"Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya whipped around toward Orochimaru, his face filled with shock and fury.
"What did you just say? The risks are controllable? Do you know where that is? It's a border buffer zone near the heartland of the Land of Rain!"
"That old bastard Hanzo has been active around there lately. Sunagakure's forces have been pinned down by 'cunning harassment'? What kind of harassment would make Sunagakure formally request aid?"
"This is very likely bait, or perhaps Hanzo himself is leading an elite force to eliminate threats along the border."
Tsunade stood nearby with her arms crossed, staring at Orochimaru with a grave expression.
"Jiraiya is right. The intelligence from that area is vague, and Root hasn't updated its detailed reports on the region recently. Sending an already exhausted Uchiha team there—if they really run into Hanzo..."
"There is no if."
Orochimaru's voice remained calm as he walked to the table and picked up a scroll bearing a special seal, its edges even slightly scorched.
It was a secret letter delivered through special channels.
"This is a direct instruction from Teacher Sarutobi, along with... Elder Shimura's 'risk assessment.'"
He unfurled one corner of the scroll before Jiraiya, just enough for him to see the crucial parts.
Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply. He saw the analysis concerning Hanzo the Salamander's possible appearance in that region, as well as the cold words: "If necessary, local forces may be sacrificed to probe Hanzo's true capabilities and drain his energy."
At the bottom were the familiar coded seal of the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō's unsettling Root insignia.
"Teacher... and Danzo..."
Jiraiya's voice was hoarse.
He understood what was happening.
"War requires choices, Jiraiya."
Orochimaru rolled up the scroll, his tone indifferent.
"The Uchiha are a fine blade. But now, that blade needs to strike