At Konoha's main base in the Land of Whirlpools, Orochimaru was looking down at the intelligence in his hands.
Before he knew it, about half a year had passed. The war between Konoha and Kirigakure had grown increasingly fierce.
If the fighting before had been little more than skirmishes, with only one or two people dying each day, now they were fighting in earnest, trading blows with the enemy.
The numbers of dead, wounded, and missing kept rising every day. Bad news arrived without pause.
Konoha and Kirigakure had reached the point where every inch of ground was contested, and the situation was giving Orochimaru a headache.
He wasn't particularly concerned about casualties.
As long as they achieved the strategic objectives he wanted, he could accept the losses they had to bear.
It wasn't that he was cold-blooded. He simply knew this was inevitable. War wasn't child's play; everyone had to be prepared for the consequences!
"Still, life is so fragile."
With a quiet sigh, Orochimaru put down the documents in his hands, his gaze growing distant.
He had seen death far too many times. He'd thought he had long since become numb to it.
But in truth, when he saw the names that represented so many deaths, lined up in one document after another and ultimately reduced to numbers, he was still moved.
He had long held an idea in his heart. It had first taken shape when he was a child and learned that his parents had died in battle.
But he had always suppressed its growth because he didn't want to disappoint his teacher, the Third Hokage of Konoha.
Yet as he took on more and more authority and saw more of the Konoha High Command's dealings and methods, his thoughts grew increasingly active.
"Life is so fragile. If only I could live forever. Then I could learn every ninjutsu and grasp the truths of this world."
At that thought, Orochimaru suddenly paused, then licked his lips and shook his head.
Now really wasn't the time to consider such things. He could study them properly after he returned. After all, he had worked with Danzo before.
Besides, Danzo had invited him again this time!
"Lord Orochimaru." Just then, a Nara Clan ninja entered and bowed respectfully to him.
"Shikani, what is it?" Orochimaru gathered his thoughts and looked at the Nara Clan member.
Orochimaru was confident he could handle anything.
But as the commander at the front, he had far too much to deal with. There was no need for him to personally handle every matter.
Moreover, he knew that some tasks had to be delegated, even if he could do them himself. That was how you shared the pie.
As a prospective Fourth Hokage, he had to understand that. Besides, it was also a way to build his own support base.
"Lord Orochimaru, Might Duy is here again," Nara Shikani said helplessly. "He still wants to go on a mission."
"Oh, Might Duy?" Orochimaru nodded at the name.
He knew a little about Might Duy. They were roughly the same age, but Duy's talent was so poor that he could only study Taijutsu.
Under normal circumstances, talent like that would have meant a ninja's career was already over. But this man had never given up.
Even though he bore the title of Genin and was mocked by countless people every day, he still kept up his grueling training without fail, hoping to improve enough someday.
Orochimaru respected people like him, just as he respected Hatake Sakumo. But respect couldn't erase the gap in talent.
"What does he want to go on a mission for? He's only a Genin," Orochimaru asked with some amusement. He was genuinely curious.
"I asked around, and he wants to find his son," Nara Shikani said, spreading his hands after a moment's thought. "His son has been on a mission for over half a year, but there's been no word from him, so..."
"His son?" Orochimaru tilted his head. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and asked, "Who is his son? Is he at the front?"
"His son..." Nara Shikani hesitated, but finally answered, "It's Might Guy of Team 6. He went behind enemy lines half a year ago."
At Nara Shikani's words, Orochimaru couldn't help frowning.
He remembered Team 6 because he had specifically selected a team that had suffered losses when assigning Uchiha Sou's mission.
He hadn't expected that Might Duy's son would be in that team.
And when he thought about the work behind enemy lines, Orochimaru felt dissatisfied.
Over the past six months, he had sent quite a few teams behind enemy lines.
But so far, he hadn't seen much to show for it!
The purpose of sending teams behind enemy lines was to have them attack Kirigakure's important facilities, especially places like supply depots.
Kirigakure was fighting across the sea. Even though Orochimaru was squeezing the Land of Whirlpools dry, they still had to rely on sea transport for supplies.
Sea transport took time and effort. If there was even one break in the supply line, it would cause a clear shift in Kirigakure's performance on the battlefield.
It might not leave the Mist Ninja completely without fighting spirit, but it would at least make them anxious, wouldn't it?
They could increase their efforts and strip the Land of Whirlpools bare without regard for sustainability, laying waste to its people.
But even a cornered rat would bite back. The civilians of the Land of Whirlpools had already formed quite a few resistance groups.
So far, the situation Orochimaru hoped to see still hadn't appeared.
He had to admit that the Mist Ninja seemed to be pulling back, clearly facing some trouble on the home front. But that trouble hadn't changed the situation at the front at all!
"Lord Orochimaru, are you worried about what's happening behind enemy lines?"
As a member of the Nara Clan, Shikani was no fool. One look was enough for him to guess what was troubling Orochimaru.
"I am." Orochimaru didn't hide it. He nodded and said plainly, "Kirigakure is acting far too aggressively, and we still have to fight Iwagakure and Kumogakure. If this continues..."
Konoha's biggest problem now was a lack of manpower. Fighting on several fronts had nearly drained the village dry.
If the other villages hadn't already been at odds with one another and united against Konoha, the village wouldn't have lasted this long.
But even having made it this far, Konoha was nearly at its limit!
Otherwise, Orochimaru wouldn't have sent teams behind enemy lines to sabotage their operations. Nor would Namikaze Minato's team likely have been sent to raid Kannabi Bridge in the future, on the battlefield against Iwagakure in the Land of Grass.
Put simply, Konoha was nearly out of people to send!
"Forget it. There's no point in dwelling on such unpleasant things." Orochimaru shook his head, then calmly said, "Might Duy wants to find his son, doesn't he? Let him go."
"L-Lord Orochimaru?" Nara Shikani was stunned by the news. "You mean, send him behind enemy lines? He's only a Genin. This..."
"Don't underestimate any ninja." Orochimaru lightly licked his lips. "Besides, we don't have that many people to spare. You may go."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Seeing this, Nara Shikani could only nod before turning to leave.
Orochimaru stood up and slowly walked to the window. As he looked out at the bright sunlight, his eyes grew distant.
"It seems Danzo's mission is complete, but, little one, you've disappointed me."
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