Chapter 199
2-in-1-chapter
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He was not especially interested in jinchūriki, but he would not object to having extra material for his experiments.
At that moment, he heard faint footsteps behind him. The accumulated snow gave a crisp crunch as someone stepped on it. The snowfall had grown heavier, and in the blink of an eye, the nearby forest was blanketed in white.
"Haku, did you find anything?"
"Lord Orochimaru, Konoha's reinforcements will arrive soon."
Haku, his long ponytail trailing behind him, hurried over. His white robes fluttered in the cold wind.
"So they are coming after all? What a pity."
Orochimaru let out a sigh—no surprise in his tone, only disappointment.
"Were you able to identify Konoha's reinforcements?"
"My shadow clone saw them. If I'm not mistaken, the leader should be the one from the picture you showed me before—Uchiha Rēn."
"Uchiha Rēn…"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
He had heard the name many times but had never met the man in person. Back when he was still in Konoha, he had paid little attention to the Uchiha clan, which operated largely on its own. He had only been familiar with the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, and a few well-known Jōnin.
As for the younger generation like Uchiha Rēn, he had never met them face to face. He had seen Shisui a few times in the ANBU, but that was all—hardly enough to understand him.
Only after leaving Konoha did Orochimaru learn, through various channels, what these names truly represented. He had already experienced Shisui's power firsthand. Now he wondered just how formidable the "Flame Demon," Uchiha Rēn, reputed to be Shisui's equal—or even stronger—really was.
Perhaps today, he would have the chance to see it with his own eyes.
"Lord Orochimaru, what are our next steps?" Haku asked, watching as Orochimaru stood motionless, like a statue, letting the snow accumulate on his shoulders.
Orochimaru exhaled softly, as if snapping out of a brief daze. He brushed the snow from his shoulder and turned his gaze once more toward the fierce battle raging in the distance between two colossal figures. "Next… yes, let's just keep watching. It's not our time to intervene yet," he said. "Haku, there's no need to worry. We don't have to do anything right now—just watch."
"But, Lord Orochimaru, my Shadow Clone might already have been discovered by Konoha's shinobi. You told me yourself how terrifying the Byakugan's perception is. My clone won't be able to escape its sight. If we keep staying here, won't it draw Konoha's pursuit?"
Haku spoke anxiously.
"Calm yourself. They don't know who you are or what you look like. Trust me—they'll assume you're one of Kumogakure's spies. Neither Konoha nor the Cloud knows we exist. They won't find us. We'll simply watch from here like fishermen waiting to reel in their catch. And even if they manage to follow the traces you left behind, they won't send a large force. Their task is to support the frontline; at most, they'll dispatch one or two small teams."
Orochimaru's voice was steady, his tone almost casual.
The intelligent boy quickly grasped his meaning. After thinking for a moment, he nodded in full agreement.
That was true. His Shadow Clone had used the Transformation Technique to infiltrate and observe Konoha's reinforcements, so discovery was nearly unavoidable. But even if the Konoha shinobi found it, they would not be able to detect Orochimaru's presence through the clone.
It should be impossible, right?
Silently, Haku lifted his head, his eyes wide as he and Orochimaru watched the distant clash between Susanoo and the Eight-Tails. Before long, all distracting thoughts vanished from his mind, replaced by complete focus on the magnificent, earth-shaking battle unfolding before them.
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.....
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"Nine times out of ten, that was a Cloud spy," said Hyūga Hiashi.
"Cloud shinobi?" Rēn looked down at the faint depressions in the snow, traces of someone having been crouched there. From the scattered outlines, it seemed clear that the figure had been a Shadow Clone. Hiashi had seen it with his Byakugan—a nondescript man crouching in the snow before dissolving into a puff of white smoke.
The Second Hokage really had left behind endless trouble.
Once the Shadow Clone Technique had spread widely, battles between shinobi had become far more complicated than before, filled with tricks and deceptions impossible to discern at first glance.
"Since there was a Cloud spy here, it looks like Kumogakure's counterattack is moving faster than we expected." Rēn's gaze shifted toward the distant horizon.
The Cloud forces originally occupying the Kusatsu Highlands had already been routed and destroyed. There should have been no point in leaving a spy behind—unless the Cloud reinforcements had arrived ahead of schedule and planted scouts to watch for Konoha's follow-up troops, preventing themselves from being caught off guard.
