"What do you mean by telling me this?!" Ebizo forcibly suppressed the panic inside him, then fixed Sōkyū Hatake with a piercing stare.
"Nothing much. Telling you won't give you any other options anyway. It'll only make things more agonizing for you, won't it?" Sōkyū Hatake smiled at Ebizo, then strode out of the prison.
Only Ebizo remained alone in the cell, his eyes fixed on the ceiling of his cage. For a moment, an air of deathly stillness settled over him.
"Keep this intelligence safe. You must deliver it into Teacher Sarutobi's hands." Orochimaru placed a letter in Sōkyū Hatake's hand, then pushed forward Nara Rokuten, who was tightly bound and covered in all sorts of seals.
"Don't worry, Teacher Orochimaru. Leave this to me." Sōkyū Hatake chuckled and put the letter away.
"Mm. Once you're back, spend some time with the people you care about. And while you're at it, go to that place and bring that thing back for me," Orochimaru said directly.
"Got it, Teacher Orochimaru. Lady Tsunade, you two Hyūga brothers, I'm off." Sōkyū Hatake waved, then picked up Nara Rokuten. With a crackle of lightning, he vanished from the spot with Nara Rokuten.
"Really, Little Sōkū just keeps getting faster." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as he watched Sōkyū Hatake leave. He had never possessed that kind of speed at that age.
"Indeed. I really don't know how Little Sōkū trains. He's already this strong at such a young age. He'll surely surpass us in the future." Tsunade watched Sōkyū Hatake leave, a trace of something unusual appearing deep in her eyes.
"Naturally. I've never seen a ninja achieve this much at six years old. Little Sōkū is now... no weaker than any Jōnin," Orochimaru said mildly.
He had made a thorough, comprehensive