Time returned to early morning.
Orochimaru led a squad of ninja headed by Shisui, moving quietly toward the camp where Bunpuku, the One-Tail Jinchuriki, was stationed.
The morning mist had yet to fully clear, and the faint white haze in the air offered them a little cover.
"Lord Orochimaru, are your injuries all right?" Shisui asked with some concern. Orochimaru's injuries had reached his soul, and the medical ninja were helpless to treat them. He could only rely on his own healing.
"Why don't I deal with the One-Tail Jinchuriki while you direct the battle from here?"
"I appreciate the offer, Shisui, but there's no need. Focus on dealing with any Blood Dragon Eye ninja who might be lying in ambush."
Orochimaru gave Shisui a cold look. He meant no ill will; his appearance and bearing simply gave people an unsettling impression, and he had a rather cold personality.
For now, however, Orochimaru harbored no ill will toward ninja from his own village—not even the Uchiha.
Shisui nodded silently. Once he had withdrawn, he warily watched the area around them, never letting his guard down.
In the distance, Sunagakure Ninja on patrol spotted Konoha's forces approaching. Their expressions changed abruptly. With several hundred troops, it looked as though Konoha's main force had come to attack.
One of them hurried toward the camp, urgently relaying the news: "Enemy attack! Konoha's forces are coming this way!"
At the news, the Sunagakure camp began adjusting its defensive formation according to the plan they had prepared.
They had expected an attack from Konoha, but now that it was actually happening, the Sunagakure Ninja still felt tense.
The camp's commander, the jōnin Kosuke, sprang into action. He led several scout ninja out of the camp, and they used ninjutsu to detect the enemy's chakra signatures.
"Lord Kosuke, the enemy leader, Orochimaru, is right over there. There's also an unfamiliar chakra signature, and it's extremely powerful. The enemy has more than ten jōnin-level chakra signatures. This doesn't look like a feint."
After completing their reconnaissance, the scouts reported to Kosuke. The unfamiliar chakra belonged to Shisui, who had come to reinforce them from the Land of Water. Even without activating his Mangekyo, his chakra was far stronger than that of an ordinary jōnin.
Kosuke's heart sank. Nearly half of Konoha's combat strength was here, and that unfamiliar, powerful chakra signature was likely from reinforcements sent from Konoha. It seemed their camp might well be the enemy's primary target.
"Is Konoha planning to focus its attack on us? Could they be after the Tailed Beast?" Kosuke murmured, his brows knitted with worry.
The Tailed Beast was a strategic weapon more important than even a Kage. They couldn't afford to lose it.
He turned to the red-eyed ninja beside him and said, "I'm counting on you, Ryusuke Chinoike. Please lend us your strength."
Ryusuke Chinoike glanced at him and said coolly, "Don't forget your promise. You'll free our clan from the Uchiha's imprisonment."
Anger and fear colored his voice. The long years of imprisonment had left them both hating and fearing the Uchiha Clan. If he hadn't been trying to free his clansmen, Ryusuke Chinoike would never have wanted to fight Konoha.
Ryusuke Chinoike's escape had been an accident. He was one of the few jōnin in the Blood Pool Clan. Some time ago, while training on the outskirts of Hell Valley, he had unexpectedly noticed the barrier flickering.
Curious, he walked over. A force struck him, ejecting him from Hell Valley's barrier.
At first, he had been overjoyed and wanted to return for his clansmen. But when he went back, he could no longer find the opening in the barrier.
The Blood Pool Clan had originally been exiled by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and placed under the Uchiha Clan's custody. Afraid to reveal himself, he could only search alone, hoping to find another breach.
As he searched, he suddenly overheard people discussing the situation beyond the valley: the Land of Fire was at war with both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
A merchant caravan was passing through nearby, and several of its leaders were discussing the situation in the Ninja World.
Ryusuke Chinoike's mind stirred. He rushed out from the roadside and, instead of asking questions, used genjutsu on them.
After interrogating them with genjutsu, Ryusuke learned that Konoha had fought nearly all four great nations in succession and might now be at its weakest.
"Looks like this is an opportunity," Ryusuke Chinoike murmured to himself. "If I can pressure Konoha into withdrawing the Uchiha, our clan can finally be freed from its long imprisonment."
"I have to think this through carefully. This might not be the only chance I'll ever get."
He carefully analyzed the information he had found in the merchants' minds. He didn't know why they knew so much, but he didn't care about the details. He only thought about what to do next.
"Kumogakure has already withdrawn, and I don't know if they still care about what happened in the past. I can't go there."
"Kirigakure is too mysterious and isolationist, and it's hostile toward those with Kekkei Genkai. It wouldn't be a good place to go either."
After careful consideration, Ryusuke Chinoike quickly ruled out those two options.
"It looks like I can only choose between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind. But the Land of Earth was just dealt a devastating blow during its previous attack. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki was killed, and they even lost the Five-Tails. I might not be able to turn the tide if I go there."
"That leaves only the Land of Wind. I hope they'll be the right choice."
Ryusuke Chinoike made up his mind to go to the Land of Wind and serve Sunagakure in exchange for its help freeing his clan from Hell Valley.
He casually killed everyone in the caravan, disguised the deaths as an accident, and set off for the Land of Wind.
Not long after he left, a white figure emerged from the earth.
"What a pain. We had to pass information to the caravan and make sure they didn't get suspicious. We don't even have brains, so why do we have to do this kind of thing?"
The White Zetsu used Earth Release to bury every trace of what had happened, then disappeared into the earth.
A few days later,
Rasa was struggling to fight Orochimaru when a man suddenly burst out from the side and dealt Orochimaru a heavy blow.
Orochimaru struggled to force the two of them back, then fled with the main force.
The man returned to the Sunagakure camp with Rasa.
He removed his hat, revealing a pair of red eyes, and said to Rasa, "Lord Kazekage, I've come to negotiate."
"I want you to free the Blood Pool Clan from the Uchiha Clan's imprisonment. In return, my clansmen and I are willing to serve you."
Rasa was overjoyed. A jōnin elite with a Kekkei Genkai, capable of seriously injuring one of the Sannin, was willing to join Sunagakure—and he had an entire clan behind him.
Even if he had only managed to injure one of the Sannin through a sneak attack, and the clan behind him still needed Sunagakure's help to escape, it was still a deal with no downside.
Rasa agreed to his terms on the spot, promising to make an effort to free the Blood Pool Clan, whatever the outcome of the war.
Afterward, Ryusuke was assigned to the camp where the One-Tail was stationed, to keep watch over the One-Tail Jinchuriki.
Though he hadn't become a commander because he had joined midway through, his status was still quite high.
Time returned to the present.
Watching Konoha's forces, Ryusuke Chinoike narrowed his eyes and prepared for battle.