Chapter 394 – Orochimaru's Intelligence (Part One)
"Captain… is something wrong with our route?"
On a narrow road within the Land of Fire, thirteen figures moved swiftly toward Konoha.
They advanced in a disciplined formation—three-man squads on the flanks, escorting a single shinobi positioned at the center.
Yet one of the younger members finally voiced his concern.
The direction they were heading toward didn't match the originally planned destination.
It felt… off.
The captain glanced back briefly, then turned his gaze forward again, offering no immediate explanation.
The man leading them appeared to be in his thirties.
Unlike most Cloud shinobi, he wasn't particularly burly, and his left eye was covered by an eyepatch.
This man was Dodai.
In the shinobi world, Dodai's career was nothing short of legendary.
He had once served as the Third Raikage's personal guard, and had even been one of the chief examiners for the technique known as Guillotine Drop—a test reserved only for the strongest.
Among the Cloud, there was a saying about him:
"A minister who stood beside the Third Raikage—
a man who witnessed and narrated the strongest legend."
Later, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he would serve as a core member of the Allied Shinobi Forces' communications unit—a strategist known for caution, foresight, and calm judgment.
Under normal circumstances, someone like Dodai would never be assigned to this kind of mission.
Especially not someone who possessed Lava Release, a valuable bloodline limit that wasn't even unique to the Cloud.
If this mission failed, the consequences for him would be severe.
Originally, the person meant to lead this operation was Toroi—the shinobi who wielded Magnet Style.
Toroi was the ideal choice.
Magnet Style was something Sunagakure had always coveted, and if it appeared within Konoha, it could easily be used to shift suspicion toward the Sand Village, creating enormous psychological pressure.
But fate had other plans.
Several months earlier, during a clash near the Land of Iron, Toroi had been killed—
by an utterly unknown Uchiha.
Worse still, his body had been incinerated on the spot.
Reduced to ashes.
Nothing left.
Toroi's death forced the Cloud to overhaul its strategy.
With no time to rebuild the operation from scratch, Dodai became the most suitable replacement.
He knew the risks.
He also knew that, despite his value on the front lines, the battlefield behind enemy lines was just as important.
Whether at the front or deep within hostile territory, a mission like this required a real commander—
Not someone who merely taught stealth,
but someone who could guide operatives to maximize chaos, extract value, and cripple Konoha from within.
The three shinobi accompanying him were all elite—members of Toroi's former unit.
They weren't Dodai's personal subordinates.
But they were already trained, already prepared, and the operation could not afford delays for reorganization.
As they moved, Dodai subtly glanced at the faces around him.
He could see it clearly.
Doubt.
With a quiet sigh, he finally spoke.
"Our route is correct," Dodai said calmly.
"Pick up the pace. Our priority is reaching the outskirts of Konoha."
"But according to the original plan…" one shinobi asked hesitantly, lowering his voice.
"Weren't we supposed to rendezvous with Wolf first? That was decided before departure."
"That was the plan," Dodai replied flatly.
"And I've decided to change it."
"What?"
The moment those words left his mouth, every Cloud shinobi present stiffened in surprise.
Temporarily altering a mission plan was an extremely dangerous move.
Could it be that the Cloud Village's high-level strategy had been leaked, forcing a sudden change?
Unlikely.
Cloud meetings were conducted in complete secrecy, and those present were the absolute core of Kumogakure's power structure.
Not only was a leak nearly impossible, but every one of them was famously tight-lipped.
Then… could it be that "Wolf," the agent who had been embedded in Konoha for over twenty years, was no longer trustworthy?
That seemed just as implausible.
The seal embedded in Wolf's mind was of the irreversible type.
The moment he attempted to write down or verbally disclose sensitive information, the seal would erupt with devastating force.
Even genjutsu-based communication had been accounted for.
The instant the seal detected foreign mental interference—especially attempts to search for or coax out secrets—it would activate immediately.
Cruel, yes.
But brutally effective.
As for the possibility that Dodai himself had defected, planning to deliver them straight into Konoha's hands?
That was even more absurd.
Dodai's status within the Cloud was exceptionally high.
He wielded real authority, had served faithfully since the era of the Third Raikage, and had personally trained the Fourth Raikage himself.
