Two figures silently landed atop the branches. Kurenai and the Uzumaki kunoichi looked up immediately.

"Apologies, everyone. Things at the base kept me busy, so I arrived a little late!"

A young man in a high-collared purple shirt with gray-white sleeves leapt down from the branch.

Landing right between the Uzumaki and Tsuchigumo clans, he pushed up his round glasses and said,

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kabuto Yakushi."

Kurenai and the Uzumaki elder's faces turned serious—neither of them had heard of anyone named Kabuto before.

Up in the tree, another young man stood. He, too, was unfamiliar to them—Kaguya Kimimaro.

Kurenai had seen Kimimaro once before at the Tsuchigumo domain but didn't know who he really was.

Half an hour later—

After Kabuto's detailed explanation, the Uzumaki and Tsuchigumo groups understood why Yu had sent him to receive them.

Once they heard it was Yu's arrangement—

Kurenai and the Uzumaki elder had no objections. The two groups merged and set off for the Sound Village.

The size of the party quickly exceeded a thousand.

Besides the hundred female Uzumaki ninja, many children were also present nearby—yet not a single male shinobi.

After speaking with them—

Kurenai learned that when the Land of Whirlpools fell, nearly all male Uzumaki were killed in battle. Only children and women escaped overseas.

Only a few remained in the shinobi world.

All these years, the remnants had relied on the efforts of the former Seventh Elder—this elderly woman, Uzumaki Zina—to contact and gather their scattered clansmen.

Without her, even assembling this hundred would have been difficult.

These women and children wandered across the ninja world, living in extreme poverty to evade capture—especially by the likes of the Cloud Village, known for targeting bloodline limit bearers.

So when word came that Yu, under the Uchiha name, intended to found a new shinobi village—

Uzumaki Chinna immediately gathered her people and headed for the Sound Village in the Land of Rice Fields.

Whether Uchiha or Uzumaki, both clans had once placed too much trust in Konoha and the Senju—and had paid the price.

Though Zina didn't know what the future held, she was willing to place her trust in the Uchiha once more—for the sake of their remaining kin.

Looking at the long caravan—

Kimimaro finally let out a sigh of relief.

He was never good with words. Now that Kabuto was here, he could focus on training and leave the Sound Village in Kabuto's hands.

At the front of the group—

Kurenai looked at Kabuto and asked,

"You just said that Yu has a close partnership with Orochimaru, and that this is Orochimaru's base?"

She had led the Tsuchigumo and Uchiha to split paths earlier, unaware of Yu's deep cooperation with Orochimaru.

"Yes. Lord Yu is currently leading a mission in the Mist Village. He should be back very soon," Kabuto answered truthfully.

As he spoke, he glanced at the group behind him, sighing inwardly.

Captain Yu really did have one beautiful woman after another by his side—including his own adoptive mother, Nonou.

If his adoptive mother had feelings for Captain Yu…

The competition would be fierce.

As he thought about it, Kabuto's lips curled into a smirk.

He hadn't expected the Uchiha to so easily rally the remnants of the Uzumaki and the Tsuchigumo Clan.

Now, the new shinobi village Yu aimed to build had a solid foundation.

In the future, he, Yakushi Kabuto, would also be part of this new Hidden Leaf Village. The thought alone made him a little excited.

If his adoptive mother ended up having a relationship with Lord Yu, then Kabuto could naturally change his name to Uchiha Kabuto.

At the thought of this, a smile appeared on his face.

"And what about Orochimaru?"

Kurenai continued to ask.

To be honest, as a ninja of Konoha, she didn't like dealing with the S-rank rogue ninja Orochimaru.

Kabuto replied,

"Lord Orochimaru went to Konoha on a mission."

Given that they were all on the same side now, he had no reason to hide this information.

...

...

Land of Fire.

Konoha Village.

Under the night sky, sudden chaos erupted near the previously quiet Hokage building—sounds of battle and explosions echoed.

Soon after, explosive tags boomed in all directions—east, south, west, and north of the village.

Clearly, intruders had entered Konoha and were causing deliberate destruction.

The Konoha shinobi immediately began tracking, counterattacking, and surrounding the enemies—the village erupted into turmoil.

Inside Konoha.

In an unguarded area—

The Shinobi Graveyard.

Caw—

A large number of crows perched on distant branches scattered as three figures appeared.

Under a black hood, Orochimaru, accompanied by two subordinates, arrived before the gravestone of Hatake Sakumo.

He whispered,

"Bring me all the shinobi remains from this area."

"Yes, sir—"

Both subordinates, skilled in Earth Style, immediately took out sealing scrolls and began their task.

One nondescript grave bore the name: Nohara Rin.

Orochimaru's eyes swept casually across the tombstones in the area he'd selected.

The Reanimation Jutsu required the deceased's physical body, but thanks to his modifications, even a sliver of dried flesh was enough to summon them back.

This time, Orochimaru's return to Konoha was not just to steal the remains of the past Hokage—

He also intended to take the corpses of other powerful ninja from the village.

Hatake Sakumo.

The White Fang of the Leaf.

He'd make an excellent reanimation target—provided they could obtain his remains.

Tonight, Orochimaru infiltrated the Konoha barrier and created chaos in other parts of the village just to ensure nothing went wrong with this plan.

As he thought this, Orochimaru turned toward the Root base.

According to intel from his network, he knew Konoha stored the remains of the past Hokage and Danzo in the Root base.

Under the moonlight, a shadowy figure suddenly flashed in front of Orochimaru, landing respectfully before him to report:

"My lord, aside from us, someone else has invaded the area where Konoha seals its forbidden jutsu."

"Oh?" Orochimaru flicked his tongue out to lick his lips and chuckled.

"How coincidental. Track that person—I want to know who they are."

"Yes, sir—"

The shadow departed.

...

Root Base.

Corpse Storage Room.

Koharu Utatane sat cross-legged, wearing reading glasses, engrossed in studying the Reanimation Jutsu.

She had been at it for days without sleep or rest.

Whoosh—

Under the lamplight—

A Konoha ninja suddenly appeared, crouched beside her desk, and urgently reported,

"My lady, aside from major clan areas, the barrier on the forbidden jutsu vault has also been breached and someone has broken in!"

Smack—

Koharu's wrinkled face trembled.

She gripped the Reanimation scroll with her right hand, slammed it onto the desk, and said coldly:

"Guard this place well! Now even any random dog or cat dares to sneak into my Konoha!"

With that, she slowly stood up.

In the main hall of the corpse storage room, several coffins were lined up—on their lids were marked numbers: One, Two, Four… and one marked with a nearly withered tree.

°°°

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