That explanation made sense.
However—
"Shisui, you didn't use Susanoo in the fight?"
The thought lingered in Rēn's mind. Based on his prediction, with Samehada in Shisui's hand, even if Susanoo couldn't completely overwhelm the Cloud shinobi, they certainly wouldn't have been able to easily surround him, let alone send scouts this far out. Still, he knew his reasoning was somewhat speculative, resting on assumptions rather than facts.
So he chose not to voice it.
"Should we track them?" asked Hiashi.
"Shibi, take a team and investigate. If you can catch up to them, eliminate them. If—and I mean if—something feels wrong, don't take unnecessary risks. Ensure your own safety and bring the information back. That's enough."
Rēn had no particular suspicion toward Orochimaru. What concerned him was the possibility that the deranged Uchiha Obito might be lurking nearby. There was still no effective countermeasure against Kamui, and the only option was to remain constantly alert, never letting down one's guard.
"Understood."
Aburame Shibi nodded. He personally selected three shinobi—a Hyūga Jōnin, a Yamanaka Jōnin, and an Inuzuka Jōnin—all specialists in tracking. The four formed a temporary pursuit unit and followed the faint traces Haku's clone had left behind.
The main force paused for barely a minute before resuming their advance, moving swiftly toward the Kusatsu Highlands now visible ahead.
Rēn led from the front.
If not for his position as supreme commander, he would already have charged ahead alone. But he could not act so recklessly. His goal was the position of Sixth Hokage, and a Hokage needed far more than combat ability alone.
Especially given the Uchiha clan's tarnished reputation, Rēn could not afford a single reckless move that might further damage their name.
He needed to demonstrate overwhelming strength and command in front of this combined army made up of clan shinobi and civilian ninja alike, to etch reverence and obedience into their minds—gradually cultivating it until they would accept his leadership willingly, whether as supreme commander or as the Sixth Hokage himself.
Before long, everyone saw it: the massive forms of Susanoo and the Eight-Tails standing before them like mountains.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rolled across the sky.
The ground beneath their feet trembled.
"What is that…"
Even though Hyūga Hiashi had already seen Susanoo before, witnessing the emerald Susanoo clash with the Eight-Tails still made his heart quiver.
He was not the only one shaken; everyone present felt the earth rumble and stood frozen in disbelief, their breath caught in their throats.
Even the veterans who had survived the Third Shinobi World War lost their composure at the sight. The scene before them was too familiar. It dragged their minds back to that night of madness during the Nine-Tails' rampage, the night they had lost the Fourth Hokage.
"What on earth is that?"
"Are we… supposed to join that kind of battle?"
Panic rippled through the ranks, though their shinobi discipline kept them from breaking into chaos. Instead, they instinctively turned toward their squad leaders and Jōnin commanders, waiting anxiously for orders.
"What's happening up ahead?"
Rēn halted his steps.
"It's the Fourth Raikage, Ai. He's fighting Uchiha Fugaku…" Hyūga Hiashi widened his eyes in disbelief. Shifting his attention away from the emerald Susanoo locked in combat with the Eight-Tails, he finally noticed that Uchiha Fugaku had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Fugaku's Susanoo was only in its first stage, far smaller and less striking than Shisui's. In fact, from Rēn's position, they could not see Fugaku's Susanoo at all.
But—
"Elder Fugaku?"
Rēn raised an eyebrow, his expression clear with understanding.
It seemed that Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan had finally escaped its unstable, half-dormant state. As expected of the former head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku still had his hidden cards to play.
"Other than Elder Fugaku, what's the situation?"
"The main Kumogakure forces are on the far side of the Susanoo and the Eight-Tails. The group fighting Elder Fugaku consists of only about two hundred shinobi, while we have barely thirty or forty on our side… the Chūnin haven't joined the battle."
"All Genin and Chūnin are to remain on standby."
Rēn turned to the Jōnin gathered behind him and issued his orders. "Shiosui, you'll command the Genin and Chūnin staying behind. Hiashi, select a group of Jōnin to assist Elder Fugaku."
"And what about you, Lord Hokage's Advisor?" asked Nara Suzaku.
"Me?"
Rēn smiled. "I'm going to help Shisui. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get to enjoy some grilled octopus."
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