At 1 AM, the Hidden Stone Ninja supply unit's camp, surrounded by mountains, was brightly lit. Patrolling Hidden Stone Ninja were on high alert, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.
Feathers emitting a soft white glow fell like snowflakes. The Hidden Stone Ninja who saw the feathers felt incredibly drowsy, closed their eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
"Genjutsu?!"
The Hidden Stone Ninja who knew how to dispel Genjutsu managed to break free before falling asleep. Seeing his comrades around him in a deep slumber, his pupils suddenly constricted. He clearly realized this was the Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana Jutsu!
"It's Genjutsu! Hey! Wake up!"
The Hidden Stone Ninja who knew how to dispel Genjutsu quickly went to break his comrades out of the Genjutsu.
"It's too late!"
Large numbers of Kikaichu gathered together like a dark cloud, attacking the Hidden Stone Ninja who hadn't fallen under the Genjutsu.
Screams rang out one after another, and the battle quickly ended.
"Iwagakure chose a very secluded and safe place, but they didn't know we could fly in the sky."
Orochimaru flew in the air, standing on a Truth-Seeking Orb disc, and looked at the others sitting on the back of a Chimera Bug. She paused slightly when she noticed the many scrolls hanging from the Chimera Bug's tail.
You guys really outdid yourselves.
"Gather all the supplies, then, Uchiha Keiki, Uchiha Hikari, use your Fire Release to burn this place down!"
Orochimaru gave the order without any intention of going down herself. Those supplies were spoils of war that needed to be handed over to the Village, not something she could take for herself, so she had no interest in going to collect them.
"How come I feel like we're here to rob them?"
Kiba Inuzuka scratched his head and muttered, while Akamaru, who was carrying a large scroll, nodded in agreement.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Uchiha Hikari and Uchiha Keiki unleashed their Fire Release, and scattered fireballs ignited the Hidden Stone supply unit's camp.
Orochimaru took out some accelerant and sprinkled it, and in an instant, flames shot into the sky accompanied by thick smoke, turning the Hidden Stone supply unit's camp into a sea of fire.
Captain Orochimaru! What did you even bring with you?!
Everyone looked at the fiercely burning Hidden Stone supply unit's camp, their eyes filled with a hint of shock as they stared at Orochimaru.
Even Shino Aburame and Aburame Morishige, who were usually the most composed, couldn't help but push up their sunglasses to calm their turbulent emotions, lest it affect their Kikaichu.
"Alright, our mission is complete. Now, return to Konoha as quickly as possible. I still have some matters to attend to. You all go ahead, I'll cover the rear."
Orochimaru ignored the looks everyone was giving her.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."
Everyone left on the back of the Chimera Bug, taking almost all of the Hidden Stone supply unit's materials, while some other materials turned to ash in the flames.
"Really, I'm a Sage from Ryūchi Cave! And you made me do petty thieving!"
Ichikishimahime held up a large scroll with one hand, glaring at Orochimaru in displeasure, then waved her hand and threw the scroll over.
To think that she was made to sneak into the Hidden Stone supply unit's camp before the operation and secretly seal some supplies into scrolls—it was simply too much!
"You could have refused."
A white snake tail caught the scroll. Orochimaru was very satisfied with the gains from this S-rank mission. The mission reward was just a small part; the real prize was these supplies that Hidden Stone had purchased at great expense.
"Tch! Easy for you to say! Can we go to the Land of Rain now?"
Ichikishimahime hadn't forgotten what Orochimaru had promised her.
"Of course, I won't go back on my word for something I've promised."
Orochimaru enlarged the Truth-Seeking Orb disc under her feet, sat cross-legged on it, and controlled the Truth-Seeking Orb disc to fly towards the Land of Rain.
"I'm a little tired!"
Ichikishimahime transformed into a white snake and drill into Orochimaru's sleeve, coiling around her neck. Her small head bumped against her chin, then she flicked out her pink tongue and licked her cheek.
The next day, as wisps of smoke curled upwards, Ōnoki arrived to find nothing but ashes everywhere.
"How could this happen…?"
Ōnoki looked at the scene with a heavy expression. The Hidden Stone supply unit's camp had been burned to ashes, and the supplies purchased at great expense had also turned to ash.
"Tsuchikage-sama…"
A Hidden Stone Ninja, severely burned all over his body, painfully dug at the ground with his hands and crawled in front of Ōnoki.
"Tsuchikage-sama… it… it was Konoha… who did it…"
The Hidden Stone Ninja struggled to utter these words, then his head slumped down, and he stopped breathing. It was as if he had endured the burning pain throughout his body underground until this moment just to convey this information to whoever arrived.
"Damn it, damn Konoha!"
Ōnoki's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the corpse of this Hidden Stone Ninja, who had endured unbearable pain just to deliver this intelligence. He clenched his fists in fury, and blood seeped from between his fingers.
He desperately wanted to launch a full-scale attack on Konoha regardless of the consequences, but Hidden Stone was currently fighting both Konoha and Kumogakure simultaneously!
Now, with the Hidden Stone supply unit's camp ambushed by Konoha, the Hidden Stone forces on the front lines wouldn't receive supplies. Were they supposed to starve to death on the front lines?
The thought that he couldn't even get revenge, and instead had to withdraw the Hidden Stone forces from the front lines, made Ōnoki wish he could rush to Konoha and unleash his Dust Release with all his might, going down with Konoha.
It was frustrating, truly too frustrating!
This was the third time in his life he had felt such immense frustration. The first was brought by Uchiha Madara, the second by Orochimaru, who held the title of Konohas Sannin!
The third time!
The third time was still related to Konoha!
Ōnoki suppressed his anger and waited for the Hidden Stone Ninja who were rushing over, ordering them to collect the bodies of the Hidden Stone Ninja here and take them back to the Village for burial.
Before one wave subsided, another rose. Soon, news reached Hidden Stone that all the Hidden Stone supply teams transporting materials along the supply line had been intercepted and killed. Ōnoki, who was presiding over the funeral for the fallen Hidden Stone Ninja, forced himself to continue the ceremony, suppressing his towering rage.
He vowed that this debt would be settled with Konoha sooner or later!
Meanwhile, the ambush team returned to Konoha, which startled the Konoha Higher-Ups. Not only had the ambush team returned, but they had also brought back so many supplies. Most importantly, where was Orochimaru, the leader of the ambush team?
"Hokage-sama, Captain Orochimaru said he had some matters to attend to and told us to return first with the supplies we seized from the Hidden Stone supply unit."
Aburame Morishige said calmly, controlling his Chimera Bug to put down the scrolls it had wrapped with its tail.
"I see…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face as he said, "You all worked hard on this mission!"
To prevent Hidden Stone from possibly tampering with the scrolls due to the theft, the scrolls containing the supplies were handed over to the analysis team. They also specifically brought in a Yamanaka Clan sensory Ninja and the former Hyuga Clan head, Hyuga Hatsume, who was most skilled in using the Byakugan, to jointly decipher any potential traps within the scrolls.
It wasn't that they hadn't considered using a Shadow Clone to open the scrolls and unseal them, but they were worried that the traps might destroy important supplies within the scrolls as well.
Chiyo received word from the Konoha Higher-Ups early that morning: an alliance treaty could be discussed, and it required the Third Kazekage to meet with the Hokage for detailed discussions.
To prevent Sunagakure from worrying that Konoha might have ulterior motives for the Third Kazekage, the meeting location was left for Sunagakure to choose.
Chiyo was shocked, finding it incredible, and wondered if she was dreaming. What level of confidence did it take to hand over the choice of meeting location to Sunagakure!
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