Chapter 159: The Luring Plan is a Perfect Success

Orochimaru narrowed his golden eyes: "Just Jiraiya and Tsunade?"

Yamanaka Chujiu smiled sheepishly: "Hehe, and the toads from Myoboku Mountain."

"The General and samurai of the Land of Iron, the members of the Akatsuki organization, and the traitors of Konohagakure—I will take responsibility for them all."

Orochimaru thought for a moment and finally nodded: "Very well, though Jiraiya is not so easy to deal with; I must use Impure World Reincarnation to find help."

With Orochimaru's promise, Yamanaka Chujiu was completely at ease.

The so-called enemies from all sides and the precarious, desperate situation were, in his view, nothing more than a light breeze and drizzle, posing no threat whatsoever.

Yamanaka Chujiu calmly laid out his plans, mobilizing elite ninja from Konohagakure and Kirigakure, and through the commercial network of the Rising Sun Organization, secretly assembled them to wait in hiding.

Next, he only needed to wait for Jiraiya and the others to charge into the trap he had meticulously set.

Konoha, before the coming storm, was increasingly peaceful and serene, its prosperous scene as flourishing as ever.

Yamanaka Chujiu's political talent was far inferior to the Second Hokage, but he had ready-made references and could simply copy the answers.

The new system he established for Konohagakure possessed sufficient checks and balances, cleverly dispersing the pressure borne by those in power.

Coupled with a strictly monitored system, it could ensure that no major problems would arise.

The most brilliant part was that Chujiu handed the power of supervision to the Uchiha ninja, who were full of love inside but possessed tsundere personalities.

The Uchiha felt the trust of the Hokage, their enthusiasm was thoroughly ignited, and combined with their serious, meticulous nature and their all-seeing Sharingan, they could completely prevent any abuse of power.

Yamanaka Chujiu's work became much easier; not only could he personally teach at the Ninja Academy like the Third Hokage, but he could also personally raise the orphan of the Fourth Hokage: Uzumaki Naruto.

This day, Yamanaka Chujiu brought Naruto back to his older brother's house, watching Naruto and Ino, the two little golden-haired buns, playing together.

A Hyuga ninja suddenly appeared by his side and whispered a report: "Lord Yamanaka Chujiu, the Daimyo's men have discovered the laboratory at the Valley of the End."

The corners of Chujiu's mouth curled up slightly: "Has the intelligence been passed on?"

The Hyuga ninja nodded: "The intelligence ninja followed them to the Fire Temple; by now, Lord Jiraiya must have seen it."

"Additionally, the ninja in Konohagakure who lean toward the Daimyo have begun to assemble."

Yamanaka Chujiu's smile remained unchanged: "Good, let them take the Daimyo out. Only when he stands on the battlefield opposing Konohagakure can I rightfully cut him down."

That evening, a great fire broke out in the northeast corner of Konohagakure.

The Daimyo Mansion was burned to the ground, and the Fire Daimyo was abducted by thousands of Konoha Rogue Ninja, escaping the control of Konohagakure.

The next day, the Daimyo issued a manifesto.

In the manifesto, the Fire Daimyo exhausted every means of smearing them.

He defined Orochimaru as a rebellious disciple who "betrayed his master, indulged in taboos, and possessed an evil nature."

He further defined Yamanaka Chujiu as a "treacherous minister who usurped power, brought disaster to two nations, acted as a dictator, and oppressed the Daimyo."

Finally, the Fire Daimyo declared: The Fifth Hokage is an illegal tyranny, and Konohagakure has turned away from the righteous path, bringing chaos to the Ninja World.

He loudly appealed, calling on the world to unite and attack Konoha, to set things right and restore the orthodox old system.

Once the manifesto was released, the Ninja World was shaken.

But it was only a tremor.

There were many forces that clung to the old order and old rituals, but everyone was watching from the sidelines; there was not even public support, and at most, they cursed Konoha's destruction in secret.

