Chapter 75: Scarred Red
When the Konoha reinforcements arrived, all that was left for them was ruin.
Or rather, hell.
The arriving Konoha ninja vomited in droves. Even though they were used to mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield, a scene that seemed like a nightmare constructed in reality was too much.
No matter the era, as long as one finds a rhetoric that grants 'legitimacy' to one's actions, one can always rally their forces.
After all, humans are beings who must have something to support them before they can fight. Numb people immersed in war are easily manipulated by such rhetoric.
It is difficult for humans to contemplate reality in the gap between life and death, and their spirits are even more likely to be numbed by constant killing.
However, from an extreme perspective, those who become numb are lucky. Because the more sober one is, the more they will be drowned by the guilt of killing their own kind in the vortex of war, ultimately meeting a tragic end.
On this basis, the strong sense of dislocation brought by the difference between killing one's kind and "cooking" one's kind can easily tear apart the fig leaf of 'legitimacy,' completely shattering the numbness brought by slaughter.
The survivors and lightly injured who were lucky enough not to be caught in it also sat paralyzed on the ground, lost. Perhaps the wails and struggles of their companions scraped away not only the flesh of the dead and injured but also their spirits.
All the Konoha ninja were naturally deeply shaken by the scene before them.
Except for Orochimaru.
This ninja with pale skin and an aura of gloom merely frowned slightly before stepping into this hell on earth without scruples.
Ever since his student, eager for merit, disobeyed his command in an encounter and ran headfirst into a trap, dying from injuries caused by Exploding Tags, Orochimaru had realized a fact even more clearly.
Regardless of the initial purpose, war is simply something that causes everything to collapse and be destroyed.
And life, something already extremely fragile, is even more like dry grass in the wilderness during war, crushed in swathes by a gust of wind.
His parents were like this, and so was his disciple. Identity and status make no difference on the battlefield. Humans might have reservations because of these things, but weapons do not.
His view on life and death became more extreme, his temperament more gloomy. It was just a variation of hell; what did it matter in his eyes now?
"Judging by the traces, it's a jutsu similar to Boil Release. Is it Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchūriki? Or someone from Kirigakure?"
'No, no matter how incompetent the village's intelligence department is, they wouldn't let Iwa or Kiri sneak into this place.'
In the current Land of Rain, the number of Iwa ninja could at best be considered a 'remnant party.' With old potato Ōnoki's personality, if he were to deploy a Jinchūriki, he absolutely wouldn't send just this few people to assist.
Besides, entering the fray now wasn't Iwa's style.
And after the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed and the overseas barrier lost, Konoha's vigilance against Kiri had increased by more than one level.
although they were almost suppressed by Hanzō on the battlefield against Ame, not being killed in a single encounter by Hanzō, who was still at his peak, was proof of strength in itself.
So when the war against Ame ended, and Suna suddenly pulled out new equipment hidden for a long time, the three, who had planned to return to the village to rest, went to the front against Suna instead.
And among the three bestowed the name 'Konoha's Sannin,' Orochimaru was undoubtedly the strongest and most adaptable to the battlefield currently.
Even if he had complaints about the village's intelligence department, he wouldn't question their ability to do even this most basic job.
So, a similar effect achieved by coordinating a jutsu that instantly generates high heat with a large-scale Water Release? Is it Suna's 'Gojō Satoru' and Pakura?
Orochimaru, seen by Sarutobi Hiruzen as possessing talent surpassing his own, had an understanding and sensitivity to ninjutsu that was second to none in Konoha.
After overturning his initial speculation, he immediately thought of one of the three Suna Jōnin currently famous.
Although he hadn't fought them due to different battlefields, Orochimaru had seen the relevant intel.
He had little interest in the puppet master 'Muta Kokichi' and the taijutsu master 'Fushiguro Toji', two guys with different systems, but the prefix of Suna's Water Release Master attracted Orochimaru.
