Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Late at night, inside the Konoha camp.

A piece of intelligence was sent into the camp and presented to Danzo and Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, what do you think?

Danzo, now covered in bandages, had a gloomy look in his eyes. After reading the intelligence, he handed it to Orochimaru.

Not long ago, on the battlefield of the Mist Ninja, Danzo was tricked by the Mist Ninja. His entire team fell into a trap, and in order to cover the retreat, he was surrounded, resulting in the loss of an eye and an arm.

For now, he can only act as a commander, stationed in the camp to mobilize personnel, and can no longer set foot on the battlefield.

Orochimaru took the intelligence report and carefully examined it, a look of great interest on his face.

"Interesting. But they're just Mist Ninja. That's normal, considering the number of Mist Ninja defecting in recent years under the Blood Mist Village policy."

"The Mist Ninja have even formed a pursuit force to deal with rogue ninjas. What a crazy policy."

Danzo glanced at Orochimaru, leaned back in his chair, and gently tapped the table with his other hand.

"You should know that what I want to ask you is not this matter. We both know that the Hyuga clan sent out a branch family squad."

"Now, our reconnaissance team has discovered the trail of the Mist Ninja's assassination squad, and following them, we have found the remains of that squad."

"They died tragically, without even a complete body. The battlefield was also completely destroyed. Based on the on-site investigation, it doesn't seem like the methods of the Mist Ninja pursuit team."

Orochimaru put down the intelligence report and pondered for a moment: "You mean that Kirigakure ninja who stole the Byakugan and defected, Taketori Izumi?"

"Chunin, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan, defection, plus the annihilation of the Hyuga branch family team, it seems this guy didn't act on a whim, but rather planned it all along."

Both of them had sharp eyes and could tell at a glance from the intelligence that the person who really took down the Hyuga branch family team was that rogue ninja from the Mist Village.

They were somewhat surprised when they learned that a member of the peace negotiation team between the Mist Ninja and the Sand Ninja had stolen the Byakugan, defected, and taken with him the [Scorch Release] ninja, Pakura.

After all, the investigation found no one behind it; it seemed to be just a spur-of-the-moment decision by that rogue ninja.

Konoha wasn't paying much attention to this matter because they understood that reconciliation between Sunagakure and Kirigakure was inevitable and wouldn't be disrupted by this incident.

However, the Hyuga clan is very concerned about this matter and has even requested a team to investigate, determined to reclaim the Byakugan.

Danzo and Orochimaru, who were in charge of the Mist Ninja front, naturally had no objections, since this matter involved the very foundation of the Hyuga clan.

"Let's hand the information over to the Hyuga clan. It concerns the Byakugan, and it's not appropriate for us to get involved."

Danzo merely gave Orochimaru a cold laugh, his brow furrowing slightly as he felt the pain in his phantom limb.

In response to Danzo's silence, Orochimaru looked at him, as if his senior had a new idea.

"Corpse Bone Vein, very precious!"

Danzo's calm voice rang out. Having lost an eye and an arm, he had lost more than just those things.

He also lost his qualifications as a ninja and as Hokage, which Danzo found completely unacceptable.

He would rather have died on that battlefield like his teacher than linger on like this.

Having already collaborated with Orochimaru on research into Hashirama cells, he now has a new idea: he wants to obtain the eyes and arms.

Orochimaru revealed a wicked smile and slowly said, "It is indeed very precious. Among the barbarians of the Kaguya clan, only a handful can awaken the Shikotsumyaku."

The meaning between the two was already self-evident in their words; they had also set their sights on each other, after all, this was a rare experimental subject.

"But what about Hinata?"

"Hmph, what can we do? They need to know first. It's all up to them."

Danzo wasn't particularly interested in the Byakugan. Although the Hyuga clan was a powerful family, they didn't have any truly outstanding members.

With his Byakugan eyes and Gentle Fist technique, he was no match for the Uchiha clan; he was nothing more than a fame-seeker.

He craved the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan even more, yearning for that legendary power.

"However, the reconnaissance team did not seem to find any trace of the other party's departure, nor did they know which direction the other party fled in."

Orochimaru frowned, recalling what had been mentioned in the intelligence report.

Despite the fact that there was more than one person on the other side, including the Sand Ninja Pakura, the reconnaissance team was unable to find any trace of them.

"It doesn't matter. Since we are human, we can't leave the group. As long as we show our faces, I will naturally have ways to obtain information."

"Similarly, the fact that our people couldn't find any trace means that the Kirigakure ninja were the same, which is a good thing."

Since Danzo had already set his sights on this, he naturally didn't want to see anyone else capture the bloodline successor of the Shikotsumyaku.

The more the other party disappeared without a trace, the happier he became; if anyone was to be caught, it had to be one of his own.

"As for the Hyuga side, you can talk to them. Although they are good at reconnaissance, it will probably be difficult for them to capture the other party."

"Especially with that [Scorch Release] ninja, Yekura, by their side, if she recovers from her injuries, even my men will have a hard time getting the better of her."

Danzo narrowed his eyes. Pakura, a genius [Scorch Release] ninja from the Sand Village, was a fearsome presence on the battlefield.

Not only is she incredibly powerful, but her Blazing Release technique is also ruthless; enemies she defeats are reduced to dried-up corpses.

This is why he became a powerful weapon for the Sand Ninja to fight against the Mist Ninja, and also became a "hero" in the mouths of the Sand Ninja.

However, the ending was obviously tragic. He became a political sacrifice, and his high reputation threatened the political correctness of the Sand Village.

After all, to become the Kazekage, one must be a ninja who possesses Magnet Release, not Scorch Release.

"Okay, I understand."

"Also, I've almost run out of materials."

After Orochimaru left those words, he departed the tent, leaving Danzo alone in the shadows of the flickering lamplight, his gaze cold and sinister.

This place is a battlefield, so obtaining "materials" is easy; you just need to be discreet and avoid being discovered.

His people are perfectly suited for this job, and he only hopes that Orochimaru won't disappoint him.

Danzo gripped his arm tightly, trying to use the pain to mask the agony of his phantom limb and the rage that burned within him.

He will not give up. The position of Hokage has become an obsession for him. Just because of one answer, he has missed the position for so many years.

Now, he is trying to do what his teacher did, covering for the others to leave, but he overestimated himself and underestimated the Mist Ninja.

This loss was extremely painful and further twisted his mind.