I am the most popular character in Naruto!

For military equipment?

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Very good, another piece of information."

Why are you stockpiling military equipment?

Going across so many countries to steal people from the Iron Country, aren't you tired?

What's the point? Is it just for fun?

The demigod Hanzo is probably not an idiot. Since he is willing to spend so much to seize military equipment, he must be planning something big.

Very good, looks like I need to send a message to the old man and ask him to send reinforcements.

Why hasn't that idiot Jiraiya arrived yet? The fighting is about to break out on the front lines!

"Oh?"

"The actions of the Rain Country are truly unexpected and outrageous."

Orochimaru shook his head regretfully, "But Konoha has no reason to attack the Land of Rain at this time, so I'm afraid we can't help..."

The Land of Rain did not actually launch an attack on the Land of Fire; it was merely amassing troops. Konoha could only symbolically conduct reconnaissance missions, and its troop deployments were confined to the Land of Grass, which dared not speak out, lest the Land of Rain falsely accuse it of being the instigator of the war.

Orochimaru understood Mifune's thoughts perfectly, but unfortunately, Konoha couldn't act now.

"……I see……"

Mifune was somewhat disappointed, but he still reached out his hand to Orochimaru.

"Lord Orochimaru, the warriors of the Land of Iron have decided to launch an attack on the Land of Rain, and seize our artisans through a surprise attack."

"Although it may sound shameless, I hope that Konoha can provide us with some assistance after confirming the Land of Rain's intentions. In exchange, the craftsmen of the Land of Iron will provide Konoha with all its combat equipment."

Orochimaru smiled slightly. The military equipment of the Land of Iron was indeed good. If they were to provide military equipment to Konoha, the survival rate of Konoha ninjas would increase significantly.

"If we have any news, we will provide the necessary assistance."

This was considered an agreement to Mifune's request, and he was overjoyed, bowing deeply to Orochimaru.

"Thank you very much for your help!"

"This is just a hypothesis; the actual situation is still uncertain."

"I understand, I understand."

Orochimaru smiled and shook his head, then reached out and led Mifune out of the tent.

"Now that this matter is settled, Admiral Mifune, why don't you stay and have a meal with me? It's almost time to eat."

"That's fine..."

Mifune felt relieved after receiving Orochimaru's assurance and was just about to eat a few bowls of rice to cheer himself up when an intelligence ninja rushed over.

"Report! All three reconnaissance teams have been wiped out!"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Let's see which genius it is.

Ding Ding Ding

Kunai collided with kunai, and shuriken flew horizontally through the air.

Several dark figures crisscrossed past, blood splattering everywhere.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"No, we're surrounded!"

Why are there so many people?

"Damn it! At least one person needs to go and report this!"

"what……"

The rain soaked the sky, and regret became even more refined. You said you didn't understand why you acted at this time.

The receding shadows vanished like a receding tide, along with the corpses scattered on the ground, leaving only a large amount of blood and weapons, and a scene of utter chaos.

A few moments later, a dozen or so figures appeared.

"I'm late."

Orochimaru frowned, sniffed the air, which had been washed away by the heavy rain, bit his finger, and then formed hand seals.

"Psychic art."

Bang

Several small white snakes suddenly appeared, sniffed the scent, and then quickly disappeared.

"Report: All traces at the scene have disappeared; we are unable to obtain any useful information..."

The intelligence ninja approached Orochimaru and reported apologetically with his head bowed.

"Where are the Hyuga clan members?"

Orochimaru's golden snake eyes swept out, and the Hyuga clan ninja trembled before shaking their heads.

Amegakure acted too quickly. The moment the third intelligence ninja group lost contact, it was reported to Orochimaru. Orochimaru immediately set off, but still found no trace of them.

"interesting."

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his upper lip, instantly exuding a chilling aura.

"Lord Orochimaru, please accept my condolences. The Rain Village is truly despicable; they didn't even leave a trace!"

