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One month later.
Sunagakure, Ichiganzan.
A dark-circled boy carrying a gourd stood there with a young man and a young woman, preparing to depart.
The dark-circled boy was, of course, the Sunagakure Jinchūriki—Gaara.
The young man and woman following him were: the young man, with his back turned, carried an object wrapped in cloth, its contents unknown. He wore black attire and had purple markings on his face. His name was Kankurō.
The young woman carried a large fan on her back. She had blonde hair and wore white clothes. Her name was Temari.
The three appeared to be of similar age, all in their teens. However, Temari was 15, Kankurō was 14, and Gaara was 12, so there was some age difference.
Temari looked at Gaara with concern. "Gaara, we must be cautious on this journey to Konoha. We have an important mission."
Temari was at a loss on how to handle Gaara's monstrous power and unpredictable temperament.
As for the so-called "important mission," it was naturally the Konoha Crush Plan.
Originally, Orochimaru and Kagaya had planned to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage to instigate war between Sunagakure and Konoha. However, neither Orochimaru nor Kagaya could have anticipated that, not long ago, the Fourth Kazekage had actively contacted Orochimaru, expressing a desire to cooperate in an attack on Konoha.
Faced with the Fourth Kazekage's request, Orochimaru agreed without a second thought. He then stated he would bring his subordinates to meet with the Kazekage. The Fourth Kazekage, suspecting nothing, also agreed.
Thus, Orochimaru and his group set off openly towards the location provided by the Kazekage.
Orochimaru did not inform Kagaya of this matter. Why? Not because he intended to betray Kagaya, but because Orochimaru had no intention of truly cooperating with the Fourth Kazekage.
There were two reasons. First, people who acted one way on the surface and another behind the scenes were highly suspect to Orochimaru. He doubted whether the Fourth Kazekage might betray him during the cooperation. After all, the Kazekage was currently presenting a united front with Konoha on the surface, yet was secretly selling them out. Orochimaru could never trust such a person.
Second, although Orochimaru and Kagaya had conspired to attack Konoha—even naming their plan the "Konoha Crush Plan"—neither's ultimate goal was the village's destruction. Orochimaru's final target was Sasuke; Kagaya's was Danzō. Both had originated from Konoha. While they held no lingering affection for the village, they also wouldn't destroy it unless absolutely necessary.
The current Fourth Kazekage, however, genuinely wanted to destroy Konoha. Naturally, Orochimaru had no desire to do that.
Therefore, while Orochimaru had verbally agreed to the Fourth Kazekage's request, he had long resolved to stick to the original plan!
The Fourth Kazekage would still be assassinated, as intended!
The Kazekage's betrayal of Konoha could not alter Orochimaru and Kagaya's scheme, so Orochimaru simply didn't inform Kagaya.
Returning to the scene: In response to Temari's cautionary words, Gaara merely turned his head and cast a cold glance at her, saying nothing.
That single glance sent a chill down Temari's spine, making her break out in a cold sweat. Without exaggeration, if Gaara were to suddenly attack and kill her right then, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising.
During this period, Gaara was like a beast of unpredictable temperament. The slightest displeasure could trigger a lethal attack, and even his own blood-related sister was not exempt.
Kankurō stood to the side, watching Temari and Gaara, not daring to speak. Temari could barely muster the courage to admonish Gaara, but Kankurō had long been terrified by his younger brother and remained silent.
Shortly after, a tall man wearing a Sunagakure forehead protector approached. He wore standard ninja attire, with a strip of white cloth covering the left side of his face. His name was Baki, the team leader for Gaara's group traveling to Konoha to participate in the Chūnin Exams.
Upon arriving, Baki addressed Gaara and the others.
"Let's go."
There was no need for excessive talk. The purpose of this journey to Konoha was known to those who needed to know among these three. What they didn't need to know, they wouldn't be told.
Thus, Baki led the three on their way.
Not long after their departure, the Fourth Kazekage would also set out.
The reason the Fourth Kazekage did not travel with Gaara's group was to facilitate a meeting with Orochimaru along the way. After all, Gaara and the others were still young; it was better they not know too much.
However, the Fourth Kazekage could never have imagined that the meeting he anticipated would be the final one of his life.
Simultaneously, in Otogakure, Dosu and others also set out, representing their village to attend the Chūnin Exams in Konoha.
Not only Otogakure; this time, the Chūnin Exams in Konoha would also see participation from smaller nations' hidden villages: Amegakure (Rain), Kusagakure (Grass), and Takigakure (Waterfall).
The Land of Waves.
Kagaya stood by the seaside, quietly observing the bridge being constructed not far away.
Since Gato's demise, this country had begun to improve. With the bridge's construction, it was believed the nation would only get better.
The conflict between Gato and Tazuna, while not greatly impacting Kagaya, held immense significance for the country known as the Land of Waves.
This country had indeed weathered a storm that changed its entire trajectory. And next, Konoha was likely to face a similar storm—one powerful enough to alter the village itself.
Kagaya had been in the Land of Waves for several months now.
Kagaya usually didn't pay much attention to time, but this time he was genuinely growing impatient. He and Orochimaru had begun planning the invasion of Konoha towards the end of Konoha Year 59. In early Konoha Year 60, Kagaya had come to the outskirts of Konoha.
Adding up the fragmented time since then, almost half a year had passed unnoticed.
The current time was Konoha Year 60, June.
Nearly six months, yet the invasion plan had not officially commenced (Kagaya was unaware Orochimaru was already on the path to assassinate the Kazekage).
This couldn't help but make Kagaya anxious.
"Hurry up. I can't wait any longer to kill Danzō."
Muttering to himself, Kagaya turned and began walking back towards the inn where he was staying.
This outing was purely for a change of scenery. Over the past half-year, neither the invasion plan nor his training in the Flying Thunder God Technique had made significant progress, which had begun to irritate him, prompting him to step out for some air.
Moreover, most importantly, to enhance his strength and ensure Danzō's death, Kagaya had never ceased training his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Recently, Kagaya had begun to notice a clear decline in his vision.
Currently, Kagaya did not want to transplant his father's Mangekyō. Evolving into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan through transplantation required a considerable period of time. Having never experienced it, Kagaya didn't know exactly how long that would be. If it were to cause him to miss this opportunity to kill Danzō, that was something he could not bear.
Besides, it was that old scoundrel Danzō who had been responsible for awakening these Mangekyō eyes. Kagaya was determined to make him personally taste the flavor of these demonic eyes he had helped bring into being.