Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

"Does the captain mean we should search as many outskirts of the village as possible?"

Bear Eyes spoke with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"That's one way to put it, but it's not just that. If the other party is indeed a high-level spy hiding in our village, they will definitely have a public identity, so we can't overlook any other areas either!"

Jiang Si shook his head and said.

66、decision

The truth behind a missing person case is not something that can be easily uncovered.

Although the original work does not specify exactly how long Orochimaru remained hidden before the Third Hokage's Anbu discovered a hint of his secrets, based on Shoji's analysis of the current situation, this period would definitely not be less than one or two months. Even if the Anbu specializes in this area, Orochimaru's methods are certainly beyond the reach of ordinary people. Shoji even thinks that if Orochimaru hadn't been so arrogant and hadn't captured so many Konoha ninjas in the later period, the Third Hokage might not have been able to catch him.

Because it's perfectly normal for people to go missing occasionally in a country or a ninja village. There are precedents for ninjas going missing. Some enemy spies will take action against these people in order to gather intelligence. Over the years, Konoha has encountered similar situations before. Therefore, the Third Hokage initially believed it was the work of an enemy force. He really didn't want to believe it was done by his own people, let alone Orochimaru, his most valued disciple.

There were spies who were successfully apprehended and brought to justice.

There were also spies who remained hidden and even eventually fled back to their home countries.

Even these people are like this.

If Orochimaru had been more cautious...

If the number and frequency of arrests are not too high, the village may not even be able to detect the actions of one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

This has a two-way impact.

Therefore, while the Dark Division is conducting a thorough search, they will surely be able to catch any trace of Orochimaru. What Shoji needs to do is to find concrete evidence before the other teams do, since he knows that Orochimaru did it, but to prove it, he needs evidence!

This is one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha.

A hero of Konoha whose prestige is second only to the Third Hokage.

During World War II and World War III, Orochimaru, as a commander, led thousands of Konoha ninja to be responsible for one side of the battlefield. During World War II, Hiruzen Sarutobi's most favored candidate for the Fourth Hokage was actually Orochimaru. However, Orochimaru clearly went astray later on. At that time, it wasn't about research, but after experiencing the deaths of many comrades and close friends, his personality began to change. Orochimaru gradually became indifferent, and his popularity in the village declined. People only had 'awe' for Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, and no love for him.

In contrast, Tsunade was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and Jiraiya had a cheerful and outgoing personality. Orochimaru was gradually removed from the list of candidates for the Fourth Hokage. Although the Fourth Hokage was later Minato Namikaze, not Tsunade or Jiraiya, that was because Tsunade left the village voluntarily, and Jiraiya himself was unwilling to become the Fourth Hokage.

Otherwise.

According to normal order and prestige.

The Fourth Hokage must be one of the Legendary Sannin, either Jiraiya or Tsunade.

It's unlikely that it will be the water gate's turn.

Therefore, it is clear from this how high Orochimaru's status is in Konoha. To put it bluntly, unless he himself wants to betray the village, no one can do anything to him. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who is both the Hokage and his teacher, cannot easily shake Orochimaru's position.

Even Orochimaru, despite his stature, still had a group of loyal subordinates in the village, trained through two Shinobi World Wars.

From this perspective, Shoji is more inclined to believe that Orochimaru himself had wanted to defect from the original work. The series of disappearances seems more and more like a setup by Orochimaru himself. If he wanted to do something, he had to find some solid evidence and pay attention to the methods and means.

Otherwise, it's easy to get into trouble.

Of course, if the risks and rewards are truly mismatched, the commander will proactively change course and simply drift along. The opportunities to test Hiruzen Sarutobi are not many, but they are not limited to this one time. There is no need to hang on to one tree until death.

That's something only a fool would do.

Moreover, Orochimaru is no easy opponent. Even if Shoji himself is confident that he can suppress Orochimaru at this time, there is no need to take unnecessary risks.

'We'll have to see how things develop from here, but gathering more firsthand information is never a bad thing!'

As Jiang Si led his three subordinates back towards the location of the secret base, he silently pondered to himself.

Over the next few days, Shoji continued to lead his squad in carrying out routine search missions. He didn't search excessively or frantically, but he also didn't slack off at all. He remained true to his duties and upheld his responsibilities.

We must carry out the tasks assigned to us without any compromise.

However, it must be said that Orochimaru truly deserves to be called an expert in this field. Under the meticulous investigation of the two major ANBU squads, which consisted of dozens of elite ANBU members, not a single trace was exposed. It should be noted that among these people were members of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, ninja clans that are skilled in tracking.

And so, in the week since the order was issued.

It cannot be said that there were no gains.

It's fair to say that we didn't gather any useful intelligence at all.

Including some foreign business travelers entering and leaving the country, and even political figures and nobles, under the orders of the Third Hokage, these Anbu members secretly infiltrated to investigate, but still did not find a single useful piece of information. Not to mention the Anbu members below, even the Third Hokage frowned when he received feedback from the two Anbu squad leaders.

This is truly unusual!

This cast a heavy shadow over the Third Hokage's heart. While ordinary people might not be aware of such a large-scale search by the Anbu, Shimura Danzo, an elder of Konoha, and Orochimaru were able to understand it to some extent.

To exaggerate a bit, almost the instant the Anbu made a move, Shimura Danzo received the corresponding information, even though he didn't know what mission the two Anbu squads were going to carry out.

