In a forest several kilometers away from the battlefield.
"Cough cough... Such powerful Taijutsu, they actually managed to... cough cough..."
Aoki Tsuki coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, severely injured, even with the lotus platform providing protection.
When faced with a powerful attack, defense is the worst possible strategy.
Unfortunately, he lacked a powerful trump card; neither his swordsmanship nor his Lightning Release were very effective against this move.
Water Release are nothing to write home about; the Morning Peacock can evaporate nearby rivers, not to mention the Daytime Tiger Technique, which surpasses the Morning Peacock and can sweep away all obstacles within a two-kilometer radius in a single strike.
We need to continue developing powerful techniques, and after thinking it over, the only one that comes to mind is Lightning Release.
One approach is to accumulate resources: Lightning Snake, Lightning Dragon, and then continue upgrading to summon Thunder God.
I need to find an opportunity to infiltrate the Uzumaki Clan Mask Storage Temple in Konoha and see if they have any of the Thunder God God's Summoning Mask.
Another approach is to improve quality, such as by fusing with other attributes, similar to Yin Release: Lightning Dispatch or Storm Release: Light Fang.
Water and lightning fusion is Storm Release, where the power of lightning is harnessed through the controllability of water to achieve precise, linear attacks, essentially lasers.
Attribute fusion is purely a matter of luck; success grants Kekkei Genkai, failure results in a blood sacrifice.
Even with the help of Yurika nurse, to donate blood, he wouldn't dare to try it lightly.
After resting for about two hours, his Chakra had almost fully recovered, and a sliver of light appeared on the horizon; dawn had arrived.
It was already morning when we returned to the base.
"Lord Azure Dragon, you... you're back."
When Butsushura saw that Aoki Tsuki was covered in tatters, he didn't dare to ask any questions. With such a commotion in the forest, everyone knew how fierce the battle had become.
If he doesn't return soon, he'll send a message to Akatsuki headquarters that Azure Dragon has been killed in action.
"How's it going? Did you find it?"
Butsushura said guiltily, "We killed four Anbu, but found nothing. They've probably fallen into Konoha's hands."
However, I have already sent messages to all the outposts to update their contact information, and it is expected to take at least a week, for some outposts...
Some strongholds will be targeted by Konoha's Anbu.
Even if you buy every book on the market and check them one by one within a week, you can still find it.
Konoha's intelligence department has extremely strong code-breaking capabilities.
"There was no other way. We transferred the personnel from the core strongholds, and disbanded the other strongholds on the spot using messenger birds."
Aoki Tsuki made a decision on the spot: rather than spending time trying to salvage the situation, it would be better to part ways and hire new people.
"Oh, and give them severance pay, according to the 2N+1 standard."
"Your Excellency is merciful." Butsushura hurriedly went to handle the matter.
This attack completely destroyed most of the fruits of his hard work in the Land of Fire; the Konoha's Anbu is truly not to be underestimated.
Akatsuki's intelligence transfer operation proceeded swiftly, Konoha's Cryptanalysis Team immediately began deciphering the intelligence after receiving it, having already determined the type of cipher by noon.
"It should be a specific page and row in a particular book, and each one needs to be verified individually."
"How long?" Inoichi Yamanaka asked.
"With so many combinations, it will take at least three days."
Inoichi Yamanaka, however, was not very satisfied, saying, " The Anbu suffered heavy losses in order to obtain the intelligence. The Third hopes to produce results quickly."
"This..."
Knock knock knock!
" Kakashi?"
"Do you have time? I've made a new discovery, but I'm not sure if it's correct." Kakashi appeared at the door, his left hand in his pocket and his right hand holding a small green book about the size of his palm.
It's Icha Icha Paradise.
He was so tired last night that he slept until noon. After lunch, with nothing else to do, he started reading a novel.
Suddenly, a set of numbers from the codebook I'd seen last night came to mind, and out of curiosity, I checked it.
As luck would have it, after some trying, I actually managed to piece together a sentence.
He was shocked and immediately went to the intelligence department to verify the situation.
Konoha's actions were faster than expected. Akatsuki only had time to relocate some of its core personnel, and many bases' compensation payments were not even completed before Konoha Ninja blocked the gates and wiped them out.
This is the nature of intelligence work; one wrong move and the whole operation is lost.
Konoha Hospital has recently been plagued by numerous attacks from the Anbu, making injuries inevitable.
"Dou, quick, administer the anesthetic."
"Hi." While giving the patient acupuncture, Dou noticed a Anbu tattoo on the patient's shoulder and secretly memorized it.
After a series of procedures, the patient's condition stabilized, and he entered a period of recuperation.
"Alright, I've listed the follow-up medication schedule. Just administer the medication according to the dosage when you check on the injured."
"Hi."
At this time, Kabuto, following Orochimaru's instructions, disguised himself as Genin and infiltrated Konoha. Because of his talent in Medical Ninjutsu, he was qualified to intern at Konoha Hospital.
