"How are you all feeling today?" Orochimaru asked.
At these words, everyone—except the three Uchiha who were still unconscious—glared at Orochimaru with expressions full of hatred.
These prisoners—male or female, rich or poor—had all gone through the exact same torture.
On the first day after being captured, Kumo ninja arranged for medical ninjas to heal their wounds.
The next day, Orochimaru injected each of them with an unknown drug.
Then, their body temperature regulation systems seemed to go into chaos, alternating between chills and heat waves.
From then on, every single day, Orochimaru came and drew a vial of blood from each of them.
What frustrated them most was that those damned Kumo bastards didn't intervene at all.
They even suspected that if they somehow managed to escape, their bodies would already be ruined.
That pervert Orochimaru clearly treated them as disposable test subjects.
Orochimaru smiled faintly. He took a syringe and transparent test tubes from his tool case and stepped into the prison cells to draw blood one by one.
"Orochimaru, you traitor!"
"Hokage-sama was right to banish you—you got exactly what you deserved!"
The Konoha prisoners shouted curses and insults at Orochimaru, trying to vent their rage.
Orochimaru completely ignored their angry shouting.
A blond medical ninja wearing a Kumo forehead protector named Hei entered the room and began healing the Uchiha clan members.
Looking up, Hei asked, "Senior Orochimaru, exactly what are you doing to them?"
"Just testing their resistance to medication."
While sticking labels onto the transparent test tubes and carefully writing down names and dates, Orochimaru calmly replied, "Don't worry—they won't die."
Hei nodded and stopped asking further questions.
After finishing their tasks, Hei and Orochimaru left the area one by one.
Soon afterward, a rattling sound echoed through the corridor as several Frost shinobi pushed a cart into the cell block, shaking it loudly while calling out:
"Time to eat!"
Since they weren't true allies, but rather those who'd willingly surrendered,
Kumo ninja wouldn't be careless enough to place Frost shinobi in important positions. Instead, they simply put them in charge of preparing meals for the prisoners.
Back at the Konoha camp, in the Medical Station…
"You Hyuga family certainly have an advantage in this field. Have you ever considered becoming a medical ninja?"
[Hiroki Hyuga], who was staring at the green-colored chakra radiating from his palms performing [Mystical Palm Technique], replied softly.
Besides fulfilling his duties, he spent most of his off-time in the Medical Station.
He already had a general understanding of the skill levels among the remaining medical ninja stationed here.
Still, he wasn't quite satisfied.
To truly delve deeper into Medical Ninjutsu, he needed to seek out Tsunade herself.
Bang!
The door slammed open as Might Guy rushed in carrying Kakashi in his arms, shouting desperately, "Doctor! Please help treat Kakashi's injuries—he needs your help badly!"
A duty nurse helped Kakashi lie down on a bed while examining his physical condition.
"What happened, Senior Kakashi? Senior Guy?" Hiroki Hyuga asked cautiously.
"We ran into Kakuzu… neither of us could defeat him," Might Guy said gloomily. "And we don't know what happened to our other comrades…"
"Kakashi, your injuries are severe. They won't heal in just a day or two. I suggest you return to the village tomorrow with the other injured shinobi," advised the medical ninja treating Kakashi.
"I'm fine," Kakashi replied, shaking his head and pushing away the medic who tried to continue treatment. "I need to report to Lord Danzo."
He exhaled deeply.
Another decisive mistake had been made—misjudging the enemy, which resulted in severe losses for his squad.
His sense of guilt deepened once again.
Before the medics could stop him, Kakashi walked out.
Might Guy wanted to follow, but others held him back. "Guy, you're also injured, aren't you?"
At the same time, in the Kumogakure camp, Dodai entered the broadcasting station his subordinates had set up earlier.
Looking at all the machines before him, he regretfully muttered, "I should've gone with projections."
"Dodai-sama, we can go back to the village for more equipment if needed."
"No, this will have to do for now."
In the Konoha command tent, only Danzo Shimura sat alone. A large map filled the table before him, covered with various data points. He sat frowning in thought, considering how best to deploy his forces.
Kakashi, feeling heavy-hearted, approached him and recounted the full details of his battle against Kakuzu.
Danzo Shimura remained silent for a long while, and Kakashi braced himself for scolding.
When Danzo finally opened his mouth, a deep male voice interrupted from outside.
"Good afternoon, everyone from Konoha."
Both Danzo and Kakashi froze briefly before quickly recovering.
What did the Kumo ninja have planned this time?
All the ninjas remaining at the camp heard the voice as well, their reactions mirroring those of Kakashi and Danzo.
"It's another one of those broadcast messages like the other night."
"This one is much clearer…"
At the Kumogakure camp, Dodai spoke again. "Today marks the thirty-seventh day of war between Konoha and Kumogakure. I wonder, do you still remember the teammates you fought beside?"
"Ehem, I won't waste words. Shiyao and Inryou—these two are currently in our custody."
To convince Konoha of his claim, he described both individuals in detail: their builds, appearances, and distinguishing features.
One was a fifteen-year-old Chunin; the other was a fourteen-year-old Chunin, belonging to the lesser-known In clan.
"Kumo offers them a chance to live—if Konoha wishes to redeem them, ten million ryo (ten thousand gold coins) per person."
Upon hearing this, Danzo snorted in disdain.
Such minor pawns—was it really worth saving them?
If Dodai hadn't given their details, Danzo wouldn't even have remembered these two names.
Dodai's voice continued, "You have three days. If money is short, supplies may be substituted. If Konoha fails to comply, we will execute them."
Then, Dodai's voice vanished.
Afterward, Hiroki Hyuga—who was staying at the medical station—let out a wry smile. "What kind of new ransom operation is this?"
"They could easily win outright, yet they still resort to these petty tricks," Kaguya added.
With the presence of Yugito and Yugao Uzuki, she functioned like an intelligence hub, capable of knowing the combat configurations of both villages.
With the combined strength of the three Akatsuki members, the small group led by Danzo Shimura wouldn't stand a chance.
Hiroki Hyuga said, "Strike their resolve along with their lives."
Danzo scoffed coldly, sneering inwardly.
Childish.
Of course, he wouldn't fall for such a trick. Once ransom was paid once, Kumogakure would probably start grabbing random people off the street and demanding money from Konoha.
Inside the Kumogakure camp, some people began discussing.
"Who is Shiyao? Does anyone know him?"
"I don't. I've only heard of Inryou."
"I know him. We've teamed up before. I thought he was killed in action, but apparently he was captured alive."
"That explains why they never brought back the bodies."
"Do you think Commander Danzo will rescue them?"
"Who knows."
"Do you guys think we should save him?"
"This..." The speaker hesitated. If it were him, he'd hope to stay alive as long as there was still a chance.
As Danzo stepped out of the command tent, he overheard those words. His mockery of Kumo's intelligence vanished instantly.
He had figured it out now.
Dying willingly for your village and being abandoned to die helplessly—those are two completely different things.
The Cloud ninja planned to stoke resentment among shinobi against Konoha using such a half-baked scheme.
In the Kumogakure camp, everyone had finished listening to everything Dodai had said.
"What a business genius. No need to worry about Kumo having no money to pay commissions after the war," Kakuzu praised.
"This is blatant open scheming. Konoha may not necessarily pay the money," Sasori of the Red Sands rasped.
"What's your take on this, Orochimaru?" Kakuzu asked, turning to him.
"...At least Danzo Shimura won't." Orochimaru smiled without smiling.
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