Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Chapter 176 Orochimaru's cold laugh, Jiraiya's confusion, Tsunade's anger

The Land of Water, on a remote little island.

Thick fog enveloped the entire island, and the waves crashed against the rocks, making a low, monotonous sound.

In the underground base on the island, experimental tables, culture tanks, and sealing scrolls were scattered all over the ground, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of formaldehyde and herbs.

Orochimaru stood in front of the experimental table, holding an unsigned information scroll in his hand.

Snake's eyes narrowed slightly in the dim light, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up, revealing a playful look.

He placed the scroll on the table, but instead of opening it immediately, he stared at it for a few moments.

"He's already noticed me?" Orochimaru muttered to himself, a hint of coldness in his voice. "Why would he notice me?"

The "he" he was referring to was naturally the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

His teacher, Orochimaru, knew the old man's personality all too well.

The other party was no longer the renowned "Ninja Hero" of the ninja world, but an indecisive old man.

Guilt made him indulge Danzo, and guilt made him stop restraining his three disciples.

But what's the use of guilt? Can guilt undo the damage that has already been done?

But it is precisely because of this guilt that Orochimaru is able to conduct his research so freely outside, without being subject to excessive attention or constraints.

The Third Hokage had always turned a blind eye to his actions, but now that he's suddenly starting to pay attention to him, there must be a reason behind it.

Orochimaru unrolled the scroll and quickly scanned the contents, just a few sentences.

The gist is that Izumi Taketori has infiltrated Konoha again, and his target is Uchiha Shisui, the Uchiha clansman who possesses the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The fact that the intelligence was reported by Uchiha Shisui himself made him feel quite amused.

The Root organization has intensified its surveillance of Uchiha Shisui, and Danzo's intentions are unclear.

In addition, Tsunade once attacked the abandoned laboratory of Taketori Izumi in the Land of Rivers with the Root ninjas.

"I see—" Orochimaru said in a low voice.

It seems the problem lies with that abandoned laboratory.

Was it Izumi Taketori's intentional act, or did he inadvertently leak information, leading Danzo to learn something?

"What a cunning fellow, manipulating others' weaknesses step by step." Orochimaru had a high opinion of Taketori Izumi, after all, he was a companion who, like him, was pursuing immortality.

As for Tsunade—Orochimaru shook his head slightly in his heart. He could save her once, but he couldn't keep saving her forever.

Tsunade continued to follow that guy's trail, but sooner or later, problems would arise.

Orochimaru casually placed the scroll on an alcohol lamp and lit it. The flame licked across the paper, and the black characters curled, turned yellow, and turned to ash in the firelight.

Fine ash lingered above the alcohol lamp for a few moments before scattering onto the lab table.

Kabuto stood to the side, silently observing the scene. He adjusted his glasses and finally couldn't help but ask, "Orochimaru-sama, is this a proper way to handle it?"

Orochimaru glanced at him. He was quite lenient towards Kabuto as his assistant; after all, someone capable and helpful was rare.

"Ignore it." Orochimaru casually put his hands in his robe pockets. "Gather some information about the ninja world recently and report back to me."

"Yes." Kabuto slowly withdrew and began to contact the intelligence network left by Orochimaru.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jiraiya, who travels to various countries, constantly gathering intelligence and collecting information, is squatting outside a bathhouse, grinning foolishly.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the unique dampness of hot spring steam. Jiraiya, perched on the wall, was practically drooling.

He has traveled abroad for many years, but this "little hobby" has never changed.

Just then, a clear cry rang out from the sky. A ninja hawk circled a few times and then swooped down precisely in his direction.

Jiraiya's expression changed drastically. He quickly waved his hand to shoo them away, silently mouthing "Go away, go away."

Unfortunately, the ninja hawk didn't care about any of that. It flapped its wings and landed on the wall, tilting its head to look at him, with a bamboo tube tied to its claws.

Inside the walls, the customers in the women's bathhouse heard the commotion.

"Who's outside?!"

A scream pierced the night sky, followed by the dull thud of a wooden basin hitting the wall.

The sound of rushing water filled the air, and several heads popped out from the top of the wall, their angry eyes gleaming in the mist.

Jiraiya scrambled down the wall, not even bothering to pick up one of his clogs that had fallen off, his loincloth fluttering in the wind.

He covered his head and sprinted into the nearby grove of trees. His foot slipped, and his knee hit a tree root, making him wince in pain. But instinct drove him to get up and keep running.

Behind him came the angry curses of women and the sound of wooden clogs chasing after him. Jiraiya didn't turn around and ran faster than a rabbit.

After a long ordeal, Jiraiya finally escaped, or at least that's what he thought.

He squatted in a dimly lit alley, panting heavily.

The clothes on my shoulder were torn by a tree branch, revealing a shallow bloodstain on my arm.

