Sunagakure, Orochimaru

"Sunagakure, the One-Tailed Jinchuriki?"

Upon hearing the report from the Root Ninja, Danzo's expression darkened.

This time, the fact that Root had failed to eliminate Hyuga Chiba in time and retrieve his Tenseigan meant that they had already made an enemy of him.

Once Hyuga Chiba recovered and had sufficient opportunity to grow, he would inevitably become a major threat to Root and to Danzo himself.

The vast chakra of a Tailed Beast would undoubtedly accelerate his growth even further!

"We must not let Hyuga Chiba obtain the Tailed Beast's chakra."

Danzo quickly made a decision and ordered the Root Ninjas under his command: "Hiruzen has dispatched all available Jonin, so I shall dispatch all available Root Jonin as well."

"Additionally, contact Itachi of Akatsuki in secret and tell him that Sasuke is living quite healthily in the village."

"Tell him to find a way to incite Akatsuki to move against Hyuga Chiba."

"And one more thing..." Danzo hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and saying, "If necessary, contact Orochimaru in Sunagakure and have him kill Hyuga Chiba, or kill the One-Tailed Jinchuriki."

That's right; even at this stage, Danzo still maintained contact with Orochimaru, an S-Rank Rogue Ninja.

He even knew a thing or two about the "Konoha Crush Plan" that Orochimaru was preparing to launch.

But Danzo did not care.

On the contrary, if Konoha were to fall into chaos, or if Sarutobi Hiruzen were to die, he might even be able to seize the opportunity to usurp the position of Hokage that he had been longing for.

"However, letting Orochimaru move against Hyuga Chiba might not necessarily be a good thing."

Danzo's expression was grim, and he felt a hint of worry: "Given his personality and abilities, if he were to obtain the Tenseigan, he might eventually turn around and become a major threat to me as well."

But Orochimaru was not even a member of the Hyuga Clan; even if he obtained the Tenseigan, there was a high probability he would be unable to unleash its true power.

Moreover, even if Danzo didn't say anything, Orochimaru, who was currently in Sunagakure, would eventually learn of the Tenseigan and might take the initiative to get involved himself.

Furthermore, it was not as if Danzo lacked a final trump card.

For instance, the Mangekyo Sharingan of Uchiha Shisui in his right eye, along with the collection of Three-Tomoe Sharingan embedded in his arm.

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

Upon hearing Danzo's orders, the Root Ninjas responded in unison and went off to carry them out.

Hyuga Clan Compound... skipped!

Land of Wind!

Sunagakure, Kazekage Office!

"The Tenseigan, an eye on par with the God's Eye and the Rinnegan, and its target is the One-Tailed Jinchuriki?"

Upon receiving the urgent communication from Konoha, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, wore an expression of astonishment, confusion, and skepticism. "What on earth is Konoha babbling about?"

"In all of Sunagakure's records, there has never been any mention of a Tenseigan, let alone one possessed by a 12-year-old brat from the Hyuga Clan."

"Even if it were true, he actually dares to come to Sunagakure, harboring delusions of obtaining the One-Tail's Chakra, or perhaps even becoming the new One-Tailed Jinchuriki?"

"What does he take my Sunagakure for? Does he really think of himself as a God?"

Upon learning the intelligence regarding Hyuga Chiba, Rasa's first reaction was: this is too fake.

It sounded like a complete fabrication!

If the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, were still in charge of Konoha, Rasa would have suspected that Konoha was plotting some conspiracy against Sunagakure.

"The Tenseigan, is it?"

At this moment, Orochimaru, who was also in the Kazekage Office, suddenly became interested. "I wonder how it compares to the Mangekyo Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan?"

Ever since Orochimaru was in the Akatsuki and was thoroughly outclassed by Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan, he had been unable to get the Sharingan out of his mind.

Now, suddenly hearing about a Tenseigan that was supposedly comparable to the God's Eye, Orochimaru's first reaction was also disbelief.

But thinking of the Rinnegan belonging to the Akatsuki leader, Pain, and knowing full well that his foolish teacher would not joke about such matters, he began to believe it to some extent.

He also subconsciously began to compare the Tenseigan with the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo Sharingan.

Unfortunately, without having seen the power of the Tenseigan with his own eyes, Orochimaru could not determine which was superior between it and the Mangekyo Sharingan.

After a moment of contemplation, Orochimaru suggested to Rasa, "If the Tenseigan truly exists and has obtained the One-Tail's Chakra, then that is not necessarily a good thing for Sunagakure, or even the entire ninja world."

"Although you have always considered your son Gaara a failure as a Jinchuriki and have constantly sent people to assassinate him, you surely wouldn't want the One-Tail to fall into the hands of ninjas from another village, would you?"

Rasa's expression darkened as he stared fixedly at Orochimaru. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's simple. Let my people join forces with your Sunagakure ninjas to deal with Hyuga Chiba." Orochimaru didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "I have seen a real Rinnegan."

"If the Tenseigan is truly on par with the Rinnegan, even if that Hyuga Chiba has only just awakened it, it is not something Sunagakure can easily handle."

"Therefore, you might need my power."

"Hmph!" Rasa was no fool; he instantly saw through Orochimaru's intentions. Crossing his arms, he snorted coldly, "I see, you're after Hyuga Chiba's Tenseigan, aren't you?"

"Since he dares to reach his hand into my Sunagakure, then as spoils of war, the Tenseigan should belong to us, Sunagakure."

"Sunagakure has me, the Kazekage, the One-Tail, and many ninjas. I refuse to believe we cannot deal with a Tenseigan-wielding brat who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

"Then let us rely on our own abilities. Whoever manages to take the Tenseigan, it shall be their spoils of war." Orochimaru was not surprised by Rasa's reaction and spoke again.

The meaning was clear: even if Rasa was unwilling, his men would still move against Hyuga Chiba.

Rasa naturally understood what Orochimaru meant, and he grew annoyed at once.

However, thinking of how the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had repeatedly slashed Sunagakure's funding, he realized that only by cooperating with Orochimaru to target Konoha and launch a new war could they possibly obtain sufficient resources. He held back his temper and made a concession, saying, "Let your people act alongside the Sand Ninjas, but they must follow the commands of the Sand."

"Once we have dealt with Hyuga Chiba, we shall rely on our own abilities to see who ultimately claims that Tenseigan."

"Hehe, a pleasure doing business!" Orochimaru extended his long tongue to wash his face, then asked, "But Lord Kazekage, are you really so confident that our combined forces will definitely be able to take down Hyuga Chiba?"

"Hmph!" Rasa let out a soft laugh, offering no further reply.

But it was clear that he still did not believe the so-called Tenseigan, which was said to be on par with the Rinnegan, posed any real threat.

In fact, having never seen Pain in action with his own eyes, Rasa even considered the Rinnegan's reputation as the "God's Eye" to be nothing more than hype.