Cooperation

In a secret meeting room within the capital of the Land of Fire.

After the meeting with the Daimyo concluded, the ministers gathered for a "private session."

"Gentlemen, I trust you all understand the implications of the Daimyo's words today."

Cutting off one's source of wealth is akin to killing one's parents. These ministers had finally managed to rake in a fortune from the "rice prices," so how could they allow that wet-behind-the-ears brat, Enshi Shu, to disrupt their plans?

The Minister of Defense was even more radical; he slammed one foot onto the table and roared, "We only let him be the Daimyo because we say so!"

"If that brat dares to ruin our good thing, we'll just blow him away!"

"Now, now, let's not say things like that. Regardless of anything else, he is still the public ruler of the Land of Fire. We must show him some face."

Koizumi, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries—the most cunning fox among the ministers—waved his hand to signal calm, chuckling, "Why not just clear out those ten or twenty-year-old stocks of ancient rice from the warehouse?"

"They might even thank us for being able to eat such 'fresh and delicious' rice!"

The ministers didn't take Enshi Shu seriously at all; after all, who would fear a young lord with no money and no power?

Just as they continued to discuss how to divide the spoils, the surrounding walls turned pitch black. Moments later, those shadows shifted onto the floor, slowly creeping toward the group from beneath the table.

By the time they realized something was wrong, the Shadow Ninja had already solidified. They stood behind the ministers and swiftly restrained them.

"Who are you?! We are the ministers of this nation!"

The first minister to speak, his tone aggressive and arrogant, hadn't taken the Shadowkhan seriously at all. However, the Shadowkhan soon taught him—at the cost of his life—that "one should not be too arrogant."

A sharp Kunai pierced his neck, blood seeping out. His eyes were filled with disbelief, his lips trembling slightly. After a single "How dare you?!", he went silent forever.

Seeing a colleague collapse in a pool of blood before them, the others instantly turned docile. The Minister of Defense, who had just been shouting about blowing Enshi Shu away, switched to a fawning face in a heartbeat, pleading, "Big brothers, let's talk this out."

These ministers had been targeted by assassins hundreds of times before, and each time they had managed to bribe the killers with money. They all shared the same thought: I'll just make back this little loss in a couple of days...

Unfortunately, the Shadowkhan were not here for money, nor did they have any use for it. Sharp Kunai slit the throats of one minister after another. Finally, only Minister Koizumi remained, his legs turning to jelly from the bloody scene before him as he collapsed to the floor.

"Who... who are you people?!"

Only now did he realize that these black-clad ninjas were here for their lives. Yet, he couldn't fathom who would have the audacity to assassinate the high-ranking officials of the Land of Fire.

The next moment, the doors to the meeting room swung open. Enshi Shu's youthful face appeared in the shadows, flanked by Shadow Ninja wielding samurai swords.

"Minister Koizumi... we haven't seen each other for long, why are you in such a sorry state?"

"Daimyo... Lord Daimyo?!"

Minister Koizumi's eyes were filled with utter disbelief. He couldn't imagine how a yellow-haired brat who had no power or influence just a day ago could have cultivated his own force so quickly.

Enshi Shu had no intention of answering. He merely gestured, and a sharp blade pierced through Koizumi's chest. Blood surged from his throat, and until the moment he fell, his eyes remained fixed in disbelief.

Konoha, Hokage Building.

The news of the Land of Fire Daimyo's death had already reached Konoha. Ordinarily, Konoha would hold a mourning period, but... the former Daimyo had a terrible reputation, and Konoha had pressing matters at hand, so the memorial service was temporarily shelved.

Once we handle the matter of the Talismans, we will pay a visit to express our apologies and condolences to the new Daimyo in person...

Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself before turning to the business at hand.

The loss of another Talisman had made the atmosphere in the Hokage's office tense. Although Shendu still lacked credibility in the eyes of Konoha's leadership, the cataclysmic power displayed by the Ox Talisman was undeniable. Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately summoned the Konoha elders to reassess the importance of the Talismans.

"Uncle, I hope you can cooperate with us in Konoha to search for the Talismans. As for the ownership of the Talismans..." Before he could shamelessly suggest that the Talismans belong to Konoha, Uncle interrupted Sarutobi Hiruzen, waving his hand dismissively:

"Uncle doesn't care where the Talismans are, as long as they aren't in the hands of the Shadowkhan!"

Just like in the original Jackie Chan Adventures, where the Talismans kept in Section 13 were always being lost but Uncle was still willing to let them keep them, Uncle didn't care who held the Talismans.

...Is it really that simple?!

Sarutobi Hiruzen, including Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, could hardly believe it. They had expected to haggle, perhaps even resort to shamelessness, or even have a falling out!

"However, Uncle is short on manpower and needs your support."

"That goes without saying!" It would be excessive not to contribute when they were gaining the Talismans for free. Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately finalized the cooperation plan before Uncle could change his mind.

But he found himself in a bind regarding who to send with Uncle and Chixing to find the Talismans.

Minato was definitely out; he had been beaten into a state of disrepair by the Ox Talisman and was currently being kept at home by Kushina. If he forced him to go, wouldn't Kushina blow up at him?

"How about Jiraiya?"

Utatane Koharu suggested. As one of the Sannin, Jiraiya's strength was unquestionable, and he didn't lack large-scale Ninjutsu.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head, "That old brat is always talking about 'gathering material' and has been missing for ages."

(At this moment, Jiraiya, who was enjoying a "bubble bath" in a hot spring in the Land of Hot Water, sneezed.)

"Then who should..."

"Why not let me go~"

Just as Mitokado Homura began to ponder, a cold, raspy voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned their gaze to see a man with long black hair and golden slit pupils standing there.

"Orochimaru?"

Indeed, the visitor was the "man" who looked just like his namesake—Orochimaru!

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen was happy to see his beloved disciple, who had been holed up in his laboratory for days, return to the light, there had been quite a lot of "intelligence" regarding Orochimaru from the Anbu lately.

Things like "conducting human experiments with Danzo" or "kidnapping children as research materials"—in short, his name was practically synonymous with snakes.

However, there was no concrete evidence for any of this yet.

Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly didn't want his beloved disciple to sink into darkness, so he figured it would be best to find him some work to keep him busy, as he didn't have much spare time himself.

With a wave of his hand, he agreed to Orochimaru's self-recommendation, but Uncle suddenly began to shout—

"Aiya! It's a Snake Demon! Chixing! Quickly, get Uncle some realgar!"

Chixing obeyed Uncle's command, pulling a bottle of realgar wine from his pack and preparing to splash it onto Orochimaru, but Sarutobi Hiruzen jolted to his feet and quickly intercepted him, explaining:

"Mr. Uncle, Chixing, this is my beloved disciple, Orochimaru. He just has a rather unconventional appearance; he is not a demon."

Uncle pushed up his glasses, scrutinized Orochimaru's "cold, pale skin," and nodded. "Indeed, I detect no dark chi."

Orochimaru, having been stared at for so long, couldn't help but retort in his mind, Heh... compared to me, perhaps Chixing's appearance is more like that of a demon?

"What truly fascinating biological traits~"

Orochimaru had originally been holed up in his laboratory continuing some experiment or another, but Danzo had suddenly shown up, demanding that he retrieve some talismans for him.

Yet, how would Orochimaru, who spent his days cooped up in the lab, know what those talismans were? He refused without a second thought, until Danzo showed him the intelligence files on Chixing and Uncle, which finally piqued Orochimaru's interest.