Chapter 423: Malice Hidden in the Dark

“I just have a few questions I’d like to ask Lord Mu Yue,” Orochimaru said with a faint smile, rising to his feet and curving his lips slightly.

In such a public setting, Orochimaru naturally wouldn’t discuss Root matters directly with Muzuki, and he did indeed have some questions for Muzuki.

Muzuki nodded and followed Orochimaru, walking with him to a secluded, uninhabited spot near a campsite.

“Danzo should have already briefed you on what you need to do here,” Orochimaru said, stopping beside a large tree and turning to face Muzuki.

Orochimaru’s relationship with Danzo Shimura was somewhat complex.

Nominally, Orochimaru could even be considered Danzo Shimura’s subordinate, as he held a position within Root.

However, in reality, Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura were equals; they could be described as collaborators.

They had multiple collaborations, including human experimentation on Hashirama cells and research into forbidden Ninjutsu.

But currently, their most important collaboration was for the position of Fourth Hokage.

Although Danzo Shimura very much wanted to become the Fourth Hokage himself, Danzo Shimura was not foolish; given the current circumstances, it was almost impossible for him to become the Fourth Hokage.

Danzo Shimura controlled Wood Release Ninja, but his Wood Release Ninja were too young and had not yet matured, and he had not yet acquired the Rinnegan or the sage art inheritance.

For Danzo Shimura, becoming Hokage himself was the best outcome, but if that path was blocked, then only one option remained for Danzo Shimura: his collaborator, Orochimaru.

The other two popular Hokage candidates had only an average relationship with Danzo Shimura, and if they became Hokage, it might affect Danzo Shimura’s existing power in Konoha.

Orochimaru, however, was different; Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura had a deep collaborative relationship, and if their actions were exposed, it would be enough to ruin both of their reputations in Konoha.

In other words, they were in the same boat, neither daring to betray the other easily, because they both held too much evidence against each other.

Therefore, Danzo Shimura could confidently support Orochimaru to become the Fourth Hokage with all his might.

Once Orochimaru took office, given their relationship, Danzo Shimura would undoubtedly gain even greater power than he currently possessed.

After all, if Orochimaru dared to say, “I am the Hokage,” then Danzo Shimura truly had the ability to make Orochimaru regret it.

“I will do my utmost to assist Orochimaru-sama in gaining military achievements,” Muzuki replied calmly.

“To have the assistance of such an excellent Ninja as Lord Mu Yue, this mission’s gains should be considerable,” Orochimaru praised without hesitation.

“But it truly is surprising; I never expected there to be a genius like Lord Mu Yue within Root,” Orochimaru said, scanning Muzuki with curious eyes.

It wasn’t that Orochimaru looked down on Root, but it was simply the truth: Root only had talent, not genius.

Because Hiruzen Sarutobi would not allow true geniuses to go to Root; Orochimaru could tell that Hiruzen Sarutobi had always consciously controlled Root’s overall strength.

“Orochimaru-sama overpraises me. When it comes to genius, you, one of the Sannin, are the true genius,” Muzuki said, engaging in polite flattery.

Muzuki had always been self-aware; aside from Sealing Technique, which he mostly cultivated himself, his other abilities were essentially acquired through cheating.

He was able to develop an ultimate Fire Release like Fire Dragon Dance not because Muzuki had good Fire Release talent, but because Muzuki received perfect Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation and a large number of master-level Fire Release from the system; his mind was filled with countless memories of Fire Release cultivation.

The same applied to Breathing Technique; Muzuki could develop new Breathing Techniques because he was already incredibly proficient in Breathing Technique itself. As long as he was willing to put in the effort and time, developing similar Breathing Techniques was not very difficult.

“I don’t think so. At least in the development of Bloodline Limit, you have surpassed me, as I haven’t successfully cultivated a Bloodline Limit,” Orochimaru said, shaking his head slightly.

Orochimaru was willing to spend so much time researching various Ninjutsu and forbidden Ninjutsu, so of course he had researched Bloodline Limit, especially Wood Release, on which Orochimaru spent a lot of time.

However, rather than saying Orochimaru was researching Wood Release, it would be more accurate to say Orochimaru was researching the vitality of Hashirama cells.

Compared to the power of Wood Release, Orochimaru hoped more to obtain the immense vitality within Hashirama cells, because Ninja were simply too fragile.

“Lord Mu Yue, might I be able to witness your Ice Release?” Orochimaru asked after some thought.

Orochimaru wasn’t very interested in Ice Release, but he was quite interested in Muzuki, who had cultivated Ice Release.

