Orochimaru Sends Reinforcements to Konoha

Looking over the battlefield, Hiruzen's eyes flashed with a hint of sorrow. All the Anbu protecting him had been killed, and many Root shinobi had died as well. They were all Leaf Village shinobi, yet they had perished needlessly in an internal conflict.

The remaining Root shinobi stood with their weapons raised, but didn't dare advance. The Hokage, who looked very old, had displayed far more strength than they'd expected. That was how the careless Aburame Tatsuma had ended up captured.

With their leader in the enemy's hands, they had no idea what to do.

"Tatsuma, tell me—who sent you?" Hiruzen demanded coldly.

"Do you really think I'd tell you the truth?" Ryoma sneered, still defiant even now.

Hiruzen's expression darkened. He gripped Ryoma's chin with fingers like an eagle's talons and gave it a slight twist, dislocating his jaw.

"I knew it. The Cursed Tongue Seal..."

The evidence was conclusive. Who else could it be but Danzo?

Just then, Hiruzen sensed something amiss. He noticed that Ryoma kept looking past him, seeming somewhat nervous.

At that very moment, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

"Old friend, I've come to see you."

Hiruzen turned around. Who else could it be but Danzo?

"You're finally willing to see me." Hiruzen remained calm. Though surrounded by a crowd, he showed no trace of fear.

"This was all Tatsuma's doing. It wasn't on my orders," Danzo explained, his expression placid.

"How am I supposed to believe you?"

"That's simple." Danzo waved a hand. More than a dozen masked shinobi emerged from behind him and charged straight at the traitors.

"Lord Danzo, I haven't betrayed you!"

"Lord Tatsuma, what's going on?!"

Facing their comrades, the Root shinobi attacked without hesitation, their eyes utterly devoid of emotion.

Before long, all of Tatsuma's subordinates had been wiped out. Many of the skilled shinobi Danzo had brought with him had also died, while some survivors were gravely wounded.

Not one of the shinobi had uttered a sound. Their silence was terrifying.

"That's my explanation. Are you satisfied?" Danzo replied indifferently.

Watching the scene, Tatsuma's face twisted into a grotesque scowl. Blood tears even streamed from his eyes, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move the old man holding him.

"You're not the man I pledged my loyalty to! You're an impostor! I hope you die a horrible death!" Tatsuma pointed at Danzo and cursed him.

Danzo's anger flared. He'd spent so much effort training this subordinate, and now the man dared speak to him like that?

Look at this mess. It was all this ungrateful wretch's fault!

The next moment, Tatsuma suddenly found himself unable to breathe. But it wasn't because Hiruzen had tightened his grip. His tongue had drawn back into his throat, blocking his airway.

How could this be?

Why could the impostor use the Cursed Tongue Seal?

Tatsuma was overcome with fear. Suddenly, he realized something was wrong.

Events from the past flashed through his mind, one after another, and he pieced the clues together.

But before he could make sense of them, his eyes rolled back, and he died for good.

"Danzo, what are you doing? Trying to destroy the evidence?" Hiruzen could only watch as Tatsuma died in Danzo's hands, unable to stop it.

Danzo released his grip, and the corpse crumpled to the ground, now worthless.

"That's what happens when someone disobeys. If others start following his example, how am I supposed to manage my subordinates?"

Danzo regretted using the Cursed Seal. He should have first figured out who was directing Tatsuma from behind the scenes. Now, in a moment of anger, he'd lost the trail.

"Shouldn't you explain why you refused to see me a month ago?" Hiruzen's face was as dark as water.

"You came looking for me? I didn't know." Danzo's expression was perfectly natural, as if he truly had no idea.

"You planted so many informants in the Anbu. How could you not know?" Hiruzen gave a cold snort, clearly displeased.

"So what if I did? Shouldn't you explain why you suddenly summoned the Shadow Squad? Wasn't that to deal with me?"

"Deal with you? I meant to use them against Orochimaru. Why would you think that?" Hiruzen's eyes widened. He was so angry he nearly choked.

"Orochimaru? Didn't he flee to the Land of Fields? Has he come back?" Danzo furrowed his brow, sensing that something was wrong.

The key was that Root's intelligence network was so extensive. How could he not know?

Fine. It had to be that bastard Tatsuma...

"Weren't you the first to see Orochimaru?"

"Nonsense. I haven't left Root during this time. How could I have seen Orochimaru?"

"Then who was it that broke into the Forest of Death during the Chunin Ninja Exams?"

"How should I know?"

Once they compared notes, it was clear that their accounts didn't match at all.

They were both seasoned veterans who'd lived through countless major events. It took only a little thought for them to realize something was wrong.

"Orochimaru must be behind this! He knew Aburame Tatsuma before. I bet Tatsuma was a pawn he secretly planted in my Root!" Danzo said gravely.

Whether or not that was really the case, he had to come up with a convincing explanation for Hiruzen.

"If that's true, then it makes sense. I never believed you'd do something so foolish." Sure enough, Hiruzen's expression softened a little.

Danzo stepped forward and openly held out his hand. "Old friend, Konoha is in danger. We have a common enemy. Why don't we deal with the crisis first and investigate my misdeeds afterward?"

After a brief hesitation, Hiruzen took Danzo's hand. Looking him in the eye, he said solemnly, "If it turns out someone framed you, I'll clear your name."

"Good. That puts my mind at ease."

As he spoke, the bandages covering Danzo's right eye came undone by themselves, revealing the Sharingan hidden beneath.

Sorry, old friend. This is the only way I can be sure.

