Mutual Scheming

Only when Orochimaru stood before them did the three Anbu truly understand just how terrifying one of the Sannin could be!

In all their past missions, they had always been the ones frightening others.

But now, whether in status and experience or in strength, Orochimaru completely overpowered them!

Xiang knelt on one knee and did his best to remain calm, briefly explaining the situation in an even voice.

"Reporting to Lord Orochimaru: the Third Hokage sent us to carry out a secret mission."

"Your target isn't a rogue ninja carrying a secret technique. It's an Anbu from Sunagakure!"

Hearing this, Orochimaru looked enlightened and licked his lips.

"No wonder his uniform looked so familiar..."

Xiang continued.

"Several days ago, he was captured by Root, but now he's trying to sneak back to Sunagakure."

"Lord Hokage suspects there's a conspiracy and sent us to find out the truth."

Having briefly outlined his mission, Xiang lowered his head and waited for Orochimaru's reply.

"Danzo's handiwork? I didn't expect little Lihuo's first mission to run into something like this."

Orochimaru quickly grasped the situation and made his arrangements.

"Follow far behind and wait for my orders. I'll go see what's really going on."

"I can't have my dear student's first mission go awry, after all."

With that, Orochimaru used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished, leaving behind three Anbu who looked as if they had just escaped death.

Qing gasped for breath. The pressure Orochimaru had exerted was simply too overwhelming.

Linjiao looked at Xiang.

"Captain, what should we do?"

Xiang answered without hesitation.

"Of course we'll do as Lord Orochimaru says. We mustn't act rashly without his orders!"

At that moment, Lihuo was carefully examining Sha. Ever since he'd first seen him, Lihuo had felt that something was off.

Now he'd finally figured out what it was: the man's attire!

What kind of newly defected ninja would be wearing such well-made gear, with his Forehead Protector still fastened so neatly?

"This ninja's identity might not be as simple as we thought."

The realization made alarm bells ring in Lihuo's mind. He hurriedly dragged Sha aside.

Sure enough! On the tree trunk Sha had just been leaning against was a mark that Lihuo couldn't decipher. It had to be the signal Sha had left behind.

Without hesitation, Lihuo created two Shadow Clones to keep an eye on Sha. Then he stepped forward, spread his hand, and slammed a pale blue Rasengan into the mark.

Crack!

Its tremendous force not only obliterated the mark but also felled the tree, roots and all!

After checking the area for any other tricks Sha might have left behind, Lihuo tied him up with rope he'd brought along and placed a Flying Thunder God Mark on him.

Determined to be careful on his first A-rank mission, Lihuo also created a Shadow Clone to carefully check the path they'd taken, doing everything possible to leave no traces!

By the time he'd finished, Orochimaru had returned to the two of them.

Looking at the fallen tree, Sha bound hand and foot, and Lihuo standing beside him, drenched in sweat, Orochimaru fell into deep thought.

Still, he quickly explained what had happened to Lihuo.

When his suspicions were confirmed, Lihuo was glad he'd reacted decisively.

For now, we'll leave these two master and student discussing how to scheme against Sha. Meanwhile, far away in Sunagakure, in the Land of Wind, Granny Chiyo was having a secret conversation with a Jonin.

"Fire Snake's squad hasn't sent back any intelligence for over a week."

"Something unexpected may have happened. Oniichiro, officially, you're going to take Sasori out for training. In truth, I need you to secretly investigate what happened to Fire Snake Squad."

The Jonin nodded at her words, then used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Not long after, Sunagakure's genius puppeteer, Sasori of the Red Sands, received a summons from his teacher, Oniichiro.

After putting "Father and Mother" away, Sasori took out the puppet he'd just finished making, "Crow" (made by Sasori and later owned by Kankuro), and set off with his teacher, Oniichiro, toward the border of the Land of Wind.

Meanwhile, the target of Oniichiro and the others' search, Fire Snake Squad, had been missing for a full week and was now at its wits' end.

"Boss, let's go back to the village. We've reached the border of the Land of Wind. If we keep dragging this out and the village finds out, we'll be even less likely to escape punishment."

Hearing this, even Fire Snake, who had always been utterly resolute, began to waver.

After a moment's thought, Fire Snake stood up and said dejectedly, "Pack up. I'll use my summoning beasts to search one last time. If we don't find anything, we'll head back to the village."

With that, Fire Snake summoned more than a dozen lizards. They scattered in every direction, beginning the squad's final search.

Meanwhile, Sha slowly came to and realized he was already tied up from head to toe.

What was even more unbearable was that he'd been stripped completely naked!

All his belongings had been placed at Lihuo's feet.

"What... what are you doing? Is this how you treat your clients?"

Sha glared angrily at Orochimaru and Lihuo. The two of them were idly fiddling with his belongings by torchlight.

Hearing Sha's accusation, Orochimaru smiled wryly and walked over to him, pointing at the tree Lihuo had felled.

"Did you think I didn't know what you'd done? A rogue ninja, secretly sending a signal for help!"

Although his little trick had been exposed, Sha was relieved to learn that they hadn't discovered his true identity.

Suddenly, Orochimaru tilted his head, sensing something. He opened his mouth at once, his tongue darting out like a frog catching prey.

Bang!

A nearby branch snapped, sending dust billowing into the air. A lizard lay on the ground, barely alive.

A puff of smoke drifted past, and the lizard disappeared.

"It's a summoning beast!" Lihuo exclaimed.

"Looks like the people searching for you have arrived," Orochimaru said languidly.

"Captain Fire Snake!" Sha thought. "You finally made it!"

As the lizard vanished, Fire Snake sensed the disturbance in the distance. Without a word, he rallied the squad. After a week of trekking through the desert, they burst into action once more with renewed strength.

Fire Snake Squad raced toward Lihuo and the others.

At that moment, Lihuo raised his torch and shouted furiously at Sha.

"You still dare to pull a trick like that!" he yelled, hurling the torch at all of Sha's clothes.

In an instant, flames erupted. The crackling filled Sha's ears.

Sha glared at Lihuo, wishing he could devour him whole.

Just then, Orochimaru said languidly, "Little Lihuo, it seems you were wrong. When a fire breaks out, people don't look first at the thing most precious to them—unless the most precious thing to him is you."

"Hahaha!" Orochimaru seemed amused by his own joke.

But Lihuo immediately dropped his frenzied act. It was obvious he'd only been pretending.

He glanced at Orochimaru and said calmly, "Teacher Orochimaru, there's another possibility..."

"That the fire didn't touch the thing most precious to him at all."

Suddenly, Lihuo used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Sha and touched his head. A powerful sensing ability pierced through Sha's entire body.

Ding! Headpatted B-rank ninja Sha. Choose two of the following rewards.

Ignoring the system's notification, Lihuo's hand plunged straight into Sha's body.

Squelch!

As flesh was pierced, a blood-soaked scroll appeared in Lihuo's hand.