Contract, Summoning

Cloud Hidden had sent reinforcements!

This was no coincidence!

Sen Chisato thought for a moment, then asked, "Because of Sand Hidden's attack?"

Orochimaru nodded. He had come to the same conclusion.

"Word sure travels fast." Namikaze Minato sighed, then asked with concern, "Has Cloud Hidden launched an offensive?"

"No. As soon as Konoha received the intelligence, it responded. Jiraiya rushed to the Land of Fields border and deterred Cloud Hidden," Orochimaru said.

"Thank goodness for Teacher Jiraiya." Namikaze Minato breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Sen Chisato suddenly turned his head and stared fixedly toward the Land of Wind.

The others immediately noticed his movement.

"What is it?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and slowly straightened up.

"Several enormous chakra surges just erupted over there," Sen Chisato said without turning back.

Before anyone in the tent could react, an injured Konoha Ninja rushed inside and urgently reported:

"Lord Orochimaru, Sand Hidden has launched an attack!"

"How interesting." Orochimaru's lips curled into a sinister smile.

As the commander, he didn't panic, nor did he immediately issue any orders.

He needed to consider the intent behind Sand Hidden's actions.

"Is this because of Cloud Hidden's movements?"

Sand Hidden had attacked last night, and Cloud Hidden had immediately seized the opportunity to send in reinforcements. Now that Jiraiya had held Cloud Hidden in check, Sand Hidden had launched a second attack at once.

Clearly, Sand Hidden and Cloud Hidden had formed an alliance!

"That's not good news." Namikaze Minato sighed. He had come to the same conclusion.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions came from the west. This time, no one needed sensory abilities to know what was happening.

Sand Hidden and Konoha had clashed!

Orochimaru no longer hesitated. He stood and issued his orders. "The First Unit will move out and engage Sand Hidden. The Second Unit will follow at a suitable distance, ready to support the First Unit at any time."

"Send half the reconnaissance unit to support the First and Second Units. The remaining personnel will assist the Third and Fourth Units in guarding the camp and preventing a surprise attack. Have the medical unit prepare for casualties!"

"Yes!" The people in the Command Tent responded loudly, each wearing a solemn expression.

As one order after another rang out, Konoha Base Camp sprang into action.

Sen Chisato looked this way, then that.

What about me?

He had originally been assigned to the First Unit, but later he'd been picked to assist Team Minato with a cleanup mission. He hadn't had a chance to rejoin his unit yet.

Now he stared at Orochimaru with shining eyes, barely able to contain his eagerness. He was practically about to raise his hand.

Lord Orochimaru, Teacher, look at me! Look at me!

But Orochimaru ignored him and turned to Namikaze Minato. "Minato, take a surprise-attack squad and strike from the flank. Break through Sand Ninja's formation."

Namikaze Minato wasn't assigned to the Land of Wind front, but since he was already here, Orochimaru wasn't about to let him go to waste.

Namikaze Minato didn't refuse and immediately accepted the order.

He was about to leave when Orochimaru suddenly called out, "Wait."

Namikaze Minato stopped and turned around, puzzled.

A White Snake slithered onto the conference table. It opened its mouth and spat out a scroll covered in slime.

Orochimaru opened it and took a look. His face immediately darkened.

After a two-second silence, he looked up at Namikaze Minato and said slowly, "Iwagakure has sent reinforcements to the Land of Grass. Before leaving, Jiraiya left your Flying Thunder God Mark there. You need to go and deal with this immediately."

Namikaze Minato's expression grew grave.

Had Iwagakure allied with Sand Hidden, too?!

Even Sen Chisato had to admit they were lucky Jiraiya had returned to the war and left a contingency plan in the Land of Grass. Otherwise, Konoha would be in trouble.

As things stood, all that was happening was Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya swapping fronts.

"Sorry, Lord Orochimaru. I have to go." Namikaze Minato had no choice but to abandon his assignment here.

After Orochimaru nodded, he immediately headed for the tent's exit.

The situation was urgent. He had to get to the Land of Grass border right away.

Seeing this, Sen Chisato hurriedly called out, "Wait!"

Namikaze Minato stopped. Orochimaru also looked over. "Senri, what is it?"

Sen Chisato waved a hand, motioning for Namikaze Minato to wait outside.

After Namikaze Minato had left, he said, "Teacher, I want to make a contract with your summon."

"Manda? His personality is rather difficult." Orochimaru furrowed his brow, then relaxed. "But with your strength, you have no reason to fear him."

"Still, this isn't the time to discuss it. We'll talk after this battle."

"I have a use for him right now." Sen Chisato glanced toward the tent entrance, stepped closer, and lowered his voice. "Uchiha Obito!"

That single name was enough for Orochimaru to understand.

Uchiha—a name that resounded throughout the Shinobi World, representing a powerful clan and a Kekkei Genkai no one could ignore: the Sharingan.

Orochimaru was pleased that Sen Chisato had his eye on the Uchiha, but he didn't like the person Sen Chisato had chosen.

"That boy is hopeless."

Orochimaru ran his tongue over his lips, greed plain in his eyes. "I have a much better candidate in mind. The Uchiha Clan head has a four-year-old son. I hear he's an exceptionally gifted prodigy."

He sounded regretful as he added, "Unfortunately, Uchiha Shisui has already caught the old man's attention, and the Uchiha Clan is keeping a close eye on him."

"Being stupid has its advantages. At least the Uchiha haven't paid much attention to Uchiha Obito," Sen Chisato said.

He was already putting in a good word for Uchiha Obito. It wasn't merely that they ignored him—they wouldn't have cared if he died. Some Uchiha even excluded him.

In the original story, if Obito hadn't awakened his Sharingan, they wouldn't have spared him a second glance. Even when he clashed with Kakashi, it was only because they wanted to reclaim the Sharingan.

Orochimaru didn't refuse this time.

Even if he didn't think much of Uchiha Obito, the boy would do for a test run.

Besides, Sen Chisato had found this special material for him. The boy had even remembered what Orochimaru had said.

That thought made Orochimaru even more pleased with Sen Chisato.

The boy had a few little schemes of his own, but he was still close to Orochimaru and relied on him.

That was enough!

He wasn't some useless Shimura Danzō, who had to rely on a Cursed Seal to control people.

Glancing at the White Snake on the table, Orochimaru said, "How about I do it?"

Sen Chisato shook his head, his expression unchanged. "That wouldn't be appropriate. Namikaze Minato might be on guard."

It was a subtle warning.

Orochimaru considered it and realized Sen Chisato was right.

His reputation hadn't been very good over the past two years.

He didn't blame Sen Chisato for it. Instead, he formed Hand Seals and slapped his palm on the table. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Poof!

A cloud of smoke burst out, and a massive scroll appeared.

Orochimaru unrolled it and pointed to a blank space. "Sign your name, then press your bloodied finger to it."

Sen Chisato did as instructed. After signing, he drew his blade and cut his finger. Once all five fingers were stained with blood, he pressed his hand against his name.

"The Hand Seals for the Summoning Jutsu are 'Hai—Xu—You—Shen—Wei.' You have to complete them within three seconds, or you can use blood to summon instead."

Orochimaru reminded him, "There are plenty of powerful beings in Ryūchi Cave. You don't have to work with Manda. For communication, surveillance, warnings, Reverse Summoning, and the like, an ordinary snake will do."

"I understand." Sen Chisato nodded.

Once he had his chakra under control, he used the blood on his hand and slapped it against the table. "Summoning Jutsu!"