Chapter 69

Akatsuchi showed a thoughtful look as he listened to Onoki's words.

Indeed.

If they also launched a full scale attack against Hidden Leaf, they will definitely retaliate and send their remaining troops to deal with them. So all they have to do is to pressure Hidden Leaf on not sending their entire forces against Hidden Sand.

At present, due to the failure of their advance force, their situation wouldn't be optimistic if they started a war against Hidden Leaf. After all, they also need to consider a sneak attack from Hidden Cloud Village, so all they can do now is wait and see the final result of the war between Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand.

"I want all the news about what happened to our advance troops to be completely concealed along with the information about that Hatake kid. We'll just watch from the sidelines and see who will emerge victorious between Hidden Sand and Leaf."

Onoki finally gave his orders.

If the news about what happened to their advance force leaks out, it would majorly affect the incoming battle between Hidden Sand and Hidden Leaf.

If Hidden Sand catches wind about the events of what happened between them and Konoha, they might suddenly recall their forces. And Konoha will probably not pursue the issue since they wouldn't benefit from it.

Onoki added: "But that son of Sakumo... a ten year old kid, who's not only intelligent, but also has that kind of strength… he'll be a huge problem in the future, however..."

"He might've relied on some Forbidden Technique to increase his strength in a short period of time."

Onoki folded his arms in front of his chest while hovering in the air, and said, "If that's the case then let's not worry too much about Hatake Feng. Forbidden techniques aren't something anyone can use at will... If he weren't relying on some forbidden technique it's impossible for his strength to reach that degree."

Listening to the battle report of their advance troop, the power Feng used was entirely different from his father during the Second Ninja War. So what they concluded was that he used some kind of Forbidden Technique to boost his strength.

Using forbidden techniques... He definitely has to pay a major price.

Onoki himself used Forbidden Techniques in his early years, which caused his vitality to be damaged and caused his health and strength to slowly deteriorate. Although the current him was still at his peak, he would not be able to further progress in the future.

It's not good for a ninja to rely on Forbidden Techniques just to increase their strength. And Onoki is not the only one who made this mistake. Countless ninjas choose this path in the entirety of the Ninja World, and all of them suffered the same consequences.

Feng was capable of using Forbidden Techniques when he was only ten years old. Indeed, it seemed amazing for other people but in Onoki's eyes, it was the stupidest decision Feng made. Generally, only those ninjas who have already reached their full potential and have no chance to further improve are the ones who use Forbidden Techniques just to further increase their strength.

So yes, Feng is indeed a great threat, but only for the time being.

And even if the technique has no side effects, he must've experienced severe weakness. There's absolutely no Forbidden Technique that has neither weakness nor side effects towards the user.

Onoki shook his head and continued, "That said, he's troublesome for now, but we'll eventually find a way to deal with him when the time comes."

Onoki floated with his hand behind his back and said: "If we don't make any unnecessary movements, Hidden Leaf might send him to the frontlines against Hidden Sand, if that happens we'll see what other tricks he has in his sleeve and we might even learn about how to deal with him."

"However..."

Onoki touched his chin and said, "We still don't know if the situation will further develop to that extent."

...

Konoha Advance Force Hidden Grass Camp.

In the central tent.

Half a month had already passed since their battle against Hidden Rock Village, and there seemed to be no movement from the other side ever since then.

"It seems that Hidden Rock wouldn't act for the time being."

Orochimaru listened to their scouts' information after their exploration throughout the entire territory and he said, "That little old fart Onoki should be waiting on what our next move should be. He'll observe from the sides of the war between us and Hidden Sand."

Feng looked at the map and slowly said, "If Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock form an alliance and jointly attack us, then our truce with Hidden Mist would also probably be thrown in the dumps. That would be a completely dangerous situation for us..."

"Indeed."

Orochimaru nodded and said with a sneer: "But unfortunately, old fart Onoki wouldn't do this. He would want to preserve his strength, so doing a full scale attack against us is highly unlikely; and even if they allied with Hidden Sand, both sides wouldn't trust each other."

"We great villages don't trust one another, so it's impossible for any of them to form a coalition army and attack us and seize our resources without them fighting against each other in the end."

Hearing Orochimaru, Feng also nodded.

That was indeed the case.

Hidden Leaf's current might is indeed strong, but if the four other Great Villages joined forces to attack them, even if he exists as a 'variable', it will still be difficult for the Village to withstand that kind of offensive.

However, since the other four Great Villages do not trust one another. No matter how much they wanted to attack Konoha, they still had to portion their forces to be reserved if one of the others decided to attack them. This is also the reason why Konoha is confident that it can still withstand even if three Great Villages attacked them..

"Since Hidden Rock wouldn't do any unnecessary movements for the time being. Master, I want to leave for a while and look for the Sword of Kusanagi. If Hidden Rock really moves in the future, I'm confident I'll be back by then."

Feng looked towards Orochimaru.

This is the best time for him to obtain the Sword of Kusanagi, otherwise, if he postponed it after the war. It's impossible to determine that someone else might have obtained it.

"Alright. Go ahead."

"With your current strength, I don't think I still need to remind you to be more careful...hahaha!" Orochimaru laughed while saying.

He was the one who gave Feng the information about the location of the Sword of Kusanagi, and since this period should be relatively peaceful for the time being, Feng should indeed take this time to obtain the sword, and the place where the sword was located is also not so far away from the Land of Grass.

He also estimates that within a few days, Sarutobi Hiruzen would send Feng to their frontlines at the border of the Land of Wind.

Hidden Rock wouldn't dare cause any ruckus with both him and Might Dai stationed here, both of them should be capable of handling any situation that might unexpectedly occur , so there is no need for Feng to stay.

Feng nodded, and his figure disappeared silently.

...

The information about the location of the Sword of Kusanagi Orochimaru gave Feng was at the junction between the Land of Grass and Land of Rain. There is a group of people here, who are rebels and independent ninjas who disguise themselves from other villages and take a variety of secret missions.

Since this group is relatively hidden and they are located here at the border, they have never attracted the attention of Hidden Rain and Hidden Grass Village.

While Orochimaru was in the midst of collecting various information about the Sword of Kusanagi. He accidentally learned that the leader of this group himself is in possession of one.

A few days later.

Feng finally arrived at his destination.

The place seemed deserted, there were basically no pedestrians on the street, and every household had their doors shut close. It looks like the place was in the midst of a war.

At this time, Feng wore a huge raincoat and a hat as he walked and surveyed his surroundings. Soon enough he noticed that someone was observing him in secret.

He could feel that the one observing him was not an ordinary person.

"...Sure enough, something's going on here."