From Shiraishi's perception, more than a hundred chakra signatures were advancing steadily through the forest ahead.
Konoha's reinforcement speed was astonishingly fast.
The moment Kakashi's four-man squad was suppressed for less than three minutes, additional nearby Konoha units immediately moved in to support them. This level of response left Shiraishi genuinely surprised.
During Orochimaru's earlier period of command, Konoha's camp had been riddled with holes—like a leaking hourglass. Sunagakure forces could often penetrate deep inside, carry out missions freely, and even cause entire sensory squads to lose contact.
But now, Konoha's posture was completely different.
Their military advance was agile and orderly. Each squad moved forward in overlapping waves, advancing step by step through the jungle. Even Konoha's strike teams followed this same rhythm and structure.
So this is Nara Shikagawa's battlefield command style…
Compared to Orochimaru's crude and aggressive command methods, Shikagawa's approach was far more rigorous and seasoned. Even when Sunagakure held local numerical superiority, they were instead suffering heavier losses when facing Konoha's elite, well-coordinated advance.
Realizing this, Shiraishi raised both hands.
Black mist condensed into a chilling current, while countless bubbles spread outward, wrapping around his three students. These bubbles interfered with sensory detection, allowing them to retreat further under cover.
At the same time—
A summoning formation had already begun to take shape.
With his enhanced perception activated, Shiraishi could clearly sense massive summoning arrays forming in the distance. Konoha's movements were clean and structured—this was Shikaku using orthodox methods to suppress unpredictability.
Large-scale summoning.
Most likely Orochimaru's snake formations.
Although Shikagawa was directing the battlefield, the most brutal pressure Sunagakure faced still came from Orochimaru's relentless waves of summoned serpents.
As Shiraishi continued observing while retreating, he noted that the southern forest of Kikyo Pass lay at a low elevation. Even if massive snake formations were summoned here, their impact on Sunagakure would be limited.
During the previous Kikyo Pass conflict, Orochimaru had deployed snake formations here multiple times—and none had achieved decisive results.
Was this an attempt to lure the enemy?
But judging from Konoha's deployment, they were advancing far too openly. This did not resemble bait.
According to historical records, the Nara clan's military doctrine emphasized mobility: elaborate but precise formations, rapid concentration of superior forces, annihilation of targets, followed by immediate front-line switching to form new local advantages.
The snake formations were merely one link in a much larger chain.
Back at the Sunagakure camp, Ebizō looked at Shiraishi and asked calmly,
"What do you think?"
"Konoha's advance leaves us completely passive," Shiraishi replied.
"If we try to disrupt the summoning formations directly, we risk walking straight into an ambush. If we ignore them, the final decisive battle will become even worse."
The true problem lay in high-end combat power.
Whether Ebizō and Pakura could hold Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and that young man—Minato Namikaze—would determine the entire battle's outcome.
Although Minato's 'Yellow Flash' reputation had not yet spread across the ninja world, Sunagakure intelligence had already marked him as an extremely dangerous mobile combatant. In other words, Minato was the core of Konoha's maneuver warfare.
If Minato could not be restrained, Kikyo Pass would inevitably collapse.
Ebizō understood this clearly and fixed his gaze on his disciple.
"Go on."
"Orochimaru's snake formations and Minato's speed only become terrifying when used together," Shiraishi said quickly.
"Remove one, and Shikaku's strategy collapses."
Ebizō paused.
Shiraishi continued,
"We leak information—about Orochimaru conducting secret human experiments and harming Konoha's own people."
"Are you certain about this?" Ebizō asked.
"Rumors exist, but there's no concrete evidence."
"As long as the evidence is convincing enough, it doesn't matter," Shiraishi replied calmly, picking up a cloth and wiping his glasses before putting them back on.
"And with your abilities, secretly capturing a few ordinary Konoha genin or chūnin shouldn't be difficult."
Ebizō froze for a moment.
"But such crude framing—will it really work?"
"That's why we need a second rumor," Shiraishi said softly.
"Jiraiya and Minato are at Kikyo Pass because they've already obtained definitive evidence of Orochimaru's human experimentation."
The struggle for the Fourth Hokage position was already reaching a fever pitch.
At this point, such psychological warfare—simple, brutal, and direct—would be extremely effective.
Ebizō did not hesitate further and agreed.
This kid… really has too many tricks.
After returning to his quarters, Shiraishi's face suddenly turned pale.
Within his spiritual world, one of the seven mirrors rippled violently. Because of the deductions and decisions he had just made, fragments within that mirror stirred.
Scenes flickered.
Orochimaru's experiments.
The Hokage succession struggle.
Jiraiya.
Minato.
These fragments seemed to partially confirm one another.
Shiraishi attempted multiple times to probe deeper, but the memories refused to fully reconstruct. Each mirror felt like a bottomless abyss—mysterious and dangerous.
The reconstruction process was painfully slow, and Shiraishi even feared that forcing it might fracture his consciousness and give rise to another personality.
Meanwhile, Konoha continued its advance at a steady pace.
Then, rumors began spreading within the Konoha camp.
Secret human experiments.
Missing comrades.
Mutilated bodies infused with incompatible chakra attributes, their flesh rotting and distorted.
Panic spread.
Even Jiraiya could not help but doubt Orochimaru.
Orochimaru himself was in a foul mood.
He did conduct human experiments—but never on frontline Konoha shinobi. His subjects were obtained through entirely different channels.
The crude corpses that appeared disgusted him.
My experiments are far more refined than this.
But doubt had already taken root.
Suspicion spread between Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato.
That night, when Shiraishi returned to his resting area, an overwhelming killing intent surged toward him.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
His hand immediately closed around the hilt of his silver blade.
From within the room, a figure slowly emerged.
It was a female puppet—eerily lifelike, her expression cold and realistic.
A human puppet.
Etched into her forehead was the unmistakable emblem of the Red Sand.
A youthful, calm voice echoed from the shadows.
"An impressive newcomer among the village's next generation."
Sasori of the Red Sand.
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