After a night's rest, Orochimaru began to deploy his troops the next day.
He gathered all the members of the Hyuga family and sensor-type ninjas.
He formed teams with one Jonin and three Chunin, and personally led a large number of Konoha Ninjas to search north of the camp.
Kawaki volunteered to stay and guard the camp mainly because a large-scale search wouldn't help the two young ones (referring to two young ninjas) gain experience.
Instead, their lack of experience might slow down the search. After all, they were just young Chunin without strong sensing abilities.
In front of the camp, Orochimaru wanted to take Nawaki with him.
"Nawaki, wanna come with me, teacher?"
"Nah, thanks. I'm gonna teach Nawaki some more. He still has some room for improvement."
Kawaki quickly stopped him and pulled Nawaki behind him. He looked a bit panicked, afraid that Orochimaru would just take Nawaki away.
If Nawaki died in front of Orochimaru again, not only would he be in a bad state (even might turn dark), but how could he face Tsunade when he got back?
Nawaki looked at Kawaki curiously. Aniki seemed to praise his good performance last night.
Why did he suddenly say he had deficiencies today?
But he opened his mouth and didn't dare to speak. The scene of being scolded before was still fresh in his mind.
"Alright, then we're setting off."
Orochimaru didn't insist on taking Nawaki. After saying goodbye to Kawaki, he led the large troop away.
Kawaki took the two young ones (referring to two young ninjas) back to the camp. Of course, Sakumo wasn't willing to miss out on such an exciting mission.
He asked Orochimaru for a Hyuga Chunin and joined the departing team.
"Teacher, do you think we'll find the Rain Ninjas this time?"
Minato obediently followed behind Kawaki and asked.
"We should be able to find the Rain Ninjas, but it's hard to say how many we can eliminate."
Kawaki recognized the level of Konoha's ninjas, but it was difficult to wipe out the Rain Ninjas as they were retreating into their own territory.
After all, the Land of Rain was their home ground.
"Go for your training. I'll take a stroll around the camp."
Kawaki put a hand on each of their heads and sent the two young ones (referring to two young ninjas) off to train.
He patrolled the camp once, fulfilling his duty.
～～～～～Divider～～～～～
Deep in the forest on the border of the Land of Rain.
A Rain Ninja, his mask had fallen off and his clothes were in tatters.
There was still blood on the corner of his mouth. It seemed that he had just been in a fierce battle.
He went to a big tree, turned into a pool of water and seeped into the ground.
There was actually a huge underground cave below, with a spacious interior that could hold nearly a thousand Rain Ninjas.
This was almost one-third of the total number of ninjas in the Land of Rain.
It seemed that Hanzō decided to start a war against the three countries. This decision wasn't a momentary impulse but a long-planned plot.
This underground cave couldn't have been built in a short time. It was likely that Hanzō had made the decision to start the war when the countries were borrowing each other's lands.
As for the negotiation, it was just a means for him to stall time.
After the preparations were completed, Hanzō declared war without hesitation.
After this Rain Ninja entered the underground cave, someone immediately came to assist the injured ninja.
"Shino, weren't you on patrol outside?"
"I have something important to report to Lord Yamaru."
This Rain Ninja named Shino was supported by his comrade and came before Yamaru.
Shino knelt on one knee. Yamaru, wearing a gas mask, had his face barely visible.
"Lord Yamaru, the large troop of Konoha has entered the forest and is searching everywhere."
"The leading ninja is suspected to be Orochimaru, a disciple of the Third Hokage."
"The gap in the number of enemy and our troops is huge. Now there are very few of our people outside."
In the heat of the moment, Shino coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood.
"Damn Konoha."
Yamaru angrily clenched his fist and pounded the armrest of the chair. Then he stood up.
The chair shattered into pieces on the ground.
"Continue to shrink the patrol range. Don't confront the Konoha people head - on."
"Jichiro, you take some people out and set more booby traps. Kill as many as you can, one at a time."
"We need eyes. Pay attention to safety and don't die outside."
As soon as Yamaru finished speaking, a thin ninja took the order and led the way out.
"Let's teach these Konoha ninjas a lesson when Lord Hanzō comes back."
After his subordinates dispersed, Yamaru murmured to himself, and his trust and admiration for Hanzō overflowed in his words.
A group of elite Rain ninjas led by Jichiro left the underground cave.
At this time, the large troop of Konoha had cleared the surrounding area. Among the eighty Rain ninjas they encountered, only one escaped.
"Orochimaru-kun, it's been a long time since we last met a Rain ninja."
Sakumo-kun came to Orochimaru's side, and the two talked.
"They must have a large gathering place. It's a pity that we lost track of the Rain ninja we let go just now."
"Otherwise, we could find the lair of these rats."
"Now that someone has gone back to report the news, our chance of finding it is very slim."
"Search for a while longer. If there's no movement, we'll return to the camp first."
"Rest for a few days, make a big noise, and then we'll feign a large - scale attack."
Orochimaru's intuition on the battlefield was very accurate. It's a pity that Shino was so skilled at escaping that they lost track of him.
"Okay, I'll go ahead and take a look."
"Sakumo-kun, be careful."
Sakumo-kun and Dai left the team and walked forward alone. They were both highly skilled and bold. Orochimaru didn't stop them.
If he hadn't seen how powerful Dai's Eight Gates was with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that a ninja dressed like that could be so strong.
He had never heard of Matt Dai in Konoha for so many years.
If Sakumo-kun and Dai get into a difficult situation they can't get out of, then the troop he leads might not end well either.
"Aniki Sakumo, what are you thinking about?"
Dai saw that Sakumo-kun seemed a little distracted while walking. Although there was no great danger now, they were still on the battlefield.
"I miss my wife."
Sakumo-kun didn't care about anything and blurted it out directly.
In this environment, he missed Natsuki and the child in her belly even more.
"Haha, I miss my wife too."
Dai laughed when he heard this. Two men far from home missed their families on the battlefield.
"Let our children practice together when they are born."
"We can go home if we end this war earlier."
Sakumo-kun regained his composure and even planned to let their children practice together in the future.
This is just asking for trouble for Kakashi in advance. I wonder if Kakashi will blame his old man.
He really couldn't bear Gai's youthful enthusiasm!
"Yeah, I hope this war'll end soon."
Dai replied in agreement. Then the two continued their patrol.
It's hard to say whether they were lucky or the Rain ninja was extremely unlucky.
The Rain ninja, who was busy setting up a large number of Explosive Tags, didn't even have time to react before Sakumo slit his throat with a Tantō.
The Rain ninja covered his neck, making a gurgling sound, and then collapsed.
"It seems the Rain ninjas have got the news. We need to go back and warn the large troop to be vigilant."
After figuring out the situation, Sakumo collected the Explosive Tags.
"Okay, let's go back."
Dai kicked the Rain ninja's body to the side, and he and Sakumo started to clean up.
All these Explosive Tags are strategic supplies.
After the two returned to Orochimaru and reported what they had found.
Orochimaru quickly made a decision and ordered them to return to the camp to avoid unnecessary losses.
After all, even the best horse stumbles (no man is perfect), and even a Jonin would meet their end if caught in a pile of Explosive Tag Booby Traps.
"Contract the formation and return to the camp."
At Orochimaru's command, the scattered Ninjas of Konoha began to gather and then retraced their steps.
The Booby Traps set by the Rain ninjas were doomed to be ineffective, but the spies managed to survive.
This was exactly what Orochimaru wanted to see.
<><><><><><><><>
~ 80+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
p-atreon.com/Tansnovel
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~ Every 50 Powerstones = 4 Bonus Chapters on the weekend!