It is not common for a team to have a clear advantage in strength but still suffer a very frustrating defeat, but it does happen occasionally.

"The intelligence has been seriously leaked. This is a serious problem. If we continue like this, it's unclear whether we can achieve our goal!"

Orochimaru was once his subordinate, so it was not surprising that he knew about the Rinnegan, but it was extremely abnormal that he knew Pain's Six Paths so clearly.

"The most exposed time for the Rinnegan was in the Iwagakure Village. Ōnoki will not be connected with Orochimaru, but Mizuki, who is also a Konoha ninja, is not certain."

Both of them were unscrupulous, but one of them was a defector and the other had a family to worry about, and they still had a heart to protect Konoha. It was not surprising that the two of them were colluding.

"There is another Konoha ninja in the organization—Uchiha Itachi..."

Xiaonan was a little worried. The situation seemed to become delicate. Even his own people began to waver in their confidence due to the powerful force of the Rinnegan.

"Uchiha Itachi was brought here by Uchiha Madara. We don't need to worry about his loyalty. It's enough for him to help us bring back the Jinchūriki."

Although the animal realm was lost in this battle, the main body was not consumed much. The reason for the failure of the operation was largely because Nagato was not serious. If he had gone all out, the Outer Path Golem that could kill Hanzo of the Salamander could have defeated the likes of Kabuto Yakushi.

"There is another thing that is of concern. Kabuto Yakushi's combat power has greatly increased. He must have practiced the legendary Sage Mode!"

"Immortal..."

Konan was silent. The most famous sage in the ninja world was naturally their former teacher, the Toad Sage Jiraiya.

"From now on, we will take the tactics to deal with Sage Mode into consideration!"

"Teacher Jiraiya is also considered an imaginary enemy?"

"Anyone who blocks the arrival of peace is an enemy that needs to be eliminated, even Sensei Jiraiya!"

Nagato expressed his attitude again, which made Konan sad. After Yahiko died, Nagato, who was originally a little weak, began to become more and more extreme.

"I hope we won't meet in battle one day!"

Although she had long understood that Jiraiya, who represented Konoha Village to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, would sooner or later stand on the enemy's side, Konan's past memories always made her avoid the arrival of that day.

…

Orochimaru looked at Kabuto Yakushi with an inexplicable smile, and said in a hoarse and piercing voice:

"Kabuto, you've gotten stronger. Even I wouldn't dare to talk about repelling Pain so easily, but you seemed to have done it without any effort. It's amazing!"

Yakushi Kabuto stood aside and answered with great respect:

"You are too kind, Lord Orochimaru. I was able to defeat the enemy who had fallen into the trap by taking advantage of his ease. I was only able to do it with all my strength..."

“Really?”

Orochimaru did not comment, but simply took back control of the Impure World Forms of the Sandaime Kazekage and Deidara.

Although Yakushi Kabuto is humble, he is not aimless.

He did not have much chakra, and this was his first time using the Sage Mode in actual combat. He could not maintain the full-strength fighting posture for too long, so he did not even use his Sharingan.

What really played a decisive role was the overly detailed information about the Six Paths of Pain obtained from Mizuki.

"Don't say such unnecessary polite words to me. I thought you were going to leave me!"

"Lord Orochimaru, you are joking. I have always been your most loyal subordinate and assistant."

"loyalty?"

Orochimaru sneered.

"Maybe! Are you scared by the power of Sage Mode? The first time I saw you use it, I was also shocked. The power is beyond imagination!"

Pharmacist Kabuto smiled awkwardly.

Indeed, whether compared with the sage state of the second cursed state or the snake sage technique recorded in the records, the increase in combat power of this sage mode is too exaggerated.

This also made Pharmacist Dou a little uneasy.

Mizuki's determination to obtain the Eight-Headed Art made Yakushi Kabuto realize something. The Sage Mode is very likely to have flaws, and perhaps the Eight-Headed Art is the key.

In addition to the inherent emotional constraints and mental inertia, the reason why he continues to stay with Orochimaru is also the thought that if something goes wrong with the Sage Mode, only Orochimaru can save it.

"That's fine, Dou. Since you've decided to continue following me, don't let me down."

Pharmacist Kabuto quickly nodded in agreement.

"Okay, don't be so nervous. There are still many things you need to do. Don't be timid."

An assistant who is proficient in medical ninjutsu and has a high level of attainment in preparing medicines is hard to come by.

Over the years, with Kabuto Yakushi around, I wonder how much experimental materials Orochimaru has saved.

Especially in recent months, after obtaining the latest cloning technology from Mizuki, Orochimaru, who is keen on human body transformation, has greatly improved his physical condition.

Reincarnation can only be used once every three years, which is actually the recovery period of the damaged soul. If the body is replaced in a shorter time than this, the risk of backlash will increase dramatically.

But if your physical condition is good and the damage caused by the mental shock is not serious, it is not a big problem to delay the replacement for a few years.

In the past, the saying of replacing teeth every three years was only popular because the human body often could not last that long.

Kabuto Yakushi, who was walking behind Orochimaru, clearly felt that Orochimaru's condition was much better than before, and there seemed to be a power in his body that had been suppressed in the past, which was now gradually showing its strength, making Kabuto Yakushi, who was in Sage Mode, very afraid.

…

In the Sand Village, the news that Shura, who once killed people without blinking an eye, is going to become the Kazekage has spread widely.

Originally everyone thought it was a rumor, but as time went on, more and more signs made people realize that this might not be groundless.

Not long after Gaara became a jonin, he became praised for his great strength and the fact that he had completed many high-level missions. Although he was not good at speaking, people gradually accepted him as a fellow countryman.

At the graduation ceremony of the Ninja School, Gaara even accepted a female Genin named Matsuri as his disciple; encouraged by her, Shira began to show his talent in physical skills. Gaara often communicated and exchanged ideas with this Genin who was a few years older than him, and even called him his physical skills teacher.

Although many people dislike Gaara's behavior, they cannot blame him since he has done nothing wrong recently. They can only use his past misdeeds to deny his efforts.

In any case, it is still hard for many people to accept that Gaara became the Fifth Kazekage. If it were not for the support of Chiyo and Ebizo, the help of his teacher Maki, and his siblings Kankuro and Temari, no matter how well Gaara performed, he would not have the slightest chance of getting his hands on the position of the Fifth Kazekage.

To this day, Gaara has actually begun to exercise the authority of the Kazekage, and all that remains is to officially announce the succession.