At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, Furen, wearing a Sound Village headband, slowly walked into an underground base located beneath the roots of a tree. Along the way, he passed several armed Sound ninja, but none of them seemed to notice him, allowing him to proceed without interruption.
Pushing open a door, Furen entered a dimly lit room. The weak light of the candles made it difficult to see clearly, but he could make out the vague outline of a beautiful woman lying on the bed.
The large-faced cat meowed at Furen's feet. He removed the headband from his forehead, gave the cat's face a little squeeze, and then turned his gaze to the figure on the bed.
"Where exactly did Orochimaru go?" Furen asked aloud.
The figure on the bed finally turned to look at him. It was Tayuya, one of the Sound Four.
"When will Lord Orochimaru's whereabouts be fully revealed? We only know part of the plan," Tayuya said, sitting up and tidying her long hair.
Hearing that even Tayuya wasn't sure of Orochimaru's whereabouts, Furen thought to himself, "If nothing unexpected happens, he should be preparing to ambush the Kazekage."
"So, why did you rush me to come to Kikyo Castle?" Furen frowned. He had initially thought Tayuya was afraid of their communication through summoned animals being intercepted.
"I wanted to inform you that Konoha's spies have tracked us to this place," Tayuya said. "They followed the Sand ninja returning home after the Chunin Exams and traced them here."
"Hayate Gekko and his team, huh?" Furen touched his chin. If he remembered correctly, Hayate Gekko was killed at Kikyo Castle.
After some thought, Furen nodded. "Alright, I'll go deal with them."
"But... before you leave, aren't you forgetting something?"
"You... don't you like me this way?"
Tayuya's favorability towards you increased by 5%
…
On the rooftop of a building in Kikyo Castle, Baki and Kabuto watched as Gaara, partially transformed into the One-Tail, rampaged in the distance.
"Incredible. I didn't expect his true form to be like this…" Kabuto's eyes were filled with shock as he stared at Gaara's berserk state. He hadn't anticipated that the Sand's secret weapon would be the rampaging One-Tail.
"This should be enough to convince the Sound ninja that the Sand is pulling its weight, right?" Baki glanced at Kabuto. "Weren't you keeping an eye on that Uchiha Sasuke kid? How do you have time to be here?"
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and replied, "My cover has been blown. Konoha has already discovered that I'm a spy for the Sound."
Hearing this, Baki's previously calm expression immediately darkened. "Then… if Konoha finds out you met with me, won't the plan to destroy Konoha be ruined? What kind of right-hand man of Orochimaru are you, getting discovered and still coming to meet me? How foolish…"
Kabuto ignored Baki's words, maintaining his signature smile.
"Just so you know, if you fail, the Sand will pull out immediately. After all, this was originally the Sound's plan," Baki continued. "The Kazekage can't get involved. Lord Kazekage gave strict orders!"
"Don't worry, here's the blueprint for the plan." Kabuto pushed his glasses up again and handed over a scroll. "Also... leave the cleanup to me. I'm curious to see who's already making their move…"
Baki tucked the scroll into his clothes. "No… I'll take care of it. Since we're allies, the Sand should contribute as well… besides, the rat followed us here."
Hayate Gekko, who had been hiding under the eaves using Transparent Release, was shocked. He prepared to escape, but it was already too late. With no other options, he drew his sword and leaped to the rooftop, facing both Baki and Kabuto.
After the conclusion of the preliminary round of the third stage of the Chunin Exams, he had followed the Sand ninja to this location, overhearing some shocking information.
"I must report this to Lord Hokage!" Hayate thought.
"Well, well… isn't this the proctor? What brings you here?" Baki said, looking at Hayate.
Without a word, Hayate formed hand seals and charged at Baki. At this point, his only option was to fight and try to escape.
"Konoha Style… Crescent Moon Dance!"
Hayate created three shadow clones, successfully confusing Baki, and his sword struck Baki's shoulder.
Without even glancing at the wound, Baki formed hand seals and counterattacked, willing to trade injury for injury!
…
After the Sound and Sand ninja left, Furen, who had witnessed the entire scene, stood before Hayate Gekko's dismembered body. He slowly picked up Hayate's sword and headband.
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T/N:
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