Warlock Invasion of Naruto.

Bai Yu sized up the five Anbu members in front of him and found that one of them had a familiar chakra, but what was most special was his eyes.

The four ANBU ninjas, who appeared to be male, had cold, numb eyes, like robots, showing absolutely no emotion.

Only the petite female ANBU behind him was someone Bai Yu could clearly sense was different.

Her gaze felt familiar to Bai Yu.

The three continued on their way, putting some distance between themselves and the five secret agents behind them.

On the way, Hyuga Hideto explained, "These five are Root's Anbu. Unlike the Hokage's direct Anbu, they only obey Danzo."

"Isn't the Anbu directly under the Hokage?" Bai Yu couldn't help but ask.

"That's true. However, the Third Hokage divided the Anbu in two, handing one part over to Lord Danzo. I've heard that even the Third Hokage couldn't interfere in Root's affairs."

Ninjas who enter Root undergo brainwashing and loyalty training. They are willing to use any means necessary and pay any price to complete their missions, which is very different from the Anbu directly under the Hokage.

Therefore, it's best to avoid getting involved with these people; if they target you, you'll be in big trouble.

Hyuga Hideto frowned and recounted the information he had heard from his family.

Bai Yu fell silent.

Can all directly subordinate powers be delegated?

Too much concentrated power leads to corruption, but too much dispersed power results in abysmal efficiency and can easily trigger internal strife.

The Anbu is an organization directly under the Hokage, responsible only to the Hokage. It is an extremely powerful force, and many ninjas consider it an honor to be able to train in the Anbu.

It seems that the Third Hokage trusted Danzo beyond measure; otherwise, how could he tolerate the existence of ANBU forces that he could not mobilize?

"Lord Danzo enjoys the deep trust of the three generations of lords and usually lives a secluded and mysterious life."

His Roots often undertake high-risk and high-difficulty missions.

In other villages, he was known as the "Dark One Who Endures".

The village ninjas all respected him.

However... he has never been very friendly to the Uchiha clan.

All the major families both respected and feared him.

Hyuga Hideto continued, his gaze turning to Uchiha Chiho as he finished speaking.

Bai Yu's heart skipped a beat. So Danzo was just the shadow of the Third Hokage, doing things that were inconvenient for him to do.

Being a ninja is not a respectable profession, so how could there be completely righteous and noble figures among them? Even if there were, they would never be among those in power.

Halfway there, Bai Yu finally remembered who the female ninja who seemed familiar was. Judging from her figure and eyes, she was clearly Yakushi Nono, who had disappeared from Konoha Hospital recently.

"So you're saying I'm the one who ruined her?"

It must be because Bai Yu shared some of the credit for inventing the [Healing Spell Scroll] with her last time that she was noticed by the Root.

Because Yakushi Nonou is skilled in medical ninjutsu and has a good personality, and treated Shiraha well in the medical training class, he thought of sharing some of the credit with her.

If Konoha is a mercenary organization, then Root is a terrorist organization. These Root ninjas have numb eyes, probably because they have been completely brainwashed.

Bai Yu meant well, but he ended up getting her into the Roots.

However, with his current abilities, he is not able to help her.

We can only wait for another opportunity to get her out.

10132231

[Chapter 57 Ceasefire]

Bai Yu and his men marched quickly and arrived at the front camp in two days.

At this time, due to the repeated defeats of Sunagakure, the battle line had advanced from the western border of the Land of Fire to the heart of the Land of Rivers.

If the fighting continues, Konoha's forces will invade the Land of Wind's mainland.

When they arrived at the camp, Orochimaru was holding a war meeting, so Shiraha and the others were first taken into the tent.

Taking advantage of the free time, Bai Yu went to the camp where the wounded were being housed to help.

Pushing open the simple wooden gate, Bai Yu felt as if he had entered another world.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of blood and disinfectant.

The cries of the wounded echoed from every tent, and the medical staff were so busy that they kept moving between the tents.

Clearly, there is a severe shortage of manpower.

Bai Yu joined the ranks of medical staff.

Although he was used to seeing bloodshed, he was still shocked by the horrific scene inside the tent when he entered.

This is still the Konoha camp with the best and highest level of medical facilities; the situation in Sunagakure is probably even worse.

Whether it was the injured or the medical staff, Bai Yu saw numbness in their eyes, as if they had lost all hope for everything.

A sense of oppression filled the space.

According to his estimation, the war should be over.

The Land of Wind is the largest of the five great nations in terms of land area, yet most of the country is desert.

If Konoha were to invade the Land of Wind, not only would the battle lines be stretched thin, but more importantly, it would be difficult to obtain supplies. Even if they wanted to burn, kill, and plunder, they would need people and villages to do so.

Judging from the condition of the injured and medical staff, if the fighting continues, the internal structure will likely collapse first.

