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In the early morning, the sky was clear and the air was bright, creating a beautiful sight.
Ishigami Hara, Orochimaru, and Nawaki, along with Hyuga Toru's four-man team, left the camp quietly and headed north.
The north of the River Country is the Land of Rain, and the two are adjacent. The reason why it is called the River Country is because the water from above creates many large and small rivers throughout.
So the seven of them moved along smoothly and did not encounter any unexpected situations on the way. In less than three days, the Land of Rain was already in sight.
"What's wrong, Hara-kun?"
During another rest period, Orochimaru saw Ishigami Hara frowning and looking somewhere, and asked aloud.
Ishigami Hara was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Nothing."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, also looking in that direction, and said hoarsely: "Is there something there?"
Ishigami Hara replied: "It's hard to say, do you want to go and have a look?"
"Okay!"
The seven people set off immediately, stopping after walking about four or five kilometers. They searched carefully within this range, but found nothing.
Nawaki also frowned and said, "Did you sense anything?"
There were similar situations along the way, but the result was the same every time. Even though Hyuga Toru activated his Byakugan the entire time, he still found nothing.
Ishigami Hara did not hide it and nodded slightly: "I do feel something, but it's very vague, and I can't be sure."
Orochimaru licked his lips and laughed softly: "It seems that we have to be more cautious."
Nawaki quickly cheered up and nodded: "Okay, teacher, I will pay attention."
Ishigami Hara just nodded without saying much, but he was conversing with Uchiha Izuna in his mind.
"There may be a surprise waiting for you later."
Uchiha Izuna didn't understand and asked, "Surprise? What are you planning, kid?"
Ishigami Hara said, "The waters of the ninja world are much deeper than you think."
"Damn it, explain it to me clearly."
Ishigami Hara ignored him and looked around. Under the vision of his Byakugan, a vague chakra could be seen moving away into the distance.
Compared to Hyuga Toru, Ishigami Hara's Byakugan was purer, but because of the last incident, Hyuga Toru, as a member of the branch house, didn't talk to Ishigami Hara much along the way.
It's not that Hyuga Toru had a problem with Ishigami Hara. On the contrary, as a teammate, Hyuga Toru understood Ishigami Hara's talent and ability better than others, but due to certain rules in the clan, he had to behave this way.
Ishigami Hara seemed normal about this and didn't care much.
Retracting his gaze, Ishigami Hara's mouth slightly curled up before he quickly composed himself.
The same thing happened several times along the way, but each time nothing was found. Of course, this was the case for Orochimaru and Nawaki, but for Ishigami Hara, he already knew who was behind it all.
Apart from Uchiha Madara, Ishigami Hara couldn't think of anyone else who could do this. The only ones who could hide so well from the Byakugan were the White Zetsu.
It's easy to guess that Ishigami Hara had been targeted by Uchiha Madara. After all, the Byakugan and Sharingan are both incredibly rare. It's only natural that it would attract Uchiha Madara's attention.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and there were no more incidents. The three of them didn't know that White Zetsu, who had been following them all the way, was now shrinking and hiding behind a rock, looking helpless.
"Well, it's not my fault. Lord Madara asked me to follow him, but that kid is so sharp that he can even detect my Mayfly Technique. How can I follow him?"
Thinking this, White Zetsu decided to retreat and inform Uchiha Madara of the news.
As for other matters, White Zetsu didn't dwell on them.
On the other side, as time passed, around the afternoon, the three finally arrived at the Konoha camp in the Land of Rain.
However, the atmosphere was different from what they had expected. Most of the Konoha shinobi were low in spirits or looked solemn. Their expressions only brightened when they saw Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
"Lord Orochimaru is here."
"Great, Lord Orochimaru has finally arrived."
The three were quickly brought into the camp, and Ishigami Hara soon learned the reason for the low morale.
Jiraiya had been injured and was unconscious, while Tsunade had become withdrawn after a certain incident. Now, whenever she saw blood, she trembled and could hardly maintain her fighting ability.
Nawaki's face changed, and he quickly asked, "What happened to my sister?"
The Konoha shinobi leading the way looked uncomfortable, hesitating for a moment before saying, "I can't give the details, but… Lord Dan died."
Orochimaru's face darkened slightly, his brows furrowed. "Kato Dan died? When did it happen?"
"Seven days ago."
The Konoha shinobi looked ashamed, then added, "We were supposed to send support, but the Rain shinobi were crazier than we expected. Their counterattack caused heavy losses. Lord Jiraiya was also seriously injured when he faced Hanzō of the Salamander alone."
"I need to see my sister."
Nawaki couldn't hold back any longer, bypassing the shinobi and running towards the camp.
Seeing this, Ishigami Hara followed suit.
Orochimaru took a deep breath, motioned to Hyuga Toru and the others, and quickly followed.
The camp was filled with wounded shinobi, and Nawaki soon found Tsunade, who was not in a good state. She looked dazed, sitting against a tree without a word.
"Sister!"
Nawaki's shout brought Tsunade out of her daze. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Nawaki's worried face.
"Nawaki…"
Tsunade still looked a little immature at this stage. Her delicate face was filled with fatigue, and her eyes reddened when she saw her brother.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
Nawaki quickly replied, "I came here on my own. Sister, are you okay?"
Tsunade forced a smile. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."
At that moment, Orochimaru approached. After seeing Tsunade's condition, his brows furrowed even more tightly.
"This isn't like you, Tsunade."
Orochimaru's voice was even hoarser than usual. As her teammate, he didn't want to see her in such a state.
"Heh, I'm making a fool of myself."
Orochimaru smiled briefly, then asked, "So, the situation here is very bad?"
Tsunade nodded and admitted, "I can't give any more orders."
Orochimaru nodded in understanding and said, "I'll take over the command."
Turning to Ishigami Hara, Orochimaru continued, "From now on, you'll leave my team and go to the area near the border of the Land of Rain to guard. I'm giving you the right to act freely. If you deem something necessary, do it. Your task is to ensure that the camp doesn't fall to the Amegakure shinobi. Can you handle it?"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
Ishigami Hara didn't hesitate, and after receiving the order, he vanished.
"Teacher!?" Nawaki cried out in alarm.
Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru with confusion.
Orochimaru chuckled and said, "That child will be the key to ending this war with the Rain Country."