Danzo's Secret Order

The ninjas in the shadows no longer hid themselves.

The three of them leaped out to attack, revealing themselves as members of the Konoha Anbu.

The Silver Moon Wolf lunged forward, biting down on one man's arm and knocking him aside.

The other two companions exchanged a quick glance.

"Prioritize taking out this Sound Ninja brat. It'll be troublesome if he keeps summoning."

"Hold him off. We'll help you once we've killed this kid, and then that beast won't be a threat."

With that, the two abandoned their bitten comrade and charged straight at Feng Yao.

One ninja bit his finger to draw blood, performed a hand seal, and quickly submerged into the ground.

"Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique."

A pair of hands suddenly shot out from beneath Feng Yao's feet, grabbing his ankles and dragging him directly into the earth, leaving only his head exposed.

This was the same ninjutsu Kakashi had once used on Sasuke, primarily used to immobilize an enemy.

"Success!"

The other Anbu ninja felt a surge of joy, drew his ninja blade, and leaped toward Feng Yao, clearly intending to end his life right there.

Just as the blade was about to pierce Feng Yao's skull, Feng Yao's lips moved slightly.

"Flying Thunder God Technique."

Swish.

Feng Yao's body suddenly vanished, leaving behind only an empty hole in the ground.

"What is going on!"

The ninja who had used the Earth Style emerged from the ground, but the moment he appeared, Feng Yao's figure reappeared without warning.

He swiped a specialized Kunai directly toward the man's throat.

It was simply too fast.

Blood sprayed from the neck, and the ninja stumbled backward, clutching his throat with both hands in disbelief, as if trying to plug the flow of blood.

He never expected to die at the hands of a Genin from the Sound Village.

The moment he had grabbed Feng Yao's ankles, Feng Yao had already planted a Flying Thunder God seal on him.

The Silver Moon Wolf had already killed the other Anbu ninja, and seeing this, the final survivor knew death was inevitable, so he charged straight at Feng Yao.

He was a ninja; he could not forget his mission, he could not flee alone, he had to fulfill his duty.

Feng Yao threw a Kunai, and the man dodged the lower strike to continue his assault.

"Flying Thunder God: Second Stage."

Swish.

Feng Yao had already used the Kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal to appear behind his opponent.

A heavy punch sent the Anbu member flying; he rolled several times before stopping, but as he tried to crawl up to continue the fight, Feng Yao threw several Kunai, pinning him to a tree, unable to move.

Feng Yao walked over and grabbed the man by the throat with one hand.

"Speak. What exactly are you people plotting with this Chunin Exams, and where is the Anbu ninja named Tankyu right now?"

He tightened his grip while interrogating the ninja before him.

The man's face turned beet red, but he stared at Feng Yao with hateful eyes, refusing to utter a single word.

"As expected, troublesome. But even if you don't say it, I can guess. From thinning out the number of ninjas from other countries in the first exam, to sending the Anbu to murder the talented young generation of other nations in this one—it seems Danzo is planning to launch a war against other countries soon, isn't he?"

The ninja still refused to reveal a thing, but the contraction of his pupils told Feng Yao that his guess was correct.

He hadn't expected that while the Land of Wind was planning to attack Konoha, Konoha had the exact same idea. Moreover, Danzo's ambition was clearly much larger, and his methods far more ruthless, ordering his men to infiltrate the exams to wipe out the next generation of other nations' power.

Feng Yao snorted coldly in his heart, then asked one more question.

"Is Tankyu responsible for killing the ninjas of other countries during this second exam?"

Unfortunately, he didn't get the answer he wanted this time, as there was no change in the man's eyes or muscles; if he didn't know, then he truly wasn't part of this operation.

Feng Yao exerted force, ending the Anbu member's life.

He then performed hand seals to summon his spirit beast.

"Summoning Jutsu: Katsuyu."

Feng Yao intended to summon the Katsuyu Sage, and as white smoke erupted, a Katsuyu the size of a house appeared in the clearing.

"Oh, Feng Yao, you finally remembered me. Where are we?"

Looking at the curious Katsuyu Sage, Feng Yao explained, "This is Konoha Ninja Village. I would like to ask you, Lady Katsuyu, to split yourself up and help me find a few people."

In such a vast forest, it was impossible for Feng Yao to find them alone; he needed scouting and detection-type spirit beasts, and both the Silver Moon Wolf and Katsuyu were clearly well-suited for the task. Feng Yao told both beasts the current situation and the physical descriptions and characteristics of the people he needed to find.

