Chapter 69

Chapter 69

With the information that they got from Tayuya, Kaen and his team quickly found the first Orochimaru stronghold. Hidden well, under massive trees, it was an underground bunker. If it wasn't clear to whom this hideout belonged before, then the marks of the snakes quickly confirmed it. Looking around with his sharingan, Kaen didn't see any traps.

Yet before entering it, Hana's dogs got a smell of something they didn't like. Yugao quickly took point, even though Kaen tried to reason that it was better for him to lead them. But Yugao didn't listen, as Kaen was the Hokage, so she and Hana would lead while Anko protected their back. Kaen was left in the middle of the team.

Entering the bunker, they didn't encounter anything. But the deeper they went, the more they saw. More importantly, what they didn't see, there was no equipment left, but traces of someone living here could still be seen. It was no mistake that Orochimaru had abandoned this hideout. Yet, Hana's dogs still sensed something.

"I was waiting for you," Once they entered the deepest part of the hideout, they found Orochimaru waiting for them.

"Who are you?" Kaen didn't believe it was real Orochimaru even for a second.

Kaen didn't receive a reply before they were attacked from their sides. Yugao blocked the attack coming from their right side. The attacker used a unique weapon resembling scissors or pincers attached to his arm. It was nothing Yugao couldn't handle, so Kaen turned his attention to the left, where he found a man hanging on top of one of the many pillars surrounding them and holding the ceiling.

The man had long limbs that resembled that of the spider's. And he moved like a spider crawling on the pillars and the ceiling. The man's movement was fast, but Kaen saw through it. Kaen used a simple fire jutsu to burn the thin-like wire webs surrounding them. The actions surprised the man, and he spit out a glob of web filled with spiders back at Kaen.

"Not here, Kaen," Hana quickly stopped Kaen from using his most powerful fire jutsu to destroy everything around them. "I deal with him."

"Tch," Kaen disliked it, but listened.

He knew he would probably destroy the pillars supporting the ceiling and let the bunker cave in. But he would rather take that risk than let one of these disgusting spiders touch him. Turning to the last man left in their presence, Kaen stared at the imposter pretending to be Orochimaru. Kaen was curious if Orochimaru predicted him arriving at this hideout or if it was a simple coincidence.

"Will you talk now or wait for your friends to die?" Kaen asked as he prepared himself to kill him.

Kaen was cautious about how to do this. He couldn't know if the man before him was something Orochimaru had left to deal with him. Who could possibly know what kind of nasty modifications Orochimaru did to the imposter? Or perhaps all of it was a trap to destroy the bunker and bring down the ceiling on top of him? It was hard to tell, but Kaen prepared for whatever would happen next.

"Ahh!" Kaen didn't need to look to know that Yugao was finishing up with her opponent.

"Stop it right here!" Hana had trouble catching the spider-like man as he crawled to his friend.

It was surprising how fast he was, as he managed to take Yugao's opponent and retreat to the imposter. Kaen was tired of this and prepared to move on before the imposter saved his comrades. But before he could, he stopped as the imposter killed his comrades instead. Stabbing his hands right through their chest.

"Why?" It seems that the imposter's friends didn't expect that.

"It all to get rid of this Konoha filth," The imposter said as his skin melted off his face. The bodies of his friends started melting, too, and combining. "With this, I am unstoppable. I will kill all of you!"

The skin, the muscles, and the flesh melted into one hideous figure. Two more similar figures emerged from the imposter's shoulders with the faces of the imposter's friends. Limbs started emerging from various places. It was a wretched sight. Kaen didn't want to look at his vile thing even for one more second.

"Anko, destroy it," Kaen commanded.

Snakes appeared from behind and under the figure, biting down on it. Dozens of the snakes warped themselves around the figure, strangling it. It didn't take long before Anko ripped the wretched body of that disgusting thing to pieces. Legs, arms, heads, everything was ripped apart, and only the screams of pain were left behind before Kaen burned every trace of that figure.

"It seems that Orochimaru only left his trash behind," Kaen muttered angrily as he turned to leave but stopped when he came up to a particular room.

Here, he found quite a sight of blood and venom. The venom that he used against Orochimaru. It seemed that Orochimaru had trouble getting rid of the venom from his body as various medicines and a large amount of blood were spilled around the floor. Kaen wondered how much Orochimaru suffered and if he had healed himself yet.

…

Kaen wasn't in a good mood as his team neared the next hideout. Kaen couldn't accept what Orochimaru was doing, making monsters of human beings. Altering human bodies as he wished and playing a god. It made Kaen sick. There were many methods to get stronger, and Orochimaru chose the most despicable one. Kaen couldn't accept that he couldn't kill such a man.

They soon reached the borders of the Land of the Sound. Before their eyes, there was a small island. The last hideout they would visit was here. So far, they couldn't find anything useful. There was no information on what Orochimaru was planning or anything that would tell them where he was. Hopefully Kakashi's team would get better luck than them.

"I don't see any traps," Kaen informed his team as they walked on the water toward the island, expecting to be attacked at any moment.

