The sky was overcast.
Rain poured down in sheets.
Beneath the cliff, the area teemed with shinobi, like swarms of black marching ants. The wind and rain couldn't extinguish their burning passion for the Sharingan.
The Uchiha squad was completely surrounded.
"The old man is too biased. We're both S-rank rogue ninja, but when they came after me, it wasn't nearly this extravagant."
Orochimaru stood atop Manda's head, arms crossed, gazing down at the battlefield with disdain. After speaking, he turned to glance toward the ancient forest behind him.
Manda scoffed, "What's with the attitude?
If you've got a problem, go talk to that old fossil Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Get him to order Konoha's northwest border forces to focus solely on you, Orochimaru."
"Heh."
Orochimaru chuckled softly, ignoring the giant snake's lack of understanding of human sarcasm.
He glanced sideways at the main battlefield and the cliffs nearby. A smirk curved his lips.
He sensed two familiar chakra signatures there.
The three Sannin, long separated.
Ever since Orochimaru defected from Konoha and joined the Akatsuki, the three hadn't met again. Back then, Jiraiya had sworn he'd drag him back to the village himself.
But Orochimaru had been on the run for years—and hadn't even seen Jiraiya's shadow.
Most likely, Jiraiya had abandoned that pursuit, returning to his journey to find the Child of Prophecy, and left his former close friend behind entirely.
Yet now, they had crossed paths again.
"To the cliffs," Orochimaru said, golden eyes flashing with anticipation.
"You're not going to help those poor Uchihas on the front line?" Manda asked while twisting its massive body toward the cliffs.
Wherever the purple serpent passed, trees toppled and the ground trembled faintly.
"Heh, the ones to pity are the shinobi surrounding the Uchiha. I have my own task."
Orochimaru's voice was cold and amused.
"Fine."
Manda slithered to the cliffside, lowering its head. Its cold, green vertical pupils gleamed with greed and arrogance.
It glanced down at the battlefield, observing the densely packed shinobi below, and said coldly:
"This time you summoned me, I want 100 living humans as tribute.
These shinobi, their bodies have been refined by chakra—they'll taste far better than ordinary humans.
When the battle ends, I'll devour them!"
"Sorry, that's not up to me. You'll have to ask Yu-kun how he plans to handle them. Go now—deliver the latest intel to Yu."
Orochimaru slowly approached the cliff's edge. He shot Manda a sideways glance before smiling and walking toward his two old friends.
"No rush. I want to see whether this Yu-kun you value so highly is really worth my help!"
A cunning glint flickered in Manda's cold emerald pupils. It had no intention of immediately obeying Orochimaru.
"Suit yourself. Just as long as you make a move when the time comes."
Orochimaru replied flatly.
He turned his back to Manda, ignoring the prideful summoned beast.
At the cliff's edge—
Jiraiya and Tsunade stood tense and wary. Shizune trembled in fear. If Tsunade weren't there, she would have fled immediately.
But after hearing Orochimaru tell Manda to assist Yu and the others, her taut nerves relaxed slightly.
"Long time no see, Tsunade, Jiraiya."
Orochimaru allowed the torrential rain to soak him, his body drenched as he calmly walked toward the three of them.
The four stood in a line.
Shizune held her breath and immediately stepped back, standing behind Tsunade to hold the umbrella for her.
The three Sannin now stood upon the cliff.
"You're here to help the Uchiha?" Tsunade, standing between Orochimaru and Jiraiya, narrowed her sharp phoenix eyes and sized up Orochimaru in his Akatsuki cloak. Her aura was no weaker than his.
This was just like Orochimaru—always scheming, always ambitious.
Jiraiya's face was solemn. He leaned forward and looked at Orochimaru, speaking gravely, "Orochimaru, stop being so stubborn. Come back with me and atone for your crimes!"
"Shhh."
Orochimaru raised a finger to his lips, a mocking smile on his face. His golden slit pupils locked onto Jiraiya as he said calmly:
"What I just said already makes my position clear. I'm only here to catch up— I'm not interested in arguing about right and wrong. Let's just watch how this battle unfolds, shall we?"