The Katsuyu Sage immediately split apart, scattering in all directions, leaving only one small slug by Feng Yao's side.

"Phew, your body is so much more comfortable. When exactly are you coming to Shikkotsu Forest to keep me company?"

The small slug hopped around on Feng Yao's head, complaining in a slightly disgruntled tone.

Feng Yao could only offer a bitter, silent smile. He had a mountain of tasks to attend to; where would he find the time? He could only brush it off, saying, "Soon, soon. Just another two, three, four, or five months."

Hearing this perfunctory reply, the frequency of the small slug's hopping on Feng Yao's head increased.

Not long after, the Katsuyu Sage sent the first report.

"Three teams have already been assassinated. I haven't seen the person you're looking for yet. Oh, wait—a team of Kusagakure ninja actually managed to counter-kill their attackers."

Listening to the surprise in the Katsuyu Sage's tone, he knew that person was most likely Orochimaru.

The only teams here capable of taking out elite Anbu were Gaara's team, himself, and Orochimaru—none of which belonged to Konoha.

"I've found one of the people you're looking for. There are three of them in the west."

Upon hearing this, Feng Yao smiled faintly and immediately dashed toward the west. His speed was immense, and he reached his target in moments.

"Damn it, they're all like monsters. Forget about stealing someone else's scroll; just holding onto our own is incredibly difficult."

"We still carry the village's expectations on our shoulders. We can't go back in such a pathetic state. Let's track them one more time."

Standing before him were three Kusagakure ninja: two men and one woman.

The girl had a very distinctive head of red hair, wore a mesh-style ninja top and black thigh-high stockings, and her body bore several bite marks.

This girl was Feng Yao's other target, Karin. Her ability could be considered truly abnormal within the world of Hokage.

By biting her skin, one could recover chakra and heal wounds.

Moreover, she had no real attachment to Kusagakure. Although her strength was lacking now, with a little cultivation, she would surely become a great general under his command in the future.

His timing was perfect; the two Kusagakure ninja were just about to leave.

"I need to... find a place to hide."

Karin, clutching the Earth Scroll in her hand, looked flustered as she slowly climbed to her feet.

ROAR!

Just then, a giant brown bear appeared behind Karin, roaring at her before charging. Karin stumbled and fell to the ground.

Feng Yao knew his chance had arrived.

He threw a three-pronged Flying Thunder God Kunai and used the second stage of his displacement to appear directly in front of Karin.

Seeing someone blocking its path, the giant bear grew even more enraged and brought a claw down.

"Iron Body."

The bear's claw landed, but Feng Yao didn't budge an inch; the giant bear's eyes seemed to widen in shock.

Concentrating his Iron Body into his hands, Feng Yao punched the bear in the stomach. The intense impact caused its back to ripple, and the giant bear let out a miserable shriek as it was sent flying into a large tree, shaking down countless leaves.

At this moment, Karin realized someone had saved her, but she couldn't see clearly. She only felt that the person's aura was incredibly warm, and the fear in her heart vanished.

Feng Yao walked over, picked up Karin's glasses, and gently placed them back on her face, speaking in a soft voice.

"It's alright now. Are you hurt?"

Karin looked through blurry vision at the man wrapped in bandages before her. She was startled for a moment, but her mood quickly settled. She didn't know why she felt so at ease.

Feng Yao glanced at Karin and then unwound the bandages from his face.

He said with a hint of apology, "I must have scared you with this appearance. My name is Dosu. What is yours?"

Feng Yao did not tell Karin his real name here, because unlike Gaara, she did not yet have the strength to protect herself.

Looking at the man before her—who not only made her feel safe and comfortable but was also so handsome—Karin's cheeks turned bright red.

It felt like a desecration of something beautiful to stare at that face for too long, so Karin lowered her head again.

She replied in a voice no louder than a mosquito's, "I... I'm fine... Thank you."

Success.

He wasn't in a rush to make Karin his subordinate yet; she lacked the strength. He only needed to plant a seed in her heart.

Feng Yao pulled out a three-pronged Kunai marked with a Flying Thunder God seal and handed it to Karin.

"If you encounter danger, use this to protect yourself."

After saying this, he gently stroked Karin's red hair, then used the Flying Thunder God technique to depart.

Karin stood frozen in place for a long time before she finally reacted. She looked down, then gently pressed the Kunai against her chest.