"Rumble—"
Thunder roared, and the pallid white lightning shone on faces like corpse wax.
The lightning could not reach the depths of Konoha, but the booming sound shook the heart.
On a dark, secluded path, light footsteps rang out, like a tinkling of bells.
Yakushi Nono carried a night lamp, followed by Pangolin No. 1, wearing a black mask and exuding a thoroughly professional aura.
Before a wooden door covered in curse seals, Pangolin No. 1 clasped his hands together, formed hand seals, and dispelled the seal on the door.
Once the seal was lifted, Pangolin No. 1's face filled with delight.
"Doctor Snake is truly a genius—just a few scraps of information, and he managed to develop a way to unlock the seals of Root's mechanisms."
Yakushi Nono reminded him, "Hurry up. The sedative you put in the chicken soup won't last long!"
Pangolin No. 1 nodded, forming seals with both hands. "Pangolin Legion, assemble!"
The wood around him stirred, and in the blink of an eye more than a dozen wooden clones sprang up from underground.
Pangolin No. 1 pushed open the wooden door. In the dim space were several large chests and a few bookshelves.
"Everyone, move fast—empty this place of all the ninjutsu!"
"Got it!"
The pangolin soldiers responded enthusiastically, pulling out the Eastern Depot's house-raiding specialties.
One by one, the pangolins surged out like wolves from a den, charging toward Root's ninjutsu archives as if they'd spotted wild rabbits.
One pangolin underling opened a sealed scroll and suddenly exclaimed in joy,
"This is the Baku summoning scroll!"
A colleague beside him sneered, "Just one ugly big elephant—what's there to be excited about?"
"Fair point. Keep looting!"
"Over here! Over here! I found the Technique of Darkness!"
"Th-this is Izanagi! Danzō even stole the Uchiha clan's secret techniques—his methods are really wild!"
Yakushi Nono urged again, "Don't waste time. Stuff everything into sacks and take it away!"
Pangolin No. 1 waved his hand. "Clear it out!"
"Oh—"
Root's base was swept by a gale, not a single bone left behind.
In the pouring rain, Yakushi Nono wore a black cloak, while the pangolin soldiers turned into a herd of pack animals, hauling the materials as they go toward Kairen's military base.
All along the way, Yakushi Nono remained extremely cautious, carefully avoiding the ninjas posted on alert around them.
Almost every hundred meters, they could see ninjas wearing green flak jackets.
Pangolin No. 1 felt puzzled. It was wartime—why had the village gathered so many ninjas?
He guessed, "Did they stop fighting and start slacking off?"
Yakushi Nono analyzed softly, "Tomorrow is the Chūnin Exams. They might have come back… to watch the matches."
Pangolin No. 1 chuckled. "Even the Land of Fire's daimyo got his head chopped off by the boss—this country still has the mood to host events?!"
Yakushi Nono suddenly stopped, a thoughtful light flashing in her eyes.
"You're right. With a new daimyo just installed, the nation is in turbulent times. The battlefield can't afford the slightest change."
"The village's situation… something's fishy!"
In an instant, Pangolin No. 1 thought of the upper echelon's conspiracy and said at once,
"It has to be them—recalling troops to the village to prepare for a showdown!"
Yakushi Nono was worried. "Going against a ninja village—does Kairen have a way to handle it?"
Pangolin No. 1 laughed disdainfully, sitting astride his mount like a general surveying the realm.
"One of the Three Sannin, Jiraiya, is bedridden with severe injuries. As for that Orochimaru, he's nothing."
"And that monkey… hardly worth mentioning."
Pangolin No. 1 waved his hand grandly. "As long as the main body gives the order, we can overturn Konoha's fire."
Yakushi Nono thought of Kairen's utterly unreasonable strength—growing exponentially. Parted for three days, and you couldn't even see his shadow anymore.
Thinking of this, she let out a sigh of relief, then asked,
"Where did your main body run off to after leaving the Land of Fire? What is he doing now?"
Pangolin No. 1 looked at a notebook scavenged from the secret chamber, answering her question somewhat absentmindedly.
"Helping some queen."
"What?!"
Pangolin No. 1 quickly straightened up and explained,
"The main body is helping those small countries resist natural disasters."
"Oh!"
Pangolin No. 1's pupils slowly contracted—it was clear he had seen something extraordinary.
His words carried a hint of ambiguity. "It seems… this village is even murkier than I imagined."
"What happened?"
Pangolin No. 1 raised the notebook in his hand. That thin notebook was more like a diary, sealing countless secrets.
"History is written by the victors. Everything we see on the surface is what the upper levels want us to see!"
Yakushi Nono was utterly confused. "What exactly is going on?!"
Instead, Pangolin No. 1 asked her, "Do you know… how the Second Hokage died?!"
Yakushi Nono was an intelligence ninja; she answered instantly.
"The Second Hokage stayed behind alone to cover his comrades, blocking the Gold and Silver Brothers' troops, and finally died from exhaustion."
Pangolin No. 1 nodded. "That's indeed the story—but… that information came from Hiruzen and Danzō. Do you want to know the truth? It's all in this thin little book!"
"Boom!"
Thunder rumbled, casting a pallid hue on faces, chilling to the bone.
...
The Sarutobi residence.
"Gua!"
From time to time, the croaking of frogs caused confusion—this season shouldn't have frogs at all!
Inside a Japanese-style small hall.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Toadzo across from him, puzzled, as the latter let out two frog-like croaks from time to time.
"What's wrong with you?"
Toadzo hurriedly explained, "I'm practicing a Wind Release ninjutsu. It gathers air in the belly, expands it, then compresses and fires it out, so the sound comes out like a frog. Don't overthink it—gua~"
"Oh!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, but the suspicion in his eyes refused to fade.
Although Toadzo's appearance and movements were exactly like Danzō's, in certain aspects he was clearly different from before.
For example—
A mosquito flew by nearby. Toadzo immediately shot out a long tongue and swallowed it in one gulp.
Chewing as he went, he smiled at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Adding a bit of meat… no problem, right?"
Cold sweat dripped from Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead as he hastily replied,
"No problem! No problem!"
Suppressing his doubts, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "Can we really deal with Moku Kairen this time?!"
Toadzo nodded confidently. "No problem. Konoha has recalled so many jōnin—the revenge-hungry Shimura clan, your Sarutobi clan, and the Ino–Shika–Chō trio who follow you unquestioningly…"
"This time, even if Moku Kairen possesses the power of the Six Paths, he won't think of leaving Konoha Village alive."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was still worried. "But that kid hasn't returned to the village yet!"
Toadzo said indifferently, "Don't worry. The Great Lord said he will come back."
"The Great Lord?!"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo