Beyond the Land of Fire's border.
Land of Hot Water.
In a room at an inn in a small town somewhere, Orochimaru was tinkering with several precision instruments and unknown liquids before him.
Kirigakure had been restless lately. To ensure the safety of personnel within the Land of Fire, Hiruzen Sarutobi had specifically sent Orochimaru, along with some Konoha Ninja and even Anbu, to hold this place.
Any mist ninja who came to test Konoha was met with an utterly merciless counterattack and killed without exception.
It displayed Konoha's formidable strength.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and lightly licked his lips. "Given the current situation, war could break out at any moment. All that's lacking is a fuse and someone foolish enough to take the lead."
Bang!
The glass container before him exploded, destroying more than half the things on the table.
Orochimaru was not angry in the slightest.
Science always came with accidents of one kind or another. The process was unimportant; as long as there were results in the end, everything was worthwhile.
"Teacher Sarutobi is still too conservative. At a time like this, we should pick a soft target and wipe it out with thunderous force—kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. Then the other villages wouldn't dare make a move."
With Konoha's strength now nearing its peak, concentrating all its forces to crush a single ninja village would be no problem. But if someone took the lead and the great hidden villages followed one after another, even Konoha would be dragged into the mire of war. The final outcome would be impossible to predict.
Still, Orochimaru had long grown accustomed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's conservatism. If he were not so conservative, he would not be his teacher.
Sending him here to stand guard was already a rather bold move by Hiruzen Sarutobi. If it had been someone else, such as Jiraiya or Tsunade, they would not have been as decisive as him.
Whoosh!
Just as Orochimaru was preparing to resume his experiment, an Anbu Ninja silently appeared in the room.
"Lord Orochimaru, something doesn't seem right on the mist ninja side."
Orochimaru did not even raise his head, merely continuing to fiddle with his instruments.
"Oh? Did Suikazan Fuguki make a move?"
"No, it wasn't Suikazan Fuguki. According to our Scouts' observations, a Jonin from the Kaguya Clan forcibly broke through our blockade and entered that area."
"The Kaguya Clan? Those lunatics."
For even Orochimaru to call them lunatics, it was clear just how renowned the Kaguya Clan's reputation for madness was.
"The Corpse Collection Team may be in danger. For the intelligence, should we..." the Anbu Ninja asked hesitantly.
Orochimaru finally looked up, his tongue slipping out unconsciously.
"Looks like Kirigakure can no longer sit still. They want to truly probe the depths of Konoha. Sending a fool from the Kaguya Clan is killing two birds with one stone."
On the surface, they were after intelligence, but Orochimaru understood the deeper implications.
The mist ninja wanted to see just how firm Konoha's attitude was. If the Kaguya ninja managed to return safely, it would mean Konoha's main attention remained on Sunagakure and Iwagakure to the west. Even if he failed to return safely, the upper echelons of the mist ninja would still benefit from losing someone with opposing political views.
The Anbu Ninja stood in place, awaiting Orochimaru's orders.
"Send a squad of Anbu," Orochimaru said, waving a hand.
He could not leave. Otherwise, it would be the same as directly telling Kirigakure that Konoha was short on manpower here. Suikazan Fuguki was no pushover and might very well seize the chance to make trouble.
"Yes!"
Having received his orders, the Anbu Ninja's figure flickered and slowly vanished.
"The Kaguya Clan doesn't even have anyone who has awakened the Shikotsumyaku, yet they hold such influence in Kirigakure. If they had an awakened one, that would make excellent research material."
At the thought of the legends surrounding the Kaguya Clan's bone bloodline, Orochimaru felt every cell in his body tremble with excitement.
"I'm just collecting corpses. I'm just collecting corpses."
Qifeng carried Imai Kuriyama as he hurried along, hypnotizing himself not to think about what might happen to Kakashi and the other person behind him.
With Kakashi's strength, there probably would not be any problems.
Leaping across treetops, riding the wind, humming a tune, and carrying a girl—he was living the dream.
