Early morning at the Konoha camp.
Two divisions were preparing for their mission.
Yamanaka Koro would remain behind to assist Isshi with command, so Murata would temporarily lead their team. Raiden and the others had no objections.
They moved toward Orochimaru's position.
Nine jonin were already gathered there. With Murata, Kaser, and Kaiden joining, the total reached twelve jonin. Behind them stood around fifty chunin and more than a hundred genin.
Compared to Iwa's numbers, it looked small. But Konoha ninjas were known to be stronger on average. Even some of Iwa's chunin might not match Konoha's elite genin. That was how Konoha, despite weakening after Hashirama's era and facing pressure from multiple villages, still held its ground.
Raiden's team joined the formation as Orochimaru stepped forward.
"Our mission," Orochimaru said calmly, his cold eyes sweeping across everyone, "is not to fight to the death. We maintain balance and prevent Iwa from invading. However… nothing is absolute. If they push aggressively, we will respond in kind."
His tone was quiet, but the killing intent behind it was unmistakable.
Beside him stood a boy, around eleven or twelve. His face was full of excitement. Despite the presence of so many jonin, he looked like he was about to go on a picnic.
"Yeah!" the boy suddenly shouted. "We'll beat them up!"
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Several jonin exchanged looks. The boy, however, just flashed a wide grin and gave everyone a thumbs-up.
Raiden stared for a moment. Something about the boy felt familiar — the loudness, the confidence… he almost reminded him of Naruto… and Obito.
Then realization hit.
Nawaki.
Tsunade's younger brother.
Raiden's expression tightened slightly. If Nawaki died here… Tsunade's future would repeated . The war's medical backbone would crumble. That wasn't something he wanted to see.
Orochimaru sighed and pressed his fingers to his forehead.
"Nawaki… can you stay silent?"
"Yes, sensei!" Nawaki replied, still beaming.
Orochimaru looked helpless. Tsunade had entrusted Nawaki to him. The boy's talent was average, but he was still an elite genin. And more importantly… he was Tsunade's brother.
Orochimaru began explaining the formation.
His unit — including Raiden's team — would form the core, alongside sealing specialists. If a jinchuriki appeared, sealing techniques would be their only real defense. The remaining jonin squads would support from both flanks.
The joint team itself wasn't large: Orochimaru, two jonin (one elite), two sealing specialists, two elite chunin, Nawaki… and Raiden's group.
Despite the size, it was arguably the strongest unit present.
Raiden hesitated, then spoke.
"Orochimaru-senpai."
Orochimaru glanced at him. "Yes, Raiden-kun?"
"When we scouted earlier… we found many explosive traps. We removed them, but Iwa may have reset new ones. If someone inexperienced advances too quickly, we could suffer casualties."
Everyone understood immediately. Their eyes drifted toward Nawaki.
Nawaki frowned. "Hey, don't underestimate me! I'm strong!"
Raiden didn't reply.
Orochimaru gave a faint, eerie smile. "Don't worry. With me watching, nothing will go wrong."
Raiden internally sighed. He had warned them. That was enough.
Afterall this version of orochimaru didn't turn dark yet and not cautious enough but full of confidence,
And nawakis death also one of the reason why orochimaru turn dark, he started to understood how fragile is human body and looking body modifications and immortality
The team began moving.
Though Orochimaru sounded unconcerned, he subtly kept Nawaki closer to him.
Hours later, they approached the Iwa route.
"Possible ambush area," Raiden warned quietly.
Everyone became alert.
Except Nawaki — whose eyes lit up with excitement.
Suddenly Raiden's gaze sharpened. He activated his time stop.
Within the frozen 0.2 seconds, he threw three kunai.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Time resumed.
Three distant trees trembled. Blood splattered. A scream followed.
The jonin were stunned — even Orochimaru's calm expression flickered slightly. None of them had seen Raiden move.
They checked the area.
Two genin. One chunin.
"Still one missing," someone muttered.
They advanced cautiously.
When they were about two hundred meters away, Raiden spoke again.
" a teams ahead. 4 jonin, 8chunin… and 10 genin, and the remaining genin is fifty meters ahead, running."
They quickened their pace.
Nawaki's breathing grew faster. His fingers tightened.
Then—
A figure burst forward with Body Flicker.
It was Nawaki.
He dashed out of formation, chasing the fleeing genin.
"Nawaki—" all of them started, but it was too late.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. It was only a genin. He could intervene instantly if needed.
Raiden's pupils shrank.
From the side bushes—
Bundles of kunai tied with explosive tags were already flying toward Nawaki.
Swish! Swish! Swish!