Jiraiya glanced sidelong at Tsunade, who remained motionless beside him. He knew that without her help, he had no chance of capturing Orochimaru. With a heavy sigh, he said:
"Tsunade, when this battle ends, come back with me. Konoha needs you right now."
Tsunade shot him a glance and replied firmly:
"Konoha has nothing to do with me anymore. Besides, I despise bureaucracy—you of all people should know that."
Jiraiya sighed helplessly:
"You always say you don't care about Konoha, but in truth, you're more informed than I am. You've kept up with the village far better than I have."
"Heh."
Orochimaru stood there smiling, quietly watching Jiraiya attempt to win Tsunade over. He didn't mind enjoying the drama before the battle began.
"Jiraiya, you're still as delusional as ever."
Tsunade raised her pale neck and gazed down toward the cliff below, her expression emotionless as she spoke calmly:
"I just don't want Konoha to be destroyed by those old fools. You know what? When I heard the news of Danzo's death, I actually felt a bit of joy."
"..."
Jiraiya was at a loss for words, unsure how to continue persuading her.
"Heh."
Orochimaru glanced sideways at Tsunade and Jiraiya, chuckled softly, then lost interest in the two of them.
He could vouch for it.
Tsunade wasn't lying.
Back when they were in Konoha, Jiraiya had indeed been overly self-assured—mistakenly believing Tsunade had a crush on him.
But the truth was, even if Tsunade hadn't been hung up on Dan Katō, she still wouldn't have chosen Jiraiya as a partner. She had never had romantic feelings for him.
Whoosh—
The wind howled.
Rain poured like a waterfall.
A sea of shinobi surrounded the Uchiha squad, closing in to about 500 meters before halting. No one dared to rush forward recklessly.
Before this, Konoha had widely spread information—through every available channel—about Uchiha Yu's Mangekyō Sharingan abilities.
As a result, rogue ninja and those from minor villages all got wind of it, and many developed the delusion that they could intervene too, believing they had a shot.
The allure of the Sharingan was strong.
But they weren't fools. Everyone understood that the first to make a move would undoubtedly be the one to face the full fury of the Uchiha's retaliation.
For now, the situation was at a standstill.
At the edge of the forest—
"Big bro, they don't seem like they're going to attack. Are they trying to trap us here, cut off our supplies, and starve us to death?
What a wicked strategy!
But they definitely didn't count on one thing...
Last night, I ate today's portion of food too.
Right now, I'm not hungry!!"
Tamao surveyed the halted ninja forces and declared seriously.
"?"
The entire Uchiha squad collectively sweatdropped.
They sighed inwardly.
They had thought Tamao might finally act serious in a situation like this. Clearly, they'd expected too much—he always lost his mind the moment he had downtime.
There were too many enemies.
It was unlikely they'd really try to starve them out with such an unreliable tactic.
Yu didn't respond. His eyes were on the cliff, where he noticed that Hiashi Hyuga and the Hyuga clan's forces had already begun to withdraw.
Behind the cliff—
"Clan leader, you truly have foresight. You'd already planned for this."
A Hyuga branch family shinobi praised him flatteringly.
Hiashi's weathered face eased slightly as a small smile curved his lips.
How could he not have foreseen this? Using a rabble of loosely aligned forces as cannon fodder—of course something like this would happen.
No matter.
He was the one responsible for lighting the fuse.
Hiashi kept his Byakugan active, scanning the battlefield ahead. Suddenly, his eyes twitched—the scene he had been waiting for had finally appeared.
Swish—Swish—Swish—
The sound of projectiles slicing through air echoed.
From all directions, some shinobi suddenly launched attacks toward the Uchiha position—kunai, shuriken, senbon needles, and even long-range ninjutsu.
All at once—
The leaders of the rogue ninja and minor villages were dumbfounded. They looked around in shock—no one had given the order, and yet someone in their ranks had taken the initiative to attack the Uchiha!
°°°
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