This matter was not difficult.
The reason Yakushi Kabuto had not voiced his suspicions from the start was simply because he himself was not certain.
If the Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi were truly that easy to find, he would likely have been discovered long ago.
This wooden cabin should indeed be the place where the Four-Tails Jinchuriki once lived. Though it had long been empty, the scent of a Tailed Beast was not so easily erased.
Therefore, the moment Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto arrived at this cabin, they had already guessed that the Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi had probably been gone for some time.
Since Orochimaru still remained here, that was enough to prove that Lord Orochimaru's objective was not merely the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.
If that was the case.
All Yakushi Kabuto needed to do was voice his speculation.
"Setting aside the matter of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki for now, if the intelligence brought back by Karin, Jugo, and Guren is accurate."
"Besides us, there are three factions searching for the Four-Tails Jinchuriki — Kirigakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure."
A faint gleam flashed through Yakushi Kabuto's eyes. But when he reached this point, he paused, pushed up his glasses, and his tone grew somewhat uncertain.
"No, it should be four factions. Iwagakure sent people twice, and the two groups were not the same."
Hearing Kabuto's analysis, Orochimaru let out a low chuckle. He ran his tongue across his lips, a trace of excitement surfacing on his face.
"Iwagakure sent two separate groups? So, Kabuto, what do you make of this?"
Orochimaru's voice carried a slight rasp.
Yakushi Kabuto did not answer immediately. He pondered for a moment before speaking seriously.
"The fact that Iwagakure sent two separate squads of ninja to search for the Four-Tails Jinchuriki is enough to show that a rift has appeared among Iwagakure's higher-ups."
"Or perhaps, something has gone wrong with Iwagakure's leadership!"
Kabuto stopped there. Between these two guesses, he leaned toward the latter.
But precisely because of that, his heart was filled with uncertainty — or rather, doubt.
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki could be said to be the longest-reigning Kage in the entire Shinobi World. He had single-handedly ushered in Iwagakure's golden age.
Onoki's existence was the very anchor of Iwagakure. With him present, how could anything go wrong with the village's leadership?
Kabuto had also considered whether something had happened to the Third Tsuchikage Onoki himself, though this was purely conjecture.
After all, if a village's Kage had met with some mishap, all of Iwagakure should not appear as calm as it did now.
The higher-ups have problems?
Their movements are quite fast. After all, something similar happened to Kirigakure back in the day!
Compared to Kabuto's internal guesses, an inscrutable expression flickered across Orochimaru's face. Then he let out a low, rumbling laugh.
"Truly impressive."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out slowly, a hint of admiration in his tone.
Caught off guard by Orochimaru's sudden praise, Kabuto blinked. A peculiar light flickered in his eyes.
This compliment was most likely not directed at him.
If so, then something really had gone wrong in Iwagakure.
"We should speed things up as well." Orochimaru rose and headed out of the cabin.
Kabuto followed closely behind.
Meanwhile!
"Earth Style — Decapitation Jutsu!"
A surge of Chakra suddenly pulsed from beneath Nagato's feet. In an instant, he was dragged underground, leaving only his head above the surface.
Seeing that they had trapped this intruding ninja, three figures slowly emerged from the shadows.
"Didn't expect him to be a weakling. Thought we'd be in for some real trouble."
A middle-aged ninja looked down at Nagato, buried in the ground as if at their mercy, and sneered.
"A ninja from Amegakure? From a puny village like that, killing him is no loss." The black-haired ninja beside him spoke expressionlessly, though his voice carried unmistakable killing intent.
Even so, the two wandering ninja did not attack immediately. Instead, they seemed to be waiting for something.
After only a brief moment, the third wandering ninja, who had remained silent until now, suddenly opened his eyes and spoke calmly.
"I don't sense any other Chakra signatures nearby. It seems he's alone."
With the sensory ninja's confirmation, his two companions visibly relaxed.
"Before that, there's one more small matter."
As soon as he spoke, the sensory ninja vanished from sight. In just a few moments, he reappeared before the group.
But this time, he was dragging a ragged, terrified elderly civilian by the collar.
The sensory ninja tossed the old man to the ground, a mocking look on his face.
"I'm guessing you're the one who brought him here. Can't believe your village could still afford to hire a ninja. Looks like we didn't squeeze you dry enough last time."
Two icy, disdainful gazes also fixed upon the old man.
