Deep within a rarely visited forest in the Land of Rice Fields.
Wearing a Suzaku mask and a black robe, Lin Ze stood atop a towering tree, surveying the rather desolate land below.
"The Land of Rice Fields... the future site of Otogakure. Orochimaru, you certainly know how to pick a place."
Lin Ze murmured.
He had infiltrated the Land of Rice Fields with a clear objective-to find Orochimaru's hidden experimental bases there and expose them.
Ever since Orochimaru had joined forces with Kumogakure to ambush him in the Land of Lightning, nearly bringing him down, Lin Ze had understood that this venomous snake would never easily give up watching him.
Rather than passively waiting for Orochimaru to emerge from some unknown corner and bite him again, he might as well take the initiative and cause him some serious trouble.
"In the original story, Hiruzen Sarutobi could turn a blind eye even when Orochimaru experimented on villagers. Only when he started using Konoha Ninja did he truly cross Hiruzen's bottom line..."
Lin Ze's thoughts raced as he analyzed the current situation.
"It's wartime now. As an important commander fighting Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Orochimaru holds a special position. Merely exposing his experimental bases probably won't shake his foundations. Hiruzen Sarutobi will most likely suppress the matter for the sake of the war."
"But..."
A cold glint flashed through Lin Ze's eyes. "As long as I can make his life miserable and distract him enough that he has no time to keep watching me for a while, I'll have achieved my goal."
He did not need to deal a fatal blow. He only needed to plant a thorn in public opinion and in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.
When the right moment came, that thorn would naturally serve its purpose.
Besides, once these matters