His strength... is almost overwhelming.
Even Kakashi Hatake couldn't help but break out in a sweat. He'd never heard anyone describe Jiraiya's power that way before.
Sasuke Uchiha looked up at Jiraiya and thought to himself, So this is a ninja even Naruto thinks is strong?
Jiraiya gave him a sideways glance. This kid's got a skewed perspective. Shouldn't he be using his Jonin instructor, Kakashi Hatake, as the benchmark?
With Jiraiya's arrival, Team 7 felt a renewed sense of confidence. After Sasuke and Sakura's injuries healed, they restocked their supplies and ninja tools, preparing to head back to Konoha.
According to Kakashi's judgment, their best route to avoid enemies was to cross into the Land of Fire from the border between the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water, then head south towards Konoha.
Danzo couldn't command the entire ANBU, only the Root ninja loyal to him. To gather enough force to ambush Team 7, he would likely set a trap in the east, never expecting them to approach from the north.
Kakashi's logic was sound.
As Team 7 reached the border of the Land of Rice Fields, Kakashi gave them a quick geography lesson. "The Land of Rice Fields borders the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. It's a wealthy little country, which means it often gets targeted by rogue ninja."
He continued, "But last year, the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields recruited some ninja and founded their own village—the Village Hidden in the Sound. They specialize in sound-based attacks."
"To protect themselves from the Hidden Waterfall and Hidden Grass villages, they made a friendly agreement with Konoha and are now under our protection."
Sakura cupped her chin and smiled. "It sounds like the Hidden Sound should be friendly toward us, then!"
"You could say that," Kakashi nodded. "The Hidden Grass, Hidden Waterfall, and Hidden Sound villages surrounding the Land of Fire are all our allies. They should all be sending teams for the upcoming joint Chunin Exams."
The Chunin Exams, on another level, were an arms race. After the Great Ninja Wars ended, the smaller villages had to use the exams to showcase their military strength and win the confidence of potential clients. The Village Hidden in the Sound was too new to be established. To survive against other small nations, it had to prove its strength, and the Chunin Exams were the perfect stage.
Just as Team 7 left the area, a white snake emerged from the grass. It watched them go before quickly slithering away into the Land of Rice Fields.
-----
In the Village Hidden in the Sound, a man with long black hair was sifting through documents in a central room. Suddenly, a white snake crawled onto his desk and hissed, flicking its tongue. "Sss... sss... sss..."
"The ninja team led by Kakashi Hatake... and... Jiraiya." The man seemed to understand the snake and lowered his head with a sinister smile. "Things are getting more and more interesting."
He bent down, took out a scroll, and wrote a few lines on it with a brush. He placed it in front of the white snake, which swallowed it in one gulp.
The man lowered his eyes. "Take this information back to Konoha and give it to Kabuto. He'll know what to do."
"Sss... sss... sss..." The white snake flicked its tongue and slithered away.
A ninja standing outside the door entered and reported, "Lord Orochimaru, we've received word from the Sand Village. The Fourth Kazekage has agreed to our request, but he wishes to meet you."
"Oh?" The man sneered and nodded. "Then tell him we'll meet in the Land of Fire during the Chunin Exams."
"Yes!"
-----
At the same time, inside Konoha Village.
Thanks to Kosuke Maruboshi's caution, he managed to deceive the Root ninjas. Using a mission to the Land of Waves as a cover, he returned to Konoha and immediately reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Team 7 had been attacked.
"Kakashi also asked me to pass a message to you, Lord Hokage," Kosuke said, scratching his head. "Tenzo. He said the key to the enemy's identity is in that name."
"Tenzo?" Hiruzen's eyes darkened. Tenzo was the codename for an ANBU ninja, the only survivor of Orochimaru and Danzo's experiments to successfully awaken the Wood Style kekkei genkai.
Years ago, Hiruzen had personally taken the Wood Style user from Danzo's grasp and placed him in the ANBU under that codename.
Hiruzen tapped his pipe, opened a top-secret mission log, and found Tenzo's file. He looked up suddenly. "That young man just returned to the village. I even summoned him myself..."
As Hokage, Hiruzen understood the symbolic importance of the Wood Style. His attention to the boy's growth was no less than Danzo's. Whenever Tenzo returned from a mission, Hiruzen would meet with him. Even Tenzo's teammates were his own confidants, allowing him to monitor the boy's every move. If Tenzo had made any unusual moves, Hiruzen would have been the first to know.
"Kosuke, you may go for now," Hiruzen said, waving his hand in frustration. He picked up Kosuke's mission report, his face showing a hint of surprise. "Wait. Although this was only a C-rank mission, looking at this, it was as difficult as an S-rank mission."
"Is that so?" Kosuke replied with a smile.
Hiruzen put down the report and picked up his pipe. "Though you've always been limited to low-level missions because you're a genin, you still want to do more for the village, don't you?"
Kosuke Maruboshi shook his arm and smiled. "I was just stretching my muscles. It just made me realize I've gotten old..."
"Kosuke," the Third Hokage said softly, lowering his head. "You saw those little ones, didn't you? The young leaves are sprouting. A new era is coming. Are you still going to stubbornly stick to the oath you made back then?"
This year's academy had produced many outstanding ninjas. A new generation of geniuses from every major clan had graduated. It was a time of revitalization for Konoha.
However, Hiruzen had a hidden worry. The current Konoha was fragile. Before these youths grew up to inherit their parents' responsibilities, someone had to shelter them and provide a healthy environment for them to grow.
"Lord Hokage." Kosuke Maruboshi turned to leave. Hearing Hiruzen's words, he gripped the doorknob tightly, his face becoming solemn. "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"
With that, Kosuke opened the door and left.
Hiruzen watched him go and gave a quiet order. "Bring me the mission logs of all ANBU ninja from after Team 7 left the village."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
"Wait. Bring those logs..." Hiruzen pondered for a moment, tapping his pipe. "And come with me."
Kakashi had always been sensible. He knew the dirty business between the ANBU and Root had to be kept from ordinary ninja, which meant his message was pointing to something specific. The codename Tenzo... if it wasn't pointing directly at Tenzo himself, it was pointing at former Root members who had joined the ANBU.
And who they were loyal to was obvious.
-----
Bonus:
You come to me asking for a commission, for a mission—yes, the money matters, it always does.
But I tell you now, there exists something greater than coin, greater than wealth itself: freedom! Dignity! Pride!
As long as the leaf-bearing headbands still march across our lands, we have no dignity!
As long as the dogs of Konoha tread upon our soil, mocking our strength, we have no freedom!
As long as the maps of the ninja world mark our nations as mere fragments, forgotten corners, we have no pride!
They call us small. They call us weak. They say we are a village born from shadows.
But I say—we are the future! From the Sound shall rise a power so great, so pure, that even the so-called "Great Nations" shall tremble at its name!
We do not ask for mercy. We do not beg for acknowledgment.We take what is ours!
We carve our destiny with our own chakra, our own ninjutsu, our own hands!
What we need is not a commission—but space to grow, to live, to conquer!
A place where every ninja of the Sound may stand tall, unchained, unafraid, unbroken!
Our time is coming. And when it does—the world will listen to the Sound.
—Excerpt from an Orochimaru Speech