Land of Fire
Kirigakure Battlefield
" Danzo, don't you feel that the Third Mizukage a little strange?"
Orochimaru frowned and spoke to Shimura Danzō.
He always felt that the Third Mizukage had completely lost his composure and seemed to have been replaced.
The Third Mizukage's current fighting style is incredibly reckless; he'd rather be severely injured than not kill himself.
This reckless fighting style made Orochimaru very wary, because he was terrified of dying.
Especially after being nearly killed by Didaze last time, he was even more afraid of dying.
Therefore, Orochimaru's recent battles with the Third Mizukage have mostly ended with Orochimaru escaping.
"The Daimyo has already sent a letter to Sarutobi; Nawaki will be coming to our aid soon."
Shimura Danzō glanced at Orochimaru with disdain, then slowly spoke.
" Nawaki?"
Orochimaru was startled.
He hadn't seen Nawaki for a long time since the war began.
He didn't know how his disciple was doing now. Although there were many rumors that Nawaki was not what he used to be, seeing was believing, Orochimaru still wanted to see his disciple.
"Urgent military situation!"
A ninja went directly into the tent where the high-level meeting was being held.
"What's wrong?"
Shimura Danzō looked at the Root ninja in front of him and asked in confusion.
This was the authority he granted, allowing the other party to enter directly in case of urgent military intelligence.
" Danzo, Lord Orochimaru, the Kirigakure has captured several nobles in the Land of Fire and is threatening us to fight them head-on! Otherwise, they'll kill more nobles after they've already killed these ones!"
The Root ninja explained it briefly.
"Is that so?"
Shimura Danzō frowned deeply.
"This is really troublesome. How am I going to explain my defeat to the Daimyo after obtaining Wood Release...?"
Shimura Danzō didn't care about those nobles; instead, he began to think about how to explain it.
He had realized from the battles of the past few days that the Third Mizukage Third Mizukage definitely being manipulated, as his fighting style had clearly changed.
No matter what a person is like, it's impossible for their fighting style to change drastically in just a few days. Temperament can change drastically, but fighting style can never change drastically!
The fact that a Kage Level being could be manipulated proves that the Jashin was not a false god, but a true god like the Shinigami!
" Danzo, those people from Kirigakure also said..."
The Root ninja suddenly stopped speaking halfway through his sentence.
"Just say it! Even if you're going to insult me, say it! Don't leave anything out, I want to hear everything!"
Shimura Danzō frowned slightly, then spoke.
He doesn't care if others criticize him; he has a very strong mental fortitude.
" The Third Mizukage said, ' Shimura Danzō, you have homosexual tendencies and some special relationship with the Third Hokage. Otherwise, how could you have persecuted the villagers so much and still gotten out of prison...'"
The Root ninja dared not raise his head and uttered these words with trepidation.
Orochimaru's expression turned strange upon hearing this. He also recalled how Hiruzen Sarutobi had repeatedly tolerated Shimura Danzō's provocations without taking any effective action, at most issuing verbal warnings.
The most serious incident involved going to prison, but he was released not long afterward.
Honestly, this has long since gone beyond the relationship between teammates.
"What?"
Shimura Danzō's face instantly turned ashen!
If those people pointed their fingers at him and cursed his ancestors for eighteen generations, Shimura Danzō wouldn't get angry.
But now that he's being told he had an affair with Hiruzen Sarutobi, he's genuinely angry!
He was released because he had worked diligently for Konoha for so many years, and he did those things so that Konoha wouldn't be restricted by clans!
Now the Third Mizukage is saying he has homosexual tendencies?
When Shimura Danzō saw Orochimaru looking at him with a surprised expression, he felt even more uncomfortable.
"That bastard..."
Shimura Danzō's complexion visibly turned rosy.
" The Third Mizukage also said that if he didn't show up within three days, the next person he would kill would be the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!"
The Root member then spoke the final words.
"What?! Has he gone mad?!"
Orochimaru exclaimed in surprise.
The affairs of the ninja world cannot involve the daimyo. To put it another way, if the Third Mizukage killed the daimyo of the Land of Fire, then the daimyo of the Land of Water would also cut off his aid to Kirigakure.
Furthermore, the Land of Fire doesn't stop revolving just because one daimyo is gone; the daimyo also has sons and nephews.
There are plenty of people who can inherit the position of Daimyo, so killing the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would only do harm and no good to the Third Mizukage!
"Is he already impatient?"
Upon hearing this Shimura Danzō calmed down and thought to himself.
Now that he knew the Third Mizukage was a puppet, he understood why the other party was doing this.
The other party was most likely urging him to close the deal as soon as possible.
But the problem is, Nawaki hasn't arrived yet!
"Let it drag on. A mere nobleman's death is just that—death. In fact, his death might bring benefits to the region."
Shimura Danzō.
Nawaki wasn't there, he certainly wasn't going to be foolish enough to go up and fight Kirigakure head-on.
What he needs is Nawaki's Wood Release, not to defeat Kirigakure.
"Yes, Danzo!"
The Root ninja bowed respectfully and then left the large tent.
Are you really not going to care about these nobles anymore?
Orochimaru licked his lips and said to Shimura Danzō.
"What's the point of caring about these nobles? They're dead, so be it."
Shimura Danzō snorted coldly.
Normally, he would definitely go to the rescue, since the more people support him, the better his chances of becoming Hokage Position.
But now that he has the opportunity to obtain Wood Release, he won't risk it for a few nobles.
Do these nobles even deserve to be rescued by Shimura Danzō?
"Hmph..."
Orochimaru gave Shimura Danzō a cold look.
He sensed that the other person was hiding something from him, but he was too lazy to ask.
After all, although Shimura Danzō was not a good person, he still sided with Konoha during the war.
As long as he isn't given the opportunity to cause trouble, Shimura Danzō is still very useful to the village.
"Give me another batch of Kirigakure ninjas; I want to conduct experiments with them."
Orochimaru was too lazy to figure out what Shimura Danzō to. Anyway, Shimura Danzō wasn't stupid and wouldn't cause any trouble on the battlefield.
So he doesn't need to worry.
As long as Shimura Danzō is not inside the village, he can't cause anything significant.
"There are only thirty-odd left, so use them sparingly."
Shimura Danzō nodded and said.
"It's fine, it's enough!"
After obtaining Shimura Danzō's consent, Orochimaru turned and left the tent.
Wood Release...
Shimura Danzō was now desperate to see Nawaki immediately.
underground
laboratory
Because conducting experiments in an outdoor tent would be too conspicuous, Orochimaru had already built a simple laboratory underground.
" Lord Orochimaru, these are all Kirigakure ninjas, and they are all unconscious!"
Shimura Danzō's Root ninjas brought thirty people to Orochimaru's laboratory, tied them to the ground, and then respectfully said...
"You may leave."
Orochimaru nodded.
The Root ninjas nodded and then left Orochimaru's laboratory.
After the Root ninjas left, Orochimaru set up a sensory barrier so that he could immediately sense if anyone approached.
Orochimaru found a corpse from the rummaging and then arranged the Kirigakure ninjas.
" Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu!"
Orochimaru Hand Seals.
"Aaaaaaah!"
The Kirigakure ninja let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"Did it fail...?"
Orochimaru gazed at the gruesome deaths of the Kirigakure ninjas and the motionless corpses, stroking his chin in deep thought.
"It's alright, there are still twenty-nine left..."
Orochimaru looked at the twenty-nine unconscious Kirigakure ninja behind him and a cold smile appeared on his face.