......

By the time they arrived at the White Feather Wounded Camp, it was already evening.

Even with his physical strength, he felt sore back and weak legs.

Bai Yu went to the river to fetch water, took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and then went to see Orochimaru with Uchiha Chiho and Hyuga Eito.

The three arrived at Orochimaru's private tent.

"You've arrived." Orochimaru turned to the three of them, wiping his hands with a towel, and said in a gentle tone, "The Third Hokage should have already explained things to you. From now on, the three of you are my subordinates."

His face showed obvious signs of fatigue.

In Bai Yu's eyes, Orochimaru in front of him was more like a living person than the one in the anime, and no different from other ninjas.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"

The three bowed slightly.

"Just call me teacher. I don't have any tasks assigned to you yet." Orochimaru smiled slightly, looking at the three of them, his gaze mainly focused on Shiraha.

"Yes!" Hyuga Hideto stood tall and straight, his posture as upright as a javelin, clearly showing his admiration for Orochimaru.

This is not surprising. In terms of achievements and reputation, Orochimaru may not be as good as Tsunade and White Fang, but in terms of popularity among newcomers, Orochimaru is undoubtedly the number one in Konoha.

Orochimaru possesses a kind of effeminate and cold beauty. In addition, he comes from an ordinary ninja family but has amazing talent. Although he looks aloof, he takes great care of his comrades, especially his juniors, and has an excellent reputation in Konoha.

Especially for young newcomers, it's hard not to see the handsome and aloof Orochimaru as a role model for striving.

It has to be said that even Bai Yu changed his preconceived notions about Orochimaru from the anime, and felt Orochimaru's unique personal charm.

"You all go out first, I have something to say to Bai Yu," Orochimaru said.

"Yes!"

Hyuga Hideto maintained his upright posture, but as he turned to leave, his eyes held a deep envy for Shiraha.

Having been in the same class for over a year, this was the first time Bai Yu had seen Hyuga Eito show such an expression, while Uchiha Chiho remained very calm.

Of course, Bai Yu also deserves credit for this.

Before leaving the village, he and Hyuga Eito repeatedly reminded her that after meeting Orochimaru, she must be "cold" and absolutely not show any "friendliness".

If you don't want to laugh, then don't laugh!

"Is Nawaki alright?" Orochimaru's gentle voice rang out, a hint of concern in his eyes.

“Nabatsuki is in good condition and has fully recovered from his injury. He now exercises regularly every day. Before I came, he asked me to give you my regards.”

Bai Yu explained.

"Hmm." Orochimaru nodded, his expression relaxing slightly, and continued, "How much of the cell activation scroll I gave you have you mastered?"

"This..." Bai Yu was taken aback. He wanted to keep a low profile, but when he thought of the First Hokage's cells, he replied, "I have mastered them all!"

"Oh? You've mastered it all?!" Orochimaru frowned slightly, his expression surprised. "It seems I underestimated your talent in medical ninjutsu."

"I just put in more effort."

Bai Yu acted very modestly.

Orochimaru gave him a deep look, as if trying to see right through him, then relaxed his brow and said:

“I don’t care if you have other motives, as long as you keep your promise and are aligned with my goals, I will teach you everything I know.”

"Yes! Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei!" Bai Yu said respectfully, somewhat excitedly.

This time it wasn't an act, because Orochimaru's attitude subtly suggested that he wanted to take him on as a disciple.

He is now Orochimaru's subordinate. According to Konoha's class system, Orochimaru can teach him some ninjutsu or similar abilities if he is willing.

Orochimaru is both his boss and his teacher.

He just said he would teach me everything he has learned, which would be a higher level of master-disciple relationship.

Bai Yu was worried about how to obtain the snake bloodline from Ryuchi Cave!

"I'm not as good as Tsunade at medical ninjutsu, but she's not as good as me at developing forbidden techniques and conducting experimental research. Once the war is over, you can come with me. I guess the Third Hokage had this in mind when he made you his subordinate."

Orochimaru said calmly.

"Yes!" Bai Yu had no doubt about Orochimaru's abilities.

Orochimaru in the anime fits the style of a wizard very well, with all sorts of amazing forbidden techniques and research emerging one after another. If he hadn't been careless, he wouldn't have had his hands sealed by the Third Hokage.

"Go and rest first. The number of wounded shouldn't increase during this period. Your task is to take good care of this group of wounded. They should be able to return to the village in a while," Orochimaru continued.

Bai Yu was somewhat puzzled. Was it really time for a ceasefire?

Seeing that Bai Yu seemed hesitant to speak, Orochimaru took the initiative to say, "The ANBU sent by the village were to deliver a message to Sunagakure. The higher-ups have decided to take the initiative to negotiate a peace and ceasefire."