To the north of Konoha, beyond the high walls, stretches an endless sea of trees. Hidden deep underground within this forest lies a vast space—not a natural cave, but a base carved out by human hands. Flickering lights gradually dispel the darkness, yet fail to completely mask the eerie, chilling atmosphere.
"Please follow me. Lord Orochimaru is in the lab," the young guide said, turning around. His pale, patterned haori gently swayed as he moved, his long ponytail trailing down to his waist. Though he looked slim and somewhat frail, his guest could sense the considerable chakra concealed within his seemingly fragile frame.
"Seriously, Haku, don't stick with that crazy Orochimaru. Come with me! With your temperament, Konoha is a better fit than following Orochimaru's twisted path. If you're not into fighting, you could work as a doctor at Konoha Hospital or with the pharmacists."
Haku smiled faintly. "You're joking. Lord Orochimaru gave me a purpose."
His smile lit up the dim space momentarily, causing the guest to click his tongue in annoyance.
"Tch," he muttered. "That lucky bastard, Orochimaru. First he had Kimimaro, and now he's got you. I guess the Mist's luck really is low! Anyway, Haku, remember—Konoha's doors are always open for you. Come whenever you're ready."
By now, they had reached the laboratory inside the base.
"Oh, Susumu! I heard that, you know. Trying to poach my people on my turf—pretty shameless, don't you think?" Orochimaru looked up from the experiment table, where he had been studying some notes, and cast a glance at both Haku and… Uchiha Susumu.
"Cut the crap. If I failed, there's nothing to complain about. Wait until I succeed before whining."
Orochimaru rolled his eyes, chuckling despite himself.
What kind of twisted logic was that?
No, it wasn't even logic—it was pure nonsense. Orochimaru sneered. "Susumu, the only reason I haven't killed you is because I can't be sure I'd win. If I could, you'd be long gone."
"More useless talk. If you were strong enough, Konoha would already be yours," Susumu shot back, his tone aggressive. "Enough chit-chat. I'm not here to talk about pointless stuff. Any movements from the Akatsuki recently?"
"Same as usual. Three days ago, Pain used the Hologram Jutsu to hold a meeting, but nothing noteworthy came up. Kakuzu and Hidan, those two zombies, have been active around the Land of Rivers, but their exact location is unknown. My main body is with that loud brat Deidara in the Land of Waterfalls, but I can't tell you the specifics. As for Pain… he's probably still in the Hidden Rain Village."
Orochimaru was unfazed about sharing intel on the Akatsuki, as he had done so many times before. From the start, he'd joined the organization with ulterior motives, so he felt no guilt over betraying their secrets. Besides, the paired-operations rule wasn't strictly enforced; even Kakuzu couldn't keep an eye on him constantly, let alone Deidara, who was still young and inexperienced.
If you're wondering how Susumu and Orochimaru became allies, it's pretty simple. Back when Konoha clashed with the Hidden Cloud, Susumu traded information with Orochimaru in exchange for the Banana Palm Fan, one of the Six Paths' treasured tools. That first transaction naturally led to further collaborations.
Susumu wanted to get his hands on Orochimaru's other Six Paths tools. Meanwhile, Orochimaru was interested in Susumu's intelligence and items. The fact that Susumu was a Konoha elder and associating with a rogue like Orochimaru didn't trouble him. Their alliance was purely business—when it no longer served him, Susumu would gladly cut off Orochimaru's head, though he knew it might not be easy to finish off the slippery snake.
And so, Konoha's advisor and an S-rank rogue ninja maintained a delicate cooperation.
"No signs of movement at all?" Susumu asked.
"Why, has something happened in Konoha?"
"You don't know?"
"Oh! So something interesting did happen after all!" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
It seemed his spies in Konoha needed a warning—or, if necessary, a complete replacement.
"So your intel network isn't so perfect after all, Orochimaru. You didn't even hear about this…" Susumu sneered. "But it's no surprise. Technically, it hasn't affected Konoha directly. The former Twelve Guardian Ninja, Kazuma, has attacked Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Mist over the past two months, capturing ninjas with kekkei genkai. His motives are unclear, but whatever it is, it's bound to be bad news for Konoha. No clues on this on your end?"
"Kazuma of the Twelve Guardian Ninja… I know of him, but no, no activity in the organization that I've heard."
Orochimaru frowned. He knew about Kazuma; he had once looked into the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden jutsu, but it didn't pique his interest, and he was busy enough with the forbidden techniques left by the Second Hokage.
But he was well aware of the attack five years ago that left Eiki dead.
"Susumu, do you think Kazuma has any connection to the Akatsuki?" Orochimaru asked, catching on quickly to Susumu's line of thought.
"No one's mentioned recruiting Kazuma for the Akatsuki? You said Pain could use more manpower, so why not bring him in? Kazuma, as a former Guardian Ninja with the Tsuchigumo forbidden jutsu, isn't exactly weak. Why wasn't he recruited?"
Susumu's retort caused Orochimaru to pause in thought.
