Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

The pipe had long since gone out, and he had forgotten to light it.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sat to the side, their expressions extremely complicated.

"Severely injured the Raikage...forced Orochimaru to retreat...Shisui is suspected of awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan..."

Koharu's voice trembled slightly, whether from shock or anger, "Hiruzen, this... if this news is true, then..."

"Tang Dong and Zhu Que wouldn't make up reports about such things."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke slowly, his voice low and deep:

"Moreover, the intelligence from the Dark Division also corroborated the rumors on the black market and the information about the underground gold exchange. The details were so detailed that they didn't seem to be fabricated out of thin air."

"The Mangekyou Sharingan... the Uchiha clan..." Mitokado Homura frowned deeply.

"That child Shisui, at this time... Is this a blessing or a curse? Danzo's side is probably going to cause trouble again."

“Danzo…” A fierce glint flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes:

"He's under house arrest. Tell him to stay put. Pass on my order: the matter of Uchiha Shisui awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan is classified as top secret and is forbidden from being circulated or discussed."

The third generation tried to downplay the situation.

Many people don't actually know what a "kaleidoscope" is. If we downplay it, it shouldn't cause much confusion.

But the key point is... the Uchiha clan!

The Third Hokage took a deep breath and continued to order: "Immediately issue a commendation order in my name to the Shadow Guard, praising their merit in repelling a powerful enemy and severely injuring the Raikage."

"Furthermore, order them to hold their positions and not to act without my further instructions. Let them keep a low profile for a while."

"Hiruzen, what are you doing..." Koharu Utatane asked, puzzled.

"The tallest tree in the forest will surely be felled by the wind."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, his eyes filled with complex emotions:

"Qingwu and Zhishui have caused a huge commotion this time."

"Seriously injuring the Raikage certainly boosted Konoha's prestige, but it also put him, Shisui, and even the entire Konoha in the spotlight."

"Kumakuya will not let this go. Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and even other forces will be watching them."

"What we need now is not to continue our rapid advance, but to consolidate our gains and build up our strength."

"At the same time... let's see how everyone reacts, and let those two children lay low for a while."

Mitokado Homura nodded: "Hiruzen's consideration is indeed thorough, but... Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan can't be kept secret from the Uchiha clan, I'm afraid..."

It was brought up eventually, and the Third Hokage rubbed his temples in exasperation.

“I will personally summon Chief Fugaku,” he said in a deep voice.

Mitokado Yan and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance and slowly nodded.

……

Northern part of the Land of Fire

An underground gold exchange location.

Kakuzu counted the banknotes he had just received with great satisfaction, his green eyes gleaming with the light of money.

Standing before me were intelligence personnel from the underground gold exchange.

The staff member secretly twitched the corners of his mouth, and asked with a forced smile:

"Mr. Kakuzu, could you please provide more details regarding the Wood Release: Sage Mode and the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

The horn carefully put away the banknotes and said slowly:

"I need to continue investigating the specific details. Hmm, I'll come back to sell again next week!"

The staff member hurriedly said, "We can offer a high price right now; many parties have shown great interest in this intelligence."

Kakuzu snorted coldly, "I will give you an answer as soon as possible."

He did it on purpose.

He would first send out a portion of the intelligence, then sell it in separate batches to maximize his profits.

The staff at the gold exchange clearly understood this, but they were helpless against someone of Kakuzu's caliber.

After waving away the staff, Kakuzu leaned back in his chair, in a good mood.

The depression from losing a heart was swept away.

He could almost see more money beckoning to him.

"Thousand-Handed Green Wu... Heh, keep making trouble. The bigger the trouble, the more valuable my information will be."

……

—In the land of fields, in an underground laboratory.

Orochimaru stood in front of a huge cultivation tank, in which was submerged a portion of the tissue from the withered tree guard he had obtained in a trade with Qingwu.

Green nutrient solution flows in the cultivation tank, and countless tiny tubes are connected to a piece of bark.

Beside it, various colored lights flashed on the instrument, monitoring its various data.

