Something strange was happening — they occasionally saw more and more travelers on the road.
This small team saw more travelers the closer they got to the Land of Grass.
Some of these travelers even had their families with them.
"What's going on?"
"Someone has invaded the Land of Grass!"
After Uchiha Itachi investigated, he got the answer.
The Land of Grass invaded a small country, and that country, unable to rival the Land of Grass, hired the Kaguya Clan to counterattack, plunging the entire Land of Grass into war.
The Kaguya Clan had always been warlike, with no brains from top to bottom, enjoying wandering the Ninja World and occasionally acting as mercenaries, never caring about the attitudes of the big countries, not even The Hidden Mist Village.
"Another war..."
Kakashi Hatake sighed, "I thought we could avoid the war in the Land of Rain, but we still can't escape the flames of war..."
Kakashi Hatake didn't want to be drawn into the war and softly instructed, "Let's pass through cautiously, move by night and rest by day, and try not to attract more attention."
"This isn't something we can decide..."
Akihara Kagura shrugged, thinking that passing through the Land of Grass might not be peaceful, especially since they planned to stay there for a while.
To avoid being discovered, Kakashi Hatake decided their team would move by night and rest by day, taking as many secluded forest paths as possible to avoid being detected by the Kaguya Clan or the Grass Ninjas.
Morning.
The sun was just rising.
Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Itachi were camping and resting.
Akihara Kagura was in good spirits and insisted on going to the river to fish, which didn't arouse the suspicion of the other two, since this teammate genuinely enjoyed fishing.
Luckily, they didn't suspect anything.
Otherwise, Akihara Kagura might have needed to resort to some tricks, trying to get Orochimaru to capture Uchiha Itachi and lure Kakashi Hatake away.
According to the reconnaissance of White Zetsu, Orochimaru was nearby.
By the river.
A small white snake slithered out.
These small white snakes might be from the legendary Ryuchi Cave, possessing strong perception abilities and quickly sensing Akihara Kagura's Chakra.
"Sssss..."
The small white snake saw Akihara Kagura, quietly slipping into the grass.
Noon.
An unusual water ripple suddenly appeared on the surface of the water.
The figure of a long-haired man suddenly appeared on the water's surface, his body slowly walking out from the water, as if he was inherently a creature of the water.
"Kagura."
The long-haired man smiled slightly, looking at the stunned Akihara Kagura, greeting warmly, "How have you been lately? Did you like the New Year gift I sent you? Why aren't you speaking? Are you too excited to see me?"
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Akihara Kagura almost instantly put down the fishing rod in excitement!
"Alright, alright, don't be so excited."
Orochimaru reached out to pat his hair, a grim and sinister undertone always present in his affectionate smile, "I was just thinking about when to contact you, and the nearby white snake sensed your Chakra so quickly. It seems there are other Chakra forces here as well..."
"Those two are Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Itachi."
Akihara Kagura mentioned two names that made Orochimaru's eyes light up.
"Kakashi... and Uchiha Itachi..."
Orochimaru's tongue slowly reached out, licking his lips greedily: "The two of them... did you bring them as experimental materials for me?"
"..."
It's been a few months...
Orochimaru truly hasn't changed a bit...
If you're always thinking about using people as experimental materials, it will bring you disaster sooner or later!
"However, let's forget about it."
After Orochimaru finished, he continued on his own, "Although I really need some Sharingan lately, using them as experimental materials would be too wasteful. If they die here, it would arouse Konoha's suspicion of you."
"Yes."
Akihara Kagura slowly nodded, speaking like a wanderer longing to return home, "I just joined Konoha not long ago and was sent to the Dark Department. Danzo abandoned me. I've been trying to find a way to return to the Root Division to monitor him, but Danzo won't allow me to return..."
"Hehehehe..."
Orochimaru had known about this all along, a hint of mockery in his eyes, "Danzo couldn't bear to give up on your power."
"Perhaps it's not Shimura Danzo stopping you from returning, but your talent has been noticed by my teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who forcibly transferred you from the Root Division to the Dark Department."
Orochimaru mentioned his teacher, repeating his old habit of always bringing him up in conversations, starting to criticize his teacher, sneering, "Wanting to harness great power, yet stubbornly clinging to the Hokage's image, unwilling to make sacrifices, opting to seize the fruits of others' labor, yet placing the blame on others."
"..."
Akihara Kagura could only listen silently before cautiously speaking, "But I didn't complete Lord Orochimaru's task of monitoring..."
"No."
Orochimaru reached out to stroke Akihara Kagura, smiling in praise, "You've done better than I imagined. I already know, like what happened in The Hidden Mist Village, that Jutsu is very powerful."
This was something Orochimaru hadn't anticipated.
Even though Orochimaru believed in Akihara Kagura's astonishing Wood Release talent, he hadn't expected this young one to have grown strong enough to use the legendary Wood Dragon Jutsu, which only the First Hokage was said to wield!
"As for Shimura Danzo, his dealings are insignificant to me."
"That greedy coward couldn't possibly abandon our alliance."