Naruto: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Otsutsuki

That's all the support the village is offering...

High above the camp, Orochimaru stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the Konoha ninja squads that had just arrived.

A faint smile appeared on that usually effeminate and aloof face.

But there was little joy in that smile.

"Old man... you really think highly of me."

As far as the eye could see, Konoha's support troops were steadily moving into their camps.

The number of troops is not small, but compared with the large armies that are frequently mobilized in the Iwagakure battlefield, this force seems rather meager.

More importantly, the quality of this aid was not very high.

While some of these teams were led by experienced Jonin, most were simply regular units barely capable of undertaking garrison duties.

Clearly, the Hokage Building did not believe that this unusual activity in Sunagakure would actually escalate into a major battle.

Standing to the side, Nara Shikaku followed Orochimaru's gaze and looked at the ninjas who were slowly entering the camp.

He could certainly sense the dissatisfaction in Orochimaru's tone, so he slowly explained, "Lord Orochimaru, the Third Hokage has already explained the specific reasons to you in his letter."

Shikaku didn't say much, but that was enough.

Orochimaru nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Seeing that he didn't continue to dwell on the issue, Nara Shikaku secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ultimately, the unusual activity in Sunagakure came too suddenly.

Just a few days ago, Sunagakure sent envoys to Konoha to make contact and put on a show of wanting to ease tensions. But in the blink of an eye, they have already amassed troops on the border, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

This rapid change of heart caught not only the Konoha leadership off guard, but even Nara Shikaku, who was always adept at predicting situations.

Konoha is currently unable to spare any more resources.

The clouds, the fog, and the rain conceal each defensive line, requiring sufficient troops to defend them.

Not to mention, there's also "Uchiha Madara" hiding in the shadows.

This time, the Third Hokage himself led the team, ready to personally uncover this huge threat lurking in the shadows, which could disrupt the entire Konoha landscape at any moment.

"I just don't know... whether the prophecy of Mount Myōboku will really come true."

Nara Shikaku sighed inwardly, his thoughts drifting back to the past few days.

During the meeting that day, Jiraiya was suddenly taken away by a reverse summoning from Mount Myōboku. When he returned to Konoha, he brought with him the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage.

The Great Toad Immortal said that this decision was of great importance.

A single misstep could lead to total defeat.

That is why Hiruzen Sarutobi made up his mind in the shortest amount of time.

First, based on the intelligence we have already gathered, we should track down Madara Uchiha and eliminate this hidden danger that could disrupt the situation at any time.

As for Sunagakure—

Konoha does not intend to start a war with them for the time being.

I don't want to right now, at least not right now.

Therefore, the Third Hokage sent Nara Shikaku, who was skilled in maneuvering and analyzing situations, to assist Orochimaru in maintaining order on the border, and also to facilitate peace talks as much as possible.

Even if peace talks fail, we must first stall the situation and deal with Uchiha Madara after the village has finished dealing with him.

As for the ninja squads that arrived later, they were more there to reinforce the camp's defenses and to make it appear as if Konoha was not unprepared.

That's it.

Nara Shikaku shook his head and turned to prepare for the peace talks with Mitokado Homura.

Wars must eventually end.

Peace talks must also be conducted.

"Hehehe...this war will break out..."

Orochimaru watched Shikaku's departing figure and murmured softly.

The voice was extremely soft, as soft as the wind, yet it carried an indescribable certainty.

The operation to eliminate Madara Uchiha...

The old man didn't even take him along.

Furthermore, he dispatched a Hokage advisor to oversee peace talks with Sunagakure.

"Hmph..."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his face gradually calming down.

"Qinglan-kun, the rest is up to you."

He looked down and felt the strange sensation in his lower body, then turned around and pushed open the tent door.

"Report...! Lord Kazekage, a delegation from Konoha has arrived!"

The door was quickly pushed open, and Sha Xiao walked in with a happy expression.

In his view, this is undoubtedly good news.

The fact that Konoha took the initiative to send an envoy shows that Sunagakure's recent deployment of troops on the border has had a sufficient deterrent effect.

However, after seeing the situation inside the tent, they couldn't help but pause.

Luo Sha, sitting behind his desk, had an exceptionally gloomy expression.

His brows were furrowed with barely suppressed frustration, and the documents piled up beside him were in a terrible disarray.

"It's the sand owl..."

Luo Sha raised his head and saw that the person who came was one of his most trusted confidants, and the irritation on his face eased a little.

"A Konoha envoy...? Was it sent by Orochimaru, or by the Third Hokage?"

"Lord Kazekage, the visitors are a Hyuga ninja from Konoha, a Yamanaka ninja, an Akimichi ninja, and an Uchiha."

Hyuga, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Uchiha.

All those who came were family members closely related to the Hokage faction.

Judging from this, they must have been sent by the Third Hokage.

What on earth is Orochimaru up to?

When will the promised peace talks actually begin?

Luo Sha narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze flickering.

"Let's contact them for now and stall them for a while."

"In addition, arrange for ninjas to keep watch around the inn at all times, monitoring their every move."

"Surveillance?"

Sha Xiao was slightly taken aback, clearly puzzled.

But before the doubt on his face could completely fade, he was stunned by another sentence.

"Yoku has been quite unruly lately."

Rasa slowly rose, his gaze passing through the swirling yellow sand outside the window and landing in the direction of the inn where the ninjas from other villages lived.

"Fenfu... may be losing control of it soon."

This is the real source of his frustration lately.

If Bunpuku's health hadn't been deteriorating, Sunagakure wouldn't have rashly deployed troops to the border at this time, adopting a tough stance to provoke Konoha.

On the surface, this is putting pressure on Konoha.

Ultimately, it's more about shifting internal pressure and buying time.

"If it weren't for this, we wouldn't be stationing troops on the border."

Orochimaru, you should understand, right...?

Luo Sha spoke in a low voice, as if explaining, or as if convincing himself.

"Let's stall them for two days."

"Let them taste what it's like to wait for someone, and just how unbearable that feeling can be."

-

"It seems the Sand Village isn't very sincere either... I hate waiting for people the most."

As soon as he stepped into the hotel, Shan Zhongsan put his hands behind his head and kept complaining.

"Yeah." Akimichi Choman, who was following behind, chimed in, patting his stomach. "The food in Sunagakure is dry and salty, and the portions are small. If we keep waiting, I'm starting to wonder if they're planning to starve us to death first."

The two sang in harmony, their coordination remarkably natural.

At the back of the group, Uchiha Shisui, who was about to enter the Hokage's Anbu after completing his last peace negotiation mission, couldn't help but feel a little confused when he saw his two seniors acting so "unusually".

What's wrong with you two seniors?

Is it...

Although Uchiha Shisui was still young, he had quite a bit of experience.

He realized it almost instantly.

Just as he was about to turn and look at the captain of this operation to see how the other party would make arrangements, he saw Hinata Seiran quietly make a hand gesture.

Sure enough, there was surveillance!

"Since Lord Kazekage tells us to wait, then let's wait a little longer..."

Hinata Seiran casually drew the curtains shut, gesturing for Yamanaka Santen and Akimichi Choman to continue their banter, while quietly explaining the true nature of the mission.

"This mission is to negotiate peace with Sunagakure and, incidentally, to investigate the current situation of Sunagakure..."

On the surface, Hinata Seiran quietly explained the mission on the scroll to everyone, but in his heart, his thoughts had already drifted to Orochimaru's secret letter.

The one-tailed jinx is in imminent danger.

Take the opportunity to release one of them.

I trust you to handle things.

Orochimaru