Orochimaru has always been incredibly proactive, and he immediately began his research upon returning.

He picked up a notebook and began writing something rapidly, his golden snake eyes filled with fanaticism.

After a long time...

He put down his notebook, bit his finger, and summoned a giant tree spirit.

Gently stroking the tree spirit's withered bark, Orochimaru murmured softly, "Qingwu-kun... just how many secrets are you still hiding?"

He licked his lips, a calculating glint in his eyes.

Research doesn't yield results overnight, but every new thing he's never seen before is worth all his effort.

"Six months..."

"That's enough for me to do a lot of things."

"The original plan was to find that organization in the Land of Rain to trade and exchange for some things."

"Well, we need to go later. Let's finish recording the preliminary experiments first."

"Qingwu-jun... Heh, I'm not lying to you this time. Dragon Cave is not easy for even me to enter. At that time..."

"Hehe, I also want to see if you... can help me... probe out something deeper."

"Of course, that's assuming... you can get there alive, hehehe..."

Orochimaru's hoarse and eerie chuckle echoed in the cold laboratory.

……

—Konoha Frontline Outpost.

Qiu Daotang handed a newly delivered encrypted scroll to Qingwu, his expression a mix of relief and helplessness.

"The Hokage's latest orders, commendation orders, and new mission arrangements are all included."

Qingwu took the scroll, decrypted it, and quickly browsed through it.

The preceding section contained a formulaic commendation, praising the Shadow Guard for their "heroic fighting and the enhancement of Konoha's reputation."

The rewards are indeed generous—five times the pay of a regular S-rank mission, plus a large amount of merit records.

However, money is no longer a big deal for Qingwu at this point.

But the subsequent order was quite clear: "Given the current complex situation, in order to consolidate the gains and avoid unnecessary escalation of conflict, the Shadow Guard is hereby ordered to take effect immediately..."

Qingwu understood why Qiu Daotang had that expression.

This experienced person probably... can guess without even looking what the Third Hokage is giving orders at this time.

"The instructions given to the Shadow Guard should be similar to the orders given to the main camp, right?"

Qiu Daotang watched as Qingwu put away the scroll before asking, "Are you not allowed to launch attacks without authorization? Nor are you allowed to leave the defensive line for long-distance reconnaissance or to provoke others?"

Qingwu smiled, "Senior Tangdong is right."

Akimichi Toudou complained, "I originally planned to push the battle line to the border of the Land of Lightning, but now it seems that it is impossible to continue."

After saying that, he complained again:

"Now that Uncle Qu Feng hasn't shown up, I understand why. He's smart; he knows that both sides will exercise restraint in this battle."

“But the Hidden Cloud Village used the Tailed Beasts from the very beginning,” Qingwu said, puzzled.

Qiu Daotang waved his hand:

"They were just planning a swift and decisive strike, then taking a bite out of us during the peace talks. Heh, they didn't expect Konoha to have a genius like you."

At this point, Akimichi Tou sighed, "Actually, I understand the village. The Hokage... he's under a lot of pressure too!"

Qingwu squeezed the scroll in his hand; this result was actually within his expectations.

After causing such a commotion, it would be strange if the Konoha leadership still allowed him to lead the Shadow Guard on attacks everywhere.

Akimichi Tangdong sighed: "You guys are too popular. Now the eyes of the entire ninja world are probably on you, and on us."

"Alright, let's keep a low profile then. Keeping a low profile for a while will be good for you and for Konoha."

Qingwu nodded thoughtfully.

Qiu Daotangdong also said:

"Perfect timing. With the year-end approaching, the Cloud Village has completely retreated into hiding, and that old guy Tsuchitai has even voluntarily given up several outposts. We can finally have a relatively peaceful year-end."

"Year……"

Qingwu was somewhat dazed; before she knew it, the second New Year since her transmigration was approaching...

Chapter 216 Another year has passed! Dawn!

December 31st, Lunar New Year's Eve!

The atmosphere at the front-line outpost was completely different from usual.