Chapter 130: Danzo's Scheming

The dense forest in the Land of Fire blocked out the sun, with the branches of towering trees intertwined, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground through layers of foliage.

Orochimaru stepped into the dense forest with several Konoha Ninja, his golden slit pupils narrowing slightly as if he had sensed a hidden danger.

The Konoha Ninja guarding him also spoke up: "My lord, this dense forest gives me a very bad feeling."

This ninja from the Hyuga Clan activated his Byakugan, continuously scanning the surrounding environment: "I can see very faint traces of chakra; they don't look like they were left by Konoha Ninja."

Orochimaru curled his lips into a cold smile and said in a hoarse voice: "I know."

"Is this the burial ground chosen for me by my teacher, Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Shimura Danzo?"

"Just as Yamanaka Chujiu said, it is Kirigakure Rogue Ninja, the rats of Konoha's Root, and some organization called Akatsuki..."

"A rabble!"

Hearing the name Yamanaka Chujiu, the guarding Konoha Ninja felt instantly at ease: "Lord Orochimaru, where shall we start the fight?"

Orochimaru chuckled: "You guys, hearing Chujiu's name, you immediately become full of confidence."

"You have already cast me, Orochimaru, to the back of your minds."

He looked at the embarrassed expressions of the Konoha Ninja and teased: "In the words of Yamanaka Chujiu: No rush."

"If they want to play, I will play along with them."

"They think they are ambushing me, but they never thought that since we knew about the ambush in advance, they are just delivering themselves to our doorstep."

Thus, Orochimaru and his dozen or so guard ninja stopped at the edge of the dense forest, even lighting a campfire to boil water and cook, camping and resting in a carefree manner.

This completely confused Shimura Danzo; his brain, which was not much better than Obito's, crashed on the spot.

After repeatedly pondering and repeatedly scouting, yet failing to understand what Orochimaru was doing.

Shimura Danzo fell into his old habit.

When in doubt, just throw caution to the wind and charge in with all the chips on hand!

Shimura Danzo jumped out and shouted: "The ambush is exposed!"

"Root ninja, Kirigakure ninja of the Akatsuki organization, kill! Charge up and kill Orochimaru directly!"

"There are only a dozen of them!"

Following Shimura Danzo's order, a rustling sound of leaves erupted from the dense forest.

Countless figures leaped out from the dense forest, landing steadily around the clearing, surrounding Orochimaru and his guard ninja tightly.

They were uniformly dressed in Kirigakure uniforms.

But those ninja wearing masks with complex patterns exuded a cold aura, and anyone who saw them knew they were Konoha's Root ninja.

As for the real Kirigakure ninja, they were all hard-headed individuals unwilling to be conquered; upon seeing Orochimaru, they all erupted with intense killing intent.

They wanted revenge too much.

Among the Kirigakure Rogue Ninja, a tall Jonin with a fierce face was the most conspicuous.

He held a replica Kubikiribocho, his eyes cold and fierce, staring fixedly at Orochimaru, with surging Water Style chakra ready to launch an attack at any moment.

"Orochimaru, you devil!"

"You destroyed our homeland, killed our compatriots, and today we will unite with Konoha Ninja to tear you to pieces!"

Orochimaru's golden slit pupils scanned the surroundings, and he said with disdain and contempt: "Rogue ninja expelled by Kirigakure, do you think you can kill me just because you have the support of rivers and lakes?"

"If I were so easy to kill, I would have been killed by your Fourth Mizukage in the Land of Waves."

Suddenly, Orochimaru's gaze focused on one ninja.

Even though he was covered by a robe with a red cloud pattern, one could still tell this person was tall.

More astonishing than his physique was that his chakra was so vast it didn't seem human, and it resonated with the lake water by the edge of the forest; he was clearly a master of Water Style Ninjutsu.

After a moment of thought, Orochimaru confirmed his identity: "Hoshigaki Kisame."

"So you have completely abandoned your identity as a Kirigakure ninja and truly joined the Akatsuki organization."

"To be able to make you join seriously, there must be capable people in the Akatsuki organization; who is it?"

Hoshigaki Kisame pulled back his hood, revealing a face comparable to a shark.

He stared at Orochimaru and said: "The lord of the Akatsuki organization has other tasks; I am enough to take your life."

"Oh? So confident?"

Orochimaru laughed: "Then I would like to see if you can kill me alone."

At this moment, Shimura Danzo walked out from the shadows of the dense forest: "Orochimaru, he is not alone; there is also me."

Hearing this voice, Orochimaru laughed instead: "Elder Shimura Danzo, you finally have the guts to face me on the battlefield."

However, seeing the dozens of Root ninja surrounding Shimura Danzo—their eyes cold, emotionless, and soul-less—Orochimaru sighed: "So you still intend to use the lives of your subordinates to wear me down."

"How boring."

Orochimaru's smile vanished, and cold killing intent began to spread: "Shimura Danzo, you ambushed me here and colluded with Kirigakure Rogue Ninja; is it that I have become a rogue ninja of Konohagakure, or do you want to be a rogue ninja?"

Danzo's sinister gaze stared at Orochimaru, mocking: "Of course it is you, Orochimaru, who is the rogue ninja!"

"Today, I am acting under the orders of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen to set another ambush and clean up the traitor for Konohagakure!"

"Traitor?"

Orochimaru laughed again, his laughter filled with mockery and disdain: "Shimura Danzo, how can you have the nerve to call me a traitor?"

"Think of my first disciple Nawaki, think of Hatake Sakumo, think of those Uchiha who were stabbed in the back; your hands are stained with the blood of Konoha Ninja; you are the real traitor!"

Danzo sternly rebuked: "Insolent!"

"Orochimaru, your framing is meaningless; everything I do is for Konoha!"

"Today, I will make you die here!"

Hoshigaki Kisame interrupted: "Are you done with your yapping?"

"A war of words is meaningless."

"Kill!!"

Hoshigaki Kisame's chakra erupted wildly from within his body: "Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

In an instant, a massive flood was spewed out by him, the monstrous waves crashing fiercely toward Orochimaru; the trees along the path were snapped instantly, and half of the entire dense forest vanished in a flash.

At the same time, the Kirigakure Rogue Ninjas launched their Ninjutsu one after another:

Water Style: Water Arrow Technique unleashed countless sharp water arrows, forming a dense net that covered Orochimaru.

Water Style: Water Prison Technique raised up sphere after sphere of water, surrounding Orochimaru completely and restricting his space for movement.

More Kirigakure Rogue Ninjas coordinated with Hoshigaki Kisame, using Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave to add a measure of support to his attack.

Shimura Danzo stood where he was, not moving in the slightest.

He had deliberately engaged in a war of words with Orochimaru, wanting precisely to provoke the Kirigakure Rogue Ninjas, who were eager for revenge, and let the other side charge up first to fight Orochimaru to the death.

Only if both sides fought until they were both badly hurt would it be convenient for him to lead the Root ninjas to kill everyone!

That way, his merit would be even greater.

But in the very next second, Shimura Danzo's single eye nearly popped out of its socket.

His Root ninjas, loyal and devoted, never disobeying orders, like puppets, the most perfect tools, had actually launched an attack on their own initiative without his command.

This was simply impossible!