Chapter 338: Orochimaru's Prelude to Defection!
Chapter 338: Orochimaru's Prelude to Defection!
Land of the Birds!
The once barren land, where even the Daimyo had fled to the Fire Country, has now become a battleground for two great ninja villages.
It's all about interests moving hearts!
The reason the Skyguard is getting involved is naturally due to the 'compensation' they have to offer.
The Sand Ninja agreed to grant Yekang the status of a 'messenger', but not without conditions.
The compensation they seek is not money or resources but for the Skyguard to reduce the pressure from the Stone Ninja.
Asking them to intervene directly is out of the question, so they are merely diverting their attention.
Yekang was sent to the Land of the Birds under these circumstances.
There are several advantages to her going.
Firstly, she is a Sand Ninja, at least in appearance, so her presence in the Land of the Birds is reasonable.
Secondly, her involvement won't implicate the Skyguard. The Stone Ninja would have no reason to blame the Skyguard or Leaf Village for meddling in their war.
Lastly, she is there to gain fame.
As the 'Hero of the Sand Ninja', her image must remain intact, allowing her to better exploit the Sand Ninja in the future.
Just like this time, she was able to bring over a hundred teenagers from the Sand Village because of her reputation.
Try sending someone without a reputation? Guaranteed no one will give you the time of day.
Of course, one of the primary reasons for sending her is her strength.
Yekang of the Blaze Style!
This title was earned through battle, and her strength is unquestionable.
As long as she appears on the front lines, the Stone Ninja must divert their energy to her.
If they dare ignore her, any disturbance she creates will bring trouble upon the Stone Ninja.
It must be said that the Sand Ninja's strategy is truly cunning.
Once the Skyguard gets involved, they can easily shift the conflict onto themselves, leaving no choice but to intervene.
But with Yekang, no matter how they try to shift the blame, it will only burn themselves.
When it comes to political maneuvering, Dong Ping may not have experienced the intricate schemes of his past life, and in comparison, their methods seem a bit crude.
As for Dong Ping himself?
He is preparing to return to the Leaf Village.
To witness the Orochimaru incident... which is about to explode!
Currently, the village is abuzz with the disappearance of a villager, and the Uchiha Security Division has found some clues indicating that it was an inside job. This information was shared with them, hence Dong Ping's knowledge of the matter.
Although the Uchiha Main Branch has relocated to the Skyguard, they haven't completely severed ties with the rest of the Uchiha clan.
At the very least, the 'Combat Faction' within the clan is extremely close to the original 'Falcon Faction'.
Well, from the Nine-Tails incident until now, the Uchiha clan has had a rough time.
Even without evidence linking the Uchiha to the incident, the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eye is undeniable, and the fact that no Uchiha participated in the battle that day means they have to bear the blame.
Now, not only is their clan territory pushed to the village outskirts, but they also face cold stares when they step out to buy groceries.
Many clan members have been sent to the front lines to fight against the Mist Ninja, their natural adversaries.
The dire situation has only increased the Uchiha clan's resentment.
As a result, the 'Falcon Faction', which had seemingly disappeared after the Main Branch's migration, has resurfaced, advocating for the overthrow of the leadership that targeted them. They want the clan leader to become the Hokage or, at the very least, support a Hokage who doesn't discriminate against the Uchiha.
Frightened by these dangerous ideas, Uchiha Tomoyori immediately suppressed the information.
However, the more he suppresses the Falcon Faction, the more they grow in numbers.
After all, resentment will only accumulate, and the Falcon Faction will naturally expand.
The only good news is that the Dove Faction has sent out a powerful member.
Blinking Calm!
A thirteen-year-old Uchiha, who single-handedly terrified the Mist Ninja and earned his title.
Tsk tsk!
Unfortunately, the more talented the Uchiha are, the more rebellious they become.
This time, when Dong Ping returns, he can not only witness Orochimaru's antics but also the Uchiha's embarrassment.