Muzuki nodded in agreement, gathering Chakra in his palm, then converting it into Ice Release Chakra and releasing it all.

“Freezing Ray!”

A blue-white beam shot out, instantly freezing a small area next to Orochimaru.

Clap, clap.

Orochimaru lightly clapped his hands twice. “I very much look forward to Lord Mu Yue’s performance on the battlefield.”

Orochimaru remembered that Muzuki’s intelligence stated he was proficient in the five basic Nature Transformations, capable of combining various Ninjutsu to enhance their power. Even his newly learned Ice Release had such a level of proficiency. Orochimaru was somewhat curious about the power of the Ninjutsu Muzuki specialized in.

…

To help his students get used to not having a sensei leading them, Muzuki quickly arranged a B-rank war mission for them: investigating villages where a three-person Hidden Mist squad was suspected to be active.

Since his main body was free, Muzuki didn’t send a Shadow Clone to follow them; he directly followed them with his main body, leaving a Shadow Clone at the camp.

Of course, to prevent accidents, Muzuki left a Flying Thunder God Kunai with his Shadow Clone, so even if an emergency occurred, he could be informed in time and return quickly.

“There are six villages in total. Should we split up? Two people per group, that would be faster,” Obito suggested after Kakashi finished explaining the mission.

Four people splitting up would be faster, but even Obito wouldn’t be so reckless on the battlefield. He and Kakashi and Shisui were fine, but if Rin Nohara encountered an enemy, it would be troublesome.

“That’s not safe. If you want to complete the mission quickly, then move faster,” Kakashi rejected Obito’s suggestion.

If Muzuki were present, Kakashi would agree, because Muzuki’s Flying Thunder God could provide quick support, but they didn’t have such favorable conditions now.

They didn’t even have a sensory Ninja among them now; if a comrade encountered an enemy, it would be difficult to know immediately.

While Transparent World had some similar abilities to Byakugan in certain aspects, its range was far inferior to Byakugan and could not serve as a sensory Ninjutsu.

Moreover, Kakashi’s stamina did not support him using Transparent World as a sensory Ninjutsu; it was his trump card in battle.

“Safety is still the most important thing on the battlefield,” Rin Nohara agreed.

“We can use Shadow Clones. Obito and I can each create a Shadow Clone to investigate villages other than where our main bodies are, which can improve efficiency,” Shisui suggested after some thought.

Maintaining one’s condition on the battlefield was also very important, so Shisui proactively suggested that he and Obito use Shadow Clones, because their Chakra reserves were significantly higher than Kakashi’s and Rin Nohara’s.

“That works,” Kakashi agreed to Shisui’s suggestion after a brief thought.

Since it was a B-rank war mission, encountering enemies was almost certain, and Shadow Clones collecting intelligence was a good option.

Feeling that Shisui had helped him save face, Obito, with a wide smile, put his arm around Shisui’s shoulder, believing it was very necessary to form a united front with Shisui against Kakashi. Shisui indeed possessed something that he lacked.

Next, Shisui and Obito each created a Shadow Clone to investigate other villages, while their main bodies followed Kakashi and Rin Nohara to investigate.

Facing the Ninja of their own country’s official great Ninja village, the villagers naturally told them everything, revealing all suspicious individuals they had seen in the past few days.

Just as Kakashi and his team were investigating the second village, a memory of fighting a Mist Ninja appeared in Shisui’s mind.

“They are in Tanoshita Village, probably one Jonin leader plus two Chunin. Obito’s Shadow Clone is still stalling for time,” Shisui quickly organized his words.

His Shadow Clone dispelled itself intentionally to let his main body know the information from that location.

Although they were strong, two Shadow Clones trying to defeat a Jonin squad was wishful thinking; their main bodies had to participate.

“Move at full speed,” Kakashi immediately ordered, then dashed out first.

However, a squad of this strength was completely trivial for them now.

Aside from Rin Nohara, any member of their squad had the ability to directly defeat a regular Jonin.

And while Rin Nohara couldn’t defeat a Jonin militarily, self-preservation was not an issue, and she possessed powerful support abilities.

In other words, the actual combat strength of their four-person squad was three Jonin plus one Medical Special Jonin.

When the Mist Ninja discovered that the Konoha Ninja they had defeated was actually a Shadow Clone, they immediately wanted to retreat, but Kakashi’s speed, maximizing his Thunder Breathing, was very fast; he instantly transformed into a Flash of lightning and blocked the three Mist Ninja.

Although Kakashi looked like a rookie Ninja who had just graduated, Kakashi’s entrance was too flashy, and the Hidden Mist Jonin did not dare to underestimate him.

