The Schemes of the Chess Player and the Shadow's Echoes from the Land of Wind

A fingertip slid across the black leather scroll, and a slick, icy sensation spread through him, like stroking a cold venomous snake that had lain dormant for decades and just awakened.

The salty fragrance of the miso soup brought by Mikoto Uchiha mingled with the dust from the wrecked study and the unabashedly strong scent of vinegar from Uzumaki Kushina, weaving together into a strange balance.

Baishi's gaze slowly left the [Top Secret] List capable of turning the Land of Fire upside down and settled on another urgent report Pakura had sent through the Crescent Mark.

--"Orochimaru's main body has appeared at the Wind-Fire Border and is plotting something."

The two seemingly unrelated pieces of intelligence instantly meshed in Baishi's mind like two precisely crafted gears, sending a string of cold sparks flying.

(Inner thought: Orochimaru... You really are a snake with the sharpest sense of smell. Danzo's death was like tearing open the rotten board beneath which you were hiding, making you uneasy. So... are you rushing back to clean up the traces you left behind?)

A grim curve tugged at the corners of Baishi's lips.

He could almost be certain that Orochimaru's movements at the border were connected to the contents of the List. In particular, the filthy deal on the List with Hojo Tokugawa, the chief elder of the Daimyo Residence, was likely one of the stains Orochimaru most wanted to erase.

"Baishi! What exactly are you looking at?"

Kushina finally lost patience. She snatched the hot towel Mikoto had just handed over and roughly wiped the corners of Baishi's mouth, her voice filled with agitation and displeasure.

"What the hell is written on this lousy scroll? Which old bastard's rotten accounts are these this time? You've been acting all strange ever since you started reading it,