Initially, the Uchiha clan had abandoned the Main Branch for the 'Will of Fire', so when they learned of the situation, the Uchiha in the Skyguard showed restraint by not celebrating, which is already considered a concession.
Besides Dohei, of course, Hyuga Cangyue also returned to the village.
With the time for her promised instruction in Sage Mode drawing near, she was under close watch, so it was only natural to bring her back to the village.
To be honest, Hyuga Cangyue was on the verge of grasping the basics of Sage Mode in her training.
Even though she couldn't enter Sage Mode yet, she could already utilize natural energy and enter a sort of 'Seal' mode.
This was achieved through the use of her Superhuman Organs as a cheat.
The Superhuman Organs themselves had the effect of adapting to natural energy, and now that Hyuga Cangyue had transplanted the Biju's tail for so long, it wasn't surprising that she could do this.
As long as she broke through a few more stages, she would truly master Sage Mode.
At least, that was the report.
The Hyuga Clan only needed Hyuga Cangyue to obtain Sage Mode, and they had absolute confidence that she would willingly teach them her cultivation method.
Unfortunately, they didn't know that cultivating Sage Mode required some 'catalysts'.
Just like the toad oil from Myoboku Mountain, the snake venom from Ryuchi Cave... and the hot springs of Tang Valley.
Without these catalysts to guide the way, knowing how to cultivate Sage Mode would be useless.
Moreover, the Holy Land could also influence the sages of their own lineage.
So, there was no fear of Sage Mode being leaked to outsiders.
The two of them returned to the village in less than a day.
Although Skyguard One was located at the southernmost tip of the Fire Country, far from Konoha, they used the Blinking Calm technique to travel directly, and with no fear of exhaustion, it was not surprising that they could return to the village so quickly.
As they approached the village, Hyuga Cangyue quickly applied medicine to her face and skin, causing her entire person to become inconspicuous, and her appearance to plummet.
She would not reveal herself until she had broken free from the Cage Bird and was prepared to turn against the Hyuga Clan.
It was already May, and crops were planted everywhere.
However, when Dohei saw the vast fields of rice on both sides of the road, he twitched his mouth.
Skyguard One!
How could he not be familiar with the 'transgenic' hybrid rice that he had researched?
But he never expected the village to use it so openly without even trying to hide it.
Root had obtained the seeds a couple of years ago, and he was naturally aware of this, but he pretended to know nothing.
Skyguard One not only resisted pests but also had exceptional yields.
The problem was that the genes were flawed, and if they weren't the parent strain, they would collapse after a few generations.
This would cause significant issues.
The best outcome would be reduced yields, and the worst would be a complete crop failure.
If that situation were to occur, it would be a tragedy (comedy).
He couldn't laugh, no, he really couldn't.
Dohei immediately glanced at Hyuga Cangyue beside him, signaling her to hide her uncontrollable schadenfreude.
She harbored ill intentions towards the village, and seeing this situation naturally excited her.
As for Dohei, although he also looked forward to the spectacle, he at least didn't show it.
With the anticipation of a show, the two of them entered the village.
Although they had returned to the village to watch the drama, they also had orders, but since they had been dragging their feet before, they could now consider it as following orders, and it wouldn't be considered a violation of orders to return on their own.
As for the reason for bringing Dohei back, it was naturally to have him explain Skyguard One's issues to the village.
Root had caught them on a few sore spots, so they were making things difficult.
If they didn't return to explain, the other party would make a fuss about it.
Although Dohei wasn't afraid of any of this, he needed to maintain a good relationship with Konoha to continue benefiting from them.
Like this time, if they were to fall out with Konoha, there would be no chance to return and watch the show.
At the village entrance, in addition to the registration personnel, they could even sense several hidden presences.
Clearly, the entrance and exit were under strict surveillance.
This hadn't been the case before, indicating that Konoha was now relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside.
Naturally, the reason was that the village had lost many people recently, including some missing ninjas.
This was why the atmosphere was so tense.
(End of Chapter)
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