Chapter 20 A Special Mission from Orochimaru
Return to the meeting point.
The other three teams were waiting, and when they saw them return, the two Jonin smiled kindly.
"The commander is back. It seems everything went smoothly this time too!"
"The commander-in-chief's attacks are always spot on, so naturally everything went smoothly!"
The two Jonin laughed heartily, but Souji shook his head slightly, his expression solemn.
"You two... this time there was an unexpected incident, things didn't go too smoothly."
"What? What happened?" The two were stunned and quickly asked.
"One of the people I attacked this time was actually a Jonin from Sunagakure. I only managed to inflict minor injuries on him; I couldn't kill him!" Souji said with a pained expression.
"What a pity! He broke my kill streak!"
The commander sighed deeply, looking as if he had truly suffered a major setback.
The two Jonin were taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Good heavens, they were just pretending against us all along!"
"Konoha's kunai masters are such good jokers!"
The commander laughed along with them, but in his heart he was thinking: actually, half of it was true.
While this certainly makes it a Versailles-like moment, it's a real shame that the kill streak has been broken.
The three chatted in a harmonious atmosphere, as if they were old friends.
The two Jonin's attitude has now completely reversed from their initial indifference.
Ultimately, there was no deep conflict between them; they just felt that Souji spoke arrogantly and was too frivolous.
Now that the commander has proven his strength with his actual kill record, they naturally have nothing more to say.
Even Jonin like them struggled to effectively kill the Sand Village's fixed formation.
But Souji could do it, and he could do it with ease. With each strike, ten kunai could take the lives of ten Sunagakure ninja!
Having killed dozens of people in succession, Souji is undoubtedly the Phantom Kill King among the 2,000 Konoha ninja in this mission!
With such strength, it probably won't be long before he becomes a Jonin, on par with them.
In that case, the two Jonin naturally changed their attitude and became friendly and cordial to Souji.
The ninja world is not just about fighting and killing, but also about human relationships and social interactions.
Souji, hoping to one day become Hokage, is also happy to befriend these Jonin who are qualified to cast a vote of confidence in the Hokage.
"The Moonlit Style Kunejutsu is truly wondrous!"
"No, no!"
"The Mochizuki-ryu style will surely flourish under Souji's leadership, and may even develop into a prestigious ninja clan!"
"You flatter me!"
"..."
Asuma and his two young genin had absolutely no interest in the mutual flattery among the adult jonin, and even found it extremely awkward to listen to.
"How boring! How can they keep blowing on each other like that? It's so embarrassing to listen to!"
"Shut up! Be quiet!"
Kurenai nudged Asuma with her elbow to shut him up.
The two Jonin's faces darkened slightly, and they glared at Asuma with some hostility. Then one of them coughed lightly and said:
"Alright, let's get back to business! The fourth squad is injured and needs to rest for the time being, so the first squad will take their place in the next round."
"It's going fairly smoothly so far.
Although we've suffered some casualties due to the Sand Village's counterattack, it's not serious overall.
The Sand Village, on the other hand, has clearly been weakened by our continuous attacks, and their defensive strength is not as strong as it was at the beginning."
"However, Sunagakure probably won't just sit here and wait to die. In the past ten days, the Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beast and Pakura of the Scorching Release should have recovered by now."
"I estimate... a major battle is imminent, everyone should be prepared!"
Upon hearing what the Jonin said, everyone nodded solemnly.
Offense is always easier than defense, and ninjas are specialists in infiltration and sabotage.
Holding out strongholds is not their forte, so Sunagakure was naturally at a disadvantage.
Regardless, they did buy time for Fenfu and Yecang, the two top combatants, to recover.
In this way, Sunagakure should be able to launch a counterattack against Konoha, or at least stop being on the defensive.
Just then.
Two messenger birds flew in from the direction of the camp and landed in the hands of a Jonin and Souji respectively.
The two men took the letter tied to the bird's leg, opened it, and their expressions turned serious.
The Jonin showed the letter to everyone and said in a deep voice:
"It's already here, just as I said it! Latest orders: tonight the entire army will launch a general attack on Sunagakure!"
Upon hearing this news, everyone instantly became tense.
The final attack... it will definitely be an extremely fierce battle!
Everyone then looked at the commander, curious about the contents of the letter he had received.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Souji calmly displayed the letter and said:
"Lord Sarutobi Shinnosuke has ordered me to return and participate in a special mission."
The two Jonin looked thoughtful, while Asuma and the other two widened their eyes and their expressions changed slightly.
Even though they were young genin, they weren't stupid; they could immediately imagine the special missions that would be carried out during the general attack...
Those are naturally dangerous missions that only a select few elites can participate in!
"Mr. Mochizuki..."
Asuma and Kurenai looked at him with some concern.
Hinata Kei didn't say anything, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
The commander smiled slightly at them, said nothing more, and calmly addressed the two Jonin:
"Since there are orders, I'll head back now. I'll leave my team members in your care for the time being."
...
Konoha camp, operations center.
Every ninja present was extremely powerful, most of them being seasoned Jonin who had experienced countless battles.
Even so, there was one person who clearly exuded a dangerous aura that was completely different from the others.
Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Although Souji had lived in Konoha for over twenty years, this was the first time he had ever met Orochimaru.
She had long, casually draped black hair, long, golden pupils, purple eyeshadow that extended to her nose, and an eerily pale, sickly complexion all over her body, with skin as smooth and delicate as a snake's.
As his name suggests, Orochimaru is like a bizarre creature that is half human and half snake.
Just looking at it evokes a sense of fear, as if one were prey being targeted by a venomous snake.
Not only Souji, but all the other Jonin present were also clearly nervous in front of Orochimaru.
Souji had seen Kage-level powerhouses before, such as Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze.
These people were no less powerful than Orochimaru, but they did not deliberately exude a sense of oppression, so ordinary people could face these powerhouses normally.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, deliberately makes others feel oppressed.
It can only be said that it truly fits the villain's twisted sense of humor.
As Souji was secretly observing Orochimaru, Orochimaru suddenly looked at him.
End of this chapter...