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  Hokage Tower.

  Time:2:00am.

  Hiruzen, Shikaku and the Anbu ander amed Ox were looking over several reports sent by the reaissaeams. The old kage had his eyes focused on the reports Danzo had sent earlier. He was ihoughts as he looked at all the information.

  'Even though I've had people look into Orochimaru and his movements, I haven't gotten as muformation as Danzo. Does that mean his Root work is more extehan I anticipated or is it possible that Orochimaru is able to pletely avoid my Anbu.'

  Hiruzen took a puff from his tobacco pipe and leaned ba his chair. 'No. The ones I've assigo this task aren't inpetent. Then why is there such a big gap in the information I have on him?'

  The old Kage turo two of the highest anding shinobi under him. "So what do you think?"

  It was the masked Anbu ander who replied first. "Seven locations. Three of them owns and two of them near areas with someen terrain and two others he mountains region with several tunnels going underground. All of them have around two dozen meraries guarding it. Based on the observations made by the Hyuga and the Inuzuka oeams, many of them have in level chakra. And some have shown the usage of Orochimaru's Curse seal with strange powers. So there is the possibility that there are more hidden among them with simir abilities."

  "But no one could firm the presence of Orochimaru himself or Tsunade or her student in any of those locations?" Hiruzen muttered with a sigh.

  "No sir. There are barriers blog the sensor ninjas and the Hyuga. Even the Aburame's is aren't able to get in." The head of the Anbu division replied.

  "These seven hideouts are spread across the Fire try. So we 't have a single heavy attait attack each base and move on to the . That's too ineffit. It'll take too long." Hiruzen said, looking at the map marked with the location of the enemy bases.

  "And if we try to attack all seven at the same time, that movement will be too big to ceal and there will be a anpower in the vilge. It will leave the vilge vulnerable." The Anbu ander found the problem with the sed way of attack.

  The Hokage nodded agreeing with him. 'If I didn't have to guard against Danzo this wouldn't be such a headache. I o have an uanding of all variables before I make my choice.'

  Hiruzen crossed his arms and then looked at the other ninja present in the room. "Shikaku. You're silent."

  The head of the Nara turo the Hokage with a grim face which put the old kage o. "What is it, Shikaku?"

  "I think I know why Danzo was able to gather more information on Orochimaru than us... Because he didn't."

  The Jonin ander had the attention of both the Anbu head and the Hokage.

  Hiruzen slightly narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? That Orochimaru gave him that information?"

  At Shikaku's sileh ninjas were shocked.

  "Wait! Are you implying that Danzo is still in tact with Orochimaru?" The Anbu asked.

  Shikaku shook his head. "No. Not necessarily. I believe that Orochimaru found out about Danzo spying on him and then fed him all this intel without Danzo realizing it."

  "What makes you say that?" Hiruzen asked.

  Shikaku took several papers and hahem to the kage and the Anbu. "I've been analyzing all the data and information piled with the analysis teams all day. Danzo's report was meticulous. It showed when and where his agents got the intel on Orochimaru's movement. Individually, there is nothing abnormal about it. But if you put all of them together then an irregurity shows. It's small and even I would have skipped past it on any other day."

  While the old kage and the Anbu were looking over the dots Shikaku tinued.

  "It's not easily detectable. But the timing and the way Danzo got all these details. It just didn't sit right with me. I've been thinking about this from Orochimaru's perspective. If he decides to abduct Lady Tsuhen he knows that we will retaliate. So he needs a way to tain us without using up too much of his resources. The best way to do that is to make sure we have a bigger problem than him at that time."

  It only took a few seds for Hiruzen to figure out what Shikaku meant. His eyes slightly widened in shock. "Danzo."

  Shikaku nodded. "Yes. Orochimaru would know of Danzo's ambition to take your position. So he's creating an opportunity for Danzo without the man even realizing it."

  The Anbu ander was also starting to uand the snake sannin's pn. He looked over the dots again and he was starting to see what Shikaku saw. "Orochimaru was leaving breadcrumbs for Danzo to follow. If the bait was too obvious then Danzo would suspeething. But if it was too small his Root agents would miss it."

