In the Land of Fire, near the northeastern border not far from the Land of Hot Water, a portion of Konoha's ninja army had set up camp within a dense forest.
Inside the commander's tent, Orochimaru sat quietly, holding a recently opened, secret letter.
"It's actually the four of them. Interesting!" After reading the contents of the letter, a peculiar glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he murmured to himself.
Boom!
Just as Orochimaru finished reading the letter, a violent explosion sounded from not far from the ninja army's camp. Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he immediately stood up and walked out of the tent.
Looking out, he saw a thick plume of smoke rising in the distance, outside the dense forest. Within the army camp, the numerous Konoha ninja who heard the commotion rushed out of their tents.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
From within the crowd, Hiashi Hyuga and Yuto Sarutobi, who held important positions in the ninja army, approached.
Whoosh!
"Orochimaru-sama, the outer sentries have spotted Kumogakure's ninja army, led by the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, approaching the camp," A Konoha shinobi appeared before Orochimaru in a burst of speed, reporting loudly.
"Prepare for battle!" Orochimaru calmly uttered two words.
After speaking, Orochimaru's body began to slowly burn. Seconds later, his figure disappeared from the spot.
"Follow me!"
Behind him, Hiashi Hyuga and Yuto Sarutobi each called out to a group of ninja and quickly followed in the direction of the explosion.
Outside the dense forest, five Konoha ninja squads were tensely guarding the edge of the woods. In the distance, a cloud of dust billowed as a Kumogakure ninja army of several hundred was charging towards them.
At the very front of the Kumogakure ninja force, a beautiful female ninja with long, straight, beige-brown hair ran ahead. This was none other than Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii! She was also the commander of this attacking Kumogakure ninja army.
Seeing the few Konoha squads steadfastly defending the edge of the forest, a cold smile appeared on Yugito's beautiful face. Then, as Yugito ran, a blue cat tail suddenly sprouted from behind her, and she spewed a mouse-shaped flame from her mouth. The flame split into more than ten blue homing fireballs in the air, which flew straight towards the Konoha ninja squads.
"Not good! It's Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchuriki!"
Seeing Yugito partially transformed into her Tailed Beast form, the captains of the Konoha ninja squads turned pale and called out to their team members to dodge and take cover in the dense forest. But the blue homing fireballs followed them into the woods.
Aaaah!
Boom!
Several screams and explosions rang out, and flames erupted in the forest. With just one attack from Yugito, several members of the Konoha ninja squads perished.
"Captain, we can't win, let's retreat!" Inside the forest, a ninja, seeing the charred remains of his comrades, pleaded with his squad captain.
The captain hesitated. These squads were all sentries deployed outside Konoha's main ninja army. Now, they were all being forced back by Kumogakure's main force. If they retreated any further, they would be at the army's main camp.
Before the captain could make a decision, a huge plume of white smoke suddenly rose outside the forest, and a giant snake blocked the path of the Kumogakure ninja army. This was Orochimaru's summon, the Giant Snake.
On the Giant Snake's head, Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Orochimaru blew out a powerful gust of wind, which formed a massive storm in the air, directly sweeping towards the Kumogakure ninja army. The huge storm forced the Kumogakure ninja army to halt their advance.
"It's Orochimaru-sama!"
Taking advantage of this brief respite, the remaining members of the several ninja squads all gathered towards Orochimaru.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Behind them, the sound of rushing wind echoed through the dense forest as the main Konoha ninja army, led by Hiashi Hyuga and Yuto Sarutobi, arrived. After a brief standoff, the battle officially broke out.
On the battlefield, various ninjutsu were constantly being used, and the scene was filled with blood and slaughter.
By evening, the sky had begun to darken, and the setting sun was already blocked by the mountains.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Inside the dense forest, four figures leaped and moved quickly through the trees.
"Who goes there?"
Ahead, several Konoha ninja on outer sentry duty blocked the four's path.
"We are direct Anbu operatives of the Hokage-sama, here on a mission," The four speeding figures stopped, and Kakashi, wearing a cat-faced mask, took out his credentials and stepped forward to negotiate.
The four were the newly formed Konoha Anbu Team Eleven. The sentries checked their identities and quickly allowed them to pass.
Entering the camp, signs of battle were visible everywhere, and the faint sounds of wounded soldiers groaning in pain could be heard from within the tents. Clearly, a battle had taken place here today. The entire camp was shrouded in a faint atmosphere of dejection and sorrow.
Walking through the camp, the four remained silent, following a ninja in the lead directly towards the commander, Orochimaru's, tent. Anbu Team Eleven was about to undertake a highly dangerous, long-term mission. Before the mission began, they needed to contact the village's ninja army and gather sufficient battlefield intelligence. Compared to Konoha, which was far behind the lines, the frontline combat forces naturally had a more accurate and timely grasp of battlefield information.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
Entering the tent, the four bowed respectfully to Orochimaru, and Kakashi stepped forward to present the mission scroll.
Orochimaru responded with a faint hum, took the scroll without looking at it, and stared intently at the four, saying, "I am already aware of your mission. I will have someone send the intelligence to you shortly."
Hearing this, Kakashi's expression changed slightly beneath his mask. Judging by Orochimaru's actions, he already knew the details of Team Eleven's mission before they even arrived. This situation was clearly irregular.
Anbu Team Eleven was a direct Anbu squad under the Hokage. According to regulations, information about the members and their mission details should be kept highly confidential. How did Orochimaru know the details of their mission before the mission scroll was even delivered? And what did it mean that Orochimaru not only committed such a blatant overstep but also openly stated it in front of them?
Although Shisui and Guy, who were less experienced, didn't immediately understand the implications, they instinctively sensed that something was wrong. Tatsuya, however, wasn't surprised. In Konoha, no one knew how many spies Danzo and Orochimaru had planted.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the tent became heavy.
"Heh heh, what's this? Do you have any objections to my arrangements?" Orochimaru's eyes flickered with an unusual look, and he stared at the four with interest.
"No, sir!" After a moment of silence, Kakashi replied in a low voice.
With that, the four turned and left the tent. Under the guidance of a ninja, the four spent the night resting in the military camp.
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