Mizukage Succession, The Storm Begins!

"What? Go to Kirigakure?"

Uchiha Lihuo stared at his teacher in shock, as if he had just heard something utterly preposterous.

Facing his disciple's astonished expression, Orochimaru said nonchalantly, "That's right, the Mizukage inauguration ceremony is about to begin."

"Kirigakure has invited the other four great ninja villages to observe the ceremony. What's the matter? Is there something wrong with that?"

Lihuo then remembered that the current Kirigakure was not yet the "Bloody Mist Village" controlled by Obito; at this moment, Yagura Karatachi was only just preparing to ascend to the position of Mizukage.

Orochimaru added, "Kirigakure is located deep in the mountains and is constantly covered by thick fog. It is a ninja village completely isolated from the other nations."

"Furthermore, Kirigakure is surrounded by the sea. Because it is far from the mainland and separated by the ocean, information there is quite restricted."

"With such a good opportunity to broaden your horizons, why are you trying to back out?"

Lihuo understood that, based solely on his own strength and status, he was certainly not qualified to attend the ceremony in Kirigakure; the person actually appointed by the Hokage was Orochimaru.

His teacher was simply using this opportunity to take him along for training and to gain experience.

Realizing Orochimaru's good intentions, Lihuo hurriedly agreed.

Seeing his disciple's gratitude, Orochimaru smiled knowingly and began to arrange the next steps.

"We depart in five days."

As he spoke, he took out a thick book.

Thud!

He placed it on the ground.

"This is the intelligence on Kirigakure that Konoha Village has collected over many years."

Orochimaru patted the heavy stack of documents.

"I've already removed the parts you aren't allowed to see. I need you to finish reading the rest within five days."

With that, Orochimaru vanished using Body Flicker, leaving behind a bewildered Lihuo.

Lihuo: (ToT)/~~~ What a disaster!

While Lihuo was burying his head in his studies, burning the midnight oil, Danzo was flying into a rage within the secret base of Root.

"Why? Why!"

"Why should Orochimaru be the one to attend the Mizukage's inauguration!"

Danzo raged impotently, venting his emotions wildly. Once he had completely calmed down, he sat down slowly, burying his face deep in the shadows.

A pair of murky eyes stared straight into the distance, as if contemplating something.

"Could it be that Sarutobi Hiruzen wants Orochimaru to be the next Hokage?"

Thinking of this, Danzo could no longer suppress the fury in his heart.

"I have given my all for Konoha, yet I am treated like this. This is absolutely unacceptable!"

Having said that, he slowly closed his eyes, as if brewing some sort of conspiracy.

"Orochimaru cannot be touched yet! As long as he hasn't successfully researched the power of Wood Release, he cannot be touched!"

"However, if I were to ruin Orochimaru's reputation and force him to serve me, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Thinking of this, Danzo let out a sinister laugh.

"Orochimaru's arrogance leads to the accidental death of the genius youth Uchiha Lihuo during a mission."

"Hahahaha, that headline is perfect!"

With that, Danzo's eyes snapped open. Countless Root members stood ready, all kneeling on one knee, waiting for his orders.

But just as Danzo was about to give the command, he suddenly hesitated.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen has already noticed my small maneuvers. If I fail this time, I will be completely finished regarding the position of Hokage."

"No, this won't do. Root cannot take direct action!"

Danzo pondered for a moment, and a more insidious plan surfaced in his mind.

"Why not use the 'drive the tiger to devour the wolf' strategy?"

Danzo spoke abruptly.

"Pass on my order: have the Root intelligence department operate quickly and spread the news that Orochimaru and Uchiha Lihuo will be attending the Mizukage's inauguration ceremony."

A captain of Root asked after hearing this, "My Lord, do we need to spread their travel itinerary as well?"

Danzo shook his head.

"No, if we do that, no one will believe it. They only want to believe what they have dug up themselves."

And so, using the Mizukage's inauguration ceremony as a catalyst, a conspiracy against Orochimaru and Lihuo slowly began to unfold.

Five days later, early morning, the gates of Konoha Village.

Lihuo stood at the gate with a pair of massive dark circles under his eyes, waiting for the arrival of Orochimaru.

If any other transmigrator from Blue Star were here to see Lihuo in this state, they would surely think he looked no different from a panda.

Lihuo was dressed today in a blue Uchiha training uniform with white shorts, his wrists wrapped neatly in bandages, and he was also wearing knee pads and leg wraps.