  "Yes." Shikaku then looked at the Hokage and told his theory. "I believe Orochimaru anticipated you going to Danzo for more information on him. You'd find out about the seven bases in Fire try and iigate. Then once you have all the information you'd un atta those bases all at once. Orochimaru wants us to be uain of Lady Tsunade's location. It's why he went to the trouble of creating barriers that impair the Byakugan and block sensor ninjas."

  "But why? It seems too wasteful and pointless. This whole strategy is only costing Orochimaru. Why would he build seven bases just to offer it as a sacrifice? Even if it's to stall us, there are far more effit methods." The Anbu asked the Nara head.

  "That's because Orochimaru didn't build those hideouts to stall us. He built it to give Danzo an opportunity." Hiruzen answered the question.

  Shikaku turo the Hokage and nodded. "Yes. It's what I was thinking. Time is not on our side. To attack those bases individually is impractical. Our best option is to quickly un assault on all of them. Right now, we've increased our border patrol and tightened security around the try. And it's stretched us thin. On top of that, if we un all out atta Orochimaru's seven bases it would leave our vilge with anpower… Well to be precise it would leave you 'Lord Hokage' with suffitly less shinobi. You'd be at your weakest."

  "And that would be too tempting of an opportunity for Danzo to not do anything. He'd unch a coup' and fight for this seat." Hiruzen was shocked as he didn't expect such ing from his student. 'Move your enemy without being moved by them. Danzo thought he had an upper hand on Orochimaru all the while Orochimaru ying him like a puppet.'

  Hiruzen took the pipe and crossed his arms. He leaned ba his chair a out a smoky breath. "An internal strife would keep us occupied and give Orochimaru more than enough time to aplish whatever he's pnning."

  "Yes. I believe that's also the reaso Tsunade's pet escape." Shikaku spoke. He saw the Hokage's gaze and expined. "It's been b me. Orochimaru would take so many precautions but let a small pet escape his clutches that would have valuable intel and have us on guard against him? No. Orochimaru wa. He let that happen so we would do as he anticipated."

  "The ohing I have a feeling he didn't t on, is me being so on guard against Danzo." Hiruze out a breath and said.

  "But for this pn to work, Orochimaru must be sure that Danzo would take the opportunity to attack you. How you be certain of this?" At the Anbu captain's question, Shikaku looked at the kage.

  Hiruzen sighed tiredly and replied. "Danzo has sleeper agents among the forces. All of them are in key areas and there are some even amongst the Anbu. I only told Shikaku about it a few ho."

  The Anbu ander was shocked at that intel. He uood the need for the kage to keep something like this a secret. 'He must have had someone carry out aensive iigation on this matter. Even I must have been under scrutiny.'

  The masked ninja then g Shikaku. 'Orochimaru's strategy is to use Danzo to wreak havo the vilge. I couldn't have figured this out on my own. To uand and deduce Orochimaru's pns with only this muformation... His intellect is truly something else. But now there's a bigger problem.'

  He turo the leader of the vilge. "Sir, what do we do about the sleeper agents?"

  Hiruzen was silent for several seds before he spoke. "I believe I have a solution to our troubles. I have tasked Snow with iigating any spies hidden among our ranks. I finally have the identities of all them."

  Hearing that, the Anbu ander realized why one of his best agents was missing all these years.

  Hiruzen looked at the two with a hardened gaze. "We're going to use this opportunity as a up."

  "You want to use the sleeper agents to attack the base and theralize them." Shikaku and the Anbu captain immediately uood the Hokage's strategy.

  Hiruzen stood and walked to a nearby shelf and made several seals. In a puff of smoke a scroll appeared. He hahem to Shikaku and the Anbu ninja.

  "The list tains all of Danzo's agents embedded in our ranks. From Genin to Anbu."

  As Shikaku and the Anbu ander were going over the list of spies, Hiruzen spoke.

  "We're going to attack all those locations. We'll use Danzo's spies in the front. For all those in and above on that list, make sure to disperse them among the seven teams. And it's imperative that only the captains or the sed in and of the seven teams know that their task is two fold. Kill or capture the enemy and elimihe Root ninjas."

  "To elimihem without much loss on our side, we'll his to be a joint operatioween Anbu and Jonins." The Anbu spoke.

  Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. You two will be overseeing this operation."

  "Sir, but what about Danzo?" Shikaku suddenly asked.