"Three Lord Ninja, our village truly has no more money! Please, spare our village!"
Terror written across his face, the elderly civilian dropped to his knees. Trembling all over, he kowtowed repeatedly to the three wandering ninja.
Unfortunately.
The old man's pleas did not stir even a shred of pity in the three wandering ninja. Instead, they burst into raucous laughter.
"Only knowing how to kill and plunder, you scum are truly the misfortune of the Shinobi World."
"Do the wails of these commoners really bring you that much joy?"
At that moment, Nagato, who had kept his head lowered and silent, slowly looked up. His eyes gazed calmly at the three laughing wandering ninja.
Instantly, the raucous laughter came to an abrupt halt. The air grew still, broken only by the sound of blood dripping from the old man's forehead as he continued to kowtow against the ground.
"How is that possible? Weren't you caught in a Genjutsu?"
"And your hands are buried underground — there's no way you could form hand seals!"
Disbelief washed over the middle-aged ninja's face as he stared at Nagato's calm expression, unable to suppress a cry of shock.
But in the next instant, all three wandering ninja moved at once, charging toward Nagato's position.
With a dull boom, the ground exploded outward. Nagato burst from underground, taking the initiative.
"Earth Style — Earth Dragon Bullets!"
Nagato gripped a kunai in one hand and pressed the other to the ground.
Sharp rock spikes erupted from the earth at tremendous speed. In the blink of an eye, they had appeared beneath the feet of all three wandering ninja.
The sensory ninja dodged first, but the other two were a beat too slow. The black-haired wandering ninja couldn't react in time and was impaled by the surging rock spikes.
The middle-aged ninja reacted a fraction faster than his black-haired companion, but his entire left arm was virtually destroyed. He let out a shriek of agony.
A whistling sound rang out behind the middle-aged wandering ninja. Before he could even react, Nagato drove a kunai straight into his neck.
Blood sprayed!
The middle-aged wandering ninja collapsed into a pool of blood, lifeless.
By now, the sensory ninja had just landed. Seeing the scene before him, his eyes went wide with horror.
In a single instant, both his companions had been slain. How could this Amegakure ninja be this strong?!
Without a moment's hesitation, the sensory ninja turned and fled in the opposite direction.
But he had barely taken a few steps before every hair on his body stood on end. His body stiffened — and the next moment, he too collapsed into a pool of blood.
A kunai had pierced clean through his body from behind!
Having effortlessly dispatched the three wandering ninja, Nagato's face remained utterly expressionless. He didn't even glance at the bodies. In a few leaps, he was already standing before the elderly civilian.
"Your village will be fine now. These wandering ninja had no other companions. No one else should come bothering you."
Nagato looked down at the old man, whose forehead was drenched in blood from kowtowing, and spoke in the same even tone.
Compared to shinobi villages with ninja protectors, the villages with no such guardians were far more numerous in the Shinobi World. And these settlements inevitably suffered raids from bandits and wandering ninja alike.
And that was precisely the sorrow of the weak!
In ordinary times, perhaps things would not be so bad. But now, the major shinobi villages were making moves behind the scenes, even if the surface appeared calm.
To those with keen instincts, this was an omen of the storm to come.
It was precisely for this reason that civilian villages without ninja protectors had begun drawing the attention of bandits and wandering ninja.
On his journey from Amegakure to Kirigakure, Nagato had naturally encountered several situations just like this one.
If it were ordinary bandits, Nagato would not have intervened. But when wandering ninja like these preyed upon civilians, he eliminated them without mercy.
"B-but... Lord Ninja, we have no payment to offer."
Looking at the three wandering ninja who had been disposed of in the blink of an eye, the old man's voice trembled as he spoke.
Though he had little dealings with ninja, the old man knew well that they required compensation for their services.
"You've already paid."
Nagato's tone was calm. Under the old man's bewildered gaze, he turned and vanished in a few leaps.
Before long, Nagato arrived at the hideout of the three wandering ninja.
It had to be said — while these three weren't particularly strong, they had a talent for hoarding wealth.
Packing up all the money from the hideout and sealing it into a scroll, Nagato turned and departed.
Judging by Nagato's practiced movements, it was clear he had done this sort of thing many times on the road. He was practically a seasoned hand at it.
Amegakure still needed to develop, and more money was always better.
Naturally, this was the payment Nagato had spoken of!
[
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