Chapter 17

Only the Tenseigan possessed such insight. No one else, not even Itachi who had yet to awaken his Sharingan, noticed the fleeting expression of joy on Shinnou's face.

Sensing this, Hyuga Kagami began to ponder inwardly.

"Why would Shinnou look pleased at the sight of Orochimaru and Jiraiya? Orochimaru's betrayal of Konoha is common knowledge. Seeing both of them appear at once should have no positive impact on our current situation—unless... unless Shinnou is certain that Orochimaru and Jiraiya would join forces to help us fight off the Cloud Shinobi..."

"But what makes him so confident that a rogue ninja like Orochimaru would help us?"

"He knew the Cloud was chasing him—why insist on coming to the Land of Fields?"

"He publicly hired Konoha ninjas to escort him. Could it be he's trying to spark conflict between Konoha and the Cloud? What gives him the confidence to escape unscathed?"

"Wait... could meeting Orochimaru here not be a coincidence? Is Orochimaru his trump card, hiding in the Land of Fields?"

"He's with Orochimaru? No, he's a remnant of the Sky Ninja—he couldn't be Orochimaru's subordinate. More likely, they have some sort of cooperative relationship."

Combining his observations with fragmented memories, Hyuga Kagami quickly came to a conclusion.

Regardless, the unexpected appearance of Orochimaru and Jiraiya was a turning point for Hyuga Kagami. If Orochimaru was working with Shinnou, he wouldn't abandon him. And Jiraiya would never stand by while Konoha ninjas were killed by Cloud shinobi.

With that thought, Kagami discreetly moved his hand behind his back and signaled to Itachi.

Understanding instantly, Itachi pulled out a Konoha distress signal flare and tossed it high into the air.

*Boom, boom, boom...*

With a series of loud bangs, the flare exploded into three clouds of red smoke in the sky.

In truth, they didn't even need to fire the signal. The moment Kagami and his group spotted Orochimaru and Jiraiya, the two legendary Sannin also noticed them and immediately stopped fighting to head their way.

Soon, Orochimaru and Jiraiya appeared in front of Kagami's group.

Eyeing the crowd, Orochimaru let out a raspy laugh. "Didn't expect to run into a Jinchuriki from the Cloud here. Looks like today will be fruitful."

Jiraiya quickly interjected, "Don't cause trouble, Orochimaru! You'll start a war!"

Orochimaru ignored him and shifted his gaze from Yugito Nii—the Two-Tails' jinchuriki—over to Kagami's group, pausing briefly on both Hyuga Kagami and Itachi before finally settling on Shinnou. A sly smile crept across his lips.

On the Cloud side, the arrival of both Orochimaru and Jiraiya caused Yugito Nii to lose her earlier composure. The three other Cloud ninja with her were visibly tense, recognizing the threat.

Unlike Kagami, who had a passive role during the war, or Itachi, who was still green, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had earned their fame through countless life-and-death battles. Even someone as proud as Yugito Nii knew better than to act arrogantly now.

"This isn't over!" Yugito snapped before decisively leading her team into retreat.

Orochimaru didn't chase. He stood there, arms crossed, clearly never intending to follow. His earlier words had just been to scare the Cloud ninja.

Seeing them retreat, Jiraiya let out a deep sigh of relief.

At this point, Hyuga Kagami shifted his guard from the Cloud shinobi to Orochimaru, testing the waters by asking, "Lord Jiraiya, do you need our help?"

Orochimaru was, after all, a rogue ninja. As a Konoha shinobi, Kagami had to declare his position.

Jiraiya waved his hand. "Orochimaru is not someone you can deal with. This no longer concerns you. Continue with your mission."

Kagami had only been making a gesture anyway. He nodded and promptly left with Itachi and Shinnou.

After that ordeal, the three of them became far more cautious. They avoided all towns, minimized contact with others, and in open, flat terrain, even switched to traveling by night.

Thanks to these precautions, they arrived safely at their destination a week later.

The village was indeed plagued by disease. The area was desolate, and a local villager came forward claiming to have written the letter inviting Shinnou to cure the outbreak.

Hyuga Kagami, already aware of Shinnou's identity, feigned ignorance and followed standard procedures to complete the B-rank escort mission.

On the return trip, Itachi glanced back at the village and murmured, "Captain, something's off about Shinnou."

"I know, but it's not our concern."

After a moment's hesitation, Itachi said, "I might be wrong, but I feel like he harbors hostility toward Konoha."

Kagami looked at him, surprised. After a moment, he replied, "Maybe."

The Sky Ninja Village had been destroyed by Konoha, so Shinnou's animosity was understandable.

That Kagami could identify Shinnou's true identity was thanks to memories from his past life. But for someone as young as Itachi to sense something amiss—that truly surprised Kagami.

That night, while setting up camp, Kagami noticed a code left by Orochimaru on a nearby tree. Recognizing it as a summons, he made up an excuse and slipped away to the meeting point.

As soon as he arrived, Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows.

Kagami greeted him respectfully. "Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru studied him with interest for a while before finally saying, "Kagami-kun, you seem different from before."

Kagami replied calmly, "Thanks to you, I nearly died at the hands of the village. That changes a person."

Orochimaru smirked. "A blessing in disguise? Then you should thank Danzo."

"Are you saying this recent purge was orchestrated by Danzo?"

"Yes. I overestimated his tolerance and underestimated his methods," Orochimaru said casually, as if discussing something unrelated to himself.

Kagami probed, "I suppose you must've taken something valuable from him."

Orochimaru didn't deny it—instead, he smiled. "Indeed. Quite a fine treasure."

Having confirmed his suspicions, Kagami shifted the topic. "That Shinnou—is he working with you?"

Orochimaru stared at Kagami. "Even that didn't escape you? You truly are different now."

Kagami shook his head modestly. "He exposed too many flaws. Even the Uchiha kid noticed something."

Orochimaru chuckled without denying it. "He stole some Cloud secrets related to cellular regeneration—quite useful for my current experiments."

"No wonder the Cloud sent such a strong pursuit team."

Seeing Kagami's interest, Orochimaru's raspy voice turned seductive. "Kagami, if you're interested, I could consider giving you a copy as well."