Being able to train Water Release to the level recorded in the desert, it was normal to be able to achieve this. The only doubt was that Scorch Release ninja—how did she evaporate so much water and retreat unscathed?
Although Pakura's Scorch Release fireballs could indeed be released remotely, the distance obviously didn't reach the extent of spanning half a town, let alone the scale.
As for why retreat unscathed... nonsense. Konoha, with such a huge enterprise, didn't use batches of bloodline ninja as firecrackers. Would Suna be willing to sacrifice their only Scorch Release ninja?
"Interesting..."
Even Orochimaru, without questioning others, could only deduce this far based on observation of the scene and casualties. Even guessing the 'method' required listening to specific details before making the next judgment.
Making arbitrary judgments out of thin air based solely on experience has always been a taboo for researchers.
Moreover, he always felt that a strange smell permeated this tragic hell.
Not the physiologically unacceptable smell in the air, but a more subtle, indescribable 'atmosphere.'
It is well known that snakes without external ear holes are not sensitive to sounds directly transmitted through the air. However, corresponding to this is their extraordinary sensitivity to vibrations transmitted through contact with objects via bone conduction.
The combination of the pit organ's temperature sensing and bone conduction can even achieve a grasp of physiological states almost like mind-reading. Simply closing their mouths can isolate pheromone intrusion, allowing them to easily accept and isolate specific information.
Snakes are natural experts in information processing; if they don't do well enough, they can't survive in brutal natural competition.
Orochimaru, whose name, temperament, and ninjutsu are inseparable from snakes, is naturally an expert in this.
Even though he had never encountered similar power, the 'residual scent of Cursed Energy' remaining here still constantly teased his nerves.
Like a snake hissing outside a wall, a spider walking lightly across a wrist, or some beast yawning in a distant tree, sharpening its claws against the trunk—faint sounds that seemed to exist yet seemed inaudible.
This novel feeling made it hard for Orochimaru not to be interested. If Hiiro Rinko were still here, he would probably be quite happy. Even if the two sides met on the battlefield and separated on the battlefield, it didn't prevent them from attracting each other due to some degree of similarity.
However, in the eyes of outsiders, Orochimaru smiling in this 'meat soup' was a bit too perverted.
"How long are you going to stand there? By the time you finish vomiting, who knows how many more survivors here will die."
Probably sensing the gazes from behind, turning his head to glance at the Konoha ninja behind him with eyes increasingly like a snake's, Orochimaru scolded with his highly recognizable hoarse voice.
If he were alone, he would probably find a few relatively able-bodied people to question and then ignore the other injured.
From his perspective, considering treatment costs and success rates, nearly 80% of these survivors were simply a waste of medical resources. And of those who could survive, about 50% to 70% would likely be insulated from ninja life in the future.
Damage to limbs, eyeballs, throat, and even internal organs—any of these was a fatal blow to a ninja.
Resources that weren't abundant to begin with—it would be better to save them than use them on these people.
But such words lacking the 'Will of Fire' cannot be said to comrades in the village...
Not knowing who he was mocking in his heart, Orochimaru, walking to the 'center' position, suddenly found a very abrupt small mound on the ground.
Breaking it open, a ninja covered in burn blisters, with hair almost gone, was lying half-dead inside.
It was the Sarutobi Clan commander who failed to pursue 'Gojō Satoru,' took a Water Release head-on, and was the first to be hit by the steam.
Before being burned by the steam, he had used Earth Release to wrap himself up first. Although he looked like a beggar's chicken now, judging from the actual effect, it indeed saved his life.
"You mean, two of the three people who attacked the camp were special clones, and that 'Gojō Satoru' turned into a red-haired appearance at the end?"
A moment later, in a makeshift tent, he asked the Sarutobi Jōnin wrapped in gauze like a mummy on the hospital bed with interest.
The latter, who barely regained consciousness, nodded with difficulty, then collapsed on the bed as if all his strength was used up.
"Iron Sand clone... red hair... heh, interesting..."