"I'm just a minor player in the organization; it's not my decision to make. But I see what you mean. You think that Pain, or perhaps that guy who claims to be Uchiha Madara, may have already reached out to Kazuma?"
It took only a moment for Orochimaru to understand Susumu's implication.
"It's a possibility, though I have no evidence."
"That's enough," Susumu replied. "As long as your people don't cause trouble, that's all I need." He had sought out Orochimaru to confirm the Akatsuki's movements, just in case Kazuma and the Akatsuki were secretly plotting against Konoha. If so, it would be a nightmare, even for him. After all…
Each member of the Akatsuki is a top-tier ninja in the world. Pain, Konan, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, Deidara, Hidan... Even if one or two of them are less impressive, overall, if these people joined forces, they could easily take down a ninja village.
Just Pain alone nearly flattened Konoha by himself.
"Alright, that's all for now. I'm out."
With that, Sougen dismissed his shadow clone jutsu, disappearing in a puff of smoke.
At that moment, Haku entered the room with freshly made tea.
"Huh? He's already gone?" Haku blinked in surprise, looking down at the tray with two steaming cups, noticing Orochimaru as the only one left in the lab.
"He left quickly. I wanted to ask him about that thing with Hema hunting down those with kekkei genkai... Haku, head over to the Sound Village and get those idiots there to gather information about recent attacks on Cloud, Rock, and Mist ninjas. I can't believe there's been no report on this. Honestly... feel free to dispose of a few if necessary."
"Understood..." Haku responded.
With that, Orochimaru also dismissed his shadow clone.
Now, Haku stood alone in the spacious lab.
"The tea... guess I'll just drink it myself?"
In Konoha, Hokage's office.
"Ahh..." Sougen put down his pen, massaging his forehead and processing the intel his shadow clone had gathered. "Orochimaru's words aren't entirely trustworthy, but… it seems Hema hasn't fully aligned with the Akatsuki, at least not to the extent Orochimaru and the others have. This incident… it's either Hema acting alone or that Uchiha Obito stirring up trouble behind the scenes."
Between the two possibilities, he leaned towards the latter.
Though Sougen hadn't interacted with Hema personally, he doubted Hema had the skill to pinpoint and attack Cloud, Rock, and Mist ninjas with kekkei genkai over just a couple of months, while also avoiding any direct clashes with those villages. Such precise intel-gathering abilities were practically impossible for one person.
Even Orochimaru, with his extensive network and hideouts scattered across the ninja world, wouldn't claim to know the affairs of all five villages at any moment. Orochimaru's insight into Konoha's intel stemmed from his roots in the village; even after multiple purges following his defection, some of his informants likely remained.
But Hema? As a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, he couldn't have extended his reach into Cloud, Rock, and Mist villages so quickly. Doing so would require significant time and a team of trained spies. Planting agents within the five major ninja villages isn't easy.
Unless Hema had full support from the Daimyo of Fire and his organization, the Oniwabanshu.
"Knock, knock!"
A quick knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in! What's the matter?" Sougen looked up as Kabuto entered with a sealed letter.
"Urgent intel," Kabuto said, handing over the letter. "This is a confidential report jointly sent by Mangetsu and Kakashi. Hema tricked them—Sumiru Mountain isn't where he and his team are based, though they found something else there."
"…Chimeric beasts?" Sougen's brows shot up as he skimmed the unusual term, "What kind of creatures are these? Strange hounds with crossbows on their backs? Self-regenerating snakes? Birds with exploding feathers... all merging into a bigger creature? What kind of nonsense is this? Do they have to press fingers together to combine or something?"
"Press fingers together?" Kabuto looked puzzled, wondering if this was some fusion ritual. Nothing in the letter mentioned it, so perhaps this was classified information from the advisor?
"I was joking—don't worry about that. What matters now is the origin of these creatures. Mangetsu and Kakashi wouldn't make this up, so Sumiru Mountain might not be Hema's hideout, but it seems someone is certainly creating monsters there… Also, why is Lady Tsunade with them?"
The letter wasn't long.
But its content was full of surprises.
The letter described their encounters without clearly explaining what transpired, leaving Sougen confused.
"The source of these chimeric beasts is still unknown, but... check the end of the letter. It appears Lady Tsunade is quite familiar with these creatures, so we may have more intel soon."
"…Lady Tsunade is familiar with them?"
Sougen's frown eased.
Though they hadn't tracked down Hema, strictly speaking, this mission wasn't a complete failure. Encountering Tsunade, who seemed knowledgeable about these chimeric beasts, wasn't a waste of effort. If they could use this opportunity to bring her back to the village and finalize the Fifth Hokage decision…
"Send a message to Kakashi and Mangetsu. Tell them it's fine if they can't find Hema, but they must bring Lady Tsunade back, no matter what method they need to use."
"…They'll be quite frustrated."
"That's their problem."
"I understand."
Kabuto shrugged, agreeing.
After all, it wasn't his headache—let Kakashi and Mangetsu figure it out!
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