"What? We're going to Kirigakure?"
Lihuo stared at his teacher in shock, as if he'd just heard something outlandish.
At his disciple's stunned expression, Orochimaru replied nonchalantly,
"Of course. The Mizukage succession ceremony is about to begin."
"Kirigakure invited the other four great shinobi villages to attend. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Only then did Lihuo remember that Kirigakure hadn't yet become the "Bloody Mist Village" controlled by Obito. At this point, Karatachi Yagura was only just preparing to take the position of Mizukage.
Orochimaru added,
"Kirigakure lies deep in the mountains and is often shrouded in dense fog. It's a shinobi village completely cut off from the other nations."
"Kirigakure is also surrounded by the sea. Far from the mainland and separated from it by the ocean, it has little access to information."
"You have such a good chance to broaden your horizons. Why are you backing out?"
Lihuo understood that, given his strength and status alone, he definitely wouldn't qualify to attend the ceremony in Kirigakure. The Hokage had actually assigned Orochimaru to go.
His teacher was using the opportunity to give him some field experience and broaden his horizons.
Understanding Orochimaru's good intentions, Lihuo quickly agreed.
Seeing his disciple's gratitude, Orochimaru smiled knowingly and began making arrangements.
"We'll leave in five days."
As he spoke, he took out a thick book.
Thump!
He set it on the ground.
"This is a collection of information about Kirigakure that Konoha has gathered over the years."
Orochimaru patted the weighty volume.
"I've already removed anything you're not allowed to read. I need you to finish the rest within five days."
With that, Orochimaru vanished using the Body Flicker Technique without looking back, leaving Lihuo standing there, dumbfounded.
Lihuo: (ToT)/~~~ What did I do to deserve this?!
While Lihuo buried himself in his studies and read late into the night, Danzo was flying into a rage at the secret Root base.
"Why? Why?!"
"Why did they send Orochimaru to the Mizukage succession ceremony?!"
Danzo raged helplessly, venting his fury. Once he had finally calmed down, he slowly sat down, his face sinking completely into shadow.
His murky eyes stared fixedly into the distance, as though he were deep in thought.
"Could Sarutobi Hiruzen be planning to make Orochimaru the Hokage?"
At the thought, Danzo could no longer suppress his fury.
"I've given everything for Konoha, and this is how they treat me? I won't stand for it!"
Then he slowly closed his eyes, as if hatching some scheme.
"I can't touch Orochimaru yet! Until he figures out how to harness Wood Release, I can't make a move against him!"
"But if I ruin Orochimaru's reputation and make him a disgraced outcast, so he has no choice but to work for me, wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?"
At the thought, Danzo let out a sinister laugh.
"Orochimaru's arrogance cost the genius Uchiha Lihuo his life in a tragic accident during a mission."
"Hahahahaha! That's a good headline!"
Then Danzo's eyes snapped open. Countless Root operatives stood ready, all kneeling on one knee as they awaited his orders.
Danzo was about to give the command, but suddenly hesitated.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen has already noticed my little moves. If I fail again this time, I'll lose any chance of becoming Hokage for good."
"No. I can't let Root make a move!"
Danzo pondered for a moment, and an even more insidious plan came to mind.
"Why not let the tiger loose to deal with the wolf?"
Danzo spoke sharply.
"Pass on my orders. Have Root's intelligence division get to work immediately. Spread the word that Orochimaru and Uchiha Lihuo will be attending the Mizukage succession ceremony."
After hearing the order, one of Root's captains asked,
"Sir, should we spread their itinerary as well?"
Danzo shook his head.
"No. Then no one will believe it. They only believe what they find out for themselves."
And so, using the Mizukage succession ceremony as an opportunity, a plot targeting Orochimaru and Lihuo began to unfold.
Five days later, early in the morning, at the Konoha Gate.
Lihuo stood at the gate, sporting huge dark circles as he waited for Orochimaru to arrive.
If there had been another transmigrator from Blue Star there, they would've thought Lihuo looked just like a panda.
That day, Lihuo wore a blue Uchiha training uniform and white shorts. A thin bandage was wrapped around each wrist, and he also wore knee pads and leg wraps.
