" Lord Orochimaru, Jonin came to reinforce us from the village have been brought here."
Orochimaru was sitting in his chair, raised his head after hearing Shikaku Nara's words. His gaze only glanced at the Jonin in front of him, but instead fixed his eyes on the short figure in the crowd.
And the moment they saw the short figure, they revealed a mixture of indescribable emotions, including greed, curiosity, and surprise.
However, Orochimaru concealed it well; these emotions flashed across his eyes without anyone noticing.
Only Yuki, who had been watching him closely, noticed Orochimaru's strange Kōki. He couldn't help but wonder if Hiruzen Sarutobi had already passed on his information to Orochimaru, otherwise why would Orochimaru show that kind of look in his eyes?
"Alright, first of all, thank you all for coming from the village to support the battlefield. Secondly, now that everyone is here, let's begin this battle meeting." Orochimaru had already turned his gaze away from Kōki, spoke to the Jonin front of him in his uniquely hoarse voice.
"I believe that you, as Jonin, have all received some information that Sunagakure seems to want to accelerate the pace of the war, and we anticipate that our upcoming battles will be even more brutal. The Lord Hokage dispatched you here to alleviate the pressure on the front lines and prevent us from being routed by Sunagakure's relentless attacks. Therefore, I urge you all to do everything in your power to stop Sunagakure's advance. I beg you."
At this time, Orochimaru had not yet betrayed Konoha. As one of the Sannin, he enjoyed immense prestige within the Konoha. Therefore, his earnest request stirred the blood of the Jonin present, who responded loudly, their faces flushed, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
Their morale soared. Orochimaru looked Jonin the spirited Jonin, nodded and smiled with satisfaction, and then continued, "Now, let's start planning the mission."
" Nagano -kun, you're in charge of the combat forces. You'll be fighting the Sunagakure head-on. Be careful."
" Yamamoto, you are in charge of protecting the camp's defenses. Be sure to watch out for enemy attacks."
" Kuroki- kun, you're in charge..."
Soon, Kōki summoned Orochimaru: " Itō- kun, the report from the Lord Hokage indicates that you are skilled in both water and earth elemental Release Technique, Taijutsu, and Medical Ninjutsu. So, what are your personal preferences? Would you prefer to join the combat unit or the support medical unit?"
The other Jonin nearby looked at Kōki in surprise after hearing Orochimaru's words. They hadn't expected the young Kōki to be so powerful. They couldn't help but doubt whether Orochimaru was telling the truth.
After all, they had never even heard of a ninja so talented that he was beyond their imagination.
Meanwhile, Kōki, who was suspected by the Jonin, fell into deep thought.
He hesitated, unsure of what to choose. His purpose in stepping onto the battlefield was to break through his bottleneck, and both killing and saving people could inspire him. Joining the combat unit would allow him to experience spiritual inspiration in battle and thus break through to the Kage Level, while joining the medical unit would allow him to understand the structure of different human bodies through Medical Ninjutsu, achieving a comprehensive understanding.
However, he also thought of the supporters like Ino -Ino-Shika-Cho behind him, and that going to the battlefield to save more people was what he should do.
Considering that his information had already been exposed and there was no need to hide it anymore, joining the combat force was more suitable for him. Therefore, he no longer hesitated and prepared to speak, saying, " Lord Orochimaru, I have decided to join..."
But before he could finish speaking, Orochimaru interrupted, " Itō- kun, I just remembered that we don't have enough medical-nin. You could be much more effective if you joined the medical unit."
Orochimaru's words left Kōki completely bewildered. He couldn't understand why, after just moments before telling him to choose for himself, he was suddenly put in charge of everything after Yuki had made his decision. Was Orochimaru making a fool of him?
Unbeknownst to Kōki, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already made arrangements for him long before he went to the battlefield.
The intelligence Orochimaru received requested that Kōki be assigned to the medical unit.
However, this time Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't intentionally try to stop Kōki; he was forced to do so.
He had originally planned to let Kōki do it himself, but after Kōki left that day, he received intelligence about the shortage of manpower in the front-line medical units. He also remembered that Kōki was a genius in Medical Ninjutsu, which led him to change his mind.
The frontline medical units are under immense pressure and are severely understaffed. They desperately need medical-nin, especially those highly skilled in Medical Ninjutsu.
Of the thousand-strong force supporting the front lines, the vast majority were combat ninjas, with only fifty or sixty being medical-nin. Even this small number of medical-nin was far from sufficient to support the entire front lines.
Moreover, the medical skills of these medical-nin can only be described as average, far from being outstanding.
A genius like Kōki could meet the needs of the medical unit; he knew all the necessary medical techniques. The only thing he lacked was hands-on experience in medical practice.
But this problem is not a problem at all on the front lines.
Many wounded soldiers are sent here every day, and when there isn't enough manpower, even novices have to step in. So this is arguably the place where novices can gain medical experience the fastest.
With so many prerequisites in place, it was only natural for Hiruzen Sarutobi to send Kōki into the medical unit. Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi shared the same idea; after learning that Kōki possessed Wood Release, Kōki to stay in the rear so he could observe things carefully.
Furthermore, his earlier statement about letting Kōki make the choice himself was merely a test of Kōki's intentions.
Orochimaru was eager to know Kōki's current strength and the power of his Wood Release technique. However, his reason told him that there was no need to reveal the information about Wood Release on the front lines so quickly; it was better to save it as a trump card against Sunagakure.
Therefore, Orochimaru's idea was the same as Hiruzen Sarutobi's; they both hoped that Kōki would stay in the rear medical unit.
As a ninja who obeys orders, Kōki could only nod in agreement with Orochimaru's suggestion. After all, Orochimaru was the highest-ranking leader on the front lines, and he had to follow his orders.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
After assigning tasks to Jonin present, Orochimaru dismissed everyone.
He leaned back in his chair, watching the departing figures of the Jonin, or more precisely, Kōki's departing figure, as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Good, bad, extreme, calm—a complex and chaotic mix of emotions surged through his mind. He took a deep breath, calming himself, and murmured, " Kōki Itō, Kōki Itō."
After repeating Kōki's name several times, a thought suddenly flashed through Orochimaru's mind: he seemed to have encountered Kōki somewhere before, but he couldn't quite recall where.
This feeling made him even more interested in Kōki.