Chapter 30: Orochimaru
Iwagakure.
Several figures stood atop the village's defensive barrier, scanning their surroundings. Every so often, another shinobi would appear, carefully watching for signs of an enemy attack.
"Captain, surely no one's going to infiltrate the village right now, right?"
An Iwagakure shinobi held a telescope as he patrolled the area. After confirming that there were no signs of an enemy, he turned to his captain.
The Iwagakure captain spoke sternly. "We're in the middle of a war. We can't afford even the slightest negligence. If we allow an enemy to infiltrate the village despite having such a natural fortress, we'd be failing our own villagers."
"Yes, Captain."
The shinobi immediately became alert again, his earlier fatigue disappearing.
"But Captain, does Tsuchikage-sama really think someone will attack Iwagakure? Why are so many people being assigned to guard the village? The fighting on the Konoha front is intense. If we sent half the troops stationed here to the front lines and attacked Konoha, we'd surely be able to keep advancing and completely crush them."
"Konoha isn't that easy to destroy. And we also have to consider the other villages. If we act too aggressively while the other villages simply sit back and watch two tigers fight, we'll be the ones at a disadvantage."
The sentry sighed.
That was indeed the case.
Iwagakure's strength couldn't withstand too many enemies at once. Konoha's reputation was well deserved. It occupied some of the most fertile land and possessed incredibly abundant resources. Even while being attacked by four shinobi villages, it had continued to hold out for this long.
"Hmph. Kirigakure, who knows what they're planning? Their attacks against Konoha have been far too weak."
"Maybe they're just trying to fish in troubled waters..."
While the sentries chatted, Gōenji had already reached the edge of a nearby cliff.
Using the Transformation Technique, concealment techniques, and his Sharingan, he silently observed the situation above.
His eyes revealed countless chakra signatures scattered throughout the area.
A special chakra barrier surrounded the village.
Within that barrier, countless traces of shinobi chakra appeared in Gōenji's field of vision.
"Hmm... Forget it. This defensive line is practically impenetrable. I'll have to find another way inside."
He knew breaking through Iwagakure's defenses wouldn't be easy.
He didn't possess any space-time ninjutsu, and he had no information about the village's internal barrier system. Even Danzō hadn't managed to uncover that information.
Gōenji couldn't help admiring the people who had managed to infiltrate Iwagakure in the original story.
Especially Kabuto.
Being able to infiltrate Iwagakure at such a young age and obtain so much intelligence was genuinely impressive.
Whoosh!
Combining the Transformation Technique, concealment methods, and his extraordinary intelligence, Gōenji quickly slipped out of everyone's field of vision and returned to the ground.
He already knew there was a powerful barrier surrounding the village. Naturally, he wasn't stupid enough to force his way through it.
This was where Danzō's preparations became useful.
Gōenji landed in a concealed location and pulled a scroll covered in countless sealing formulas from his ninja pouch.
He spread the scroll across the ground and quickly formed a series of hand seals.
"Communication Technique."
This was a technique Danzō had taught him, using a summoning technique and a special medium to establish a connection.
Through the spatial connection created by the summoning technique, encrypted messages could be transmitted.
The codes themselves weren't very long, but they were much like Classical Chinese: a few characters could convey an enormous amount of information.
For an intelligence organization, it was extremely practical.
This was another technique Gōenji had learned over the past few days.
Once again, he was amazed by the sophistication of Danzō's intelligence network and his ability to organize his subordinates.
At the same time, he remained cautious.
Although Danzō had never displayed any obvious greed toward the Uchiha clan or his Sharingan, Gōenji understood that this was largely because of the Uchiha's current position.
Once the Uchiha were truly marginalized, Danzō would inevitably turn his attention toward the clan as a whole.
At that point, the situation would be completely different.
Gōenji still maintained a degree of wariness.
Logically speaking, however, he knew Danzō had no reason to act against him right now.
Doing so would only cause Konoha to lose an important combat asset.
After all, Gōenji was already a jōnin.
One day, I'll face Danzō.
By then, my strength should be high enough that I won't have to take him seriously at all.
That was why Gōenji wasn't particularly worried.
His rate of growth was simply too fast.
And it wasn't linear growth. It was closer to exponential.
As he grew older and accumulated more experience, his physical and spiritual energies would continue to increase, strengthening his chakra reserves accordingly.
He would have more time to train, while his knowledge would continue accumulating steadily.
At this rate, Gōenji couldn't imagine how Danzō would ever defeat him in the future.
Even if Danzō possessed the Sharingan and could use Izanagi, Gōenji estimated that he would still hold an overwhelming advantage.
Of course, that was Gōenji's current wishful thinking.
His strength was currently around the level of an elite jōnin. He still had a long way to go before reaching the level of a true Kage-class powerhouse.
...
Half a day later, a figure silently appeared outside the outpost.
Even the Iwagakure shinobi inside failed to notice him.
The figure arrived at the location where Gōenji had previously appeared and looked down at the ground.
Several stones had been arranged into a crude, four-armed symbol.
"Pu-pu-pu."
He imitated the cry of one of the strange creatures native to Iwagakure's surroundings, producing a rhythmic signal.
Whoosh!
"You're finally here. I've been waiting for you for ages."
Gōenji emerged from hiding.
The moment he saw the visitor, he froze.
The man stuck out his tongue and slowly licked his lips. His slit-like pupils fixed on Gōenji with curiosity, while an intense killing intent radiated from him.
"You recognized me?"
Gōenji's heart jumped.
He suppressed his excitement and respectfully bowed his head.
"Orochimaru-sama."
Damn it! Why is Orochimaru here as a spy?
Wait. Wasn't he commanding Konoha's forces on the Kumogakure front, dealing with their attacks while observing the overall direction of the war and formulating countermeasures? How did he slip away?
Then who is commanding Konoha's forces now?
Nara Shikaku.
That was the only explanation Gōenji could think of.
The Nara clan's intelligence and strategic abilities made them natural candidates for a command staff.
With a strategist like Shikaku coordinating things, it wasn't surprising that Orochimaru could somehow transform himself into a white snake and infiltrate Iwagakure as a spy.
"Hiss..."
Once he'd been recognized, Orochimaru abandoned his disguise.
His snake-like pupils examined Gōenji with interest.
"How did you recognize me?"
Gōenji coughed lightly.
"I've seen Orochimaru-sama before. No one else has eyes like those..."
Orochimaru chuckled.
"Hoho... Good eyes. Very impressive."
His expression changed slightly.
"Now hand over the item and tell me about Danzō's mission. That's an order, you understand..."
As he spoke, his eyes filled with killing intent.
Boom!
The oppressive aura crashed down on Gōenji.
Cold sweat immediately covered his back.
It was far stronger than Danzō's aura.
And the killing intent was on an entirely different level.
Gōenji had absolutely no doubt that even if he went all out, he wouldn't be able to contend with Orochimaru.
He might not even be able to escape.
He's strong.
Gōenji quickly pulled Danzō's scroll from his pocket and handed it over.
He then explained the objectives and requirements of Danzō's current mission.
As for the other missions, he deliberately left them unmentioned for the time being.
Gōenji knew that, at this point, Orochimaru and Danzō's cooperation was still extremely strong.
Orochimaru was even a member of Root.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared here.
At the same time, Gōenji knew that Orochimaru was never the sort of person who simply obeyed orders.
He undoubtedly had his own plans.
That was something Orochimaru could deal with himself.
After all, Orochimaru hadn't defected from Konoha yet.