Naruto: Reshaping the Shinobi World with Sasori

Chapter 289 Orochimaru's Defection

"Yakura of Sunagakure wins!"

The following day, inside the competition venue, amidst the referee's shouts...

A deafening cheer erupted in succession.

"Yakura!"

"Yakura!"

At this moment, almost all the Sunagakure residents in the audience were chanting Yekura's name in unison.

In the battle between the Sand Village and the Kirigakure Jonin group, Pakura won five consecutive battles, achieving a five-game winning streak!

This dominance made all the high-ranking members of Kirigakure feel real "pressure" and fear.

Inside the arena, Ye Cang was covered in sweat and looked exhausted—yet he stood tall, accepting the villagers' love and respect.

His gaze was neither humble nor arrogant.

A faint smile graced her face, her expression devoid of arrogance—only a sense of calm and pride.

This pride wasn't because she had won, but because she was proud to be from Sunagakure.

"He's becoming more and more composed—"

Yubi on the stage also clapped, silently commenting.

Although Yekura is still very young, her aura is like that of a veteran who has been fighting in the ninja world for many years. The changes over the past ten years have made Yubi almost unable to associate her with the little girl who used to follow him around in his memory.

"well--"

Yubi seemed to realize something and let out a soft sigh.

Being calm and composed is certainly a good thing—but it also means losing some of the vigor that should be present at this age.

He has lived two lives—plus becoming the Kazekage, which is why he has to act cautiously, while Yekura simply habitually puts pressure on herself.

This personality trait has both advantages and disadvantages.

Yagura and the others remained silent.

The people of Kirigakure had anticipated that today's battle between the Jonin would be difficult for their village to win—but they never expected to lose so badly.

Yekura's combat strength was much stronger than they had anticipated.

Furthermore, looking at today's match as a whole, with Yagura's perspective, one can naturally see the truth behind Yekura's ability to defeat five opponents single-handedly. Strength is only one aspect; another aspect is that, like Fukushima Taki yesterday, she has extensive experience fighting against Kirigakure.

Her experience was a great help to her.

Although Yekura is strong, she is not so "heaven-defying" that she could stand until the end. If it were a Jonin from another ninja village, she might not be able to stand until the end.

To put it bluntly, it's because they are too familiar with and understand the methods of the Hidden Mist Sect.

This was one of the reasons why Kirigakure was wary of this woman.

"Congratulations."

Yagura dismissed the thought and stood up.

He stepped forward and walked over to Yubi, clapping his hands just as generously.

He praised Yekura's skills.

Based on the friendly atmosphere within Sunagakure, Kirigakure's resounding victory yesterday was met with positive feedback from the audience—so, in return, Kirigakure accepted Pakura's victory today.

They admit they are not as skilled as others.

Congratulations!

Yubi smiled.

Yagura glanced at him but didn't reply.

What does "sharing joy" mean?

Their elite Jonin from Kirigakure were so badly beaten they couldn't even lift their heads—

Despite personally coaching the five players yesterday and devising a battle plan to deal with Yekura, they still lost.

The exchange meeting has ended.

The entire village of Sunagakure was abuzz with conversations about the contestants who had participated in the competition over the past two days.

Everyone is talking about their performance.

Yekura is naturally the central figure of everyone's conversation during their leisure time.

It can be said that Pakura's record of competing against the same generation of the three great ninja villages has won over the people of Sunagakure.

This further elevated Yekura's reputation to an extremely high level within the village.

Ye Cang's achievements and resume over the past few years have been remarkable, and her growth has been witnessed by both high-ranking officials and villagers.

It is only natural that "it has such a status now".

She is not like the Yubi of the past. To gain a certain prestige and voice, she must deal with the higher-ups and do things that ordinary people cannot do—to forcefully break down some prejudices.

Yekura's rise to power is due to the deliberate cultivation by higher-ups, coupled with her own hard work and ambition, allowing her to climb the ladder of success without any obstacles.

Many villagers have already called her the strongest female ninja in the history of Sunagakure.

After the tournament, they spent a day in Sunagakure, buying local specialties and souvenirs from the Land of Wind, before returning to the Land of Water under Yagura's guidance.

The leaders of the two ninja villages also held a private meeting.

It also serves as an opportunity to explore potential future cooperation and exchanges between the two villages.

Yagura also has a lot of things to do in Kirigakure—this exchange meeting in Sunagakure is simply to train the younger generation in Kirigakure, to give Mei Terumi, Zabuza and others a boost in prestige, and also to add to his political achievements.

Now that the matter is settled, there is naturally no reason to stay any longer.

Yubi and other high-ranking officials saw off the group from Kirigakure at the village entrance.

No sooner had Yagura left than a Sunagakure intelligence ninja appeared, walked up to him, and quietly reported something.

"When?"

Upon hearing this, Yubi's expression changed slightly, and he asked a question.

Three days ago.

The intelligence ninja replied.

"What's wrong?"

Chiyo, Ebizo, and the others noticed his strange expression and looked over.

Orochimaru has defected from Konoha.

Yubi said softly.

"What?!"

These words greatly surprised the village leaders.

They never expected that the legendary Sannin of Konoha, an absolute hero, would become a rogue ninja.

That's too fast.

They hadn't sensed any conflict between Orochimaru and the higher-ups when they went to Konoha before.

Moreover, Orochimaru was the direct disciple of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, making him a true member of Konoha's inner circle. How could he possibly turn against the village?

"Orochimaru conducted some human experiments in Konoha, which were discovered by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Although he was also a high-ranking official, his ideology differed from that of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and others, including Hiruzen Sarutobi," Yubi said.

The intelligence ninja standing beside him was stunned.

They only heard the news that Orochimaru had defected from Konoha, but they didn't know the specific reasons.

I never expected that Lord Kazekage would know the inside story—

"The Second Shinobi World War brought about some changes to the three legendary Sannin of Konoha to varying degrees." If Orochimaru initially fought for Konoha and shared the village's honor and disgrace, his sense of belonging to the village was not as strong in the later stages.

What he cared about was the mystery of "immortality"—and to access this realm would inevitably involve breaking certain taboos.

"He also made great contributions during the Third Shinobi World War—but unfortunately, he was not the one who became the Fourth Hokage."

Yubi sighed.

Chiyo and the others seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

Orochimaru becoming a rogue ninja is probably the most significant news in the ninja world recently.

However, in the end, it's just a matter of Konoha's internal affairs and has nothing to do with their Sunagakure village.

"What I'm more concerned about is that with Minato, Jiraiya, and the others around, he was still able to escape—heh, as expected of Orochimaru."

Yubi smiled.

You should know that you caused a chain reaction.

Konoha has not suffered the severe damage from the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato is still alive, and Jiraiya is also there—Orochi's secret, once exposed, will mean facing more than just Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Orochimaru's ability to escape under these circumstances was, to say the least, somewhat unexpected by Yubi.

"With Orochimaru's cunning and skill, plus Danzo's cooperation, there is indeed a chance of escape."

But the problem is—with Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique at his disposal, even Orochimaru, according to Yubi, would find it difficult to become a rogue ninja.

The specifics of this matter, and what happened within it, are unknown to outsiders.

Perhaps Orochimaru was not restrained by the combined efforts of the three.

Or perhaps they received advance warning and ran away—avoiding a direct confrontation with Sarutobi and his companions.

"But—something just feels off—"

Yubi raised an eyebrow, deep in thought.

>