Two days had passed. Shiraishi had left the Land of Rain and arrived at the battlefield between Konoha and Hidden Cloud.
With the thousand reinforcements Danzo had sent finally arriving, Konoha had gained the upper hand completely.
Although the Hidden Cloud shinobi had been buoyed by their comrades' willing sacrifices, their courage alone could hardly make up for the gap in strength and numbers.
The war was nearing its end. Unless Hidden Cloud wanted to sacrifice every last one of its elite shinobi, it had only one choice: negotiate.
The fierce fighting now was simply Hidden Cloud's attempt to secure some leverage in the coming negotiations. They didn't want to lose too much at the bargaining table.
Shiraishi was in a forest about thirty kilometers from the front lines, meeting with Orochimaru.
"Teacher has arrived at the front. He and Tsunade secretly met with Jiraiya." As soon as Shiraishi arrived, Orochimaru shared his intelligence.
"So you're the only one of his disciples he hasn't sought out?" Shiraishi looked at Orochimaru with an amused smile.
Orochimaru's snake-like tongue slipped out, and his eyes grew more and more like those of a real snake.
"He knows about my relationship with Danzo."
"Have you told Danzo about this?" Shiraishi asked with a pleasant smile.
Orochimaru replied calmly, "I've only told you."
"Then tell Danzo. I'm looking forward to seeing how he reacts." Shiraishi walked over to Orochimaru.
At that, Orochimaru gave a sinister smile. "I think it'll be quite interesting."
"How long until the war ends?" Shiraishi asked, changing the subject.
"Hidden Cloud has already sent an envoy. If the compensation is satisfactory, the war will end soon," Orochimaru answered honestly.
Shiraishi walked away. Before he disappeared, he left one last remark. "Then pass the news to Danzo as soon as possible. I'm