In the 38th year of Konoha, April 25.
At the Kannabi Bridge outpost on the border of the Land of Grass, the Konoha ninja received new orders from headquarters.
Dan Katō also summoned all the other jonin in the outpost.
By now, everyone seemed to have recovered. Torifu Akimichi's face had become round and plump again, while Dan Katō no longer looked sickly.
"Commander Orochimaru's secret orders arrived this morning..." Dan Katō said, taking out a sealing scroll.
Since Torifu Akimichi had spent every day recently stuffing himself silly, Dan Katō, as an Elite Jonin, was currently in charge of the outpost.
Hearing that it was a secret order from the commander, everyone sat up straighter—not out of respect for Orochimaru, but because they were looking forward to their upcoming assignments.
Barring any surprises, Dan Katō and Kunugi Mokume would definitely remain behind. Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique was simply too useful when the enemy lacked Sealing Technique protection.
As for everyone else, they could all potentially be reassigned.
However, the contents of the secret order caught everyone off guard.
"The order reveals that on May 1, Konoha will declare war on Kusagakure. At the same time, the Land of Fire will also declare war on the Land of Grass," Dan Katō said solemnly.
There was still a week to go, but Orochimaru's intelligence was surely accurate.
Dan Katō had yet to explain the specific orders, but those words alone had already shocked everyone. At the same time, they realized that the reassignment orders they had imagined probably would not be coming anytime soon.
"In other words, our mission from now on will no longer be merely to hold this outpost. It will also include... conquering the Land of Grass!" Dan Katō said as though it were only natural.
"Conquering