Lihuo's ninja tool pouch was packed to the brim with Military Ration Pills, Explosive Tags, tinder, and other supplies, yet there was not a single trace of kunai or shuriken to be found.

As it turned out, over the past year, based on Lihuo's concepts, Orochimaru and Lihuo had jointly developed "Summoning: Lightning Sword Summoning."

When needing ninja tools, one only had to tap their wrist, and the kunai and shuriken would be summoned out—it was incredibly convenient!

As for Lihuo's A-rank ninja sword, Flame, it had been stored away in his system space by Lihuo for emergencies.

"Oh my, my dear disciple has actually arrived so early; it truly surprises this teacher."

Orochimaru was seen strolling over from a distance, patting Lihuo on the shoulder and asking with a slightly playful expression on his face.

"How have you been resting these past few days?"

Hearing this, Lihuo was so angry he nearly wanted to hit Orochimaru with a Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.

"Teacher, you have the nerve to ask! That book you gave me was so big and thick that I haven't closed my eyes for the past few days!"

Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction.

"It seems you truly realized the importance of that book and finished reading it."

Lihuo nodded irritably, not denying it.

Soon, Orochimaru completed the procedures for leaving the village, and the two set off on the road toward the Land of Water.

Just after leaving the village, Orochimaru looked toward Lihuo.

"Little Lihuo, let me ask you, how should we travel to the Land of Water?"

Lihuo understood that his teacher was testing him, and after a moment of thought, he provided his answer.

"The Land of Water is surrounded by the sea on all sides, so we must take a ferry to get there."

"The safest route currently is to head east until we reach the border of the Land of Fire, and take a ship from there."

Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction.

"Your homework is well done, but that is merely theory on paper."

Lihuo looked at Orochimaru in confusion, not understanding why he would say that.

"You read the book, and this teacher is very happy, but you are unaware that in these five days, the news that we are heading to Kirigakure has already spread throughout the ninja world."

Lihuo's gaze sharpened.

"How is that possible? The envoys of every ninja village should be top secret!"

Orochimaru nodded, reached into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out a map of the ninja world, and spread it out before Lihuo.

"Regardless, to prevent complications along the way, we certainly cannot take the usual path. I have decided to go through the Land of Iron."

Orochimaru's finger tapped the Land of Iron on the map; it bordered the Land of Fire and also possessed ports leading to the Land of Water.

Lihuo nodded, agreeing with Orochimaru's assessment.

"Additionally, to be safe, I think we should disguise ourselves."

Lihuo voiced his own thoughts, and after a moment of consideration, Orochimaru nodded.

"Then let's go as samurai. After all, since we are passing through the Land of Iron, the identity of a samurai is quite convenient."

Following this, the two used the Transformation Jutsu, manifesting as two samurai, one large and one small.

This particular Transformation Jutsu was executed with extreme finesse; it would be difficult for anyone below the level of a Jonin to detect it.

Just like that, Lihuo and Orochimaru officially set off on the road to the Land of Iron.

Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's office.

An Anbu was kneeling on the ground, waiting for the Tsuchikage to issue orders.

And the one revered as the Tsuchikage was none other than a short, elderly man floating in mid-air.

Onoki examined the intelligence in his hands carefully, his eyes narrowed as if he were pondering something.

"Interesting. The envoys of every hidden village are a closely guarded secret, yet now Konoha Village has made their envoys public knowledge."

The Anbu spoke.

"Could it be bait set by Konoha?"

Onoki shook his head.

"If that were truly the case, then what is their objective?"

"I am more inclined to believe that there is a mole within Konoha, and they want to use our hands to eliminate these two people."

The Anbu said in surprise.

"Who? Orochimaru? He is the man titled one of the Sannin by the 'Demigod' Hanzo!"

Onoki offered no comment, merely gazing out at the jagged peaks and strange ravines of the Hidden Stone Village.

"If he doesn't want to get into the water, I'll just have to get his hands covered in mud. We'll see if he stays dry then!"

"Furthermore... tell Kitsuchi to prepare himself. For this transition of the Mizukage, he shall represent the Hidden Stone Village to attend the ceremony."

The Anbu nodded in acknowledgment.

Soon after, a series of secret orders were dispatched from the Tsuchikage's office, and the entire Hidden Stone Village began to operate like a precision machine.