This was the deterrent power Yamanaka Chujiu held in the Ninja World after defeating Kumogakure and annihilating Kirigakure in consecutive victories where he overcame the many with the few.

No one dared to step forward while he was in power, for fear that they and their own villages would become the nail that sticks out, turning into a giant crater like Kirigakure.

Failing to receive support from the entire Ninja World, the Fire Daimyo had to take the field himself, using his own person as a banner to swear an oath and launch the expedition at the Fire Temple.

The Anti-Snake Alliance, with a total of ten thousand elite combatants, marched toward Konoha in a grand display, declaring they would overthrow Orochimaru's rule in one stroke and execute Yamanaka Chujiu.

But that was merely a diversion.

The army with flying banners had only one thousand troops, using Ninjutsu and Genjutsu to create the illusion of a massive army advancing.

The main force of the Anti-Snake Alliance lowered their flags and silenced their drums, taking a wide detour and stealthily sneaking toward the Valley of the End, more than ninety kilometers away from Konohagakure.

For Konohagakure, the Valley of the End was a place of great symbolic significance.

Back then, when the First Hokage Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha broke ties, it was here that their inhuman duel erupted.

The war between the two men destroyed the original forest, tore the mountain peaks into a basin, and within a radius of ten thousand meters, the gullies and ravines were all battle scars left by the two inhuman powerhouses.

Later, Konohagakure carved two giant stone statues on the cliffs on either side of the basin's exit.

On the left was Senju Hashirama, on the right was Madara Uchiha, and in the middle was a waterfall pouring down, shrouded in mist.

Through his eyes and ears within Konohagakure, the Fire Daimyo discovered that Orochimaru had established a secret laboratory here, staying far away from Konohagakure to avoid the notice of the ninja and ensure absolute secrecy.

When the intelligence reached Jiraiya, he immediately made the same judgment as the Daimyo: Orochimaru hiding things like this must be conducting terrifying experiments that endangered the entire Ninja World.

"No matter what, we must stop Orochimaru from destroying the Ninja World!"

Four thousand Iron Country Samurai, four thousand six hundred Konoha Ninja, one thousand mercenary ninja, one thousand Rain Ninja, and over three hundred Kirigakure Rogue Ninja from the Akatsuki organization formed an army of ten thousand.

Led by Jiraiya and Tsunade, the army bypassed Konohagakure's sentries and charged straight for the Valley of the End.

This fateful place where grudges were settled was about to become the largest and highest-level battlefield since the Third Shinobi World War.

In the depths of the valley, a cave facing the lake was the secret laboratory set up by Yamanaka Chujiu.

Calling it a lure was not entirely accurate; Orochimaru had drawn Cursed Seals here, set up a large amount of experimental equipment, and had indeed conducted several extreme experiments.

The site was littered with discarded scrolls and the remains of mutated summoned beasts, and the air was permeated with Orochimaru's signature aura—this was, after all, a laboratory for secretly developing Forbidden Jutsu.

Yamanaka Chujiu and Orochimaru were in this laboratory, monitoring the movements of the Anti-Snake Alliance army via a screen.

The Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, specifically wore his Hokage Haori, looking at the screen and sighing: "Yamanaka Chujiu, you really are a genius."

"How did I not think of it? These high-flying snakes are so effective for monitoring the land."

"To think they could make even a 30-man ninja squadron have nowhere to hide, making secret operations completely impossible."

"Chujiu, this game of chess you've set up is completely one-sided; it would be hard to lose even if one wanted to."

Orochimaru sighed: "By letting the Daimyo secretly contact all parties, indulging the various opposition groups to band together, and personally raising an army of ten thousand for the 'Anti-Snake Alliance,' you really did fish out the traitors in the village."

Yamanaka Chujiu nodded slightly: "One must pull up the weeds by the roots. Internal hidden dangers are more troublesome than any enemy; of course, one must lure them into the trap as much as possible and settle everything in one battle."