But life's ups and downs came too quickly. Before Qifeng could enjoy himself for long, he suddenly stopped.
His smile turned bitter.
"That shouldn't be possible. It shouldn't."
He only wanted to quietly collect corpses. He should not have had to face so many trials.
A blurry figure stood atop a tree not far away, with an exceptionally old-fashioned and ugly topknot, two even uglier red dots on either side of his brow, and a mocking smile at the corner of his lips.
Once Qifeng saw the man's appearance clearly, his headache only worsened.
That look—the Kaguya Clan.
"I'm only a Genin."
He knew that no one in the current Kaguya Clan had awakened the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai, but every one of them was a physical and psychological freak, difficult lunatics to deal with.
If Uchiha Obito had not later restarted the Bloody Mist Village, resulting in the Kaguya Clan being nearly exterminated, Kirigakure probably would not have been called the weakest Great Hidden Village during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Qifeng carefully set Imai Kuriyama down beside a tree.
"Little brat from Konoha, where are Konoha's strong ones?" Kaguya Senjin asked, his gaze burning as though every cell in his body was eager to move.
Qifeng put on an honest, sincere expression and pointed toward the small town where Orochimaru and the other Konoha Ninja were stationed.
"No need to thank me. They're over there. You should reach them in about an hour."
"Good."
Kaguya Senjin nodded and raised a foot to walk in that direction.
Qifeng remained where he was. He merely turned around silently, facing Kaguya Senjin's direction and guarding against him suddenly attacking.
They said the Kaguya Clan had no brains, but what if?
Only when Kaguya Senjin passed him and was about to disappear into the woods did he finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
His back was already soaked in sweat.
"That worked? Damn, I'm such a genius!" A trace of smugness rose in his heart.
However, just as Kaguya Senjin was about to leave, his steps abruptly halted, making Qifeng's heart skip a beat.
With a dry laugh, he asked, "W-What's wrong?"
Kaguya Senjin turned around and grinned. "I suddenly remembered that my mission seems to be to eliminate every Konoha Ninja I see."
At that moment, his smile looked like a demon's smile in Qifeng's eyes.
"I'm only a Genin. You're wasting your time on me," Qifeng said, waving his hand.
"So... I'll be quick."
The instant the words fell, the ground beneath Kaguya Senjin's feet suddenly shattered. His body shot forward like a speeding car, charging recklessly ahead and appearing before Qifeng in the blink of an eye.
So fast!
Qifeng's expression changed. Knowing he could no longer dodge, he could only barely cross his arms before his chest.
Bang!
A not particularly large fist slammed into Qifeng's arms.
He had never known what it felt like to be hit by a car in his previous life, but in this life, he found out—and he felt it very clearly.
The sheer agony was obvious from the speed at which he was sent flying.
His feet left the ground entirely as he crashed into a tree behind him, the thick trunk snapping under the tremendous impact.
Puh—
His face turned pale. Unable to endure the churning of his organs, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Both his arms swelled in an instant and had nearly broken outright.
"Hm?" Kaguya Senjin looked somewhat surprised.
He immediately straightened up, a hint of interest rising within him. With that punch, a Genin absolutely could not have blocked it. It seemed the other party was at least a Chunin.
Genin were boring to him. A Chunin could at least pique a little of his interest.
Qifeng shook his head and rested for a while before finally recovering enough to force himself to his feet, wiping away the blood lingering at the corner of his mouth.
"Recovered a little? Then come again!" Kaguya Senjin taunted him with a curl of his fingers.
Qifeng licked his gums and spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with saliva.
He opened his palm and took out a card no one else could see.
Why was quietly collecting corpses so damn hard?
He glanced at the unconscious Imai Kuriyama beside him.
This damned humanity.
He did not want this.
But he had no choice.
He was going berserk!
Activating Iwagakure Quasi-Kage Akagi Shi Experience Card (Rare). Calculating stat compatibility. Activation successful! Compatibility...
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