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

"This is one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha. You were too careless."

A voice came from the air, deep and hoarse, its direction indiscernible.

"Heh, it's because I still have you, otherwise I wouldn't have done this." The ninja wielding the twin swords Hiramekarei said with a smirk.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his body detaching from the 'corpse' on the ground. He stared coldly at the blurry figure in the mist not far away, while keeping watch for attacks from the air.

The two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were people I had encountered before.

Since no one else appeared, it's likely that only these two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are here, significantly reducing the danger level and putting them within his control.

However, Orochimaru still dared not let his guard down.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist earned their name not only because of their own great strength, but also because of the seven ninja swords they wielded.

These seven ninja swords each possess unique abilities, most of which are unknown to Konoha. Therefore, when fighting them, one must be careful of the swords in their hands.

This is why intelligence is so important.

If Orochimaru had a clear understanding of the function and abilities of each of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he would be much more at ease when facing them and wouldn't be so hesitant.

"Let's get started, we can't stay here for too long."

A sound came from the sky, and a fat figure descended from the sky, pulled out a large sword wrapped in bandages from the ground, and charged towards Orochimaru.

On the other side, a ninja wielding twin swords, Hiramekarei, also attacked directly. The two joined forces to attack Orochimaru, forcing him to fight and retreat.

Leaf.

"Look over there, why is there such a thick fog all of a sudden?"

On the city wall, several ninjas noticed the thick fog spreading from the distant forest and immediately became alert.

“I can sense chakra fluctuations over there, but I can’t probe the situation inside the fog. This isn’t ordinary fog,” a sensory ninja immediately said.

"Quickly, report the situation here," another person said immediately.

Swish!

Just as the ninjas were about to make their move, a ninja dressed in ANBU uniform and wearing a mask appeared beside them.

"Lord Danzo has ordered that you need not concern yourself with the situation in the fog; we have already sent people to handle it."

The ninja said directly.

"So Lord Danzo was prepared all along, that's good." The ninjas immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Since it was part of the plan, there was no need for them to make a fuss.

I just don't know what the roots are up to this time, that they've covered up such a large area of ​​forest.

Almost simultaneously, members of the Roots organization appeared in several other locations where anomalies were discovered, preventing the situation from being reported further.

The underground base of the roots.

"Lord Danzo, the people of Kirigakure have already made their move," a Root ninja reported respectfully, kneeling on one knee.

"Very good." Danzo nodded. "The news wasn't reported to the Anbu, was it?"

"No, we've stopped them from reporting, but I estimate it won't be long before the Anbu find out," the ninja continued.

"There's enough time. By the time they find out, I'll have already done what I need to do," Danzo said nonchalantly.

Was this whole thing really just to lure out the spies from Kirigakure?

Yes, no.

Danzo's purpose could not possibly be so simple.

"Tenko, I hope you can get the information I want from that brat's memories," Danzo thought to himself, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips.

"Lord Danzo, due to the Hidden Mist Technique, we cannot ascertain the situation outside. Should we send someone to provide support?" the ninja asked.

"No need. With Orochimaru around, those spies from Kirigakure won't be able to cause any trouble!" Danzo said confidently.

At the same time, deep within the sea of ​​fog.

Yao Xingji, using Shadow Clone Technique and Transformation Technique to transform into Shinzan Taishi, had quietly approached Kakashi and the others' battlefield. Just as he was pondering how to make his move, a loud bang from the depths of the fog interrupted his thoughts.

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Chapter Fifty-Two: The Arrangements Were Explained Clearly

What happened there?

Yao Xingji's heart stirred, and he immediately looked in the direction from which the explosion sound came. Unfortunately, all he could see was grayish-white mist, and he could hardly see anything. He could only vaguely see a flash of blue light from the explosion.

"Such a powerful attack doesn't seem like something an ordinary ninja could unleash. Could it be another expert from Kirigakure?" Yao Xingji muttered to himself.

Considering the previous case of Raiga Kurosugi, the most likely candidates to be top-tier members of the Hidden Mist Village are the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"Sending so many experts to the vicinity of Konoha just for my sake, is that really necessary?" Yao Xingji couldn't understand it.

His appeal isn't that great yet, after all, he's too young and can't offer much help to the Land of Water right now.

"Did they have other purposes, or were they just passing by?"

Unable to determine the exact location, Yao Xingji pondered for a moment before deciding to approach Hei Chu Lei Ya to investigate.

the other side.

Leaning against the tree, Kurenai seemed startled by the sound of the explosion. Her fingers twitched slightly as if she was about to wake up, but fortunately, Yashinori was quick-witted and struck again, manually putting her back to sleep.

Deep in the fog.

Kakashi and the others also heard the violent explosion and looked in the direction from which the sound came with surprised and uncertain eyes.