Although initially seeking more intel to solve his doubts, he didn't expect that after getting a precise description, the whole thing became even more exaggerated and confusing.
In a ninja's career, this was certainly not a rare thing, but encountering it was enough to make the person involved feel stunned.
A red-haired guy used special clone techniques to disguise himself as three Suna Jōnin currently in the limelight and attacked this stronghold single-handedly?
Is this reasonable?
Thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem that unreasonable.
If one thinks from the perspective that "those three Jōnin were disguised by that red-haired ninja alone from the beginning," many things make sense. For example, why there was no intel on those three Jōnin in the past, and why, despite records of simultaneous appearances, the three of them were always in the same war zone.
Orochimaru and the other two were like bricks, moved wherever needed. Why would Suna, lacking talent even more, use three capable Jōnin so inefficiently?
Now the problem is solved.
As for how a ninja mastered so many abilities with different inclinations... don't worry about it; geniuses do exist in this world.
Although suspected of boasting, he himself was a multi-talented person. His teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen, and his teacher's teacher Senju Tobirama, were the same.
Compared to the Sarutobi Jōnin fabricating lies to escape responsibility, Orochimaru actually thought his story was more credible.
After all, asking other survivors would yield the answer. Leaving aside whether the Sarutobi Jōnin could collude with others in this situation, even if he could, he wouldn't fabricate a setting even science fiction novels wouldn't dare adopt.
"Red hair, skilled in puppetry, taijutsu, Wind and Water Release, suspected of mastering the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai... let the intelligence department investigate based on these characteristics for now."
After calling the messenger ninja and assigning this task, Orochimaru himself almost couldn't hold back.
Because his vision was distorted by the flow of Water Release, the Sarutobi Jōnin could only determine the opponent had red hair. Details like appearance, height, and weight could not be provided at all.
Just using the characteristic of red hair to tell the intelligence department to investigate was indeed too difficult for them. After all, red-haired people in the Land of Wind were more common than stray dogs.
As for what ninjutsu he was skilled in... it was actually hard to use as valuable intel, especially regarding Sunagakure.
Although among the Five Great Nations, the lands of the other four besides the Land of Fire all had their own terrible aspects, the Land of Wind was the most outstanding in terms of "garbage land."
The islands of the Land of Water weren't actually too harsh an environment. The plateaus of the Land of Lightning were passable, just a bit noisy. Although the heavy mountains of the Land of Earth hindered communication with the outside world, if one pursued 'stability,' it wasn't a bad place for seclusion.
Sending spies to these countries was actually quite easy to justify.
Okay, now the pressure was on the spy team for the Land of Wind.
The most important thing for a long-term spy is a plausible identity.
But—
What kind of illness do you have to want to settle in the Land of Wind?
Fell in love with a Land of Wind girl? Possible, but this excuse isn't very useful. Business? Sure, but everyone knows the business environment in the Land of Wind. Going in to make money is normal, but isn't opening a shop and staying there a bit too desperate?
Even if, hypothetically, one planned to open a tea house near a trade route, it would be hard to find a reason to get close to Sunagakure, let alone sneak in to gather ninja intel.
The original intel points like post stations were still there, but with the collapse of trade between Wind and Fire, intel from there was hard to send to Konoha, so they switched to hidden mode.
Developing locals as spies was possible, but the problem was the same as the post stations: it was hard to send out intel now.
Geographical advantage, geographical advantage!
Although he had repeatedly experienced how stagnant an intelligence agency without a core could be, Orochimaru felt the urgent desire to replace them with a master of this art for the first time.
"Um... okay, so what should we call this guy?"
The messenger ninja obviously thought of this too, his expression fighting a bit with his worry for his comrades. For his own bottom line, he immediately found an excuse to change the subject.
Thinking of the injuries of the Konoha ninja outside, and then thinking of the only physical characteristic of the red-haired ninja, Orochimaru settled on a code name for him.
"Let's call that guy 'Scarred Red' for now."