"This damn bird—I'll stew you sooner or later." He muttered under his breath, took the bamboo tube from the eagle's leg, and unrolled the scroll.

The moonlight wasn't bright enough, so he squinted and leaned closer to look. The handwriting belonged to the third generation; it wasn't long, but it contained a lot of information.

His gaze swept over the familiar handwriting line by line, and he gradually frowned.

He leaned against the wall, looked up at the moon in the sky, and remained silent for a moment.

"That guy has infiltrated Konoha again," Jiraiya muttered to himself, folding the scroll and tucking it into his pocket.

The fact that the other party has been frequently contacting Uchiha Shisui suggests that they have probably been keeping an eye on him for a long time.

As for Uchiha Shisui, he seemed to already know the outcome before he even activated his Mangekyou Sharingan during the Nine-Tails' night.

And Danzo—

Jiraiya frowned; he simply couldn't stand the other party's behavior.

The Uchiha clan is ultimately a part of Konoha. How can they be treated like this? Aren't they afraid of causing problems?

Compared to the Third Hokage and his generation, Jiraiya and others did not have such an extreme attitude towards the Uchiha clan.

He looked down at his bare foot, then at the bloody scratch on his shoulder from a tree branch, and suddenly laughed.

His laugh was somewhat dry, as if he were mocking himself: "Old man, old man, your disciple is running errands for you outside, while you sit comfortably in the village."

He took off his last wooden clog, stepped barefoot on the ground, and formed a hand seal to summon a small toad.

He found the small notebook he was carrying and copied it onto a blank scroll, leaving behind the coded message.

These are the intelligence he gathered while out there, regarding sightings of the giant dragon skeleton in the Izumi River, and some speculations.

"Reply to the old man," Jiraiya said. "Just tell him I know."

The little toad puffed out its cheeks, nodded, and vanished into the palm of his hand as smoke.

Jiraiya stood up, dusted himself off, and stepped barefoot onto the bluestone slabs, feeling the coolness creep up from his feet.

He found the wooden clog he had lost, put it on, and looked around the alleyway to make sure no one was chasing him before slowly walking toward the street corner.

I don't know why Danzo keeps targeting the Uchiha clan. Although we haven't figured out who the mysterious masked man was back then.

However, among the surviving members of the Uchiha clan, none were suspects, and none even knew what had happened.

Jiraiya was quite surprised by the results of the investigation, as there was no trace of anything.

The old man also mentioned that Tsunade's willingness to return seemed to be related to Izumi Taketori.

However, since Tsunade was willing to go back, he could feel a little more at ease.

At least within Konoha, no one poses a threat to Tsunade, and any problems that arise can be resolved promptly.

but----

Did Izumi Taketori go to see Tsunade and the others before infiltrating Konoha?

If Tsunade knew about this, she'd probably cause the old man a huge scene again.

Konoha, Hokage Building.

The air in the office felt like half of it had been sucked out, making it so stuffy that it was hard to breathe.

-

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk, his pipe long since extinguished, the ash scattered on the table, which he didn't bother to wipe away.

Before him, Tsunade stood with her hands on her hips in front of the desk, looking down at him with two flames burning in her amber eyes.

"Old man, repeat what you just said." Tsunade's voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Taketori Izumi infiltrated Konoha and made contact with Uchiha Shisui, and then what? What did you do? Have more patrols added to the border? Is that your response?"

The Third Hokage opened his mouth, as if to say, "Shisui has already reported it, and we are investigating."

But seeing Tsunade's ashen face, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

He knew his disciple too well; at this moment, any explanation would be seen as an excuse, and any excuse would only fuel her anger.

"Tsunade, calm down—"

"Calm down?" Tsunade's voice rose a few decibels as she slammed her hand on the desk.

The documents on the table jumped up, splashing water from the teacup and wetting a report underneath.

Oblivious to her surroundings, she stared intently into the Third Hokage's eyes: "Now he's swaggering into Konoha, making contact with the user of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and you tell me—what have you done?"

The Third Generation Jiro ran his fingers along the pipe a few times, his knuckles turning white: "The Anbu are already tracking his movements, and border patrols have been increased—"

"Investigate?" Tsunade sneered. "Did you catch them? You've increased patrols so much that not a single person can get in?"

"He came in, not only came in, but he also saw Shisui, and then swaggered away. Were your patrols there to clear a path for him?"

The third generation fell silent.

Tsunade is right. The Anbu didn't catch up, and the border patrols didn't stop them either.

Taketori Izumi River came and went as he pleased, as if it were his own backyard.

That's a fact, and he can't refute it.

The office was quiet for a few moments. Tsunade took a deep breath and tried to suppress her anger, but the fire in her eyes did not go out.

"There's one more thing." Her voice lowered, but became even more dangerous. "Shisui is being watched. The Root has their eyes on him. Did you know that?"