"It doesn't seem like anyone is inside," Hana commented as they walked on the island. "My ninken don't smell anyone, but there is a strong smell of blood."

Kaen nodded in understanding as they arrived at the hideout's entrance. It wasn't just the smell of blood but also medicine from inside. Careful of enemies that might hide their presence because of the strong smell, they went inside. But neither Kaen nor Hana could detect anyone inside, so they continued to explore.

It was a medical laboratory. The lab was covered in medical equipment, ranging from scalpels to test tubes. However, the lab's most unique feature was the large blood-extracting machine in the center of the room. Kaen didn't need much imagination to know what this lab was used for, as the traces of human beings inside the massive test tubes were still prevalent.

One of the room's massive walls was covered in ceiling-length shelves of jarred experiments, books, scrolls, crates, and tools. Kaen knew what he would find reading through the scrolls and books but still took them. He couldn't miss any detail that Orochimaru might have left. And even though Orochimaru was an atrocious man who would do anything for his research, he was still a brilliant mind. So, his research might be useful for the village.

"It doesn't seem he had much time to clear this hideout," Hana commented as they continued investigating.

"Kaen, come here!" Anko yelled out from the other side of the room.

Kaen quickly walked up to Anko to a hidden section of the room that Anko found. Inside, he saw dozens of wooden coffins laid out. He checked every coffin, finding deformed dead bodies. Kaen knew that they were the failed results of Edo Tensei jutsu. Kaen had to wonder how many Orochimaru sacrificed until he learned the jutsu.

"In the end, it was a waste of time," Anko commented as they finished inspecting the lab.

The hideouts were abandoned, and nothing much could be found in them. Just trash that Orochimaru left behind. Kaen didn't have more time to investigate other hideouts, so they would need to leave for the village. It would be bad if someone discovered that the Fifth Hokage was in a foreign country. Still, he could not help but feel disappointed that he didn't find anything useful.

Considering their results, it wouldn't be too far off to deduct that the other hideouts provided by Tayuya would be abandoned, too. Kaen was concerned about what Orochimaru was planning to do. Did he decide to go into hiding, or has he gathered his forces in one place? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good for them. Especially when Orochimaru still had Edo Tensei jutsu under his belt.

…

Almost nobody noticed that Kaen was gone. But even though he tried to be sneaky, two individuals still awaited his return. Kaen could understand why Tsunade was mad, leaving her with all the work while he enjoyed his adventure. Hiruzen, on the other hand, was here to watch the show of Tsunade berating Kaen. The old man had a big smile, seeking Kaen's predicament.

"Bring this to the research team and see what you can find," Kaen, tired of Tsunade, gave her everything he could find in Orochimaru's hideouts. "And leave me alone. I need to review the reports."

"Fine, but I won't tolerate another disappearance like this," Tsunade replied as she left.

"What do you want, old man?" Kaen then turned to Hiruzen.

"I just wanted to deliver the list of graduates of the academy," Hiruzen gave Kaen a list of the students. "I leave it to you."

Kaen gave it a quick look and, not seeing anything special, dismissed it. Kaen didn't have time for it. He needed to find where Orochimaru was. He couldn't believe that Orochimaru chose to hide himself. The snake was planning something. He wanted to mobilize all his shinobi into the Land of the Sound to find Orochimaru. But he knew it was a bad idea.

Not only would the other villages not tolerate them using all their forces to invade another country, but Konoha's losses would be too much to justify Orochimaru's hunt. Orochimaru would use guerrilla tactics to diminish their numbers. It was best to leave it to Kakashi and his team. They were elites. He was sure that they would be able to handle themselves.

"Hokage-sama," Shikaku entered the office while Kaen reviewed the reports. "We just received word that the Daimyo of the Sound was found dead. It is believed to be work of the Sound Village."

"Did Kakashi inform you of anything else?" Kaen could only smile as he and Shikaku knew it was Kakashi's work.

"The people of the Land of the Sound are quite in a pickle," Shikaku smiled as he saw through Kakashi's plan. "They are asking the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to send support."

"Tell our dear Daimyo that as long as he wishes to help the Land of the Sound, Konoha will provide shinobi for protection."

That should be enough pretext of why Konoha shinobi are in the Land of the Sound if Kakashi's team is discovered. And it would be easier to send support when needed. Once they can find Orochimaru, Kaen isn't willing to let that snake escape again. So, he might have to use more force than other villages are comfortable with.

…

In the Land of the Sound, deep underground. Orochimaru was busy preparing his forces. His body was still weak, as extracting the venom from his body took more effort than he expected. But it didn't matter. This body will be replaced soon. And even though he won't be fighting soon, his dear soldiers will take care of the intruders trespassing into his country, giving him enough time to prepare himself.

The war only started, and Konoha did not know what would hit them. Orochimaru was confident as he looked at a hundred coffins filled with long-dead shinobi that soon would fight under his command. It won't take long to perfect Edo Tensei jutsu, and nobody will be able to stop him once he does. He will get what he wants. One way or another.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.