"Damn it, how can there be so many powerful people? What's going on?" Sarutobi Asuma said with a grim expression.

Kakashi's expression was also grim; he was injured and breathing rapidly: "That direction... doesn't seem to be the direction of Konoha Village. How could a battle have broken out? And an attack of this level can't be from an ordinary ninja. What exactly is going on?"

As a member of the secret service, he keenly sensed that something was wrong.

Logically, the Konoha ninjas should have already noticed the anomaly and sent people to investigate. Therefore, the battle that occurred should have been a fight that broke out after the Konoha ninjas and the Kirigakure ninjas met.

But here's the strange thing: the direction is wrong!

This wasn't the direction the Konoha ninja were heading; instead, it was a direction far away from Konoha.

In other words, it's more like they're surrounding us from the rear, rather than sending reinforcements. But then the timing doesn't add up; in just a few minutes, it's impossible for Konoha ninjas to get around to that spot unless they were already there.

"Someone was lying in ambush in that direction beforehand; their target was these Hidden Mist ninjas."

"How did they know that Kirigakure was going to make a move? Could it be... Hoshigaki!!! Kirigakure's target is Hoshigaki, so our departure from Konoha was planned in advance, and they wanted us to be used as bait."

"But how did they know I would bring the medicine star here after leaving Konoha..."

A scene flashed through Kakashi's mind.

"Kakashi, I heard your family built a small wooden house by the river outside the village. The fish there are pretty good. When will you take me to try some? Kurenai is also craving grilled fish."

"Okay, let's go this weekend then, we'll go together."

The face from my memory surfaced, with a warm smile; who else could it be but Sarutobi Asuma?

At that moment, Kakashi felt a bone-chilling cold.

He looked at Asma not far away, and couldn't believe that all of this had been arranged by someone.

"But how did he know I would bring Xingji? It was a spur-of-the-moment idea after that family dinner..."

"By the way, Jingyin, both Lin and I invited Jingyin. Jingyin is in charge of taking care of Xingji. As long as Jingyin comes out, Xingji is very likely to come out too. It's just that they didn't expect that Jingyin had something to do and couldn't come. Instead, I brought Xingji out by accident!"

Everything can be explained, and everything is self-consistent enough.

Even though there are still many variables, this plan does have a high probability of success.

Nothing is 100% guaranteed to succeed; as long as there's a certain probability of success, you should go for it. And if this plan fails, there's likely to be an alternative.

Everything was premeditated.

However, those who planned all of this probably didn't expect that the people from Kirigakure would be the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!

Kakashi's expression grew increasingly grim as he thought about it.

He became even more certain that this was a plan after he discovered that no ninja support had been coming from the direction of the village.

"How much longer can you hold on?" Kai's voice came from not far away, he was already panting heavily.

“There are too many of them, I can’t hold on much longer,” Sarutobi Asuma replied.

Kakashi quietly moved a few steps toward Guy, while simultaneously moving away from Sarutobi Asuma.

"Hold on, we'll definitely get reinforcements!" Obito Uchiha shouted.

"The sounds of battle we just heard are likely our reinforcements arriving. Don't give up, everyone," Kakashi reassured them.

They knew it was part of the plan, but those were the only people they could rely on right now.

As for Yao Xingji and Xi Ri Hong, they have completely disappeared since the start of the battle, and their whereabouts are currently unknown...

Kakashi's frustration and anger caused his fists to clench involuntarily.

Is this still the same Konoha that was created to prevent children from going to the battlefield?

"Burn! My youth has been enriched by these experiences, and that's enough!" Kai's voice rang out, still youthful and full of confidence.

No one knew that he was truly planning to burn himself.

Kai remembered his father's words: that move was a technique that could only be used to protect someone important.

Those closest to him were his cherished companions.

So when that moment actually comes, that move can be used.

The opponent's lightning strikes seemed to have decreased significantly. Whether they were planning a retreat or preparing for an even more terrifying attack, no one knew.

Deep in the fog.

Raiga Kurosuki also looked in the direction from which the explosion came.

"Konoha did indeed have an ambush, but luckily I was prepared," Raiga Kurosuki sneered.

"I guess things are pretty much settled with Yakushi Hoshi, so I should retreat. I didn't expect those brats to be so strong; I didn't even manage to kill a single one of them," Kurosuki Raiga thought to himself.

He originally intended to kill as many of Kakashi and his companions as possible, but he didn't expect Kakashi's strength to be almost at the level of a Jonin. With their coordinated efforts, his lightning couldn't achieve the effect of killing from a distance. He was also afraid that there might be Konoha's ambush around Kakashi, so he didn't dare to go over rashly.

With the agreed-upon time for retreat approaching, he decided not to waste any more time.