Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 79 Hatake, the victim of a setup

"Found it?"

Orochimaru looked at the information Jiraiya handed him, his face calm as usual, but a hint of surprise still showed in his eyes.

Jiraiya sat on the tatami mats and poured himself a shot of sake. "It's around Takigakure. So you already knew?"

Orochimaru did not deny it, but simply smiled faintly: "Jiraiya, it seems your intelligence-gathering abilities are getting better and better."

"Come on. Are you insulting me?" He'd be a fool to step into such an obvious trap.

"But speaking of which, I feel like your health is getting worse. You even smell faintly of blood. Are you injured?"

No.

"You're getting weirder and weirder." Jiraiya couldn't see through Orochimaru and could only shake his head.

Just as he was about to suggest that the two of them go together to capture the person, he suddenly received a message. A ninja hawk landed, bringing an urgent order. Jiraiya read it and frowned.

"The old man sent people. Three Jonin squads, along with the ANBU captain Hatake Sakumo and the head of the rogue ninja pursuit department, Shirakumo Sanma."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and said with a faint smile, "Quite a luxurious lineup."

"What luxury? This shows they don't trust me." Jiraiya stuffed the order into his robes: "Since they're here, I won't get involved. Leave the intelligence; I'm going back to teach my disciples."

Jiraiya didn't linger after he finished speaking. He quickly flipped over and leaped out of the attic, jumped to a distant rooftop, and disappeared in a few steps.

The reason he left so quickly was because he was carefully managing his expenses and hadn't given any money; naturally, he wanted to rip Orochimaru off.

Besides, he felt that the reason the rogue ninja escaped some time ago was simply because of the war and a series of unforeseen circumstances.

With so many experts pursuing him, he believed that the other party couldn't cause any trouble, and staying here would be pointless, so it was better to leave sooner rather than later.

As he tumbled and leaped among the trees, Jiraiya began to ponder: He had been away for so long, and he wondered how his disciples were doing, whether they had been harmed, or whether they had gone hungry.

Watching Jiraiya stride away, Orochimaru's lips curled into a cryptic smile.

"He really is the most unpredictable ninja among all of Master's ninjas. He managed to escape such a good show. But this is also a good thing. If Jiraiya had really stayed here, that guy probably wouldn't have been able to hold on."

Orochimaru coughed a few more times, spitting out a little blood: "The body's rejection process is truly a long and gradual one. I should go. If you want to see a good show, all you need to do is leave a clone behind. My current body can't withstand the attacks of some elite Jonin."

Orochimaru left behind a shadow clone, while his main body was taken away by a giant snake, and he quickly withdrew from the border area of ​​Takigawa.

Border of the Land of Waterfall.

Sakumo Hatake led the way, followed by three Jonin squads, totaling fifteen people. Including himself and Shirakumo, there were seventeen elite soldiers.

The lineup was indeed impressive, but for some reason, he felt a little uneasy as soon as he entered the place.

"Lord Hatake, what's wrong?" Baiyunshan noticed his unusual behavior and stepped forward to ask.

Sakumo Hatake shook his head: "I can't quite put my finger on it. It just feels...too quiet."

Looking around Baiyun Mountain, the forests were dense, and there was not a sound from the birds or beasts. It was indeed unusually quiet.

Be careful.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange change occurred.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly exploded, and countless white tentacles shot out from the earth like sharp arrows. The two Jonin were unable to dodge in time and were instantly pierced through.

"Enemy attack!"

Hatake Sakumo instantly drew his short sword and severed the tentacle that was attacking him. But his pupils suddenly contracted—the tentacle, even after being severed, was still alive and lunged at him.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A Jonin managed to unleash a burst of flames, burning the insect's tentacles to ashes, but in the next instant, an even greater attack came.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

"Fire Release: Head Carving!"

Two ninjutsu attacks came rushing in from the left and right. The wind fanned the flames, and a blazing storm of fire swept in.

Sakumo Hatake retreated rapidly, simultaneously unleashing a sharp slash with his sword, barely managing to break through the flames.

But the screams behind him made his heart sink. Two Jonin were engulfed in flames, rolling on the ground and howling in agony. Three others were caught in the flames, suffering burns in multiple places. Several other ninjas didn't even have a chance to fight back before being burned by the hottest part of this combined ninjutsu, their bodies turning into charred corpses.

In just a moment, six of the three Jonin squads were killed and four were injured.

As the flames subsided, two figures emerged from the forest.

A young man, surrounded by six off-white tentacles, each with a sharp, spear-like tip.

A masked man in black, with a gray headscarf and a Takigakure headband, was clearly a rogue ninja from Takigakure, with a sharp horizontal slash across it.

Sakumo Hatake gripped his short sword, his gaze sweeping over the two men. "Naoto, the strongest ninja in Takigakure. Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, with a bounty of 90 million ryo on his head at the Underground Exchange."

He frowned and gritted his teeth, saying, "Why would the ninjas of Takigakure and the rogue ninjas of Takigakure join forces to attack our Konoha people?"

Naoto said calmly, "Your Konoha invaded the territory of the Land of Waterfall, I was just protecting my own country."

Kakuzu, however, laughed.

"Join forces? Who joined forces with him?" He pointed at Naoto: "I don't know him, and we're not on the same side. I just heard that Konoha's White Fang led a team here, and I wanted to see how much your head was worth."

Sakumo Hatake frowned. This was a lie. The two of them had worked together just now, and they didn't seem to have any coordination.

In the current situation, we should try to avoid conflict if possible, and try to force the other party to back down if possible.

"We are acting on orders from Konoha to capture the rogue ninja Aburame Shisei. Please do not obstruct our mission; otherwise, you will be treated as enemies."

Before he could speak further, he felt a slight tremor beneath his feet. "Watch your step!"

He leaped to his feet and gave a warning, then slashed out with his sword, severing several black tentacles on the ground. But the other ninjas weren't so kind.

Many people reacted too slowly or were seriously injured, their bodies pierced by the black tentacles, and some even had their hearts taken away.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "Oh!"

"But we've already killed so many of your Konoha ninjas, aren't we enemies? Konoha is really quite lenient."

Naoto stepped forward and said, "You Konoha ninjas have such great authority, actually crossing borders to arrest people in another country. So, is this the arrogance of the strong and powerful nations? Are we, the weak Land of Waterfall, just supposed to be allowed to come and go as we please without any scruples?"