"Kotoamatsukami!"

Hiruzen was completely unprepared. He'd guarded against a possible sudden attack from Danzo, but not this silent genjutsu!

"From now on, you will trust me, Danzo, without reservation and always stand by my side." Danzo silently etched his will into Hiruzen's subconscious.

"Understood." Only after Hiruzen said this did his eyes clear again.

As expected of the strongest genjutsu. Even someone like Hiruzen had been affected without realizing it!

Only then did Danzo breathe a sigh of relief. He'd finally made it through the most difficult part.

But a new problem had arisen. What exactly was Orochimaru up to?

He didn't believe that man merely wanted to throw Konoha into chaos. He had to have some deeper purpose.

Indeed, Orochimaru had been watching everything from the shadows for a reason. His clone immediately began to disintegrate, sending the news back to his original body.

Meanwhile, in a certain forest, a hand suddenly burst out of the ground. Another of Orochimaru's Shadow Clones crawled up from beneath the earth.

He gave a chuckle and leaped through the trees. In the direction he was heading lay a very conspicuous group of buildings. The clan crests visible everywhere made it clear that this was the Hyuga Clan's compound.

Orochimaru Sends Reinforcements to Konoha

At last, Orochimaru's real body opened his eyes in a cave somewhere outside Konoha. Four of his subordinates knelt before him, waiting for instructions.

"Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon, Jirobo—the opportunity has come. We can begin." Orochimaru smiled with confidence.

He'd just received the memories from his Shadow Clone and now had a complete grasp of the situation. Everything was going according to plan.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" the four answered in unison.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

His voice was unusually feminine because he'd recently taken a new reincarnation vessel.

But he wasn't satisfied with this vessel. Not only was her physique poor, but she was also a woman.

Living Corpse Reincarnation had a three-year cooldown, so it was impossible to take another body anytime soon.

But that was fine. He had all the patience in the world. He could wait for that child named Sasuke to grow up.

"Yes. We'll go help Sunagakure attack Konoha," Tayuya said, raising her head.

"Hmm? Did you get something wrong?"

"You mean..."

"Of course we're going to... reinforce Konoha!"

Orochimaru's words left the four of them stunned. This was nothing like what they'd expected.

Hadn't he stirred up all this trouble in Konoha to destroy it?

Why was he going to help them instead?

"Before that, though, there's something else we need to do. Sigh... Konoha's shinobi are just too careless. As their senior, it's only right that I help them make up for their mistakes, isn't it? Heh heh heh..."

With that, Orochimaru began to laugh wildly. It took him quite a while to get himself under control. Then he set off at a swift pace with his subordinates.

Their path was strewn with footprints in every direction, but it was easy to tell that many people had passed through. Now and then, they came across torn clothes and heavy bundles.

There was no doubt about it. This was the route the dignitaries had taken to flee.

Boom!

The gust of wind raised by the giant's landing distorted everyone's faces. Sakura had been running a little slower, and the shock wave sent her flying straight into a tree, where she ended up dangling from a branch.

The others hadn't fared any better. They all looked rather disheveled.

Once the wind died down, they could open their eyes. A colossal toad unlike any they'd ever seen stood before them, with an enormous pipe clamped in its mouth!

Naruto had summoned this thing?! Sasuke couldn't believe it.

A single one of the toad's toes was bigger than Sasuke himself!

"Lord Gamabunta!" Naruto appeared on the toad's head. Seeing that he'd actually pulled off the summoning on his first try, he was overjoyed.

"Kid! You've got some nerve, ordering me around like that! Aren't you afraid I'll swallow you whole?" The moment Gamabunta saw Naruto, he lost his temper.

"Lord Gamabunta, I made you my boss. Shouldn't you help your underling out? Aren't you the most loyal guy around?"

"That was... drunken nonsense I spouted the other day. It doesn't count!" Gamabunta glanced around. Jiraiya wasn't here, so pulling one over on a kid would be easy.

As for the other three kids, he ignored them completely.

"Come on, help me out! People's lives are at stake!" Naruto panicked.

"Hmm? This is Konoha? Something seems to be happening over there. Is that why you called me here?" Gamabunta pointed a paw toward the village. Several places were billowing with thick smoke. Something had clearly happened.

"No, that's not it! Look..." Naruto pointed at Gaara, but before he could finish, Gamabunta got angry.

"You called me here to deal with some little brat from Sunagakure?! Do you have any idea how valuable my time is? I make several hundred million a minute! Do you know that?!" Gamabunta looked incredulous and flew into a rage.

"Just hear me out! This guy's no ordinary opponent. He's..."

But before Naruto could finish speaking, Gamabunta stomped toward Gaara, crushing several nearby trees beneath his foot as well.

"Okay, done." Gamabunta clapped his hands, as if he'd just done something trivial.

But the very next moment, he let out a startled "Huh?" His eyes narrowed as he peered down at the spot beneath his foot.

"Who..."

A muffled voice came from the sole of his foot.

"Who's stepping on me..."

"What? Why does that voice sound familiar?!" Gamabunta looked bewildered.

The next moment, he lost control. Sand and dust began to gather beneath his foot, and something swelled under it. No matter how hard he pressed down, he couldn't stop it.

"Damn it, what kind of trouble have you gotten me into?!"

"Boss, I hadn't even finished explaining!" Naruto looked wronged. You're the one who kept interrupting me!

Watching the scene unfold, Keiichi said without hesitation, "Everyone, this is beyond us now. This place is about to become a battlefield. We need to get out of here."