Orochimaru's subordinates first applied a Sealing Technique to the scroll, then began to inspect them one by one.
"Lord Orochimaru, there's no problem." The subordinate respectfully presented the scroll to Orochimaru for his inspection.
"Hehe, Ebizo of Sunagakure is indeed a man of his word. Next time your village's Kazekage goes missing, I will also do my best to investigate and then sell the information to your village."
Orochimaru's words were undoubtedly a blatant mockery of Sunagakure. Ebizo could barely tolerate such taunts, his forehead veins throbbing, while Sunagakure's Anbu also stirred restlessly.
"Orochimaru, don't play with words. Give the information to this old man, or else all of you will be buried here!"
A large number of Anbu appeared around Ebizo. These were newly arrived reinforcements, numbering several hundred, clearly having prepared for the worst.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't trick you with false information. However, I just don't know if you can bear the outcome."
Orochimaru directly threw the information scroll to Ebizo and then prepared to retreat.
"Trying to leave! Wait until this old man confirms the information's authenticity! Stop them!"
Ebizo was not someone to be trifled with. He immediately ordered the Anbu to surround Orochimaru and his group.
"Hehe, I knew this would happen, but I've set a seal on this scroll. It can't be unsealed for three hours, and forcing it open will only self-destruct it."
Orochimaru smiled sinisterly, completely unfazed by being surrounded.
"You can try to unseal it, hehe!"
Ebizo gestured to an Anbu Ninja skilled in Sealing Technique, telling him to try unsealing it.
However, that Ninja tried for several minutes and still had no clue. Sweat dripped profusely from him. He felt like a sinner because he couldn't unseal it and had to let Orochimaru go.
"Senior Ebizo, I'll be taking my leave now. Be careful, don't pursue us for three hours! Otherwise, you'll never find the Third Kazekage again."
Orochimaru lowered his head, a wicked smile spreading across his lips, his purple eyeshadow making him appear even more sinister.
Then, Orochimaru summoned a small snake, had it swallow the giant sealed scroll, and sent it back to Ryūchi Cave.
Orochimaru and his subordinates then vanished in a puff of smoke before Ebizo's eyes, leaving him with a grim and conflicted expression.
"Lord Ebizo, these are Shadow Clones! Should we pursue them or not!"
A sensory Ninja searched with all his might within a few miles but found no trace of Orochimaru.
"Pursue them! Split into two routes. One team will pass through the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain to intercept Orochimaru and his group in the Land of Fire. The remaining team will follow far behind Orochimaru."
Ebizo couldn't be sure if this unknown information was true, so he had no choice but to risk capturing Orochimaru and then interrogating him for information.
Orochimaru was very cunning. Their true bodies were actually at the Land of Fire border. Upon receiving the message from the Shadow Clones, the group immediately moved towards the interior of the Land of Fire.
However, Orochimaru was still careless, because Sunagakure's Anbu at this time included several Puppet Masters who controlled flying puppets, and they had already discovered Orochimaru's tracks at the Land of Fire border.
These were all arranged by that old schemer Ebizo, but he didn't alert them. Instead, he sent messages to Ebizo's two units to rush there at full speed.
More than three hours later, Ebizo finished reading the information Orochimaru provided about the Third Kazekage, only for his expression to become even grimmer.
It recorded the process, location, and some evidence of Sasori of the Red Sand, the Puppet Master genius of Sunagakure, poisoning and ambushing the Third Kazekage.
He dared not let this information return to Sunagakure. He dared not imagine how heartbroken his elderly sister would be if she knew.
Moreover, it would also cause internal strife within Sunagakure, putting the village in a disadvantageous position.
He also roughly knew that this information was ninety percent true, yet it was precisely because it was true that it was so difficult to accept.
"Lord Orochimaru! We've been spotted, it should be Sunagakure's aerial Puppet Master unit!"
A sensory Ninja finally discovered Sunagakure's pursuit and immediately became somewhat alarmed.
"Interesting. Immediately notify Danzo's Root. Tell them that Sunagakure Anbu has invaded the Land of Fire. Let them fight each other like dogs."
Orochimaru had always resented Danzo for holding evidence of his human experiments, constantly threatening him to conduct Wood Release experiments.
Now that he wasn't planning to be Hokage, he was no longer under such threats, but that didn't mean he wouldn't retaliate against Danzo.
This was a good opportunity to make Danzo suffer and feel pain for a few days. He would consider other opportunities later.
When Danzo received Orochimaru's information, he immediately sensed that there was something wrong with it. Why would Orochimaru know about the Sunagakure Anbu invasion?
Then he had the Root at the Land of Fire border immediately gather intelligence, and then he went to the Hokage Office.
"Hiruzen, this is the information Orochimaru just sent back. Take a look."
Danzo's face was grim, guessing whether Sunagakure was preparing to attack the Land of Fire.
"Hmm! We must drive out Sunagakure's invading forces!"
The Third Hokage didn't ponder why Orochimaru would send a message about the Sunagakure invasion, but he knew that the reckless Sunagakure Anbu had to be stopped.
"Hiruzen! Just expulsion? I believe they should be directly annihilated to deter the restless nations. This is a very good opportunity, otherwise other Ninja villages will think we are pushovers!"
Danzo Shimura's face was almost green with rage. Now that others were urinating on his head, he was still thinking of appeasement and avoiding a bloody conflict.
"You just order your Root to do as I say. Don't try to pull any stunts behind my back!"
The Third Hokage truly wanted the war to happen later. Konoha Village had only just recovered its strength from the Second Great Shinobi War a few years ago. He couldn't let war deplete their resources.
Because each Great Shinobi War was a cycle of Konoha Village fighting multiple opponents in a war of attrition and revival, which truly made Konoha miserable.
"Hmph! You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
Danzo snatched the information, stomped his cane in anger, and left.
"Danzo! I am the Hokage!" The Third Hokage reflexively retorted, but this only made Danzo walk faster.
The Third Hokage immediately issued orders for the outposts at the Land of Fire border to shorten their defense lines, and for the Anbu to clear out spies and bandits, and other uncertain factors within the Land of Fire.
Danzo, on the other hand, dispatched three Chunin squads to the Land of Fire border to intercept the Sunagakure Anbu.
Orochimaru had already had his subordinates create Shadow Clones, and then split into three directions to escape.
Ultimately, the already small number of Sunagakure flying Puppet Masters split into two, each pursuing one of Orochimaru's three teams.
Meanwhile, Ebizo's Anbu had already crossed the Land of Fire border and were advancing towards the interior of the Land of Fire according to the guidance.
Orochimaru looked at the two flying Puppet Masters in the sky and revealed a cruel smile.
Two Ninja skilled in Wind Release, accompanied by a Ninja who could use Super Beast Imitating Drawing, drew ink birds that flew into the sky.
The two Chunin Puppet Masters ultimately died at the hands of the two Jonin, their puppet parts scattering from the sky.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"