Chapter 590: Traitor

Chapter 590: Chapter 590: Traitor

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Amid the sounds of rushing wind, two dark figures landed in a small grove. They bowed toward a burly figure standing among the trees and reported, "Lord Raikage, we’ve discovered a suspicious location!"

The figure standing silently in the grove was none other than the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, while the two reporting to him were members of Kumogakure’s ANBU.

Upon hearing their report, the Fourth Raikage’s expression turned exceedingly grim. His eyes burned with an almost tangible killing intent, while the chakra surging around his body radiated a violent, savage aura.

His entire being resembled an enraged ancient beast as he growled in a low voice, "Speak! Where exactly is it?!"

Under the Fourth Raikage’s furious roar, the two Kumogakure ANBU instinctively shrank back. They exchanged glances before one of them mustered his courage and reported, "There’s a highly suspicious volcanic cavern approximately twenty kilometers from here. However, a large number of Konoha shinobi are stationed nearby, so we couldn’t get close enough to investigate!"

At that moment, an elite jonin standing beside the Fourth Raikage immediately spread out a map of the Land of Fire on the ground.

After locating the volcanic cavern mentioned by the ANBU, he asked in confusion, "Could the ritual site be here?"

"Those traitors!"

The enraged Fourth Raikage swung his fist at a nearby tree.

BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, the enormous tree—so thick that it would take two or three people joining hands to encircle its trunk—was sent flying by a single punch from the Fourth Raikage!

He had every reason to be furious.

Not long ago, a jonin possessing the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai had mysteriously disappeared from Kumogakure.

According to the subsequent investigation, Kumogakure’s ANBU had discovered that the missing Storm Release jonin had most likely been attacked by Konoha shinobi.

As allies jointly resisting Akatsuki, the Fourth Raikage could not tolerate such despicable behavior from Konoha—an underhanded attack against their own ally.

Moreover, even within Kumogakure, shinobi possessing the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai were exceedingly rare.

Furthermore, because of Hiruko, it wasn’t difficult for the Fourth Raikage to guess why Konoha had abducted Kumogakure’s Storm Release shinobi.

This was precisely why he was so furious over Konoha’s betrayal.

As far as he was concerned, the Chimera Technique was a top-secret forbidden technique belonging to Hiruko, a member of Akatsuki. If Konoha hadn’t colluded with Akatsuki, there was simply no way they could have obtained it.

And Konoha’s abduction of their Storm Release shinobi was clearly intended to replicate Hiruko’s Bloodline Fusion Ritual, creating a second perfect shinobi in the shinobi world who possessed multiple Kekkei Genkai.

In other words, Konoha must have already obtained the Chimera Technique!

"For the sake of some evil technique, Konoha actually colluded with Akatsuki and betrayed the Five Great Shinobi Villages! This traitor must be punished!"

As the Fourth Raikage spoke furiously, he seemed to have made up his mind.

The Kumogakure elite jonin beside him hurriedly advised, "Lord Raikage, please don’t act rashly! We don’t have enough manpower right now. If we recklessly clash with Konoha, the consequences will be unpredictable. Why don’t we notify the other Great Shinobi Villages first, then pressure Konoha together and force them to release our shinobi?"

"Fool! By the time we contact the other villages, Konoha will have already completed the ritual and destroyed all the evidence!"

Waving his hand dismissively, the Fourth Raikage roared, "Enough! Gather all our nearby personnel and prepare to follow me in a surprise attack on that volcanic cavern!"

"Yes!"

Seeing that the Fourth Raikage had already made up his mind, the Kumogakure shinobi concealed throughout the grove could only respond in unison...

......

Inside the volcanic cavern.

Controlling his Fire Release clone, Kagami strolled through the sulfur-filled cavern, observing the Root shinobi busily preparing for the ritual with an exceedingly critical eye.

The volcanic cavern Danzo had chosen was exceptionally spacious. Even after excluding the numerous lava pools of varying sizes that emitted wisps of bluish smoke, the remaining area was still as large as a football field.

At the very center of the cavern, Root shinobi were constructing a ritual altar approximately three meters tall and twenty meters in diameter.

Surrounding the altar were lava pools of various sizes. The bubbling magma within them caused the temperature around the altar to soar, something that was evident from the Root shinobi working atop it, each of them drenched in sweat.

Soon, Kagami’s gaze fell upon the five execution racks erected on the altar.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, those five racks would be used to restrain the five Kekkei Genkai shinobi Danzo had captured one after another, who would then be devoured during the Bloodline Fusion Ritual.

At that moment, the disguised Orochimaru approached Kagami.

Kagami also glanced at the approaching Orochimaru.

Because there were so many Konoha shinobi stationed near the cavern, Orochimaru, being a rogue shinobi of Konoha, had disguised himself as a Root researcher to avoid drawing suspicion.

However, the faint smile lingering at the corners of his mouth made him stand out conspicuously among the stern, gloomy Root members surrounding him.

Upon approaching, Orochimaru casually asked, as though making small talk, "What do you think of this cavern?"

Kagami replied indifferently, "Not bad. It meets the requirements."

Orochimaru grinned. "You don’t seem particularly enthusiastic?"

Kagami remained silent, offering no answer to Orochimaru’s question.

Naturally, Kagami couldn’t muster much excitement for a ritual that was destined to fail. On the contrary, he was feeling somewhat uneasy.

Danzo’s impending Bloodline Fusion Ritual was, in a certain sense, a preliminary rehearsal for Kagami’s future Kekkei Mora Plan.

Although the ritual before him was destined to fail, exactly which step it would fail at, and which part of the process would go wrong, were questions of vital importance to Kagami.

The reason he maintained such a calm state of mind was precisely to prevent his anxiety over the potential gains and losses from interfering with his observation and analysis of the entire ritual.

Orochimaru smiled again. "It seems you’re rather pessimistic about this ritual!"

Kagami narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Orochimaru.

For some reason, he had a persistent feeling that Orochimaru was plotting something behind the scenes.

After pondering for a moment, Kagami decided to warn him directly. "Orochimaru, don’t even think about interfering with this ritual!"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Everything I’ve done has been under the supervision of your Kamigami and Danzo’s Root shinobi. What else could you possibly be worried about?"

Kagami withdrew his gaze.

Orochimaru was right.

Whether it was the improvement of the Chimera Technique or the planning of the Bloodline Fusion Ritual, Kagami and the Root shinobi had participated throughout the entire process.

Even if Orochimaru wanted to pull some tricks, he wouldn’t have the slightest opportunity.

After all, the only person Danzo truly trusted was himself. Whether it was Kamigami or Orochimaru, Danzo had never once lowered his guard against either of them.

Tap! Tap!

Just then, the sound of a cane striking the ground gradually approached from the distance.

And with it, the central figure of the ritual finally made his entrance...