His ninja tool pouch was packed with Military Ration Pills, Explosive Tags, fire starters, and other supplies, but not a Kunai or Shuriken in sight.
It turned out that, over the past year, Orochimaru and Lihuo had worked together to develop the Summoning Technique: Lightning Sword Summoning, based on Lihuo's idea.
Whenever he needed a ninja tool, all he had to do was tap his wrist to summon a Kunai or Shuriken. It was incredibly convenient!
As for Lihuo's A-rank Ninja Blade, Flame, he'd stored it in his system space for emergencies.
"Oh my, my dear disciple arrived so early! I'm impressed."
Orochimaru ambled over from the distance and patted Lihuo on the shoulder, wearing a faintly teasing smile.
"How was your rest these past few days?"
At that, Lihuo was so annoyed he nearly sent Orochimaru a Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
"Teacher, how can you even ask? That book you gave me was huge and thick. I haven't slept a wink these past few days!"
Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction.
"Clearly, you understood how important the book was—and finished reading it."
Lihuo gave a disgruntled nod, making no attempt to deny it.
Before long, Orochimaru had obtained permission to leave the village, and the two set off for the Land of Water.
As soon as they left the village, Orochimaru turned to Lihuo.
"Little Lihuo, tell me: how should we get to the Land of Water?"
Lihuo realized his teacher was testing him. After thinking for a moment, he answered,
"The Land of Water is surrounded by the sea, so we'll have to take a ferry."
"The nearest and safest route is to head east to the border of the Land of Fire, then take a ship from there."
Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction.
"You did your homework well, but that's only theory on paper."
Lihuo looked at Orochimaru in confusion, not understanding why he'd said that.
"Teacher is glad you studied, but you don't know that word of our trip to Kirigakure has spread throughout the Shinobi World over the past five days."
Lihuo's gaze sharpened.
"How is that possible? Each shinobi village's envoys should be a closely guarded secret!"
Orochimaru nodded, then took a map of the Shinobi World from his ninja tool pouch and spread it out in front of Lihuo.
"Regardless, we can't take the usual route in case something unexpected happens along the way. I've decided we'll go through the Land of Iron."
Orochimaru tapped the Land of Iron on the map. It bordered the Land of Fire and also had a port with ships bound for the Land of Water.
Lihuo nodded, agreeing with Orochimaru.
"Also, to be safe, I think we should disguise ourselves."
Lihuo offered his suggestion. Orochimaru considered it for a moment, then nodded.
"Then we'll be samurai. Since we'll be passing through the Land of Iron, that identity should serve us well."
The two then used the Transformation Technique, disguising themselves as a tall and a short samurai.
Their transformations were exceptionally well done. Anyone without the keen eye of a Jonin or higher would have trouble seeing through them.
And so, Lihuo and Orochimaru set off for the Land of Iron.
Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's office.
An Anbu operative knelt on the floor, waiting for the Tsuchikage's orders.
And the one honored as Tsuchikage was a short old man floating in midair.
Ōnoki studied the intelligence report in his hands, his eyes narrowing as he seemed to ponder something.
"How interesting. The identity of every hidden village's envoy is a closely guarded secret, yet Konoha has made its envoy's identity public."
The Anbu operative said,
"Could it be bait put out by Konoha?"
Ōnoki shook his head.
"If so, what would their goal be?"
"I'm more inclined to think there's a mole inside Konoha who wants us to get rid of those two for them."
The Anbu operative asked in surprise,
"Who? Orochimaru? He's the man Hanzo, the 'Demigod,' named one of the Sannin!"
Ōnoki neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply gazed at the strange peaks and ravines of Iwagakure.
"He doesn't want to get his hands dirty? Then I'll make sure he's covered in mud. Let's see if he's still unwilling to get involved after that!"
"Also... have Kitsuchi get ready. He'll represent Iwagakure at the Mizukage succession ceremony!"
The Anbu operative nodded in acknowledgment.
Orders began pouring out of the Tsuchikage's office. The whole of Iwagakure sprang into action like a finely tuned machine!
Before you continue