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Late June, Konoha Year 60.
Kagaya and his group arrived in the vicinity of Konoha.
"What do you intend to do next?" Itachi looked at Kagaya and inquired.
Kagaya cast a meaningful glance at Itachi. Was this a simple inquiry about his plans, or did it serve another purpose?
Kagaya wasn't sure. However, he had already thought of a response on the journey here.
"Itachi, you and Kisame should stay on the outskirts of Konoha. Wait for my signal. Once chaos erupts within the village, you will act."
Itachi slightly furrowed his brow and asked, "And you?"
Kagaya smiled. "Myself, Haku, and Karin will infiltrate Konoha and wait for an opportune moment to move."
Kisame spoke with a hint of regret. "Won't it be a direct assault?"
Kagaya immediately rejected the idea. "This is Konoha. To invade it, thorough preparation is essential."
In the original plan between Orochimaru and Kagaya, there was no phase where Kagaya personally infiltrated the village. However, due to Itachi's presence, Kagaya had unilaterally added this step on the fly, aiming to separate from Itachi.
Considering the possibility that Itachi might pass information to the Third Hokage, as long as Kagaya remained with Itachi, any actions related to the invasion would have to be overly cautious. That was not what Kagaya wanted.
Therefore, Kagaya planned to use the pretext of infiltration to separate from Itachi, leaving him and his group outside Konoha while Kagaya's team secretly entered the village.
Coincidentally, by infiltrating Konoha, Kagaya could also better coordinate with Orochimaru's actions.
Regarding this plan of Kagaya's, Itachi couldn't say much. After all, Kagaya and Orochimaru were the primary architects of this operation; all plans were jointly decided by them. Itachi, to put it bluntly, was merely an assistant and not in a position to criticize.
Moreover, Itachi was no fool. He immediately recognized Kagaya's intent to separate from him. Trying to force him to stay would be futile.
In the end, Kagaya's three-person team infiltrated Konoha, while Itachi and Kisame remained outside, quietly awaiting their moment.
During this period, the best identity for infiltrating Konoha was that of foreign examinees participating in the Chūnin Exams.
Conveniently, Kagaya's group of three could form a small team. Thus, not long after, a three-person squad appeared.
The leader wore white clothes and a hat, with a white cloth wrapped around his face, covering from the nose down, revealing only his eyes.
Following him were two others: one wore blue-and-white clothing, similarly masked with a white cloth, showing only the eyes.
The other wore yellow attire and was clearly recognizable as Karin. Karin hadn't undergone extensive disguise. Mainly because within all of Konoha, only Kakashi had seen her, and even then only once. Kakashi likely wouldn't remember her. Therefore, a simple disguise sufficed for Karin.
The one wearing the hat at the front was, of course, Kagaya. Among the three, Kagaya was known to the most people in Konoha, hence his need for thorough disguise.
The other masked individual was Haku. Several people had seen Haku, but not many. A simple face covering would suffice.
As for masking one's face, it was quite a normal practice among shinobi, so no one would think much of it.
The three put on forehead protectors from Orochimaru's Otogakure and boldly entered Konoha.
July 1st, Konoha Year 60.
In a spacious classroom, numerous shinobi in varied attire gathered. These were all participants in the Chūnin Exams, including Kagaya and his team.
They had infiltrated a day or two prior. During that time, relying on Karin's formidable sensory abilities, they had located Orochimaru, who had already arrived in Konoha. Kagaya then informed Orochimaru of their current identities, hoping Orochimaru could legitimize them.
After all, on the surface, Otogakure had only dispatched three shinobi to Konoha; Kagaya's trio were not among them.
Orochimaru readily agreed. Subsequently, Konoha authorities and Dosu's team received official correspondence from Otogakure, stating that three additional shinobi would participate in the Chūnin Exams.
Konoha naturally had no objections. With so many shinobi already gathered, three more or less made little difference.
Dosu and his companions, however, were somewhat concerned, though they ultimately said nothing.
Thus, Kagaya's trio's identities were established: three genin dispatched from Otogakure to participate in Konoha's Chūnin Exams.
Sitting in a corner of the classroom, Kagaya gazed idly out the window. Thinking back, during his own schooling days, he had often sat bored in classrooms, staring blankly outside.
But that time was gone, impossible to return to.
With so many shinobi gathered in the classroom, it was inevitable that some would glare at others, exchanging challenging looks, the air thick with tension. Kagaya, however, couldn't be bothered to get involved.
Nearby, Karin constantly tried to find ways to sit next to Kagaya. Haku watched the surrounding people coldly; anyone who dared to approach provocatively was swiftly dealt with by Haku.
Haku's current strength was genuinely at the level of a top-tier Jōnin. In this classroom, aside from Gaara—who relied on his tailed beast's power to act recklessly—no one was a match for Haku.
Oh, right. Rock Lee, with the Eight Gates opened, could also be counted as one.
"HEY!!! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I won't lose to any of you! Got that?!!!"
A loud shout suddenly rang out, startling Kagaya from his reverie. He turned to look at the source. There, Naruto pointed a finger at the vast majority of shinobi present and declared his challenge with imposing vigor.
To issue such a provocative declaration to all the shinobi present right from the start—this kind of foolishness... How should one put it? It was undoubtedly something only that guy would do.
"Sigh."
With a sigh, Kagaya stopped paying attention and turned back to gaze out the window in a daze. He truly had no interest in competing with a bunch of genin.
It was more comfortable to just space out.
As he thought, Kagaya suddenly addressed Karin. "Karin, have you located him?"
Karin shook her head. "I can't be certain."
Since entering Konoha, Kagaya had tasked Karin with sensing Danzō's location. However, as Karin had never encountered Danzō before, even if she detected his chakra, it was difficult to confirm. It would require a more gradual approach.
If Karin had pinpointed Danzō's location, Kagaya wouldn't be idly passing time here, amusing himself with these genin. He would have long since headed straight for Danzō's location.
"Sigh, never mind. We'll take it slowly. There's no need to rush at this moment."
Kagaya sighed and resumed his daze.
He truly didn't need to hurry. Even if they couldn't find Danzō now, once Orochimaru made his move and began wreaking havoc on Konoha, Kagaya didn't believe Danzō would remain hidden.
Even if Danzō truly didn't emerge, Kagaya still wouldn't be anxious.
Didn't Danzō desperately want to strengthen Konoha? Fine. Since Danzō wouldn't come out, Kagaya would push Konoha to the brink, making it suffer immensely. Let's see if he would come out then.
Regardless of the outcome, this Konoha Crush Plan would surely make Danzō experience a taste of the pain Kagaya had felt back then.