"Lord Orochimaru, it seems the Mist Ninja have been slow to attack lately."
In Konoha's camp in the Land of Whirlpools, Nara Shikani held a document and quietly reported to Orochimaru.
This information had come from the ninjas fighting on the front lines, and reports were coming in from more than one location!
They had been surprised to discover that, for some unknown reason, the Mist Ninja, who had originally been attacking with great ferocity, had begun to change their tactics.
In some places, the Mist Ninja had even held the advantage, yet they had inexplicably begun to retreat, abandoning some of the territory they had occupied.
Even though they had no idea what was happening, this news was excellent for every Konoha Ninja!
Nara Shikani had initially felt the same way, but as he reported the news, his brow furrowed slightly despite himself.
That was because another piece of news had arrived alongside it, one he found difficult to handle.
Konoha Ninja had gathered large numbers of civilians in areas controlled by Kirigakure, and, most importantly, they had trained those civilians!
Ordinary ninjas wouldn't see any problem with this news. The Konoha Ninja currently taking part in the fighting were a good example.
They were even discussing who could have pulled off such a feat and caused the Mist Ninja so much trouble.
Of course, some people were worried, too.
But they were concerned that involving civilians in a ninja war could lead to heavy civilian casualties.
Konoha was on the side of justice. The war was the ninjas' affair, and naturally, they didn't want civilians to suffer heavy losses.
But Nara Shikani was different from them. As a member of the Nara Clan, he knew the truth about many things.
For instance, he knew all too well how Konoha—or, more accurately, the Lord Third—regarded the Land of Whirlpools!
"It's good news, isn't it?" Orochimaru tapped the table lightly, licked his lips, and said with a smile.
"But, Lord Orochimaru..." Nara Shikani looked troubled. In the end, he spoke in a low voice. "Lord Orochimaru must have heard some rumors about this matter, too..."
"It's a very bold idea, isn't it?" Orochimaru paused, then let his smile fade and spoke softly.
"It certainly is bold, but it's too bold."
Nara Shikani sighed faintly. He hesitated, then lowered his voice as much as he could.
"Lord Orochimaru, the Lord Third is still in office, and the person behind this operation in enemy territory may well be someone you sent. I'm worried this might affect you and cause complications down the line."
Nara Shikani stopped there, while Orochimaru continued to tap his fingers slowly against the table.
Rumors that the Lord Third would step down had been circulating for a long time, but they were growing more and more persistent now.
With those rumors and that growing sentiment, people would naturally seize the opportunity to act. Orochimaru knew perfectly well that Nara Shikani was the Nara Clan's way of investing in him.
Of course, he also knew that the other candidates probably had similar people around them.
But that was only natural. Once a Hokage candidate took office, he would have to build a team of his own.
The current situation was simply a matter of making connections in advance.
If Orochimaru really took office, then the people liaising with him would be Nara Shikani and the head of the Nara Clan.
Orochimaru still had great ambitions of becoming Hokage. Although the war had exposed him to far too much death and made him start to question things, it was also because of the war that Danzo had yet to invite him to join Root.
Though Danzo had let him work with the First's cells years ago and inject them into infants as test subjects, he had not allowed Orochimaru to take things further or conduct any independent research since then.
So, at this point, he was still careful about certain things. He hadn't completely given up and adopted an attitude of, So what if I did it?
But he had to admit that his teacher's disregard for the lives of the civilians in the Land of Whirlpools made him feel more and more keenly that life was so terribly fragile.
"Turning a blind eye to so many people's lives for the sake of certain goals..." Orochimaru tapped the table gently and suddenly spoke in a subdued voice.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Nara Shikani interrupted him before he could finish. "You can't say things like that carelessly. This is for the village. If you really want to change things, Orochimaru should..."
As he spoke, Nara Shikani pointed upward with a finger. The meaning was clear.
Orochimaru smiled faintly. He felt that the Nara Clan could be incredibly clever at times, yet not so clever at others.
Still, he couldn't be bothered to say more. After a moment's thought, he said, "For now, don't report this to Konoha. Also, send a team we can trust in to contact those people."
"Lord Orochimaru, are you planning to..." Nara Shikani hesitated before asking, "help them?"
"At the very least, we should first find out exactly what they've done," Orochimaru said meaningfully. "Besides, we're still at war. Whatever happens, we should deal with the war first."
"I..." Nara Shikani thought it over, then nodded earnestly. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
"This should be the way."
Might Duy glanced at the map in his hand, then got to his feet and continued running forward. He looked somewhat anxious.
He had never expected his son to accept such a dangerous mission—to sneak into territory controlled by Kirigakure and carry out attacks.
As a Konoha Ninja, he was naturally proud of Guy for taking on such an important mission. But Guy was also his only son, the one who would carry on his spirit.
No matter what, he didn't want his son to get hurt. No matter what, he had to find him!
Fortunately, he was in luck. After Lord Orochimaru learned about his situation, he had allowed him to enter territory controlled by Kirigakure on his own.
And when he had gone charging around after getting inside, he had run into the resistance in the Land of Whirlpools—and there were even Konoha Ninja among them!
After a complicated verification process, they had recognized him. He was famous in Konoha, after all: a ten-thousand-year Genin who could only use Taijutsu. He had earned their trust.
Through them, Might Duy had learned roughly where his son was, so he had hurried in that direction.
"Lucky me. I haven't run into any trouble along the way."
As Might Duy watched himself draw closer and closer to his destination, he couldn't help feeling pleased.
The resistance members had warned him more than once to be careful on the road and never let himself be captured. They had even told him to kill himself if necessary, because he knew some secrets he shouldn't.
Might Duy understood the importance and danger of this mission. He had made every possible preparation, but he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.
"Come on, just a little farther."
As he thought that, he picked up speed once again.
What he didn't know was that a group of ninjas were silently watching him from behind!
"Are you sure this guy can lead us to the place?" Raiga Kurosuki crossed his arms and watched Might Duy's back from a distance, speaking coldly.
"I don't know. But we've followed him for a long time, and he seems to have been in contact with those resistance members. I'm sure we'll get something out of it," Juzo Biwa said just as coldly, watching the figure gradually disappear from sight.
"Let's go. I want to see what other tricks this guy has."
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