Konoha's Conspiracy (Seeking Recommendations)

At this moment, Araki finally truly understood the terror of Orochimaru.

This leader of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha had almost no weaknesses in battle; he was proficient in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, used summoning techniques with supernatural skill, and was equally capable in both close-quarters and long-range combat.

How to put it? One word: balanced.

From the start of the battle until now, the rhythm had been entirely under his control.

Although it seemed that Kisame and Araki could still temporarily handle his attacks and had not been injured thus far, they had been stuck in a passive position of merely reacting.

As the saying goes, one who defends for too long will eventually falter; if they continued to fight like this, something would go wrong sooner or later.

However, defeating an Orochimaru like this was by no means easy.

Either one had to be more comprehensive than him, surpassing him in every single aspect—like the Third Hokage in his prime, who could even directly suppress Orochimaru in terms of Five Elements ninjutsu.

Or, one needed to reach the absolute pinnacle in a single aspect, to a degree that Orochimaru could not handle. Examples would include the genjutsu of Itachi Uchiha, the Nintaijutsu of the Raikage, or the Dust Release of the Tsuchikage.

In the future, Kisame, having mastered Water Release and wielding Samehada, or Araki, with his accomplished swordsmanship, could certainly achieve this, but unfortunately, they were still in their growth phase and truly felt powerless.

Fortunately, however, Orochimaru currently lacked a finishing move capable of delivering a decisive blow to the two of them.

Moreover, this was the open sea, and Earth Release ninjutsu, which countered Water Release, was not easy to utilize. Even with Orochimaru's abilities, creating a landmass out of thin air on the ocean would require a massive expenditure of chakra.

While Orochimaru was not lacking in chakra, he was not a "tailless tailed beast" like Kisame, so he still had to be cautious with such things.

Thus, finding himself unable to secure a quick victory, Orochimaru fell into a dilemma.

"I didn't expect that a mere two ninja from Kirigakure would be so troublesome!"

He narrowed his long, slender eyes slightly, beginning to consider whether he should summon Manda to help.

"This is the Land of the Sea, so I don't need to worry about the issue of sacrifices, but..."

Snakes were not marine creatures, and it was unclear how much use Manda would be here.

Furthermore, that shark-faced man opposite him had an astonishing mastery of Water Release, not beneath his own, and there was also that brat who excelled in Wind Release and swordsmanship.

Orochimaru sighed once more; it was a pity that this was the open sea, where the environment was too unfriendly to Fire Release ninjutsu, causing the power of his Five Elements Great Barrage Technique to be greatly affected.

Otherwise...

"It seems that researching amphibious soldiers specifically for Kirigakure is quite necessary; this vast ocean truly provides them with extraordinary assistance!"

After licking the corner of his mouth with some reluctance, Orochimaru quietly retreated. This was, after all, within the sphere of influence of the Land of Water, and as a ninja of Konoha, lingering here for too long might eventually provoke a siege.

In any case, his main purpose for coming here was just to rescue Amachi, a researcher who was not bad, and as for the materials, there was no rush.

A while later, Araki and Kisame looked at each other in confusion.

"He left?"

"It seems so."

"Then let's go find Zabuza!"

"Right."

The two, now relaxed, walked in the direction Zabuza had previously left, chatting as they went.

"As expected of one of the famous Legendary Sannin of Konoha, he really is terrifying."

Hearing Kisame's remark, Araki chimed in:

"Yeah, yeah. We barely had any chance to fight back the whole time. If it weren't for your Water Release being strong enough, Captain, we would have been done for."

"I never expected that the so-called Sea Demon was actually something being cooked up by someone from Konoha. Could it be aimed at our Kirigakure?"

There was a hint of gravity in Kisame's small, round eyes.

"Should we report this to the village?" Araki asked.

"Of course. Encountering a ninja like Orochimaru, and involving Konoha's secret experiments in the Land of the Sea, this mission is enough to be upgraded to S-rank."

Kisame grinned, revealing a ferocious smile:

"Araki-kun, how does it feel to execute an S-rank mission for the first time?"

"A bit panicked, but it's alright."

Araki pondered for two seconds, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"By the way, I also managed to get some research data from their laboratory. Before we hand it over, why don't we take a look at it ourselves?"

"That works."

When the two found Zabuza, he seemed somewhat withdrawn, hacking away at a tree to vent his frustration.

It seemed he had realized that the excuse to send him away to find reinforcements was false, and that getting him out of the way was the real intent. As for the reason, well, some hurtful things were better left unsaid.

In any case, as the dead weight of the team, he should have been used to it by now.

"Zabuza, I have good news for you!"

Araki walked over carelessly and patted him on the shoulder. "The rank of our mission this time might get a major upgrade! The money I owe you will be paid off soon! Happy?"

Zabuza rolled his eyes, showing not a shred of happiness.

"You're not even happy about getting your money back? Fine then, I won't pay you back!"

Araki shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave.

Zabuza: ???

Are people who refuse to pay back their debts always this arrogant?

One million ryo is no small sum; even though Zabuza was currently carrying a large amount of money, he couldn't just let it go.

With no other choice, he followed Araki over to Kisame, watching as he pulled several scrolls from his robes and handed them over.

"What is this?"

"A Konoha conspiracy!"

"Huh?"

Because he hadn't crossed paths with Orochimaru, Zabuza had no idea that this matter actually involved one of the legendary Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

Araki gave him a rough explanation of what had happened, then said:

"These documents were found in their laboratory. Hurry up and look through them to see if there's anything useful for us. Once we return to the village and hand them over, it'll be hard to get a look at them again!"

As he spoke, Araki had already opened the scroll in his hands, reading through it at a glance.

"Araki is right. Research data from Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, is truly quite intriguing."

Kisame also opened his own share.

Seeing this, Zabuza no longer hesitated and followed suit.

"Hmm, using biological modification to give humans fish-like organs, allowing them to survive underwater and enhancing their physical strength. Amphibious soldiers..."

Araki read the contents of the scroll aloud in a low voice, finally concluding:

"Konoha is definitely targeting us. Where else besides Kirigakure would there be a need for underwater combat?"

Kisame and Zabuza nodded one after another, expressing that Konoha was truly despicable, lacking the grace of the number one hidden village, spending every day thinking about how to target other smaller villages.

"It has been over five years since the end of the last Great Ninja War. It seems a new war is about to begin." Kisame's tone was somewhat sentimental.

Araki agreed with him in his heart.

Since Konoha's actions had been discovered by Kirigakure, they would certainly have to respond.

Kirigakure was not a village that prioritized peace; they wouldn't just issue a protest and call it a day—they would definitely take action.

Action would lead to conflict, and with everyone having rested and recovered enough, the probability of small-scale skirmishes escalating into large-scale melees would increase significantly.

Konoha sat at the center of the ninja world, and its every move was watched by the other nations, all of whom were ready to pounce and tear off a piece of flesh at any moment.

If Konoha and Kirigakure clashed, countless people would appear to fan the flames, and at that point, the scale of the war would no longer be determined by the will of their two villages alone.

Thanks to KongMing for including this in your book list!