First Meeting with the Mad Scientist

"I have come from the Land of Earth to provide support; for now, I am the only reinforcement," Uchiha Iori replied.

He scanned his surroundings, confirming that the medical treatment was largely complete, and stowed away his Noble Phantasm.

"What? You are the only one? This... is that..." The ninja appeared somewhat stunned.

However, as he looked at the state of the battlefield, estimated the duration of the skirmish, and then glanced at Iori's nearly pristine appearance, his inner doubts were gradually replaced by awe.

He realized that Iori had easily slaughtered two jonin and six chunin in an incredibly short amount of time.

Such strength was surely on par with the Sannin; at the very least, on the Land of Wind front, only Orochimaru could possibly achieve this.

"Might I ask which jonin of the village you are?" the chunin asked, filled with hope.

The disadvantage on the front lines was so severe that morale was sustained entirely by rumors of the village's impending reinforcements.

If expectations were not met, the morale of the troops on the front line would likely collapse.

"My name is Uchiha Iori, just a newly promoted jonin," Iori said.

However, seeing the growing disappointment in the chunin's eyes, he added, "I was previously in the Land of Grass, where I broke into the Iwagakure position and slew the Five-Tails Jinchuriki."

The chunin's eyes lit up. Although he did not know much about the powerhouses of various nations, he was well aware of the jinchuriki, the ultimate weapons of the tailed beasts.

"My lord, my name is Yukawa Tsunayoshi," the chunin said. He roused his companions, led them to bind the Sunagakure ninja, stanched their wounds, and transmitted news of Iori's arrival to headquarters.

Iori retrieved his deployed weapons, his gaze falling upon the busy ninja.

"My lord, please follow me; Lord Orochimaru is waiting for you," Yukawa Tsunayoshi said respectfully, having just received a reply from headquarters.

The letter requested that he bring the captured Sunagakure ninja and the village's supporting jonin back to the camp.

"Very well, let us go," Iori said without delay, setting off with him.

Bypassing several Sunagakure search parties, Uchiha Iori and his group entered through a secluded cave entrance, triggered a stone slab opened by a seal, and finally arrived at the Konoha camp.

The camp was brightly lit, and the Medical Unit was operating at full capacity, yet they still could not handle all the wounded.

With the overall front line falling into a disadvantage, both medicine and medical ninja were in extremely short supply for Konoha.

For Iori, this was an excellent opportunity to build prestige, though he still needed to visit Orochimaru first to clarify why the Land of Wind front had devolved into its current state.

Following Yukawa Tsunayoshi's lead, Iori headed toward the core area of the camp.

It was evident that although the camp was temporary and resources were insufficient, the overall layout and guard coordination were excellent; Orochimaru was truly a veteran commander.

"That is Lord Orochimaru's tent ahead; please proceed the rest of the way on your own," Yukawa Tsunayoshi stopped and said, pointing to the tent in front.

The camp was currently under high-security control, and chunin were not permitted in that area, so Yukawa Tsunayoshi could not approach.

Iori nodded at him, thanked him for his guidance, and then proceeded alone into Orochimaru's tent.

Upon entering the tent, Iori saw Orochimaru sitting in the center. Although his complexion was naturally pale, he was clearly much weaker now.

"You must be Uchiha Iori-kun. I have seen your battle reports. Since Jiraiya sent you, I will leave the front line to you from here on."

Orochimaru's voice was low and hoarse, tinged with exhaustion; he truly appeared to have suffered a severe injury.

"Lord Orochimaru, I wonder what happened—why did you and Lady Tsunade suffer such a defeat?"

Iori asked curiously. Tsunade was one thing; Iori knew she suffered from hemophobia, though the Sunagakure ninja should not have known that.

But the fact that Orochimaru had been severely wounded was something he could not fathom. Among the Sannin, Orochimaru might not be the strongest, but he was certainly the most adept at surviving.

Having created the Orochi-Style Soft Physique Modification and the Orochi-Style Substitution Technique, Orochimaru could be said to almost never suffer grave injuries, let alone ones that refused to heal.

"It was the Ketsuryūgan. It belongs to a clan that your Uchiha clan sealed away in Hell Valley long ago. For some reason, a jonin escaped from Hell Valley."

"When the Fourth Kazekage attacked, he suddenly assaulted me with a Ketsuryūgan genjutsu. After I used a secret technique to repel the two of them, I discovered that my soul had been damaged."

Orochimaru recounted his situation. As a commander, he felt disgusted by such an unexpected enemy.

But as a researcher, he held no small amount of interest in a Kekkei Genkai like the Ketsuryūgan.

"As for Tsunade, since the village was willing to send you, I will not hide it from you," Orochimaru continued, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness.

"After the death of her younger brother Nawaki and her lover Dan Katō, she fell into hemophobia. Once she sees blood, she loses her ability to fight."

When Orochimaru mentioned Nawaki, a shadow crossed his face; Nawaki had also been his beloved student.

It was precisely because of Nawaki's death that he had felt the fragility of human life once more, driving him to pursue immortality ever more fervently.

"Tsunade was previously on the front line, primarily responsible for neutralizing the deadly poisons of the Sunagakure advisor Chiyo and healing the severely wounded. Although she could not look at blood, she could direct the medical ninja and use Katsuyu to heal."

"But for some reason, the information about her hemophobia was leaked. The Sunagakure ninja who attacked the Medical Unit cut themselves and splattered blood right in front of Tsunade."

"Tsunade, who had intended to protect the Medical Unit, lost her combat capability and instead became the one who needed protection."

"Having lost our commander, the Konoha front line was split by the Sunagakure forces. Fortunately, the command system was not completely destroyed at the time."

"The jonin seized the opportunity to organize a counterattack and brought us back here."

Orochimaru still felt a lingering fear when thinking of that moment; he had been only a hair's breadth away from having his dream of immortality come to an end on that battlefield.

"Now, as you can see, the front line has suffered heavy losses. Tsunade and I have lost most of our combat power. The only jonin who retain their strength are thirty-three, with five hundred chunin."

"The enemy consists of the Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, the One-Tail Jinchuriki, that Ketsuryūgan ninja, as well as eighty jonin and eight hundred chunin."

"The only reason we are holding on now is because the enemy is casting a wide net, trying to devour our unit with as few casualties as possible."

Uchiha Iori began to think. Chiyo's poison is irrelevant; I have healing. The One-Tail doesn't even require a Noble Phantasm; I can resolve it with the Mangekyo. The same goes for that Ketsuryūgan user.

What remains is the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, who is also a weakling. My focus should be on how to increase my prestige and expose as little of my true power as possible, so as to deal with the malice from within the village.

Bidding farewell to Orochimaru, Iori did not intend to use his Noble Phantasm to heal him. On one hand, he wanted to keep a trump card; on the other, it was to seize power. Only if Orochimaru remained injured could the command authority be transferred to him.

Leaving the tent, Iori headed toward the Medical Unit.