The Chinoike Clan's Sorrowful Wish

The time returns to early morning.

Orochimaru led a troop of ninjas headed by Shisui, moving quietly toward the camp where the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Bunpuku, was stationed.

The morning mist had not yet fully dissipated, and the wisps of white fog lingering in the air provided them with a sliver of cover.

"Lord Orochimaru, is your injury truly not a problem?" Shisui asked with some concern. Orochimaru's injury touched upon his soul, leaving the medical ninjas helpless and forcing him to rely entirely on his own self-healing.

"Perhaps I should be the one to deal with the One-Tail Jinchuriki while you oversee the command?"

"I appreciate Shisui-kun's good intentions, but it is unnecessary. You should focus on dealing with the Ketsuryūgan ninjas who may be lying in ambush."

Orochimaru gave Shisui a cold look upon hearing this. He held no malice, but his appearance and temperament always gave off an eerie vibe, and his personality was rather detached.

However, for the time being, Orochimaru harbored no ill will toward the ninjas of his own village, not even the Uchiha.

Shisui nodded silently, stepped back, and vigilantly observed the surroundings, never relaxing for a single moment.

In the distance, the patrolling Sunagakure Ninja saw the arrival of the Konoha army and their expressions changed drastically. An army of hundreds—it was feared that Konoha's main force had struck.

One of them rushed toward the camp, shouting the message urgently: "Enemy attack! Konoha's ninja army is bearing down on us!"

Upon hearing this, the Sunagakure camp began to adjust its defensive formation according to the original plan.

Although they had anticipated an attack from the Konoha ninjas, the Sunagakure ninjas still felt nervous when it actually happened.

The camp commander, the Jonin Kosuke, moved upon hearing the news. He led several scout ninjas out of the camp, and the scouts released ninjutsu to capture the enemy's chakra signatures.

"Lord Kosuke, the enemy leader Orochimaru is right opposite us, and there is another unfamiliar chakra signature of extremely high intensity. There are over ten Jonin-level chakra signatures on the other side; it doesn't look like a feint."

After scouting, the ninjas reported back to Kosuke. The unfamiliar chakra belonged to Shisui, who had come from the Land of Water to provide support. Even without activating his Mangekyo, his chakra intensity far exceeded that of an average Jonin.

Kosuke's heart sank. Nearly half of Konoha's combat power was here, and the unfamiliar, powerful chakra must be reinforcements from Konoha. It seemed his position was likely the enemy's main point of attack.

"Does Konoha intend to make us their main target? Could their goal be the Tailed Beast?" Kosuke muttered to himself, his brow furrowed in worry.

The Tailed Beast was a strategic weapon more important than even a Kage; it could not be lost.

He turned his gaze to the ninja with red eyes beside him and said, "I am counting on you, Mr. Ryusuke Chinoike. Please lend us your strength."

Ryusuke Chinoike glanced at him upon hearing this and said indifferently, "Do not forget your promise to liberate our clan from the Uchiha's imprisonment."

His tone carried both anger and fear. The long imprisonment had made them both hate and fear the Uchiha clan. If not for the sake of liberating his people, Ryusuke Chinoike would never have been willing to fight for Konoha.

Ryusuke Chinoike's escape was an accident. He was one of the few Jonin of the Chinoike Clan. Some time ago, while training on the edge of Hell Valley, he accidentally discovered the barrier flickering.

He walked over out of curiosity, and a force surged forth, ejecting him from the barrier of Hell Valley.

He was overjoyed at first, wanting to return and bring his clansmen out, but when he returned, he could no longer find the breach in the barrier.

In the past, the Chinoike Clan had been exiled by the daimyo family of the Land of Lightning and entrusted to the Uchiha clan for imprisonment. He dared not expose himself and could only search alone, hoping to find another loophole.

Just as he was buried in his search, he suddenly heard people discussing the situation in the outside world: the Land of Fire was at war with both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth simultaneously.

A merchant caravan was passing through the middle of the road, and the leading merchants were discussing the state of the Ninja World.

Ryusuke Chinoike had an idea. He rushed out from the roadside and, instead of asking questions, used genjutsu directly.

Through interrogation via genjutsu, Ryusuke learned that Konoha was fighting the Four Great Nations almost consecutively, and that this might be Konoha's weakest moment.

Ryusuke Chinoike muttered to himself, "It seems this is an opportunity. If I can coerce Konoha into withdrawing the Uchiha, our clan can be liberated from our long imprisonment."

"I must think carefully; this is the only opportunity of my life."

He carefully analyzed the information he had extracted from the merchant's mind. Although he didn't know why the merchant knew so much, he didn't care about such details, only focusing on his future choices.

"The Kumogakure Ninja have already retreated, and I don't know if they still care about past history. I cannot go there."

"The Kirigakure Ninja are too mysterious and xenophobic, and they are full of malice toward bloodline-limit ninjas. That is not a good place to go either."

After careful consideration, Ryusuke Chinoike quickly ruled out two options.

"It seems only the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind are left to choose from. But the Land of Earth's previous offensive suffered a heavy blow; the Five-Tails Jinchuriki died and the Five-Tails was lost. Even if I go, I might not be able to turn the tide."

"So, only the Land of Wind remains? I hope they are a good choice."

Ryusuke Chinoike made his decision: he would head to the Land of Wind to serve the Sunagakure Ninja in exchange for their help in liberating Hell Valley.

He killed everyone in the merchant caravan, disguised it as an accident, and set off on the road to the Land of Wind.

Not long after he left, a white figure emerged from the soil:

"How exhausting. Not only do I have to pass information to the caravan, but I also have to make sure they don't get suspicious. Even though we don't have brains, why do we have to do things like this?"

White Zetsu used Earth Style to bury all traces on the ground and then vanished back into the earth.

A few days later.

Rasa was struggling in his battle against Orochimaru when suddenly a man killed his way in from the side, severely wounding Orochimaru.

Orochimaru struggled to force the two back and fled with his main force.

That man returned to the Sunagakure camp with Rasa.

He took off his conical hat, revealing a pair of red eyes, and said to Rasa, "Lord Kazekage, I have come to negotiate terms."

"I hope you can liberate the Chinoike Clan from the imprisonment of the Uchiha Clan, and in return, I and my kin are willing to serve you."

Rasa was overjoyed upon hearing this; an elite Jonin possessing a Kekkei Genkai capable of severely wounding the Sannin was willing to join Sunagakure, and he brought an entire clan with him.

Although it was a sneak attack that had wounded the Sannin, and the clan behind him still required Sunagakure to rescue them, this was a deal that guaranteed profit without any risk.

Rasa agreed to his request on the spot, promising that regardless of the war's outcome, he would attempt to rescue the Chinoike Clan.

Afterward, he was dispatched to the camp where the One-Tail was stationed to oversee the Jinchuriki.

Although he did not become a commander due to joining halfway through, his status was by no means low.

Time returns to the present.

Watching the Konoha army, Ryusuke Chinoike narrowed his eyes, preparing for battle.