i am kimimaro

The yellow sand filled the sky.

Rasa, accompanied by three shadow guards, traversed this desert.

Shields formed from gold dust protected them from the eroding wind and sand, making their journey quite easy.

"Kazekage-sama, after passing through this area and walking for another half a day, we will reach the meeting point with Orochimaru."

"Mm. Orochimaru should have arrived already."

"Kazekage-sama, are we really going to cooperate with Orochimaru to attack Konoha? Can this person Orochimaru be trusted?"

This shadow guard was clearly a bit worried.

"Orochimaru failed in his bid for the Fourth Hokage position years ago and has always held a grudge. Later, when the Fourth Hokage died in battle, the Third Hokage would rather resume his position than give the Fifth Hokage position to him. Towards Konoha, I believe he is filled with resentment.

So, I also believe he truly wants to destroy Konoha. But for us, we don't need to destroy Konoha. What we need to do is defeat Konoha and make the defeated Konoha give us enough compensation.

On the other hand, the Daimyo will also see the strength of our Sunagakure. If he's happy, our village's funding next year can also increase.

Otogakure is just a borrowed knife for me to reduce losses. Once we achieve our goal, we can directly shift the blame to Otogakure and retreat unscathed. Such a profitable deal, how can we not do it?"

Rasa sneered, thinking his plan was perfect.

The three shadow guards in front of him were his confidants, so he wasn't afraid to say a few more words.

"So Kazekage-sama has already planned this, that puts us at ease."

The shadow guards smiled.

"This operation, as long as it's successful, can change the decline of our Sunagakure over the past decade. It's a battle that will change our fate, so there absolutely cannot be any mistakes. This meeting with Orochimaru is extremely important, so we must be careful."

"Yes! Kazekage-sama!"

The three shadow guards said in unison.

Soon, they left the windy and sandy area.

However, at this moment, Rasa suddenly stopped.

"Something's not right. How can it be so quiet here, without even a single sound?"

Hearing this, the shadow guards immediately raised their vigilance.

"Four Violet Flames Formation!"

At this moment, purple transparent barriers suddenly emerged from Rasa's surroundings.

The barriers connected, completely enveloping Rasa and the three shadow guards, forming a rectangular area about the size of a playground.

The ones who made the move were the Sound Four!

This was the value of their trip.

Using the Four Violet Flames Formation to cut off all of Rasa's group's escape routes!

The Four Violet Flames Formation required four people to work together to use this barrier ninjutsu.

Its exterior was covered in purple flames. If anyone forcibly touched it, they would be devoured by these flames.

In terms of strength, even a Kage would need to use a powerful ninjutsu to break it.

Seeing this, Rasa's face turned pale.

Someone had actually set up an ambush here.

This place was still half a day's journey from the agreed location. Rasa's guard wasn't at its highest, so he hadn't noticed the Sound Four's ambush.

He hadn't even used his Third Eye to scout the situation.

The opponent had truly chosen a good place to ambush them.

Now that they had stepped into it, it would be difficult to leave.

The three shadow guards changed their formation, immediately surrounding Rasa in the middle.

"There's an ambush! Kazekage-sama, be careful!"

Rasa ignored them and shouted, "Orochimaru! Come out! What is the meaning of this!"

The only person who could set a trap here was Orochimaru.

Others couldn't possibly know his movements.

"Hehe, Kazekage-sama has quite a temper. This is the private discussion space I prepared for you, don't you like it?"

Orochimaru emerged from the ground, less than ten meters away from Rasa.

"Is this how you negotiate?"

The gold dust beside Rasa was already restless.

"Of course, I want to discuss the most important matter with you."

"What matter?"

"I think during the Konoha Crush plan, all commands should be issued by me, what do you think?"

"You're dreaming!"

Rasa was furious.

A small village like Otogakure was cooperating with his Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and they still wanted to monopolize power?

Ridiculous!

"In that case, I can only ask Kazekage-sama and your shadow guards to rest in peace here."

Orochimaru licked his lips, and killing intent burst forth from his golden pupils.

Rasa and the three were all startled.

Orochimaru was serious!

"Summoning Jutsu: Many Snakes!"

Orochimaru's mouth opened to an inhuman angle, and then countless snakes crawled out from inside.

In an instant, a dense swarm of snakes covered the entire sandy ground!

Rasa couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle.

Orochimaru's techniques, more or less, challenged the limits of the human body.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Wind Release: Vacuum Palm!"

"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

In an instant, the three shadow guards launched attacks simultaneously.

The Wind Release was like a sharp blade, continuously cutting the oncoming snake swarm.

The Earth Spears drilled out from the sandy ground, piercing through the snakes one by one.

The three of them attacked together, actually stopping the offensive of the Many Snakes technique.

The strength of the shadow guards was naturally not weak.

"Orochimaru, do you really want to turn against me?"

Rasa still didn't want to give up at this moment, after all, this opportunity was too rare.

If used well, it could change the fate of Sunagakure.

"Hehe, you have given up your last chance."

Hearing this, Rasa's eyes were filled with coldness.

"You forced me to do this! If you won't agree, then I'll kill you! Then I'll use your identity to control Otogakure. Without you, I can still carry out the Konoha Crush plan! Orochimaru, you will regret ambushing me here!"

Rasa waved his hands, and gold dust continuously emerged from the ground.

This was his home turf, he wasn't afraid at all.

But at this moment, Rasa's expression suddenly changed.

When he mobilized the gold dust, he suddenly felt a ferocious beast lurking beneath this sandy ground.

"It's too late to discover it now."

Orochimaru sneered.

A giant purple snake burst out from the sandy ground!

Manda!

Orochimaru's strongest summoning beast!

It opened its bloody maw and swallowed the three shadow guards in one bite with lightning speed!

At such a close distance and with such speed, the three shadow guards who were resisting the Many Snakes technique had no time to dodge.

In an instant, they had perished.

"Hehe, the taste is not bad, barely worth my effort to come out. However, Orochimaru, you actually made me stay in the sand for so long, do you know the price?"

Manda's eyes were icy cold, and his attitude was arrogant, without any sense of being a summoning beast.

"After we kill this Kazekage, his corpse will be your feast."

"That's more like it."

Manda looked at Rasa with greed in his eyes, the look of seeing food.

"Damn it!"

Rasa's anger intensified.

He didn't expect the opponent's ambush to include not only the Four Violet Flames Formation but also a summoning beast.

That attack just now had turned him into a lone army.

This was big trouble.

(End of Chapter)