The Three Sannin, Orochimaru

The Konoha outpost was located on the border of the Land of Water.

Uchiha Shisui was currently exchanging intelligence with three other Anbu members who had rushed over from Konoha.

The group inside the outpost was engaged in a heated discussion, unaware that multiple Mist Ninja Anbu were lying in wait silently outside.

"Stop!"

Uchiha Shiraha grabbed Uchiha Itachi, who was rushing toward the outpost, and pulled him to a halt to hide.

"What's the matter?"

Uchiha Itachi asked, puzzled.

"I'm afraid we've been targeted. Look..."

Uchiha Shiraha pointed toward a specific spot.

Uchiha Itachi looked in that direction, his face full of confusion; he did not see anything out of the ordinary.

"Use your Sharingan! Remember, in times of crisis, don't think about conserving your stamina or anything like that."

Uchiha Shiraha said, having discovered the threat thanks to the keen eyesight he had honed through sword-drawing practice.

Uchiha Itachi, however, required the assistance of the Sharingan.

In a normal state, Uchiha Shiraha's eyesight was far superior to Itachi's.

The Sharingan consumed a large amount of stamina and a portion of chakra, and as the duration of use increased, the consumption gradually grew.

For members of the Uchiha clan, this was nothing and easily manageable.

But for those outside the clan, the effects were very obvious.

Even Uchiha clan members generally did not keep them activated at all times.

Uchiha Itachi understood what Uchiha Shiraha meant and activated his Sharingan to look again.

"There's someone!"

Uchiha Itachi said in surprise.

He hadn't expected Uchiha Shiraha to observe so carefully; that ninja was hidden extremely well and possessed no small amount of strength.

If Uchiha Shiraha could observe that while on the move, just how meticulous was his attention to detail?

The thought was terrifying, and Uchiha Itachi no longer had any thoughts of looking down on Uchiha Shiraha.

"Three tomoe..."

Uchiha Shiraha sighed faintly, thinking that comparisons only lead to frustration.

From the time he awakened his eyes until now, it had taken him five years to evolve to two tomoe, yet the kid in front of him, who was clearly two years younger, was already at three tomoe...

"Shiraha, what should we do next?"

Uchiha Itachi asked, instinctively handing the decision-making power over to Uchiha Shiraha.

The strong decide the fate of the weak.

"Let's head back! It looks like the outpost has already been exposed. However, before we leave, we need to give Shisui inside a warning!"

Uchiha Shiraha pondered for a moment before deciding not to get involved in this mess.

Judging from the information he had learned from Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru should already be in the vicinity, and this place was bound to be a focal point of the conflict.

With their two teams of ninja plus a pair of useless garrison guards, the chances of winning were nearly zero.

"Leave it to me!"

Uchiha Itachi said, and began to weave hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke appeared, and after it dissipated, a patterned cat stood before them.

"As expected, this is the privilege of a wealthy, prestigious family."

Uchiha Shiraha narrowed his eyes. The Ninja Cat clan was the Uchiha's exclusive intelligence agency.

He had never obtained a Ninja Cat as a summoning animal.

No wonder Uchiha Itachi is able to know so much information about the village; it must have been passed down to him by Fugaku! The Uchiha have quite a few hidden methods, but since Fugaku trusts Itachi and Shisui so much, why would these two betray the clan in the future?

Uchiha Shiraha felt at this moment just how much of a disadvantage it was to lack intelligence.

I wonder if Danzo knows Orochimaru's whereabouts. Given his current plans, he would want to keep Orochimaru in the Land of Fire, dead or alive. If he knew his location, he would definitely have arranged for Root to ambush him!

Orochimaru had been traveling smoothly all the way here; there must be an inside man in the village.

Uchiha Itachi told the Ninja Cat the information and instructed it to deliver the message to Uchiha Shisui.

"Where did you get that information?"

Uchiha Shiraha asked after seeing the Ninja Cat disappear.

"What information?"

Uchiha Itachi asked, confused.

"Intelligence on Orochimaru!"

"This is news brought by the Ninja Cat, allowing us to successfully intercept Orochimaru!"

Upon hearing this, Baiyu thought to himself that it was just as he expected.

It seemed the Uchiha clan's intelligence network was not inferior to the village's own.

Peering through a narrow tube to see the leopard, Baiyu could not see the full scope of the traitor Orochimaru's conspiracy, but he could guess that the Uchiha were playing the role of the mantis stalking the cicada.

