Chapter 325: Chapter 325: Total Annihilation if Possible
The following day, the three assembled in the command center. Ready for them, Shikaku Nara promptly handed each a scroll. Orochimaru, seated in his chair, turned first to Nawaki.
"Nawaki," he began, "I need you to lead a small team in a critical interception mission. All the task details, including your teammates, are recorded in the scroll. Take it and locate your team."
"Yes, sensei." Nawaki nodded, taking the scroll before departing.
Orochimaru then looked over to Minato. "Minato, with your Flying Thunder God Technique, you're equipped to return to camp quickly if needed. I'd like you to join the intel-gathering team from the Anbu and assist in collecting intelligence. Your priority is to relay any findings back as swiftly as possible."
"Yes, sir." Minato replied, knowing the Anbu would find him once he left.
Shikaku handed a cup of hot tea to Takuya, who looked surprised.
Isn't he supposed to be getting a mission? What's with the tea? Was his mission to sit here, sip tea, and chat with Orochimaru? As if Orochimaru had the time for that!n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Noticing Takuya's confusion, Orochimaru gave a slight smile. "Your mission is different from Minato and Nawaki's," he explained, spreading a detailed map on the table and pointing to a specific area.
"The Land of Bears—familiar, I imagine?"
Takuya's eyes narrowed with intrigue. "Yeah. It's a small nation with a peculiar shinobi village. The leader there even calls himself the Kage."
Only Hoshigakure, among minor villages, dared give its leader the title of "Star Kage." That they stuck to their secluded region with no ambition to expand was all that kept the Five Great Nations from reacting. If Hoshigakure had shown any desire to join the ranks of the major villages, it would have been crushed.
"Is the Land of Bears aligning with the Hidden Mist?" Takuya speculated.
"Better hold to that." Takuya nodded, accepting that he couldn't request a large contingent. Still, he needed competent allies. Pursuing enemies through the Land of Bears solo was risky. Takuya could handle himself, but without Minato's teleportation speed, corralling fleeing enemies would be difficult. Even the Third Raikage would struggle if the entire enemy force chose to flee.
"Of course." Orochimaru smiled and nodded.
Even if Takuya hadn't raised concerns, Orochimaru had no intention of sending him solo or with a small squad. He wanted full annihilation of the enemy force, not a partial rout.
"Head to the camp entrance, and they'll meet you there."
Orochimaru didn't reveal who Takuya's teammates were, his enigmatic grin hinting at something.
"Of course, a mystery," Takuya muttered, leaving the command center.
After he left, Orochimaru dismissed Shikaku and pulled out a map dotted with red markers, chuckling softly as he studied it. "Yagura, I wonder how you'll respond. The Mist can't afford this kind of attrition."
Orochimaru's schemes were none of Takuya's concern. He could take any regular mission as long as it didn't endanger him unnecessarily. Once he had the scroll secured, Takuya made his way to the camp entrance, trusting Orochimaru to send his team.
Meanwhile, within the camp's Uchiha sector, Fugaku Uchiha received orders to lead a group of Uchiha shinobi on the mission. However, to his surprise, he was not appointed as the mission
lead.
"Fugaku, this is absurd!" one Uchiha protested. "They want us to send dozens of our people and won't even let us lead?"
_Offer_
We have some time left and more to do. Are you going to work for the remaining Power Stone just like last time, or just leave it?
(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 380+ at Patreon com/ Emiko1.