Late at night, as I went around changing the dressings in the various wards, the Anbu Ninja was still unconscious.
Kabuto administered the anesthetic again and then began to cast his Genjutsu.
Tell me your action plan...
"Based on the deciphered code... transmit false intelligence, ambush people at the rendezvous point... reverse track... encircle and annihilate..."
How many outposts have been deciphered so far?
"42... 17 have already been removed, namely..."
"You've worked hard, you did a great job, the Third is very satisfied, sleep peacefully."
The Anbu Ninja, in a daze, blurted out everything he knew, and Kabuto immediately relayed the information after completing his rounds of inspection.
In the Land of Rice Fields, Orochimaru had just finished an experiment at his base when a small white snake swam over and spat out a scroll.
After reading it, I nodded to myself.
"Looks like Dou did a good job with his intelligence gathering, Yue. You owe me a huge favor this time."
The decaying village will inevitably be forced to change due to external pressures.
This is exactly what Orochimaru longs for: one day, he will personally bury the dregs of the old era and usher in a new chapter.
"It's almost here. My wish is about to come true: eternal life, and mastery of all Ninjutsu."
Just when Aoki Tsuki was at his wit's end, he unexpectedly received an olive branch from Orochimaru, who offered to provide the necessary assistance.
"What does this guy mean? He's definitely plotting something..."
However, there's not much of a solution at the moment, so we can only accept Orochimaru's 'selfless' help for now.
The following evening, Aoki Tsuki arrived at Orochimaru's secret base.
On the surface, it's just a roadside statue of a deity. These kinds of shrines are very common outdoors and don't attract much attention.
However, a secret passage is hidden beneath the statue, leading to a huge interior space. The passage is carved with snake scales on both sides, and there is a snake-head shaped candlestick at intervals.
A chilling wind blew in, and the air was biting cold.
The passage spirals downwards, and as you go deeper inside, there are enclosed rooms with iron doors at intervals.
It houses experimental subjects captured through various channels.
The Sannin correspond to the three vices: pornography, gambling, and poison. Orochimaru represents 'poison,' symbolizing greed, cruelty, and cunning.
People often use the phrase "heart of a snake and a scorpion" to describe someone who is vicious, and that's pretty much the idea.
Aoki Tsuki is afraid to deal with Orochimaru; he's just a little clever, but deep down he's sunny and kind.
After taking a general look around the base, they finally found Orochimaru in the lowest room, where he was conducting an experiment.
Under the incandescent light, a 'white mouse' lay on the experimental table, with a Uzumaki black pattern drawn on its belly, and runes crawling all over the subject's skin along the pattern.
The test subject struggled, its head beginning to deform into a monster shape, before finally succumbing to the overwhelming force and exploding on the spot.
"Moon, don't you think I'm being cruel?" Orochimaru asked.
Since Aoki Tsuki needed his help, he could only go along with it, agreeing, "This is the necessary price on the road to success. A ninja's destiny is to kill or be killed."
"Indeed, only by constantly seeking new strength to enhance oneself can one avoid being killed."
Orochimaru sighed, "Human lifespan is finite. There are too many mysteries that require time to explore and master; there simply isn't enough time."
"There's nothing we can do about it; we can only do the most important things in the limited time we have."
Aoki Tsuki wasn't fooled; he had no interest in immortality.
"Do you think it's possible for a person to live forever?" Orochimaru pressed.
He rarely invited others to visit his base. Kabuto was the first, Aoki Tsuki was the second. He still had a lot of pent-up desire to confide in others.
"That's unlikely. Even the Sage of Six Paths, who founded the Ninshu, is dead. He'd get tired of living forever."
If everyone you know is gone, what's the difference between that and being dead?
"Heh... it seems you haven't broken free from your constraints yet."
Orochimaru shook his head. What's the point of friends and family?
Once he has successfully researched the Kinjutsu, he will return to the village and personally sever the last remaining ties.
Thinking of this, he took a scroll from the drawer next to him and tossed it to Aoki Tsuki, saying, "I think this will be of some help to you."
After reading the scroll, Aoki Tsuki was secretly amazed: ' Orochimaru really does have spies in Konoha; he managed to obtain such confidential information.'
"Thank you for your generous assistance, Lord Orochimaru. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need my help in the future."
"That day will come; I look forward to our collaboration."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
Aoki Tsuki hurriedly left the base, feeling uncomfortable all over.
After obtaining the general direction and plan for the Anbu operations, he immediately launched a counterattack, personally leading a team to ambush several squads of the Anbu.
This forced them to shrink their lines and slow their operations, buying valuable time for the evacuation of personnel from the remaining strongholds.
After all that trouble, two months had passed.
After establishing new bases and changing the way codes are transmitted, we need to be more cautious, especially in guarding against infiltration by Konoha intelligence agents.