Mifune, who had come with Orochimaru, said indignantly, "In this way, we have no evidence to prove that this was an attack launched by Amegakure. It's utterly shameless!"

"Ha, this kind of thing..."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Ninjas are a profession that hides in the shadows. Shameless?"

Shamelessness is the nature of a ninja. Can a ninja who carelessly exposes himself during battle still be called a qualified ninja?

To reiterate, a ninja who directly reveals their identity is either a fool or truly skilled.

"Admiral Mifune, I'm afraid we'll have to be apart for a while from now on."

Orochimaru bowed slightly to Mifune. "Konoha will enter the preparation and reconnaissance phase. If there is any news, I will send someone to inform you immediately."

“I understand, Lord Orochimaru.”

Mifune nodded seriously. "Then the Land of Iron will also be carrying out our mission, so we won't bother you any longer."

"I originally wanted to have a meal with Lord Orochimaru to get to know him better, but it seems that will have to wait until next time."

"There will be an opportunity. We in Konoha have always supported the neutrality of the Land of Iron and are willing to help you maintain your neutrality."

Orochimaru's words were impeccable, and Mifune was quite pleased with them. After apologizing, he left immediately.

Someone died in Konoha, and they're about to make a big move. It would be too much for him to keep the leader of the Land of Iron alive any longer.

To be honest, of Hiruzen Sarutobi's three disciples, only Orochimaru had the most ability to become Hokage.

His strength is unfathomable, he is meticulous in his work, ambitious, capable, and even accomplished. Apart from his less-than-ideal background, he has almost no flaws.

However, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, Orochimaru's personality was not suitable for the Konoha that followed.

If this were during World War I, Orochimaru, once he grew up, would have become another Tobirama Senju, capable of leading Konoha forward.

But now that Konoha has become the strongest ninja in the world, the person who will take over Konoha next should be a steady, sociable, and positive person.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were both excellent candidates, but unfortunately they didn't live up to expectations.

Of course, Orochimaru was unaware of these things; he was still following the goals set by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Since you, teacher, have asked me to strive to become Hokage, then I will do so, and I will strive to be the best among the three.

In that case, teacher, will you be able to accept me?

Watching Mifune leave, Orochimaru turned around and began to give orders.

"Hyuga people, expand the search radius to ten kilometers."

"Yes!"

"Send a replacement tracking team from the reconnaissance squad to confirm the direction for me."

"learn!"

"And still, hasn't that idiot Jiraiya arrived yet?!"

"Report! Report received. Lord Jiraiya is expected to arrive tomorrow!"

"very good."

Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction. With the support of Jiraiya and Tsunade, things became much easier for him.

Did the Rain Ninja launch a sneak attack on their own reconnaissance squad?

Can't ask for it.

Both sides clearly knew that the other was preparing for war, so why did the Rain Ninja make a move during such a sensitive time?

They didn't even have time to disguise themselves as exiled ninjas to rob and kill, like they used to when they secretly fought each other. Instead, they wanted to take the corpses.

The only possibility is that the Rain Ninja have a hidden camp nearby, and there may be something shady going on in that camp.

For example...

The Rain Ninja took away the military equipment and craftsmen from the Land of Iron.

"Hehehe... Looks like we've caught a big fish this time."

Orochimaru laughed and turned around, saying, "To appease the families of the deceased ninjas and distribute condolence money, double it."

Boom!

However, at that moment, a violent explosion suddenly occurred in the forest several kilometers away from Orochimaru.

The blast wave swept for nearly a hundred meters, felling trees and sending flames soaring into the sky.

The blast swirled upwards, and thick black smoke transformed into a mushroom cloud. Painful screams and sounds of fighting echoed beneath the mushroom cloud, creating a truly magnificent scene.

The ground trembled slightly from the explosion, and even Orochimaru, several kilometers away, could feel the slight shaking.

"what happened?"