Could they be coveting the forbidden Konoha techniques in Orochimaru's possession?

Baiyu guessed wildly in his heart; with the crisis right in front of him, he still did not know the specific reason that had triggered it.

This feeling of being manipulated was absolutely terrible.

Shaking off these various thoughts, Baiyu decided to focus on dealing with the crisis at hand.

He led Uchiha Itachi as they retreated toward the borders of the Land of Fire, sticking to the main roads as much as possible while trying to avoid running into Orochimaru.

On the border of the Land of Fire, along a coastline adjacent to a small island of the Land of Water.

"Cough... are the Mist Ninja reliable?"

Orochimaru asked with a pale face, letting out a light cough.

"I spent ten million to persuade the Fourth Mizukage to have the Shadow Guard meet us; there should be no problem."

The one who replied was Orochimaru's most capable assistant, Yakushi Kabuto.

Back when they were still in Konoha, Orochimaru had already sensed Danzo's ill intentions and had sent Kabuto to arrange an escape route.

Yakushi Kabuto had issued a mission from Kirigakure, requesting the Fourth Mizukage to send men to intercept the Konoha border guards.

"Ten million? Is the Mist Ninja's asking price that cheap?"

Orochimaru's golden slit pupils shifted, and he asked with suspicion.

Ten million sounded like a lot, but this involved pitting the Mist Ninja against Konoha; if things escalated, it could potentially lead to another Great Ninja War.

Kirigakure had been implementing the Blood Mist policy in recent years, and the regime within the village was unstable; how could the Fourth Mizukage have the heart to concern himself with matters outside the village?

Orochimaru was obsessed with research, but he had not neglected to keep an eye on the situation in the ninja world.

"Lord Orochimaru, the Mist Ninja are very short on money. Of course, I have also prepared a backup plan to ensure nothing goes wrong."

"Heal my injuries sooner! This body is becoming more and more aged; after being wounded, it is increasingly sluggish. Aging is truly disgusting."

Orochimaru did not want to listen to Yakushi Kabuto any further, because this injury had only strengthened his resolve to find a better, younger body.

At this moment, Orochimaru was in his early forties, which counted as entering old age in the ninja world.

The average age of a ninja was less than thirty; at forty, one could call themselves an old man.

With the decline of all bodily functions, in another ten years, his chakra would plummet just like the Third Hokage's, and his strength would drop by an entire tier. Coupled with the ambush orchestrated by the Third Hokage, he was severely wounded, having taken an Explosive Tag directly to the abdomen, which had damaged his internal organs and caused his strength to decline significantly.

"I understand, Lord Orochimaru."

Yakushi Kabuto continued to use chakra to treat Orochimaru's wounds without saying another word.

"It seems your plan has failed."

Orochimaru suddenly opened his eyes and said.

"What?"

Yakushi Kabuto's face showed confusion; he suddenly stopped his movements and turned to look.

Two young ninjas wearing Konoha's green flak jackets were standing on their flank.

The younger one among them looked at Orochimaru with a vigilant expression.

The other, older one looked completely awkward.

"If I said... we took the wrong turn, you wouldn't believe me, would you?"

Baiyu said calmly.

Who would have known that Orochimaru would be so brazen as to walk directly along the main road?

Were the Anbu in the village really raised on nothing but filth?

Baiyu said this on the surface, but his hand was already gripped tightly around the hilt of his blade.

Of the five guards beside Orochimaru, four of them surrounded him and Uchiha Itachi.

"How could Konoha send two Chunin... Hmm? Uchiha?"

Orochimaru had originally been suspicious of Konoha's intentions, but upon seeing the clan crest on the arms of Baiyu and Itachi, he immediately understood.

"I have always been interested in that pair of eyes from your clan! Now that you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep, it's perfect!"

Orochimaru licked his lips and said with an excited expression.

Baiyu did not respond; the Sharingan appearing in his eyes caught Orochimaru's attention, while his hand secretly dripped a bottle of mixed potion into the gap of his scabbard.

This was going to be a brutal battle, and the person he least wanted to encounter was standing right in front of him.

One must be prepared to die.

In the few seconds before the battle was about to erupt.

Baiyu suddenly discovered that all the fear he felt at the beginning had completely vanished.

Replacing it was a faint sense of inner excitement! His blood was boiling throughout his entire body.

That heart belonging to an unyielding swordsman was beating violently.

He had never even imagined that he would crave a battle against this legendary Sannin so intensely.