Chapter 26 Three Generations of Partners and Results
The figure of the person who came disappeared from the spot in an instant, and then a sharp wind sounded behind Lu Nie.
Boom!
There was a dull sound where the blade collided with Lu Nie's neck.
This is?
A hint of doubt flashed in the eyes of the man behind the mask. Then, the next moment, he lost control of his body, his feet were stuck to the ground, and his whole body stiffened.
Shadow Binding Technique!
In the dim alley at night, the shadows were extremely concealed and extended. The close proximity left no time for people to dodge.
The man was obviously attacking with the intention of hitting the target with one strike, and he almost stepped on Lu Nie's shadow with his body.
What surprised the visitor even more was that in the next moment, dense runes spread out from the darkness under Lu Nie's feet along the shadow and crawled all over his body.
"This is the art of curse and binding!" The struggle in the visitor's eyes became even more intense.
The combination of Shadow Binding Technique and Curse Binding Technique is the most proficient technique that Lu Nie has mastered so far, and it can be cast almost instantly.
This combination of techniques was originally used to deal with Jūgo's rampage. Facing a rampaging Jūgo, all that could be done was instant and continuous powerful control.
This ability to seize opportunities and control timing was developed by Lunie during the back-and-forth confrontation with Chougo over the past few months.
In the early stage, you need to work together with Hongdou to seize the opportunity and fight a dangerous battle to achieve the goal. After you become more and more proficient in this process, it will be much easier and safer to face the rampaging Chougo.
Dispel the shadow binding spell.
Lu Nie turned around and looked at the attacker who was half a body taller than him and dressed in ANBU attire. The attacker's body was now covered with curse marks, and on the exposed palms, the curse runes even spread to the fingertips.
"The back of the knife? It looks like they are not here to kill me. Are they trying to catch me for something?"
Looking at the blade of the man attacking him, Lu Nie determined the reason for the strange, blunt-like feeling during the previous attack.
"You were able to stop me in this remote place. Were you waiting for me? You looked very calm! You were waiting for me here. You must have known that this was the road I usually took to go home after training.
This means that you are very familiar with the road planning of Konoha Village and also know some of my daily information.
Judging from your attire, you belong to the Anbu. The Anbu serve the Hokage and only obey the orders of the Hokage. But if the Third-sama wants to see me, he only needs to tell my lazy old man, there is no need to use such means.
I heard from Teacher Orochimaru that there is an Anbu organization called Root in Konoha Village. It is Konoha's Anbu training institution and is part of the Anbu.
But the control of this part of the Anbu is in the hands of an elder named Danzo...
Your emotions finally fluctuate, it seems that I guessed it right."
As Lu Nie spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the attacker, and learned some mental observation techniques from the Yamanaka clan, carefully experiencing the other party's subtle emotional fluctuations.
After he said Danzo's name, the attacker was sensitive enough to be caught by him in that fleeting emotion. Lu Nie sighed and didn't want to ask anything more. He knew very well that the next matter should be left to the adults who could handle it.
“It’s really surprising.”
Not long after, a figure suddenly appeared in the darkness and landed on the ground with the sound of wind. When the familiar magnetic and hoarse voice sounded, Lu Nie, who had hidden himself in the darkness, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Anbu? No, a smell of Root." Orochimaru looked at the Anbu who were fixed in place by the curse-binding technique and reinforced twice, and his golden pupils narrowed into a slit.
"Teacher Orochimaru." Lu Nie greeted Orochimaru.
"It seems that he doesn't want to kill you." Orochimaru also noticed the wrong direction of the attacker's sword, and almost instantly judged and restored the general information and battle process.
"He wanted to knock me out, but failed to break through the defense of my Static Blood Suit." Lu Nie said simply.
"Leave this to me, you can tell Lu Ji."
Orochimaru was silent for a moment, then summoned a giant snake to swallow the attacker into its belly, and then watched it disappear on the spot with a bang and a puff of smoke.
"Is there any trouble?" Lu Nie asked, looking up.
"It's just a warning from a petty old man. You are the one who was implicated."
Orochimaru has now figured out the cause and reason for this attack, but he has no intention of explaining it to Lu Nie here for the time being. He took Lu Nie's hand and said, "Let's go, I'll take you home first. Then I'll go see my teacher."
After sending Lunae back to the Nara clan land without any trouble, Orochimaru left immediately, leaving Lunae and Luji who noticed something unusual.
Following Orochimaru's instructions, Lu Ne explained to Lu Ji everything that happened today. After leaving the old man Lu Ji with a heavy face to think, he went back to rest.
……
Somewhere in the darkness underground.
An old man hiding in the candlelight, leaning on a cane, looked at his men kneeling in front of him, revealing his only intact eye.
"You said Orochimaru went to see Hiruzen?" "Yes! We monitored that Orochimaru entered the residence of the Third Hokage and stayed in there for a long time before leaving." The ninja kneeling below lowered his head and said respectfully.
"I understand." The old man nodded and watched his men stand up and walk away backwards.
……
"Hiruzen."