  "I'll handle Danzo." The old kage gave a brief reply. 'This matter o longer be deyed. I o speak with Tobirama sensei and put ao this.'

  Knoock.

  "Yes. e in." Hiruzen ordered and two ninjas entered. Hiruzen was surprised to see them. "Iroha. Takamo. You've returned."

  The two ninjas the Hokage assigo look for one of Orochimaru's specific buildings had returned.

  "Does that mean you were successful?" The eagero know the answer wasn't missed by anyone.

  Shikaku looked at the two Jonin ninjas who were under him. 'Iroha Hyuga and Takamo Aburame. They're good at trag and reaissance. Lord Hokage must have given them a missiarding Orochimaru.'

  "Yes. We found the hideout. That's the good news."

  The small relief in Hiruzen's heart dimmed. "What's the bad news?"

  "We sewo powerful presen that building. Judging from their chakras alohey're extremely strong." Iroha spoke.

  Hiruzen was taken aback by that intel. 'Two powerful chakras? Could it be possible? Is it Tsunade and Orochimaru?'

  He noticed the curious gazes of his Jonin and Anbu anders. "Couple days ago I tasked them to look for one of Orochimaru's hideouts. I got the blueprint of the building from Ko Yamanaka. He sent the information before Orochimaru killed him."

  Iroha gave the kage a scroll taining the details of their missions and their reports on what they've uncovered.

  Hiruzen looked it over and then hahe dot to Shikaku. "Here. Take a look at this."

  The Nara looked over the report and he key differences between this new hideout and the seven others. "There are several seals pced all around and the defensive measures are much greater. It's much more hidden. Aire 5 storey building underground. And moreover, there is no one guarding this base outside. Only the presence of tw uified chakras."

  "Didn't that pce have any seals to pletely mask chakra?" The Anbu asked.

  "It did. But the two chakras we sensed were so powerful that they couldn't be fully cealed." Takamo Aburame replied.

  "There is something else." Shikaku spoke, looking at the details and paring it to the map with the other hideouts marked. "None of the other bases are near it. This is at the South East end of the nation."

  "There has been ion or reports of Orochimaru's movements in that area." Anbu ander spoke as he looked at the intel gathered.

  Hiruzen nodded. "It seems we finally found a ot in his pn. I'll -" Just then a powerful figure appeared.

  Before any of the ninjas could react Jiraiya was in the ter of the room. Unlike his usual fmboyant easy going style, this time he had a calm but cold aura.

  Except for the Hokage, the muscles on every other ninja was tense due to the sudden arrival. They only rexed when they saw who it was but they had cold sweats running down their back.

  The masked ninja was silent as he gazed at the Toad sage. 'If he were an enemy, I'd be dead right now.'

  Iroha and Takamo were just as armed at the sudden ued entra that moment they were reminded of the vast gap between them and the ninjas renowned as Sannin.

  Jiraiya didn't care about his rude entrance or their rea. His attention was pletely on his former teacher. "Is it true? Did he really…."

  "I'm afraid so."

  At the old Kage's reply Jiraiya became still. "I didn't want to believe it but…" 'It seems he's determio bee our enemy. I won't hold baymore.'

  Hiruzen was saddened as he saw the resolve form in Jiraiya's eyes. 'I'm sorry for making you suffer for my mistakes.'

  Suddenly the Hokage, through the use of the reanimation e, sehe presence of his teacher in the deep underground chamber. 'Tobirama sensei is calling me. He must have noticed the emergency alert and the heightened patrols. He's not going to be happy when I tell him what happened.'

  The kage turo his student. "Jiraiya. I need you to gather information on Orochimaru's movements and whereabouts iher tries. Start with the Land of Earth."

  Hiruzen didn't fet Daichi's theory and wao gather as mutelligence as possible.

  "I'll get it dohe white haired Sannin nodded and disappeared.

  "Iroha, Takamo. Report to the analysis team and share your intel." The two ninjas nodded and vanished with a body flicker.

  Hiruzen turo the st two ninjas in his room. "Shikaku! You and Ox begin assembling teams to raid the base. And don't fet what we discussed."

  "Yes sir."

  Once all the assigs were given the Hokage began making his way dowower.

  Author's Note.

  Pns within pns. A battle is soon ing.

  Chapter 315 - Tobirama's anger.

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