The Root squad's expressions changed dramatically.
The Root member handling the final details was just about to question him, but Orochimaru stopped him.
"Sawada-kun, explain."
Orochimaru's face was filled with an eerie expression as he slowly spoke from his chair.
Sawada Seiichi was burly, with a scar across his face and an aura of steely menace radiating from his entire body.
At first glance, he was a rough-looking brute!
However, whenever his eyes opened and closed, they gave off a remarkably lively impression.
"Lord Orochimaru, that's exactly how it happened!"
"I have a pretty good impression of Takada Fujiwara's squad. They're all practitioners of the Will of Fire."
"Even though they had just gone through a bloody battle with Sunagakure, they still refused to take even a brief rest. Instead, driven by the spirit of serving Konoha, they came to me on their own two hours ago to request a mission."
"They even asked for the more dangerous the mission, the better."
"What excellent shinobi!"
"So I thought it over for a long time and decided that I should give them a chance to contribute to Konoha."
"Considering that Pakura secretly went to the Land of Rain a few days ago, and that we really did need to uncover Pakura's true objective, we naturally handed this A-rank mission directly to them."
Sawada Seiichi sighed repeatedly.
Combined with his rough features, which closely resembled those of the Fourth Raikage A, it somehow gave him an eerie and extraordinarily convincing air.
Orochimaru: "..."
The Root squad: "..."
At that moment, the corners of their mouths all twitched, and black lines unconsciously appeared across their foreheads.
The Will of Fire?
If this matter hadn't been such a coincidence, they might actually have believed Sawada Seiichi's nonsense.
Heh, what a joke!
As clever as Orochimaru was, he easily guessed the truth. It was most likely that the strange movements of Sunagakure had caused the Nara clan member in Takada Fujiwara's squad to notice that something was wrong, prompting them to come up with this response.
The only question now was, why was Sawada Seiichi helping them?
Wait...
He suddenly thought of Hatake Kakashi, who was in Takada Fujiwara's squad. Hatake Sakumo had been Sawada Seiichi's former superior, and he had even saved Sawada Seiichi several times on the battlefield.
"So that's how it is!"
"I understand what happened. Jonin Sawada, you can go back and continue with your work."
Orochimaru slowly nodded.
He did not investigate the matter any further. After all, it had nothing to do with him.
Although he had some cooperation with Danzo, he was not Danzo's subordinate, was he?
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The Root squad could not tolerate this and directly stopped Sawada Seiichi.
"Jonin Sawada, you violated procedure!"
"Takada Fujiwara's squad is involved in Lord Danzo's plans, but your actions have ruined everything."
"Come with us. You need to be punished!"
The Root squad was clearly furious, so their tone was naturally icy.
Unfortunately...
Sawada Seiichi's face was filled with disdain, and he could not even be bothered to look at them properly. "I have the authority to issue missions below A-rank according to battlefield conditions and mobilize Konoha Ninja below the rank of jonin to carry out battlefield missions."
"This is a task assigned to me by the Hokage-sama. Besides, your Root does not possess the authority of the Anbu. You have no right to question or interrogate me."
"Everything I've done complies with Konoha's laws. Either produce a written order from the Hokage-sama, or get the hell out of here right now!"
After saying that,
Sawada Seiichi snorted coldly, casually crossed his arms, and left.
As for this,
The Root squad was furious, but they could not say a word.
Use force?
Impossible!
Sawada Seiichi was no ordinary jonin. He was an elite Konoha jonin with official authority.
Simply put, he was part of Konoha's core leadership.
Unlike those independent shinobi, he belonged to Konoha's Mission Management Division, and his authority was almost on par with that of the Anbu captain.
What about Danzo?
Although he was a Konoha elder, the leader of Root, and the Hokage's adviser, at most he could order ordinary Konoha jonin—and even then, only ordinary jonin without any official position.
As for Konoha's elite jonin and ordinary jonin with official positions, only the Hokage had the authority to order them.
That was the Hokage's bottom line!
If Root could order shinobi of this level around, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have been reduced to a figurehead long ago.
So, heh.
That was precisely why Sawada Seiichi could not possibly be afraid.
Not to mention that he himself was an elite jonin. Unless Danzo personally took action, he truly had nothing to fear from a mere Root shinobi.
And even if Danzo did act, Sawada Seiichi was confident he could escape!
Root only had a measure of special authority when dealing with the Uchiha, and even that was something Sarutobi Hiruzen deliberately tolerated. In other areas, Root truly did not possess much authority. At most, they had a small degree of autonomy.
"Lord Orochimaru, farewell!"
"Let's go!"
The Root squad leader was so furious that his teeth ground together, but he still led the squad away from Kikyo Mountain Camp.
There was nothing they could do.
This had already exceeded the scope of their authority. Lord Danzo would have to resolve the matter personally.
As for pursuing Takada Fujiwara's squad?
Forget it!
The mission privileges they had been granted were extremely broad, and there was not even a time limit. The Land of Rain was vast. Without a corresponding means of communication, even if Root were deployed in its entirety, they probably would not find a trace of them.
Orochimaru quietly watched the Root squad leave. Only afterward did a faint smile appear on his face.
"Takada Fujiwara's squad?"
"They're becoming more and more interesting!"
"Is it simply good luck? How could I possibly believe that?"
"Uchiha Jin, this genius... I'm becoming more and more interested in you!"
Orochimaru's eyes flickered, but after thinking for only a moment, he set the matter aside.
At this point in time, he was not particularly interested in the Uchiha.
Half an hour later.
A squad of Uchiha arrived at the tent. The Uchiha at the front respectfully called out, "Lord Jiraiya!"
"Uchiha Kou? That's unusual." Orochimaru was somewhat startled. "What brings you here?"
Uchiha Kou bowed slightly before slowly speaking. "After discussing it, the clan head and the Hokage-sama decided to send our squad to act alongside Takada Fujiwara's squad and participate in the mission!"
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru fell into thought.
After a moment,
He understood.
Uchiha Jin had only just turned five this year, yet he had already awakened the Sharingan. It was obvious that the village already knew about this.
And whether it was his Teacher Sarutobi or the Uchiha, neither side was willing to give up on this genius.
Teacher Sarutobi wanted Uchiha Jin to remain as he was, while the Uchiha now regretted their earlier decision and hoped to let Uchiha Jin receive training within the clan. Since neither side could convince the other, had they come up with this awkward joint mission as a compromise?
However...
For someone as weak-willed as Fugaku to take such an aggressive stance and obtain this result from his dispute with Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was enough to show how much the Uchiha clan cared about this newly emerged genius.
Heh.
They were becoming more and more interesting!
Before you continue