiwara's squad is credited with one B-Rank Mission."
"The other squad members are credited with one C-Rank Mission each. Replenish the missing personnel within three days, and resume mission assignments three days from now."
"Dismissed."
After everyone else had left, he picked up the mission scroll once again and began to carefully look through it anew.
At this stage of his life, Orochimaru perhaps wasn't as obsessed with the Sharingan as he would be in the future—having not yet encountered Itachi, who would hit him with a Genjutsu "Tsukuyomi"—yet Uchiha Jin still managed to draw his attention.
Because of his research into Hashirama Cells, he had accidentally discovered just a few days prior that the Sharingan had an inhibitory effect on Hashirama Cells.
It was precisely because of this point that he harbored some schemes in his heart regarding this suddenly emerged Uchiha genius.
"Only five years old, and he has already awakened his eyes?"
"And it wasn't the death of a comrade, merely the death of passersby... Is this another Uchiha genius?"
"Still, it's a bit hard to understand. The Uchiha clan hasn't even discovered this genius yet, so how did that old fellow Danzo find out first?"
"Well—forget it!"
"Intervening too early doesn't hold much meaning. Let's wait until this brat runs into danger before talking."
Orochimaru's gaze was obscure.
Much like Uchiha Jin, even without any evidence, he immediately thought of Danzo upon encountering this bizarre ambush by Sunagakure.
Yet he had no intention of intervening proactively, and was even willing to take the initiative to spread word of it.
An Uchiha genius at five years old... He was quite curious about what actions Danzo and the Uchiha would take once this matter reached the village, and what kind of thoughts his own teacher would have.
Although he was beginning to develop an interest in this Uchiha Jin, he had no intention of interfering excessively. After all, at this point in time, he was still aiming for the position of Fourth Hokage, so his mindset naturally hadn't become as insane as it would be in the future.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Inside the tent of Uchiha Jin's squad, the atmosphere appeared rather tense.
"Without a doubt, the intelligence was leaked!"
"It can almost be affirmed that the enemy came straight for us."
"Just as Nara Shikaichi analyzed, Sunagakure had no need to deploy a ninja team of this tier for such a small supply team."
"Presumably, it must be related to that band of bandits we wiped out last time, and with high probability, it's definitely the mastermind behind that gang seeking revenge."
"We must save ourselves!"
"Later on, Shikaichi, find a way to scout around. I need to know the power distribution of this camp, and who the people at the very top with command authority are."
"An Uchiha like me can't do this sort of thing, and Kakashi is currently all alone as well. Only you, a member of the Nara clan, still have hope."
"However, don't rush either!"
"According to the standard procedures of a Konoha Ninja, we have at least a few days of rest time. We must make good use of this period to proactively find ourselves a secure mission as early as possible."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid that enemy behind the scenes will use his influence within Konoha to arrange a fatal mission for us next."
Uchiha Jin spoke fluently and with composure.
Knowing Danzo's personality and character, especially after learning about the situation of Root, he had indeed already begun to grow quite anxious by now.
There was no help for it!
He was well aware of Danzo's madness.
Last time, he had greedily swallowed over eight million ryo of that old man's silver, and this time, in order to protect himself, he had even exposed his Sharingan. Given that fellow's lack of trust in the Uchiha and his madness, he would definitely spare no expense to eliminate him.
Now they were even in the midst of war, and the other party was one of Konoha's elders; thus, as long as the other party was willing, making use of the opportunity to bump him off would undoubtedly be extremely simple.
Therefore, just as he had said, he had to complete his self-rescue as quickly as possible!
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Hearing Lin Mo's analytical breakdown, Kakashi and Nara Shikaichi both turned grim-faced.
Especially—Kakashi!
Even though Lin Mo hadn't told him the reason for his father's death last time, these two simple missions alone had made him deeply feel the darkness within Konoha.
Consequently...
He had already begun to faintly perceive the truth behind his father's suicidal act!
Nara Shikaichi nodded: "An uncle of mine is over in internal affairs, and my relationship with him is barely passable. Later, I'll find a way to dig up some information from that side."
"However, I still don't quite understand. Even if we can find out who holds command authority, what possible meaning could that have for us?"
"None of the three of us have any influence or power behind us. Could it really be possible for us to earn the privilege of choosing our own missions?"
Nara Shikaichi felt somewhat puzzled and directly voiced his own perspective.
As for this.
Kakashi, on the other hand, looked thoughtful; truth be told, he had actually seen that legacy of his father's back then.
However, the problem was.
He didn't actually hold much hope for that legacy. After all, most of the time, once a person died, their influence went out with them, and he didn't feel that his father's former subordinates would dare to help him at a juncture like this.
"Jin, do you really believe in that thing?" Kakashi asked doubtfully.
Uchiha Jin took a deep breath, and only then nodded solemnly: "Believing or not believing holds no meaning at all. For us right now, we can only stake everything on a desperate gamble."
"Let's try it!"
"What if it works?"
Uchiha Jin was thoroughly clear in his heart that if they didn't make an attempt, their next mission would literally be a narrow escape with zero chance of survival.
Therefore.
He had no choice but to gamble this once!
Hearing this, Kakashi could not help letting out a sigh.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Nara Shikaichi's gaze was filled with curiosity, yet he did not continue to press with questions.
Because it was useless!
Since the other person didn't want to talk about it, it definitely involved privacy.
Right at that moment, Takada Fujiwara walked in: "Congratulations to the three of you. Lord Orochimaru has changed it to a B-Rank Mission!"
Before you continue