Starting with Wood Release, he survives in Konoha Hospital and becomes a big shot.

Using Ming Shi Yin's clone as a pretext for this incident is inappropriate. His previous appearance in Konoha showed discord with the village, and now his intervention to save Konoha members completely shatters his established image. Furthermore, it easily leads people to speculate that Yao Xing might be connected to Ming Shi Yin, especially since the Konoha orphanage incident remains unresolved.

Therefore, using Taishi's clone from Johor Bahru is the most suitable option.

The next moment, Yao Xingji, carrying the figure of Xinshan Dazhi, flashed into the mist and quietly crept towards the location where the war had broken out.

At this moment, Kakashi, Asuma, and the others were locked in combat with the people of Kirigakure.

With the enemy outnumbering them, having the Hidden Mist Technique to conceal themselves, and with the addition of Raiga Kurosugi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist wielding the Lightning Blade Kiba, Kakashi and his companions were completely outmatched and already injured.

What worries Kakashi is that Konoha's reinforcements have not yet arrived, and no Anbu or Root ninjas have appeared, which is far from what he had expected.

Did Konoha fail to notice the anomaly here, or did they say something else wrong?

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Chapter Fifty: It's Best to Leave First

About eight kilometers from the riverside cabin, dozens of masked ninjas were hiding in the shadows, concealing their presence.

"If the spies from Kirigakure want to make a move, it will probably be tonight, right? Hoshino-kun, I hope you can survive."

On a large tree, Orochimaru leaned against the trunk with his arms crossed, his golden vertical pupils looking in the direction of the wooden house by the river.

Orochimaru was not at all surprised that the medicine star was used as bait.

Given Danzo's personality, without Tsunade and others intervening, this child would have had almost no chance of surviving the incident at the Konoha orphanage. Even if he had survived by chance, he would probably have been turned into an idiot after having his mind read.

As for Hiruzen-sensei, he wouldn't care about the life or death of an orphan at all, and even if he knew what Danzo was going to do, he wouldn't stop him. After all, Danzo was just a front man for the Hokage.

However, it seems they did this baiting thing behind Tsunade's back. If Hoshino really dies here, who knows what kind of trouble Tsunade will cause.

"Life is so fragile. Nawaki is, and so is Yakushi Hoshiki. Even with powerful protectors, it's impossible to survive in this chaotic world. Perhaps only the combination of eternal life and immense strength can make all of this meaningful," Orochimaru thought to himself.

A gentle breeze swept through, and a thin mist rose from the forest.

"what?"

Orochimaru's expression changed slightly as he immediately noticed this unusual change.

"They've finally made their move. This day has been worth waiting for."

Orochimaru lowered his hands, stuck out his long tongue, and licked the corner of his mouth.

"I hope to obtain a few specimens for experiments, which would be a contribution to human immortality."

"Lord Orochimaru, the people from Kirigakure have appeared. Should we make a move?" A Root ninja appeared beside Orochimaru in a flash and asked.

"Let's go, let's see where these Hidden Mist ninjas get their courage to make a move at the gates of Konoha."

As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, he flashed out and rushed towards the direction where the mist was spreading.

To avoid alerting the enemy, they had positioned themselves at a considerable distance, and it would take them some time to get there now.

However, to their surprise, the fog in the forest spread very quickly, enveloping Orochimaru's entire Root squad in just a few breaths.

"There seem to be quite a lot of people." Orochimaru's expression hardened.

He originally thought that the people coming were just some small fry from the Misty Hidden Village, since it wouldn't take many people to kill Yao Xingji.

However, Orochimaru became wary of this mist concealment technique.

Both the range and the density of the fog indicate that there are many people who used this ninjutsu, and their strength is also quite powerful. Otherwise, it would be impossible to form a dense fog covering an area of ​​five or six kilometers in such a short time.

Suddenly, Orochimaru felt a sense of alertness and dodged to the side.

"Flounder Liberation"

A large amount of blue chakra was suddenly released from the mist and fell directly towards the spot where Orochimaru had just passed.

Boom!

With a loud bang, a large tree was struck directly by the blue chakra light. The massive trunk, which had almost no defense, was torn to pieces, and a large crater appeared in the ground.

Orochimaru's expression changed slightly. His gaze swept over the spot where the blue chakra had appeared, and he saw a sword that looked like a large fish flash by and disappear into the mist.

"Twin Blades Hiramekarei! The Seven Ninja Swordsmen!"

Almost instantly, Orochimaru realized who had attacked him.

Unfortunately, all he could see was fog, and his attackers had vanished without a trace.

"what……"

Almost simultaneously, a scream came from a few dozen meters away from Orochimaru. A Chunin from Root was cut in half at the waist, and blood splattered out, staining the surrounding trees red. However, the person who attacked him had disappeared without a trace.

"Everyone, stay together and don't scatter," Orochimaru said immediately.

The appearance of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was something Orochimaru hadn't anticipated, and Danzo probably didn't expect Kirigakure to send these people to make a move either.