The old man, leaning on a cane and covered in bandages, pushed open the door of the Hokage's office. The single eye that was exposed glanced at the Third Hokage who was working inside, and at Nara Shikakichi who was working silently on the other side, and then turned his attention and gaze back to the Third Hokage who looked up and looked at him.
"What brings you to me?"
"Last night, Orochimaru's disciple Nara Shikagane was attacked by the Anbu. Do you have anything to say, Danzo?" The Third Hokage picked up the pipe beside him and took a puff. His old face was hidden in the smoke, making it difficult to see clearly.
"The attack by the Anbu, what does this have to do with me?" Danzo snorted coldly and counterattacked righteously.
"Do you know what Orochimaru did?" As if he had expected Danzo's denial, the Sandaime was silent for a moment, rubbed his eyebrows with a headache, and said helplessly.
"What can he do?" Danzo stood in front of the Sandaime Hokage's desk, glanced at Nara Shikakichi who was working silently with disdain, and said coldly.
"He sent the attacker to the interrogation squad." The Sandaime closed his eyes. "The interrogation squad leader, Yama Shinichi, personally interrogated him. Do you want me to tell you more?"
"What can he get out of the interrogation?" Danzo's eyes narrowed.
"Orochimaru helped you to remove the many seals and binding techniques you had imposed on the attackers beforehand." The Sandaime smoked a cigarette with a sad face, opened his eyes and looked at Danzo through the smoke.
"What does he want to do? I have a clear conscience!" Danzo snorted.
"Why do you think the teacher chose me to be the Hokage instead of you?" The Sandaime suddenly asked an irrelevant question.
"That's only because you said those words before me!" Upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's question, Danzo, who had been calm all along, suddenly became emotional and shouted angrily.
"No! It's because the teacher knows very well that you are a person who only knows how to be ruthless and not how to compromise, a person who is a little clever but ignores the overall situation, and a person who is short-sighted and has no long-term vision.
If someone like you becomes Hokage, it will only be a disaster for the village!" The Sandaime answered word by word.
"You're talking nonsense!" Danzo tapped the ground heavily with his cane, and the veins in his hands holding it throbbed. He was almost instantly enraged by his old friend.
"Look at what you are doing! How dare you attack people in the village! First it was Sakumo, then it was Kane, and next, are you going to attack me?" The Sandai rebuked tit for tat.
Danzo looked deeply at the angry face of the Third Hokage, and suddenly he calmed down and remained silent.
"The peace of the village will be the responsibility of the Anbu directly under the Hokage. Your Root will only be responsible for affairs outside the village. In addition, due to the mistakes you have made in recent times, the Root's funding and personnel selection will be restricted accordingly." The Third Hokage looked at the calmed Danzo and gave the final punishment in a straightforward manner.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen!" Danzo's hand tightened. Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen scolded him severely and made him lose face in front of Shikaji, it would be more unacceptable than this punishment. This was a merciless reduction of his power!
"I am the Hokage, am I not?" the Sandaime said coldly.
"Hmph!" Danzo turned around, opened the door and left the Hokage's office with a gust of wind.
"I think you and Luji should be satisfied with my punishment?" Looking at Danzo who was leaving, the Sandaime rubbed his brows tiredly again.
"I have no objection, Lord Hokage." Nara Shikakichi stood up and bowed respectfully to the Sandaime.
"What did you promise me, teacher?" Orochimaru walked out of a secret door, his eyes fixed on his teacher.
"The funds cut by the Root will be given to you to manage, and Danzo has no right to interfere with the personnel of the Ino, Deer and Chou clans, but you can discuss and select." The Sandaime nodded.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and met his teacher's inquiring gaze.
"This is different from what you promised me last night." After a moment of silence, Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips, somewhat dissatisfied.
“Do you know how much manpower and money it takes to create a new department? Although the village’s economy has improved and become more prosperous, it is not yet at the point where we can spend lavishly.
Besides, even if I were the Hokage, if I wanted to create a new department, I would have to convene a jonin meeting for a vote.
Tsunade's medical department was not established in one go." The Sandaime shook his head.
"But the facts have proved that the establishment of the medical department was correct! Tsunade's proposal at the time was also correct! Teacher, your delay is meaningless and not beneficial to the village." Orochimaru replied bluntly.
The Sandaime immediately started smoking his pipe again.
"At least, you have to let me and the senior ninjas see the value of this department, right? According to the requirements you put forward, the expenditure on money, manpower and other resources of the Technology Development Department will be higher than that of the Medical Department! I can't think of its significance to the village." The Sandaime was a little worried.
Looking at the mess of the village's finances, he, as a shadow, was also in a dilemma. The medical department had only been established for a few years, and the investment had not yet been recovered. Now another big money-making enterprise was launched. If you don't run the household, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are, right?
"This is inconsistent with our agreement." Orochimaru's eyes had narrowed into slits.
"How about this, I authorize you to set up this department, and allow you to recruit staff independently, and I can also provide part of the initial start-up capital. But if you cannot produce sufficient results in the future, the financial burden will be borne by you alone. Do you agree with this solution?" The third generation pondered for a moment and gave a compromise.
(End of this chapter)