Before the Battle

The sun hung high, the breeze carrying a sweltering heat as a trio walked along the road toward Konoha, their conical hats pulled low to shield them from the glare.

The three of them wore rings on their fingers, each faintly engraved with a character—a hierarchical system Feng Yao had modeled after the Akatsuki.

The rings were inscribed with the characters Heaven, Constellation, and Array, respectively, taken from the first section of the Thousand Character Classic.

"Do you both understand the mission this time? If you want to run, you can say so now; after all, our target is Konoha, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages."

There was no emotion in Feng Yao's tone, leaving it unclear whether he was testing them or speaking his mind.

In this current era, although Konoha Ninja Village was in a state of decline—with the Uchiha Clan wiped out and the Third Hokage's strength waning—it still boasted Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, as well as the Hyuga, Sarutobi, Yamanaka, Nara, and Akabichi clans. Attempting to complete such a mission with only three people was no easy feat.

"Heh, I didn't expect the organization's first mission to actually be an assault on Konoha Ninja Village."

Zabuza chuckled with a gloomy air, his thoughts unreadable.

Beside him, Hideyoshi seemed rather excited; he was deeply passionate about all manner of thrilling and dangerous affairs.

When he had first made his demands to Feng Yao, he had stated that if the Immortal Organization only handled mediocre tasks, he would leave without hesitation. Now, he likely wouldn't budge even if he were kicked out.

Feng Yao saw through them clearly. Although he had managed to suppress these two for the time being, getting them to lay down their lives for him unconditionally was difficult. He suspected that if they saw him losing, they would be the first to flee.

Leading a team is no easy task, Feng Yao sighed to himself. To command a group required not just formidable strength, but also exceptional leadership.

"Host, according to my estimates, the loyalty of these two is less than 50%. This will reduce the success rate of your plan to take revenge on Konoha by at least 20%. You are not sufficiently prepared."

The system's ruthless mockery echoed in Feng Yao's mind once more, and he rolled his eyes.

"Who do you think is to blame for that! It's because you only gave me half a year; otherwise, would I be in such a rush? Wouldn't it have been better to just fish in troubled waters when Orochimaru attacks Konoha? You damn pit-digging system."

Feng Yao was quite indignant, but the system no longer responded.

Arriving at a town, the three decided to take a rest. This was the very city where Feng Yao had first fled to.

He still owed some people here one thousand and twenty ryo in medical expenses.

Feng Yao handed some of his belongings to Zabuza, telling him to rest at an inn and that he would follow shortly.

He then took five thousand ryo in banknotes and headed toward a dilapidated medical clinic; he wanted to find the old physician who had treated him back then.

The clinic looked even more decrepit than before, with spiderwebs clinging to the entrance. Pushing the door open, a cloud of dust rushed out to meet him.

Wood fragments scattered across the floor and the uncleaned rooms suggested that no one had lived here for a long time.

"Is anyone here? I've come to pay my medical bills." Unwilling to give up, Feng Yao called out twice, but after receiving no response, he had no choice but to step back outside.

He picked a peddler running a stall nearby and asked, "Excuse me, I'd like to ask, wasn't there an old man running a clinic here before? Did he move away?"

The peddler was a young man. He had initially thought the stranger was approaching to buy something, but upon hearing Feng Yao was just asking questions, he frowned and said impatiently, "I don't know. Haven't seen him in a long time. Are you buying something or not?"

Feng Yao didn't get angry at the man's attitude. He pulled out a one-hundred-ryo banknote, handed it to the peddler, and asked, "Then when was the last time you saw him?"

The man's eyes lit up at the sight of the banknote. He snatched it with both hands, stuffed it into his clothes, and put on a fawning expression. "Many thanks, sir! The last time I saw him was about two or three months ago. It seemed like some people wearing strange masks came by, and I haven't seen him since."

Hearing about people in strange masks, a cold glint flashed in Feng Yao's eyes. The peddler shivered, realizing the man before him was a dangerous character.

