Return to Shikkotsu Forest

At the break of dawn, the east wind stirred as the first light of morning began to peek through.

The chill of the night had condensed into dew, clinging to the leaves as Feng Yao walked along the mountain where the Katsuyu Sage resided.

The place was no different from when he had last visited; a patch of grass arched slightly before transforming into a slug.

"Feng Yao? Have you come back to see me?"

The Katsuyu Sage was clearly delighted to see Feng Yao. Lady Tsunade had rarely sought it out lately, so the only company it had was the medical texts Feng Yao had left behind.

"Of course, Lady Katsuyu. I've brought a gift for you this time."

Seeing the Katsuyu Sage, Feng Yao revealed a sincere smile. Sometimes, summoning beasts were far more reliable and kind than people.

Feng Yao took out a ring engraved with the character for "Chen" and handed it over.

"What is this... hiss, the aura coming from you is so comfortable."

Taking the ring from Feng Yao's hand, the Katsuyu Sage crawled onto his body.

This pure aura was extremely beneficial to the cultivation of a spirit beast like itself.

"This is proof of our organization, 'Heaven.' Lady Katsuyu, there is one more thing I wish to discuss—I would like to sign a summoning contract with you."

Gently patting the little slug's head, Feng Yao brought up the real purpose of his visit.

"Oh? Feng Yao, are you able to sign a summoning contract now? That is wonderful! From now on, you can come directly to Shikkotsu Forest whenever you need me. I get so lonely by myself."

Hearing this, the Katsuyu did not delay and immediately summoned an oversized scroll.

As it slowly unfurled, it revealed the names of those who had signed summoning contracts with Shikkotsu Forest over the past millennium.

The very last entry was Senju Tsunade. Feng Yao signed his own name, bit his finger, and pressed his thumbprint onto the parchment, feeling a faint connection establish itself with Shikkotsu Forest.

"Thank you, Lady Katsuyu. I also wanted to ask if there are any other summoning beasts in this vicinity."

The Katsuyu Sage certainly knew more about the world than he did, so asking it was the most appropriate course of action.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the Land of Wind.

Orochimaru, accompanied by Kabuto and Kimimaro, stood waiting in the desert.

In the distance, a man approached wearing a white robe and the blue hat of the Kazekage. This was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, who was also the father of Gaara.

"Heh heh, Fourth Kazekage, you are a bit late."

Orochimaru gave a gloomy laugh, his golden pupils fixed intently on the Rasa opposite him, who was flanked by two Sunagakure ninja.

"Orochimaru, do not be so presumptuous. You are nothing more than a wanted criminal of Konoha. It is a risk for the Kazekage to come out to meet you."

One of the Sunagakure ninja spoke up first, but Rasa raised a hand to stop him, calmly explaining to Orochimaru.

"Konoha's surveillance of Sunagakure has been unusually strict lately. It took some time to circumvent it. Let's get to business."

Clearly, Rasa did not want to waste time with Orochimaru and only wished to confirm the timing for the assault on Konoha as soon as possible.

"The Kazekage is certainly in a hurry. I can help your country attack Konoha, but my condition is that I must have all of Konoha Ninja Village's forbidden techniques and ninjutsu. Furthermore, neither Konoha nor Sunagakure may interfere with my research afterward."

Orochimaru laid out his terms, which were immediately rejected by Rasa.

Orochimaru was already powerful enough; if he were to obtain Konoha's forbidden techniques, he would be even harder to deal with. Rasa could not afford to create a new enemy just to solve an existing one.

As for Orochimaru's research, hmph, he had heard rumors. Such things were not allowed in Sunagakure, let alone Konoha.

"Your two conditions are far too harsh; I cannot agree to them. What I can promise is that when the time comes, I will have Konoha lift the bounty on your head. That is all."

Hearing Rasa's words, Orochimaru's expression darkened. Lift the bounty? A bounty that could be lifted could just as easily be reinstated.

Such words were barely enough to fool a child. Beside him, Kimimaro and Kabuto seemed ready to strike at any moment, though Rasa remained completely unaware.

At that moment, Orochimaru suddenly smiled, easing the tense atmosphere while signaling Kimimaro not to act.

"How about this? Let me change the condition. I will help you attack Konoha, and in return, you Sunagakure ninja will help me eliminate someone. How does that sound?"

Rasa paused. He had not expected Orochimaru to compromise so easily, but the person Orochimaru wanted to eliminate was likely no simple target.

"Who is it?"

"Heh heh, you must have heard of him. He is the Konoha missing-nin who infiltrated Konoha a few days ago, destroyed the Hokage Rock, and defeated the Third Hokage—Feng Yao."

When Orochimaru spoke the name Feng Yao, his face took on a look of madness.

In truth, he had secretly approached Feng Yao several times recently. The closer he got, the more he craved that body—not just for its ability to influence the minds of others.

Orochimaru even felt that being near Feng Yao had deepened his own understanding of ninjutsu. If he could possess that body directly, he might be able to learn every technique in the world in the shortest possible time.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru greedily licked his lips.

"It's him! You want my Sunagakure ninja to help you deal with the man who defeated the Third Hokage?"

"My subordinates and I will assist as well. Besides, he is currently my ally and has requests of me, so our chances are high. However, I want him alive!"

Rasa pondered for a moment, seemingly weighing his options, before finally agreeing to Orochimaru's request.

Orochimaru extended his hand with a sinister smile.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Kazekage."

"Hmph."

The scene shifts to Konoha.

Sunlight shone into the Hokage's office, where a group of Anbu members knelt upon the floor.

"Lord Hokage, for these past few days, Sunagakure has been continuously recalling its ninjas from various regions. Furthermore, the Fourth Kazekage seems to have been meeting with someone in secret lately, though we have yet to ascertain exactly who it is."

"It is highly likely that this is an operation directed at our Konoha."

Listening to the report from his subordinate, Danzo remained expressionless.

However, the actions of the Suna ninjas had already aroused his suspicion. For Danzo, mere suspicion was enough to warrant eradication; he would rather kill ten thousand innocent people than let a single threat slip through his fingers.

With this thought in mind, Danzo raised his head and issued an order to the person before him.

"Recall some of the jonin currently stationed outside during this period. Suspend the mission to hunt down Feng Yao for now. In a few days, the allied nations will be holding the joint Chunin Exams. I intend to take advantage of the exams to launch a war against Sunagakure. Notify all jonin of this news and order them to assemble."

Having finished speaking, Danzo produced the written orders and the plan, handing them to his subordinate.

There were still many among the jonin who were dissatisfied with him, but once the war began, they would realize that he was the only one capable of leading Konoha toward glory.

He, Danzo, intended to emulate the First Hokage and unify the ninja world.

Because Kakashi was dissatisfied with Danzo's actions, he did not reveal Feng Yao's true appearance to Danzo after waking up, but instead reported it to the Third Hokage.

Upon learning this, the Third Hokage furrowed his brows deeply.

Even he could not figure out who this Feng Yao really was. A spy from another nation? A mysterious ninja from the Land of Waves? An intern from Konoha?

Therefore, Feng Yao's true appearance remained known to only a few, which provided an extra layer of protection for him.

On this day, many jonin also received intelligence from the Anbu—a secret order from the Hokage.

"To think... we are going to war?"

"The peace that Lord Third Hokage worked so hard to establish."

"Danzo, you bastard!"

Listening to Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage slammed his hand onto the table in anger. He had not expected Danzo to attempt to strike at the surrounding allied nations so soon.

"Kakashi, I need you to go find someone."

He turned his gaze toward Kakashi, his expression grave as he spoke.