Preparing a Lifesaving Contingency

"Orochimaru has defected!"

Baiyu was startled; he had not expected it to be this moment in time.

Having been in this world for a long time, Baiyu did not remember the specific events of Naruto very clearly.

However, the major events remained deeply etched in his memory.

Orochimaru's defection occurred after the Nine-Tails incident but before the Uchiha clan massacre.

Orochimaru had competed with Minato Namikaze for the position of Hokage, and after Minato Namikaze died, Sarutobi Hiruzen had returned to power.

Three years after the Nine-Tails incident, Orochimaru defected, and three years after that, Uchiha Itachi would defect!

The time left for me... is not much.

From Orochimaru's defection, Baiyu associated it with Uchiha Itachi, and some dusty memories gradually began to surface.

"I accept!"

While Baiyu was dazed, Uchiha Itachi spoke up.

Baiyu could see the determination in Uchiha Itachi's eyes.

"The village and the clan."

The conflict between the two was something Itachi had begun to consider when he was seven years old.

Right now, he should be leaning toward the village, but he had not yet abandoned the clan in his heart.

At this moment, the clan still occupied a certain position in Itachi's heart.

"What is the mission reward?"

Baiyu asked, spreading his hands.

"Ten million, paid by the Sarutobi clan of the Third Hokage!"

Shisui was surprised, not expecting Baiyu to ask such a question.

Does he like money?

He mentally placed such a label on Baiyu.

That means my share will be over three million! It's worth it.

Baiyu pondered inwardly.

Back when his parents died in battle, the pension issued by the clan was only about four million.

In times of war, human life was so cheap.

With these three million-plus, he could try to forge another blade that felt right in his hand.

After getting used to the longer hilt of an iaido sword, he couldn't get used to short katanas.

Baiyu was poor and very short on money.

Nothing was more important than life.

Unless, there was a huge sum of money!

He harbored doubts about Shisui's Mangekyo, and coupled with Uchiha Itachi's bias, accepting the mission was the wisest choice.

If he refused the mission now, he would offend the two most important people in the Uchiha clan.

The loss would outweigh the gain.

Plus, since Itachi had agreed, he, as a minor background character, should naturally follow in the footsteps of these two big shots.

I shouldn't have such good luck to earn these three million.

A "non-chief" constitution was the hidden trump card deep within Baiyu's heart.

The Land of Fire was so vast, and Orochimaru only had a few people; the probability of encountering him was too low.

It was two days later when they arrived at the mission location from the village.

It was an Anbu outpost located on a small island on the border of the Land of Fire.

Three Anbu members plus Shisui's squad were the main personnel for the ambush plan, with three ordinary ninjas originally stationed at the outpost acting as support.

The entire S-rank mission involved over a hundred Anbu, plus the ninjas left behind at the border, making it a large-scale mission involving over a thousand ninjas.

Yet, Orochimaru was able to escape safely under such tight containment.

Baiyu knew the danger of this mission.

Orochimaru was a recognized powerhouse above the Kage level, and he had a group of fanatical followers by his side. These people were willing to die for Orochimaru at any time.

Orochimaru's escape route was a mystery; no one could guarantee whether he would flee toward the Land of Water.

The only fortunate thing was that Orochimaru had been wounded by a trap set by the Third Hokage, causing his strength to decline.

At the Konoha border, Baiyu surprisingly did not practice his sword-drawing.

It was now the fifth day since arriving at the outpost, and Baiyu had thirty thousand draws left to reach one hundred thousand.

Over the past five days, through frantic training, Baiyu had completed over fifty thousand draws.

He completed the fifty thousand repetitions of training with surprising speed, relying largely on the help of a medical ninja at the outpost.

The passive ability Toxin Mastery obtained from the lottery granted him knowledge that included a detailed breakdown of human anatomy.

Once Baiyu possessed this ability, his deeper understanding of bodily structure allowed him to maximize the efficiency of his sword-drawing training.

Feeling an increasingly heavy sense of crisis, he dared not slack off for even a second.

"To think this island actually has the materials to create poisons that restrain ghosts and spirits."

While patrolling the surrounding environment, Baiyu discovered many familiar plants.

These were all primary ingredients for toxin production.

Having already benefited from this ability, Baiyu decided to manufacture some.