Hearing the sound of fast movement from behind, the Hidden Mist Jonin frowned deeply, no longer caring about Kakashi’s earlier display of speed, and immediately launched an attack on Kakashi.

“Quickly deal with him; there are more Konoha Ninja coming,” the Hidden Mist Jonin commanded his two subordinates to attack Kakashi after throwing a Shuriken.

Although he was anxious, the Hidden Mist Jonin’s extensive experience told him that now was not the time to rush. If he rushed in himself in a frenzy and was killed by Kakashi due to misjudging his strength, then his two subordinates would certainly not escape death.

Conversely, if his two subordinates could probe some information about Kakashi, then he still had hope of counter-killing and escaping.

The two Mist Ninja charged together; one used Water Release Ninjutsu to spew water at Kakashi, while the other drew the long sword from his back and swung it at Kakashi.

“Flash!”

Kakashi concentrated his breathing to boost his strength, converting all the Chakra gathered in his legs into Lightning Release Chakra and unleashing it in one breath, finally drawing his White Fang Short Blade and swinging it forward.

Whoosh!

Kakashi’s figure vanished from his original spot; blood bloomed on the Mist Ninja who had charged at him with a sword, and the Mist Ninja’s Shuriken and Ninjutsu all struck the empty space where Kakashi had stood moments before.

“Such speed and a powerful slash!” The Hidden Mist Jonin’s pupils sharply contracted, not expecting Kakashi to also casually kill someone while dodging attacks.

“Wait, that appearance… it’s the strongest Konoha genius, Kakashi Hatake!”

Looking at Kakashi’s white hair and the lightning crackling around him, the Hidden Mist Jonin finally remembered Kakashi’s name.

Before the war began, Hidden Mist Village had distributed intelligence on Konoha’s geniuses from the Chunin Exams to their Ninja, emphasizing their priority: if encountered, prioritize killing those young geniuses.

And Kakashi Hatake was the most dazzling genius among them, after all, he had won against everyone and stood until the end.

“A guy who was still participating in the Chunin Exams last year now has this kind of strength?” The Hidden Mist Jonin was filled with shock.

At first, he thought Kakashi might be like Yagura Karatachi, who looked young but was actually just short with a baby face, but now, it was clear this was a genuine young genius.

The Hidden Mist Jonin ran to the side without hesitation.

Although there wasn’t no hope of winning, he didn’t want to engage in a battle where death was highly probable; Kakashi’s teammates were still on their way.

“Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson!”

Several Kunai imbued with flames flew rapidly towards the direction the Hidden Mist Jonin was retreating, forcing the Hidden Mist Jonin to stop.

The Hidden Mist Jonin turned his head to see a boy who looked even younger than Kakashi standing nearby, slightly out of breath, still holding the pose of throwing Kunai.

“The Ninja I just encountered.” Remembering Obito’s face, the Hidden Mist Jonin was somewhat speechless. Had he encountered Konoha’s genius squad, a team full of geniuses?

“Phantom Body Flicker Technique!”

Facing the enemy, Shisui had no intention of holding back at all; he immediately activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and used Phantom Body Flicker Technique to engage the enemy with genjutsu.

Just then, Kakashi, with another extremely sharp slash, instantly killed the other Hidden Mist Chunin, quickly rushing to Shisui’s side to help.

By the time Obito and Rin Nohara arrived, the Hidden Mist Jonin was already severely wounded. Before Obito could even make a move, Kakashi directly finished off the Hidden Mist Jonin with a single strike.

“Just missed it!” Obito scratched his hair, somewhat frustrated. If he had been just a little faster, he would have made it.

In fact, Obito could have been faster, but he was worried that Rin Nohara might encounter danger traveling alone, so he didn’t pull too far ahead of her.

“Mission successfully completed. Let’s head back,” Kakashi said decisively.

Kakashi had been moving at full speed and fighting with all his might, so his Chakra and stamina were already more than half depleted. He wanted to return as soon as possible, otherwise, if they encountered enemies, they would be short one combatant.

Obito could only walk back to the camp with a bitter expression, having originally wanted to outshine Kakashi, but ended up not even getting a chance to show off.

This mission made Obito realize one thing: sometimes speed was truly important.

With his students safe and sound, Muzuki also returned.

Seeing Muzuki leave, Zetsu, who had been hidden, revealed himself.

“This guy’s protectiveness is a bit too much; he even secretly protects them on a B-rank mission,” Zetsu said, feeling a headache. This wasn’t convenient for their plan.