At daybreak, the eastern sky began to brighten, and the first rays of dawn appeared. The night's chill had condensed into dew on the leaves as Feng Yao made his way up the mountain where the Katsuyu Sage lived.
The place had hardly changed since he was last there. A patch of grass rose slightly, then turned into a slug.
"Feng Yao? Did you come back to see me?"
The Katsuyu Sage was clearly delighted to see him. Lady Tsunade hadn't summoned her much lately, so the only company she had was the medical books Feng Yao had left behind.
"Of course. Lady Katsuyu, I've brought you a gift this time."
Feng Yao smiled sincerely when he saw the Katsuyu Sage. Sometimes summoning creatures were far more reliable and kind-hearted than people.
Feng Yao took out a ring engraved with the character "Chen" and handed it over.
"What's this...? Mm, your aura feels so soothing."
As soon as the Katsuyu Sage took the ring from Feng Yao, she crawled onto him.
Such a pure aura was also of great benefit to a spirit creature like her as she cultivated.
"This is proof of membership in our organization, 'Immortal.' Lady Katsuyu, there's one more thing I'd like to do this time. I want to sign a Summoning Contract with you."
Gently patting the little slug on the head, Feng Yao brought up the reason for his visit.
"Feng Yao, you can sign a Summoning Contract now? That's wonderful! You'll be able to come straight to Shikkotsu Forest whenever you need to. I get so lonely here by myself."
The Katsuyu Sage didn't waste any time. She immediately summoned an enormous scroll.
She slowly unfurled it. It bore the names of many people who had signed Summoning Contracts with Shikkotsu Forest over the past thousand years.
The last name on the scroll was Senju Tsunade. Feng Yao signed his name, bit his finger, and pressed his thumbprint onto the scroll. He felt a faint connection form between himself and Shikkotsu Forest.
"Thank you, Lady Katsuyu. I also wanted to ask if there are any other summoning creatures around here."
The Katsuyu Sage surely knew more about the world than he did, so she was the perfect person to ask.
Thousands of miles away, in the Land of Wind,
Orochimaru stood in the desert with Kabuto and Kimimaro, waiting.
A man in a white robe and a blue Kazekage hat approached from the distance. He was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and Gaara's father.
"Heh heh. You're a little late, Fourth Kazekage."
Orochimaru gave a sinister laugh, his golden eyes fixed on Rasa. Two Sand Ninja stood beside him.
"Orochimaru, don't get too carried away. You're nothing but a wanted criminal from Konoha. Lord Kazekage is taking a risk just by meeting you."
One of the Sand Ninja spoke up first. Rasa raised a hand to stop him, then calmly explained to Orochimaru, "Konoha has been keeping an unusually close watch on Sunagakure lately. It took some effort to avoid them. Let's get down to business."
Clearly, Rasa didn't want to waste time talking with Orochimaru. He only wanted to settle on a date for the attack on Konoha.
"Lord Kazekage, you're in quite a hurry. I can help your country attack Konoha. In exchange, I want all of Konoha Ninja Village's forbidden jutsu and ninjutsu. Afterward, neither Konoha nor Sunagakure can interfere with my research."
Orochimaru stated his terms, but Rasa rejected them outright.
Orochimaru was already powerful enough. If he got his hands on Konoha's forbidden jutsu, he'd be even harder to deal with. Rasa wasn't about to create another enemy just to get rid of one.
As for Orochimaru's research—hmph. He'd heard a little about it. Such things couldn't be allowed, whether by Konoha or by the Sand Ninja.
"Your terms are far too harsh. I can't agree to them. What I can promise is that we'll have Konoha lift the bounty on you afterward. That's all."
Orochimaru's expression darkened at Rasa's words. Lift the bounty? If they could lift it, they could put it back up again.
That might fool a child, but nothing more. Kimimaro and Kabuto both watched Orochimaru as if ready to attack at any moment, while Rasa remained completely unaware.
Just then, Orochimaru suddenly smiled, easing the tension, and signaled for Kimimaro not to move.
"How about this? I'll change my terms. I'll help you attack Konoha, and in return, the Sand Ninja will help me deal with someone."
Rasa was taken aback. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to give in so easily, but the person he wanted to deal with was probably no ordinary opponent.
"Who?"
"Heh heh. You've probably heard about him. He's the Konoha rogue ninja who attacked Konoha a few days ago, destroyed Kage Rock, and defeated the Third—Feng Yao!"
Orochimaru's face twisted with excitement as he said Feng Yao's name.
He had secretly approached Feng Yao a few times in recent days. The closer he got to him, the more he wanted that body. It could affect other people's minds.
Orochimaru even felt that spending time near Feng Yao had greatly improved his own understanding of ninjutsu. If he could possess that body, perhaps he could learn every jutsu in the world in the shortest possible time.
At the thought, Orochimaru licked his lips greedily.
"It's him? You want the Sand Ninja to deal with someone who even defeated the Third?"
"My subordinates and I will help, too. Besides, he's my ally now, and he needs something from me. We have a good chance—but I want him alive!"
Rasa pondered for a moment, weighing the options, then finally agreed to Orochimaru's request.
Orochimaru held out his hand and gave a strange smile.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Lord Kazekage."
"Hmph."
The scene shifted to Konoha.
Sunlight streamed into the Hokage Office as a group of Anbu knelt on the floor.
"Lord Hokage, Sunagakure has been recalling its ninja from across the country for the past few days. The Fourth Kazekage also seems to have been meeting someone in secret lately. We haven't found out who yet."
"It's highly likely they're planning an operation against Konoha."
As he listened to his subordinate's report, Danzo remained expressionless.
But the Sand Ninja's actions had already aroused his suspicions. To Danzo, suspicion alone was reason enough to eliminate someone. Better to kill ten thousand by mistake than let one slip through.
With that thought, Danzo raised his head and gave the people before him an order.
"Recall some of the jonin who are away. Put the hunt for Feng Yao on hold for now. The Allied Nations' Chunin Ninja Exams are coming up soon. During the exams, I'll seize the opportunity to launch a war against Sunagakure. Inform all the jonin and order them to assemble."
After speaking, Danzo took out the order and plan he had already written and handed them to his subordinates.
Many of the jonin were still dissatisfied with him, but once war began, they would realize that he was the one who could lead Konoha to glory.
Danzo would follow the example of the First Hokage and unite the shinobi world.
Because Kakashi disapproved of Danzo's actions, he hadn't told Danzo about Feng Yao's true appearance after waking up. Instead, he had reported it to the Third.
The Third had frowned deeply upon hearing the news.
Even he couldn't figure out who Feng Yao really was. A spy from another country? A mysterious ninja from the Land of Waves? A Konoha trainee?
For now, only a handful of people knew Feng Yao's true appearance, which gave him an extra layer of protection.
That day, many jonin received intelligence from the Anbu, along with the Hokage's secret order.
"So... we're going to war?"
"The Third worked so hard to establish peace."
"Danzo, you bastard!"
After listening to Kakashi's report, the Third angrily slapped the paper down on the desk. He hadn't expected Danzo to move so quickly to attack Konoha's neighboring allies.
"Kakashi, I need you to find someone."
He turned to Kakashi and spoke with a grave expression.
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