Shinobu Kocho's Toxin Mastery was primarily aimed at ghosts and spirits, but it also contained toxins effective against the human body.

Although Baiyu did not want to use poison, he was willing to set aside his pride for the sake of survival.

Only by staying alive could he continue to practice his swordsmanship.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, a voice drifted over, and Baiyu knew exactly who it was the moment he heard it.

Uchiha Itachi. He didn't know why this guy kept coming to talk to him lately; Baiyu felt this person was quite troublesome.

"Making some little things."

"You were clearly terrified of death back then, so why did you follow along after hearing the mission details? Baiyu, are you unaware of how terrifying Orochimaru is?"

Uchiha Itachi asked.

Since he was a child, he had listened to his father tell stories of the legendary geniuses of Konoha, and he was expected to take them as his role models.

He had also been burdened by Fugaku with the status of being a model for the Uchiha.

He had never once let the Uchiha down.

"That's right, I'm terrified of death. Everything I do is to stay alive."

Baiyu said without even turning his head.

The formula for the second type of poison was nearly complete; the main ingredient was Wisteria, and the secondary ingredients could be improvised.

He was refining the poison formulas based on Shinobu Kocho's techniques.

This was the confidence Toxin Mastery gave him.

It was also one of his means of self-preservation for the days to come.

"I fear we might truly die in battle here. Are you really not afraid?"

Itachi murmured, finding it increasingly difficult to read the person in front of him.

Greedy for money, afraid of death, eccentric in personality, and prone to exaggerated behavior—even with a major battle looming, he was still busy searching for flowers and weeds.

At this moment, Itachi was caught in the confusion of adolescence.

He was trying to find answers through all sorts of different things.

"Did you receive some news?"

Baiyu stood up and looked at Uchiha Itachi.

"The latest news from the village: Orochimaru has successfully fled from the interior to the border. He should be planning to escape to another country within the next two days. The latest order from the Hokage's advisor, Lord Danzo, is to change the capture order to a kill-on-sight order!"

"So fast?"

Baiyu was startled. The possibility of successfully intercepting him at the border was almost zero.

The fact that Orochimaru could escape from hundreds of Anbu meant his strength far exceeded what Baiyu had imagined.

Anbu...! The strongest unit in Konoha was not as weak as they appeared in the show.

One could see the lower limit of their strength just from the entry requirements for the Anbu.

Jonin was the standard requirement for a formal Anbu.

Special Jonin also counted as Jonin.

For example, Uzuki Yugao joined Kakashi's team as an intern Anbu with the status of a Special Jonin.

As for Chunin, if one had connections, they might be able to secure an intern spot.

From the Kakashi Anbu arc to the Itachi Shinden, both had to reach the level of Jonin before they had the opportunity to be included in the Anbu candidate assessments.

If Orochimaru escaped from the net woven by Konoha's Anbu, he would truly be free from the Land of Fire.

Border defense was meaningless.

It was precisely because Baiyu had considered this that he agreed to Shisui's plan to come to the border and get involved.

Perhaps he could even kill a couple of Mist Ninja to increase his sword-drawing count and bolster his strength.

"If Orochimaru really appears, can I stop him?"

Baiyu glanced at the blade at his waist, and the conclusion he drew only made his desire to become stronger burn even more fiercely.

"I am going to the Mist Ninja outpost!"

Baiyu said coldly.

Three days ago, during a patrol mission, they had discovered a reef where two squads of Mist Ninja were stationed, the strongest of whom was a Jonin.

"No, there is no time. Shisui told me to bring you back to the outpost. Anbu Captain Otsu is calling a war council. We must return immediately after the patrol is finished!"

Itachi shook his head and said.

"Orochimaru really will leave from here. The Anbu have confirmed intelligence that Orochimaru has ties to the Fourth Mizukage!"

"What?"

Baiyu was shocked. Why hadn't they mentioned such a thing sooner? He would have immediately gone to slaughter those few Mist Ninja to complete his system mission...

Just as the two were speaking, in a dense forest not far away, Orochimaru was carefully feeling his way forward under the escort of several loyal subordinates.

Three Kirigakure assassination squads surrounded the outpost where Uchiha Shisui and the others were located.

The Kirigakure Anbu ninja team sent to meet Orochimaru had arrived early.