If their previous captain hadn't been killed—and if Dodai hadn't volunteered—this mission would never have fallen to him in the first place.
"There's no need to panic," Dodai said calmly, noticing the stunned expressions around him. He let out a quiet sigh.
"This decision was made after discussion with the Raikage himself."
"This is for our safety—and to ensure the mission can proceed smoothly."
"Captain… Lord Dodai," one shinobi asked hesitantly, confusion plain on his face.
"Did something happen to Wolf?"
"No," Dodai replied. "This is precisely to protect Wolf's secrecy."
He hadn't planned on explaining any of this, but silence now would only deepen suspicion.
"Our numbers are not small. Skipping the rendezvous will cost us some supplies, yes—but even if we were to meet him, now would not be the time."
He continued evenly,
"And I've always followed one principle: never trust anyone lightly—except the comrades at your side."
"Wolf has been embedded in Konoha for twenty years, but who's to say Konoha hasn't already noticed him and simply chosen not to act?"
"Don't forget—over a decade ago, we once abducted the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. That attempt failed… and now we are at war."
"It's entirely possible Konoha has deliberately left Wolf untouched, waiting to see if operatives like us would come looking for him."
"That's why I raised this concern before departure. And the Raikage agreed."
Dodai's explanation was concise and precise.
Caution had always defined him.
As he'd said, he would never casually trust anyone outside his immediate circle—not because others were unreliable, but because their circumstances were.
This mission was simply too dangerous.
Too important.
He would not allow exposure.
He would not allow accidents.
After hearing his reasoning, the Cloud shinobi nodded one by one.
Though Dodai seemed overly suspicious, his actions were clearly meant to protect them.
They fell silent and pressed forward at speed.
None of them noticed the small white snake, its tongue flicking softly, watching them pass overhead.
---
Uchiha Kei stood idly atop a tall tree.
Roughly three kilometers away lay the Cloud outpost he had personally wiped out.
After he and Kakashi delivered the operation report—along with the interrogation records compiled by Ayaka—to Minato, everything became clear.
Minato immediately understood the Cloud's intentions.
And he remembered—vividly—the incident years ago when Cloud shinobi had abducted Kushina.
From one perspective, it was a beautiful memory.
From another… deeply unsettling.
As Minato the man, that incident had earned him Kushina's heart and Jiraiya's recognition.
As Hokage, it exposed Konoha's carelessness—its fragile blind spots.
Overconfidence had led to shadows beneath the lantern.
And that troubled him deeply.
So Minato issued an immediate order.
Uchiha Kei and Kakashi were to stake out and intercept any Cloud operatives attempting to infiltrate Konoha, reinforcing the village's defensive net and ensuring detection before they reached the gates.
The mission was exhausting—and maddening.
The targets were too few. Too subtle.
Konoha, despite being in a state of war, couldn't fully seal itself off.
No village ever could—commerce and civilian movement made that impossible.
"Anything?" Kei asked lazily, glancing toward the distant forest.
The cursed wooden cabin was completely hidden beneath the trees—he couldn't see a damn thing.
"No," Ayaka replied from beside him. Her Byakugan deactivated as she shook her head.
"Nothing unusual."
"Do you think they threw out a smokescreen?" she asked thoughtfully.
"Not that they aren't coming—but that they never intended to use this route?"
"That's why we're running a full perimeter sweep," Kei sighed.
"I've got Kakashi roaming the outer ring with ANBU. No signal flares so far, which means nothing's been spotted."
"As for the main gates…" He clicked his tongue.
"We don't even know how many of them there are, or who they are. One-by-one screening would be a nightmare."
"Agreed," Ayaka said, then looked at him.
"What about the front lines? How do you think things are going?"
The front lines?
Kei tilted his head.
He didn't have real-time intel—but he wasn't worried.
Fugaku wielded Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Even if it wasn't his original pair, the power was real.
Kei had fought him personally.
Anyone who could force out a Fourth-Stage Susanoo, and even pressure Kei into using his own dōjutsu, was anything but weak.
Just as Kei was about to respond—
He noticed something.
Beneath their tree, a small white snake lay coiled, tongue flicking lightly.
And none of the nearby Guard Division members had noticed it at all.