Fei Yun opened his eyes. Konoha had deployed many ninja; they were probably planning a pursuit.
Orochimaru raised his head, his golden pupils gleaming with intelligence.
The new leadership had already begun taking over, so naturally they would act immediately.
Orochimaru paused, then turned to Fei Yun. "Fei Yun-kun, what are you planning to do?"
Fei Yun rubbed his chin, thought briefly, then shook his head. "They're just cannon fodder pushed out front."
"Too troublesome. I need to continue hunting members of the Four Great Clans who aren't in Konoha," Orochimaru said softly.
"Then let's retreat to the border base and rest for now. This turmoil isn't so simple."
The wind of the Death Desert carried the stench of blood, sweeping up yellow sand along with the tattered robes of the Fourth Kazekage.
A group of Sand Village ninja stood there, staring in shock at the grisly scene below.
With a thud, Baki dropped to his knees in the sand. His fingers dug hard into the soil, their tips turning white from the force.
Before him lay the Fourth Kazekage's corpse—a shriveled husk drained of blood. His skin was gray-white like dead wood, his entire face a blur of flesh and blood, the skin tissue already gone without a trace.
Beside him lay two heavily decomposed corpses of the Kazekage's guards, reeking horribly as dense swarms of flies buzzed around them. They had obviously been dead for a long time.
The Sand Village ninja were drenched in cold sweat, their teeth clenched so hard they nearly shattered.
Then who had been posing as the Fourth Kazekage in Konoha Village all this time?
"This is Lord Kazekage!"
"Impossible!"
A Sand Village ninja behind them spoke in a trembling voice, nearly unable to remain standing.
"How could this be?"
"What the hell