How many do I need to kill specifically in Chapter 21?
Orochimaru's voice was deep and hoarse, like that of a snake, as he slowly asked:
"You are Mochizuki Souji?"
"Indeed, this is Special Jonin Mochizuki Souji." Souji replied calmly.
Orochimaru smiled and said again:
"I've heard you've mastered a very unique kunai technique, almost always hitting its mark?"
"That was a secret technique I developed using my family's Mochizuki-ryu Kunai technique, combined with my personal characteristics."
"Really? If I have the chance, I'll have to see for myself."
"That would be my honor. Please, Lord Orochimaru, give me some pointers."
"Hmph... I'm looking forward to it."
Orochimaru, with a meaningful smile, turned his gaze elsewhere and ignored him.
Facing Orochimaru, a ruthless man, Souji felt considerable pressure.
He has recently become quite famous, and it seems that even Orochimaru, who is always arrogant, has taken a liking to him.
However, it should be alright, and the commander is not too worried.
Although Orochimaru likes outstanding bodies, his main target is Sasuke, who is around ten years old, young and strong, and has a powerful bloodline.
I'm 22 years old now. Although I'm not quite an old ninja that everyone hates, I'm not considered a young man in the ninja world.
Orochimaru is unlikely to be interested in his body; at most, he might be curious about the kunai technique that has been touted as having perfect accuracy lately.
Two more people arrived one after another, bringing the total number of people present to ten.
Orochimaru and Sarutobi Shinnosuke, two Kage-level powerhouses.
The six Jonin were all seasoned veterans, including Fugaku Uchiha, who had just succeeded as the head of the Uchiha clan and was the biological father of Itachi and Sasuke.
In addition, there are two figures from the parents' generation of the Konoha Twelve.
Aburame Shiki, father of Shino Aburame, from the Mushishi clan of Konoha.
The Inuzuka family, professionals in raising ninja dogs, including Inuzuka Kiba's mother, Inuzuka Tsume.
And two special Jonin.
One of them is Souji, and the other is a member of the Hyuga family, but he doesn't know Souji.
The commander looked at the group and thought to himself, "As expected of a team that is about to carry out a secret mission, they are all formidable people!"
In fact, Might Guy is also very strong in terms of combat power. If he really unleashed his power, there would probably be few people here who could survive against him except for Orochimaru.
However, he's too weak in other aspects. Besides, Orochimaru probably doesn't know that opening all eight gates is so powerful, so it's understandable that he looks down on a brute who only uses taijutsu.
Shinnosuke cleared his throat, glanced at everyone, and spoke first:
"Everyone, before I begin to explain the mission details, I would like to clarify something: there is no animosity between Lord Orochimaru and me."
The crowd looked slightly surprised, but their reaction was not significant.
Shinnosuke continued:
"What you have all seen before... was just a scheme by Lord Orochimaru to mislead the enemy."
Orochimaru chuckled and spoke as well:
"I originally just wanted to make a random move and didn't expect it to have any effect, but the result seems to be pretty good, so I've come in handy now."
"The enemy probably thought that we were indeed internally divided, that I, as the commander-in-chief, was acting arbitrarily and refusing to cooperate, and that because they were wary of the tailed beast jinchūriki, they would not easily take action, so they lowered their guard against me a lot."
At this point, Orochimaru chuckled lightly at Shinnosuke:
"Shinnosuke, you cooperated very well, and your strategy of attrition against Sunagakure was very effective. You truly deserve to be the son of Sarutobi-sensei."
"Lord Orochimaru, you flatter me."
Shinnosuke addressed the group again:
"In short, I am explaining this to you all now in the hope that you can completely dispel any doubts you may have about our cooperation with Lord Orochimaru."
"Understood." Everyone nodded slightly.
"Now I will explain the mission details. As you all probably already know, the entire army will be mobilized for a general attack tonight."
"This mission is rated S-level. Orochimaru-sama will lead a special operations team of ten people to infiltrate the Sunagakure camp.
The objective is to kill the Sunagakure commander, Pakura."
Everyone's expressions were solemn.
The mission was as expected: to penetrate deep into enemy territory and directly kill the enemy's general.
This was a crucial operation that could significantly impact the entire battle.
Even for ninjas of their caliber, an S-rank mission is a rare and major project that must be taken very seriously.
Shinnosuke continued:
"We will first lie in ambush near the Sunagakure camp, wait for the general attack to begin, and then take advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the enemy ranks as quickly as possible.
We will then massacre the ordinary Sunagakure ninjas and force Pakura out."
"If Pakura doesn't dare to show himself and stop us, then kill as many enemies as possible and secure victory in one fell swoop."
"If Pakura shows up, then we will do our best to assist Lord Orochimaru and kill him."
At this moment, Orochimaru also spoke:
"Pakura comes from a prestigious clan of Sunagakure.
Her bloodline limit, Scorching Release, is extremely powerful, and her combat strength is among the top level of Jonin.
However, she is still far inferior to me, so you can rest assured that she is not a threat. You just need to cooperate with me with all your might."
"As for that old monk who is the Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts... we don't need to pay attention to him. His body can't withstand using the power of the Tailed Beasts for a long time.
We can just send someone to restrain him.
Besides, he can't use his full strength in a battle on his own side."
"If Pakura dies in battle, a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki who cannot perform consistently will not be able to stabilize the battle situation.
At that time, Sunagakure will have no choice but to withdraw from the battlefield in the Land of Rivers."
"This concludes the mission details. Does anyone have any questions?"
One of the Jonin asked a few questions, and then everyone began to discuss the details of the mission, including their respective responsibilities.
For example, Inuzuka Tsume, who is the fastest and most agile, is the main force in restraining the Jinchuriki Bunpuku. Aburame Shiki, who can control insects, and that Hyuga clan ninja are jointly responsible for the team's sensory reconnaissance work.
As for the arrangements for the commander-in-chief.
"Mochizuki Souji, your kunai technique is extremely efficient at killing, so your job is to go all out and kill as many Sunagakure ninja as possible as quickly as possible."
"Is there a problem?" Orochimaru asked, looking at Souji.
"have."
"Hmm? What's the problem?"
"How many exactly do you need me to kill?" the commander asked calmly.
Orochimaru was slightly taken aback, then chuckled coldly a few times, looking at Souji with amusement.
"There are no specific numbers, kill as many as you can!"
Orochimaru then looked at the crowd and said:
"Now that you are all clear about the mission details, please conserve your energy. I look forward to working with you to completely defeat Sunagakure."
It's likely that Orochimaru's various survival techniques were not yet fully developed, so he still had to put on a facade.
At this time, although Orochimaru could exert pressure on others, his words and actions were at least quite gentle and polite, a stark contrast to his later ruthlessness and viciousness.
If he hadn't known this guy's true colors, Souji might have actually been fooled into thinking that Orochimaru was just someone with a strong aura and not inherently bad.
However, since Souji knows everything, he can only be wary of Orochimaru, and even thinks...
it would be best to get rid of this guy as soon as possible in the future.
Otherwise, it will ultimately become an unsettling factor for his future as Hokage.
End of this chapter...