Does a mere Medicine Star Realm necessitate the Hidden Mist Village sending out such a top-tier ninja to kill it?

Or perhaps their target isn't Yao Xingji, but someone else.

"We have to ask the village for help," Orochimaru decided immediately.

Due to escalating border tensions between major powers, with the possibility of war breaking out at any moment, Konoha is facing a shortage of manpower, which is why they have not sent many people for this ambush mission.

Furthermore, Danzo judged that Kirigakure would not have any powerful ninjas near Konoha, so in this team, only Orochimaru was capable of fighting, and the others were all Chunin, not even a Jonin.

That would have been enough, after all, Orochimaru was one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, and his strength and prestige were definitely sufficient.

But surprises always happen, and they never expected the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to appear here.

The problem now is that the opponent has already created a favorable fighting environment for themselves by using the Hidden Mist Technique, while Orochimaru doesn't know how many of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have come. If all seven are present, he himself probably wouldn't survive, let alone the others.

Without hesitation, Orochimaru took out the distress fireworks from Root and prepared to release them.

However, just as he was about to make his move, the fog behind him surged, and he immediately sensed the approaching danger.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Orochimaru had no choice but to abandon the use of the distress fireworks and, while using Wind Release to attack, try to break through the surrounding fog first.

A gust of wind spewed from Orochimaru's mouth, causing the surrounding mist to surge wildly. Nearby trees were sliced ​​open by the wind blades, spewing out large amounts of wood chips.

Faced with Orochimaru's ninjutsu attack, the person attacking from behind had to temporarily abandon the attack and dodge.

The ninjutsu attacks of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha should not be underestimated, even if this is only a C-rank ninjutsu.

In that fleeting moment, Orochimaru didn't get a clear look at who it was, but he was certain it wasn't the person who had attacked him first, because the sword in this person's hand wasn't the previous pair of Hiramekarei swords.

"The second Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"

Orochimaru's golden pupils immediately contracted.

His gaze darted around uncertainly, and the mist blown away by the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough quickly spread again. The enemy was in the dark while he was in the light, and the surrounding environment was extremely unfavorable for Orochimaru.

"Looks like I need to prepare to run away."

Orochimaru was already considering retreating at this point.

His scientific journey had only just begun, and he was going to dedicate his life to science. How could he die here?

Even if it means risking death, it's not acceptable.

"Let's see how things go first. If it doesn't work out, we'll make a run for it!" Orochimaru thought to himself.

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Chapter 51 Danzo's Purpose

Since realizing the fragility of life, Orochimaru's pursuit of this world has changed.

The Hokage is incredibly powerful, yet they still die. This applies not only to his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but also to Hashirama Senju, the former God of Shinobi. So what's the point of becoming Hokage?

Without eternal life, everything else is meaningless.

"Flounder liberated!"

A gust of wind swept by, and the same ninja attacked again.

Knowing that Orochimaru was on guard, the ninja stopped using sneak attacks and instead launched a frontal assault, which would allow him to better utilize the power of his ninja sword.

This time, Orochimaru finally got a clear look at the enormous ninja sword.

hum!

The ninja sword, shaped like a giant fish, first emitted intense gas from the two round holes in its blade. Then, the entire sword glowed, forming a chakra aggregate, and finally, it released a chakra sphere.

"not good!"

Orochimaru's expression darkened, and he quickly dodged.

The fog made him very uncomfortable; unable to see his opponent, he could only passively take hits and was unable to launch an attack.

Boom!

With a deafening roar, the area within a seven- or eight-meter radius was swept away by a terrifying mass of blue chakra.

The giant tree was reduced to ashes, and a large crater was blasted into the ground. Two Chunin from Root were unable to dodge in time and were directly blasted to pieces.

They originally thought that staying with Orochimaru would be safer, but they never expected that Orochimaru would run away and leave them to face the terrifying attack.

Bang!

Orochimaru's body was also affected, crashing into a large tree not far away before falling limply to the ground, seemingly with all his bones shattered.

"The Legendary Sannin of Konoha are nothing special," a voice said with a sneer.

As soon as he finished speaking, the man slowly walked up, carrying his ninja sword, ready to finish off Orochimaru.

Swish!

At that very moment, Orochimaru's body suddenly burst out of his mouth like Aladdin's genie, and with a flick of his right hand, countless giant snakes transformed and charged straight at the ninja.

"Hidden Shadow Serpent Hands!"

The multiple giant snakes summoned in an instant seemed to possess their own intelligence, attacking the ninja from different angles, biting, coiling, and intimidating... arriving in front of the ninja almost instantly.

"you……"

The ninja clearly hadn't expected Orochimaru to have such a substitution technique; in just a split second, he was already completely on the defensive.

Orochi-ryu Substitution Technique is a substitution technique unique to Orochimaru.

Bang!

Just as Orochimaru's attack was about to succeed, a large sword completely wrapped in bandages descended from the sky, severing all the giant snakes and stopping the almost certain hit ninjutsu.