However, considering the current situation in the village, Danzo could easily guess it with just a little thought.

'Has Orochimaru's side been discovered? Hmph, I told him a long time ago to be more discreet. That guy is getting more and more out of control! We need to find a way to curb him. Now is not the time for him to be exposed. We still need him to deal with Hiruzen!!'

In the root base.

Danzo leaned on his wooden cane, a sinister glint in his exposed pupils as he thought to himself.

Danzo's collaboration with Orochimaru wasn't just about leveraging Orochimaru's research abilities; he also planned to use Orochimaru as a bargaining chip to strike at his old ally, Hiruzen Sarutobi, at certain crucial moments!

67. Orochimaru's Plan

Even at this stage.

Danzo Shimura still hadn't given up his ambition to become Hokage. In his view, the Third Hokage was too weak, both internally and externally. Konoha was the strongest ninja village in the world and should always remain strong. It was Konoha that had won three consecutive Shinobi World Wars. Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi always implementing the so-called peace ideals, Danzo Shimura was furious. His original plan was to seize the Hokage throne after Minato Namikaze's death. As long as Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't come back to cause trouble, he could organize a group of people and have a certain probability of taking the Hokage position.

Unexpectedly, Hiruzen Sarutobi reacted even faster, and with the support of Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and many other ninja clans, Hiruzen Sarutobi was able to return to the position of Hokage. This made Danzo Shimura feel extremely uncomfortable and even angry.

Therefore, Danzo Shimura would never allow Orochimaru to cause any problems; he was one of his trump cards!

"Go and pass on this message. Also, tell A to be ready at any time, understand?"

The room appeared to be empty.

As Danzo Shimura finished speaking.

"Yes!"

A deep, resounding reply followed.

"Whoosh!"

Immediately afterwards.

In the shadows of a corner, a dark figure flashed by.

He left the secret room directly to carry out the orders of Danzo Shimura, the leader of the Root family.

at the same time.

In a secret underground chamber somewhere in Konoha.

The flickering, dim light created an extremely dark atmosphere.

The room was filled with various sophisticated instruments. On the left frame were many bottles and jars, each seemingly filled with a variety of 'items'. If someone were to get closer for a look, they would be horrified to discover that those 'items' were all sorts of human organs and limbs!

And in such a secret room.

The air was thick with the stench of blood; the walls, tabletops, and floor were all stained with blood.

At this moment, in the center of this secret room, there is a long table with a somewhat shriveled corpse on it. A huge gash has been cut open in the abdomen, a dark red and deep laceration. If an ordinary person were to take a second look, they would definitely spill everything inside their stomach.

In this terrifying and gloomy environment, a tall, slender figure wearing a Konoha Jonin vest remained expressionless as he conducted various experiments on a corpse placed on a table, using surgical instruments.

Her skin was so pale it was almost bloodless, her long black hair cascading down her shoulders, and most importantly, her eyes, which resembled those of a snake.

This figure was none other than Orochimaru, the only disciple of the Third Hokage to remain in the village after the Third Shinobi World War!

He was conducting the experiment with great focus and care, seemingly unaffected by his surroundings. As the experiment progressed, a hint of excitement flickered in the depths of his snake-like eyes.

They know nothing of fatigue.

Orochimaru, whose only focus is on experiments.

For the past year or so, he has been alone here almost the entire time. This secret base is known only to Orochimaru, his most trusted subordinates, and Danzo Shimura.

'Um? '

Orochimaru, who was conducting the experiment at that moment, seemed to sense something, and paused slightly.

The snake's eyes turned around.

Looking at the deep passage behind him.

Is something the matter?

"Yes!"

Just as Orochimaru's effeminate words fell.

in the dark.

A figure suddenly appeared, kneeling on one knee in front of Orochimaru, presenting a scroll with both hands.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

As he took the scroll, he waved his hand gently.

That figure once again quietly disappeared into the darkness.

The light was extremely dim.

But this had no effect on Orochimaru. With a slight tremor of his right hand, the scroll was unfurled. As he looked at the contents, Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed, and his tongue, which had been unconsciously sticking out, lightly licked his lips. A sinister smile appeared on his face: "Is this the real deal? Sarutobi-sensei, huh? But it doesn't matter. Everything that needed to be done here is almost done. At most, it'll be a month. This isn't the future I want!"

If they stop now and immediately deal with all traces, there's an over 80% chance they won't be detected by the Anbu, as long as Danzo doesn't cause any trouble. However, Orochimaru clearly doesn't care at all. Instead of showing any restraint, he'll further accelerate his experimental process. He's already arranged the overseas bases, and once the final step of the experiment here is completed, he'll immediately defect from Konoha.

It doesn't matter if we get caught.

As for Shimura Danzo...

As clever as Orochimaru was, how could he not see through that old silver coin's intentions?

Ultimately, they were just using each other. In addition to using each other, Orochimaru looked down on Shimura Danzo. Although the two had been colluding for a long time in the original work, and Orochimaru later personally killed his teacher, in Orochimaru's mind, Shimura Danzo was not even half as good as his teacher.

He's just a clown.

His plans will not change.

Orochimaru will leave Konoha at the end of this month.

At the end of 49, he severed all ties with his past.

Then, in the new year, they will usher in a true rebirth.

"Sarutobi-sensei, is this really our last chance to be together?"