Orochimaru Had Actually Found Out

An hour later, the group set out again, continuing toward the front lines.

They crossed the border into the Land of Rivers, and two days later, they finally reached the front.

The journey had been anything but peaceful. They were attacked by Sand Ninja from time to time, and in the end, even Rock Ninja began joining in.

Fortunately, they suffered no further casualties.

Moreover, this mission to reinforce the front had been a great success.

Although they had lost more than ten Chunin, they had successfully drawn the Sand Ninja's attention and greatly eased the pressure on Konoha's front lines.

The moment Orochimaru arrived at the front, the Sand Ninja moved their camp and retreated twenty kilometers under cover of night.

That was the fearsome reputation of Cold Lord Orochimaru!

Konoha Base Camp.

After verifying their identities and handing over the mission, Orochimaru instructed them, "We've successfully reached the front. The squad is now officially disbanded. You may all go rest. Your respective departments will issue your next assignments."

"Yes, sir!"

The group responded and dispersed.

Orochimaru then took Sen Chisato with him to the command tent.

As soon as they entered, they heard someone say, "You're finally here, Lord Orochimaru."

The speaker looked exhausted, but wore a smile.

Orochimaru's arrival had clearly put everyone at ease.

"Thanks for all your hard work, Shikaku." Orochimaru nodded.

"It's all for Konoha. Still, I'm glad you made it," Nara Shikaku said with a smile. "Though I'm about to be transferred to another battlefield."

Nara Shikaku, head of the Nara Clan, was exceptionally intelligent and one of Konoha's foremost strategists. He also served as the Jonin Commander.

When the war began, he had been appointed commander of the Land of Wind battlefield.

Thanks to his leadership, the front hadn't collapsed—in fact, Konoha had managed to keep the Sand Ninja firmly in check.

However, Shikaku was still too weak to turn the tide of a battle on his own.

And with the Sand Ninja continuing to send reinforcements, Chiyo, Ebizo, and even the Fourth Kazekage had arrived at the front. He could no longer hold the line.

Fortunately, Orochimaru had arrived.

At that thought, Nara Shikaku remembered something. "By the way, we've gotten a lead on Lord Jiraiya."

Jiraiya, like Orochimaru, was one of the Sannin.

Ever since the Second Shinobi World War had ended, he had left Konoha and begun searching for the Child of Prophecy. Even Konoha had no way of keeping track of his whereabouts.

Orochimaru hadn't expected to receive word of him now.

"Jiraiya... Where is he, and how did you find him?" Orochimaru asked calmly.

Hearing news of Jiraiya, Orochimaru's first reaction wasn't happiness, but suspicion.

He feared the enemy might be spreading false information to target Konoha.

"Lord Jiraiya is on his way here. We received word three days ago... He contacted the village himself," Nara Shikaku explained, then added, "The village has already verified that the message is genuine."

"I see." Orochimaru nodded, still showing little excitement.

It was obvious that even if Jiraiya returned, he wouldn't stay here.

Konoha wasn't just facing the Land of Wind. It also had to contend with the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, and even the Land of Water had begun sending advance teams to test the waters.

No matter how you looked at it, Jiraiya would be sent to command and intimidate the enemy on another front, just like Orochimaru.

"So it's because we're short on high-level fighters," Sen Chisato muttered, having listened quietly until now.

At his words, everyone looked at him.

"This must be Lord Orochimaru's new disciple, the one Lord Hokage mentioned?" Nara Shikaku asked with a smile.

Orochimaru nodded and rested a hand on Sen Chisato's head.

Sen Chisato immediately lowered his head. "Sorry. I was just talking nonsense."

"No, you're right. Konoha is in a difficult position, with a shortage of high-level fighters and no one to take the next generation's place," Orochimaru said calmly, laying bare Konoha's predicament. His words even carried a hint of reproach toward the leadership. "If Sakumo were still alive, this war wouldn't be so difficult."

Nara Shikaku could only smile bitterly.

He wasn't Orochimaru. The Third was his teacher, so he wouldn't dare respond to that.

The Sakumo Orochimaru mentioned was Hatake Sakumo, known as the White Fang of the Leaf and one of Konoha's strongest fighters. On the battlefield, he had once struck such fear into the Sand Ninja that they trembled at his name.

His peerless swordsmanship, in particular, was the perfect counter to Sand Ninja puppeteers.

But then he died.

He hadn't died on the battlefield. He had died in the village, in his own home.

He had failed a mission while saving his teammates, causing enormous losses for the village and the Land of Fire. Condemned by everyone, including the teammates he had saved, he took his own life.

But a mission that important should have been classified. How had everyone found out about it?

Thinking of the reason for Hatake Sakumo's death, Sen Chisato's eyes filled with amusement.

"Did Jiraiya say when he'd arrive?" Orochimaru brought the conversation back on track.

"Probably within the next couple of days," Nara Shikaku replied evenly, inwardly relieved.

He truly didn't want to get dragged into a conversation like that.

Orochimaru lowered his head and fell into thought.

After a long while, he smiled faintly. "In that case, we'll maintain the status quo for the next couple of days. Don't take the initiative to attack. We'll wait until Jiraiya gets here before deciding what to do."

If Jiraiya didn't come, there wasn't much Orochimaru could do.

But since Jiraiya had taken the initiative to come to him, Orochimaru wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.

"Chisato, you're dismissed. You can go get some rest." Orochimaru gave the order without even glancing at Sen Chisato, then picked up a file and began working.

Sen Chisato's mouth twitched.

What did he mean, "you're dismissed"?

He hadn't had anything to do here in the first place.

"Then I'll take my leave, Lord Orochimaru, Senior Shikaku." Sen Chisato bowed slightly and started to leave.

But after a couple of steps, he stopped.

Turning back to the two of them, Sen Chisato asked sheepishly, "Um... where am I supposed to stay?"

The question caught Orochimaru off guard.

As commander, Orochimaru had already planned to eat and sleep in the command tent unless he was needed elsewhere.

As for Sen Chisato, since he had been following him around, Orochimaru had simply forgotten to arrange anything.

After a moment's thought, Orochimaru said, "It would be a waste of your talent to keep you here. So I'll assign you to Sarutobi Hakuba's squad."

"Lord Orochimaru, are you serious?" Nara Shikaku's eyes widened. "Sarutobi Hakuba is part of the Ninjutsu Corps. That's a large-scale combat unit that fights on the front lines!"

Sen Chisato's eyes widened too.

Lord Orochimaru, that can't be right!

You're sending me to a position like that? Aren't you worried I'll die on the battlefield?

Sen Chisato wanted to come to the front, but that didn't mean he wanted to fight and kill!

After all, his system was for burying the dead and handling funerals, not for killing people and earning points.

There was no benefit in fighting tooth and nail. The battlefield had no shortage of corpses, so he didn't even need to do anything.

Then Orochimaru handed him an order he had just written. "Don't worry. It's not time for us to go to war with the Sand Ninja in full force yet. For now, your squad will be responsible for patrols and keeping watch."

"What if we do go to war in full force?" Sen Chisato looked at the order in his hands and asked tentatively.

"Then you'll take part in the fighting."

Sen Chisato looked up and saw Orochimaru gazing at him with an amused smile.

"Chisato, your body has actually recovered quite well. At least, it's no worse than an ordinary shinobi's, right?"

Sen Chisato's heart skipped a beat. His body tensed instantly.

Orochimaru had actually found out!