Those wearing strange masks were undoubtedly Anbu from Konoha. The ones hunting him were sent by the Third Hokage; he hadn't expected them to not even spare a doctor. He patted the peddler on the shoulder. "Thanks. Just pretend this conversation never happened."

After speaking, he turned and walked back into the clinic, placed a stack of banknotes neatly on the table, and bowed deeply. "Old sir, for the grace of saving my life that day, I, Feng Yao, am eternally grateful. No matter who killed you, I swear I will cut off their head and bring it here."

He turned and left, his face looking indescribably gloomy; he had always been a man who clearly distinguished between gratitude and grudges.

The old man had saved his life, and now he had died because of him. This gave him one more reason to attack Konoha.

"You're finally back. So, when do you plan to make a move?"

Hideyoshi let out a strange cackle as he leaned in, but Feng Yao pushed him away with disgust.

He was in no mood to mess around. Given the situation in Konoha, a direct assault was out of the question. He had to find a way to weaken Konoha's overall strength first, and he also needed to investigate who had killed the old doctor.

Feng Yao pondered, I need to lure away some of Konoha's high-end combat power first. If I face them all at once, I'll definitely be at a disadvantage. Two fists are no match for four hands, and my own numbers are already low.

Intelligence gathering is also key. Since I've sworn to avenge the old man, I must see it through. But prying information out of a ninja won't be as easy as it was with Gato. I must infiltrate the place where Konoha keeps its intelligence and mission records.

Destroying Konoha will require large-scale Immortal Arts, but if I use them too much, my Immortal Chakra will deplete rapidly, shortening my duration. If Konoha pursues me, it will be difficult to escape.

In reality, Konoha's Jonin-level combat strength was already stretched thin, with many sent out on important missions, though Feng Yao was unaware of this.

Feng Yao could only prepare for the worst. He looked at Zabuza and Hideyoshi, calling them over to assign them a task.

He had a method to brazenly draw the Jonin of Konoha Ninja Village away.

What was this method? It was simple: money. In Konoha, any mission ranked A or higher could only be executed by a Jonin.

An A-rank mission usually carried a commission fee of around five hundred thousand ryo. He was going to send a massive number of A-rank or higher missions to Konoha.

This would be a huge expenditure, but it would all be worth it. He took out ten million ryo and handed it to Hideyoshi and Zabuza, telling them to find people to register these missions at Konoha.

Because both of their identities as rogue ninjas made them easy to recognize.

Feng Yao exhorted the two once more.

"Transfer away as many as you can, and do not go all at once; report for missions in separate batches at different times."

Hearing this, Zabuza observed Feng Yao without leaving a trace.

The leader is not only formidable in strength but also possesses a clear mind. Despite his young age, he can remain so calm while arranging a plan against a behemoth like Konoha. He is truly extraordinary.

Hashiba Hideyoshi was also pondering, though he was trying to figure out what kind of person Feng Yao really was and what his connection to Konoha might be. Although he had joined the Immortal, he knew nothing about the organization, and the very first mission given to him was the thrilling plan of Operation Attack Konoha.

After a moment of silence, Hashiba Hideyoshi could not discern any clues, so he picked up half the money on the table and left. Zabuza did not dawdle either and went out to execute his mission.

During this week, Konoha saw an increase in missions ranked A or higher; some were rejected due to unclear investigations or a lack of manpower.

As for the others, they were successfully registered, and Konoha saw a constant stream of jonin-level ninjas heading out to execute missions.

In the dead of night, a three-man team was running.

Feng Yao looked up to check the time; he wanted to infiltrate Konoha while most people were fast asleep to catch them off guard.

He looked at the two beside him and said, "I will be responsible for the main assault once I get inside. I will unleash a large-scale attack to draw the vast majority of Konoha's attention. One of you will provide support, and the other will go to the Konoha intelligence department to help me find a mission involving the execution of a physician and see who is carrying it out."

The two exchanged glances and nodded in unison. During this period, they were still grasshoppers tied to the same string, so they naturally had to cooperate with one another.

"Very well, Operation Attack Konoha begins now."