Water bears at the beginning, wet bone forest eating old people

"here......"

With the help of the Anbu, Hiruzen easily found the residence that Kozō had previously used to house Shinzō.

Entering the small rented house, Hiruzen couldn't speak for a long time.

A bed, a table, and on the table was a red manual of the Will of Fire.

Apart from this, there was nothing else in the entire house, not even any means of entertainment.

In this boring life, it seems that only the Will of Fire can bring Xinzang enough spiritual nourishment.

The desk was tidy, the bed was made, and the whole house was as clean as if no one had lived there. However, since I hadn't been back for half a year, there was a thin layer of dust in the room.

"Shinzo..."

Hiruzen couldn't help but murmur, but Kozō on his shoulder felt a sense of novelty.

Although he rented this room using Xinzang's body, just as it looked on the surface, he had never lived here before. It felt a bit unfamiliar when he suddenly arrived.

"That's the kind of person he is, Mr. Kozo. Look at his house. Shinzo is truly a ninja school teacher I admire."

Hiruzen turned his head slightly and solemnly confirmed to Kozang on his shoulder.

Gu Zang nodded.

thank you.

"Well, tidy up a bit. You can't expect an old guy like me to clean the room myself, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen immediately summoned the Anbu again.

Mr. Kozang, Hiruzen is not young anymore. As the Hokage, he can't do this job by himself. Why doesn't he use the people under him?

At this moment, another Anbu flashed out of the house.

He looked at Hiruzen and Kozō in the room, wanting to say something but stopping himself, he just lowered his head and waited.

Sarutobi Hiruzen noticed this Anbu, but at the moment, accompanying Kozo was the most important thing. Apart from Kozo, the living fossil of Konoha, Kawazo in his arms was more important than anything else!

Since the room was not big and there were almost no things in it, Anbu cleaned up the dust in a short while, leaving only a brand new small space.

"Mr. Gu Zang, I'm sorry that you have to take care of this child here."

"I'm not wronged, I'm not going out. It doesn't matter where I am. But Hiruzen, I see your subordinates over there. It seems to be something very important."

Hiruzen then walked to the door.

"This is Konoha's living fossil, Mr. Kozo. There's no need to avoid him. Just tell him."

Hiruzen boasted, showing his considerable trust in Kozō.

Of course, neither Kozō nor Hiruzen himself believed in this trust.

"Sama Sandaime, a major strategic failure occurred on the Rain Country front. Aside from a few ninjas who escaped, our army suffered heavy casualties."

"What!?"

Hiruzen was immediately furious. How did Orochimaru lead the army?

Kozō on Hiruzen's shoulder also patted Hiruzen lightly.

"Don't worry, Hiruzen."

Gu Zang turned to look at the ANBU ninja.

"Boy, where is Tsunade? Is Tsunade still alive?"

"This... the specific situation is unknown. Some ninja have just retreated back to the village and are currently in the Konoha Hospital."

Because the situation happened too suddenly, even the Anbu did not have time to collect intelligence, and even a large number of Anbu died on the front line of the Rain Country.

"Huruzen, go to the hospital."

Kozo immediately said to Hiruzen.

"I understand, Mr. Gu Zang."

At this moment, Hiruzen knew that Kozan was probably even more anxious than he was.

Tsunade is the last bloodline of the Senju family.

After placing the sleeping Kawazo on the bed in the hut and having the Anbu watch over him temporarily, Hiruzen immediately flew and took Kawazo to the Konoha Hospital.

The Konoha Hospital was overcrowded, and all the wards were almost filled with Konoha ninjas who had come down from the front line. Some were still barely alive, but their ninja career was completely over. Some were lying there, and there was no need for rescue. Everything depended on whether they could survive on their own.

Hiruzen hurried into the hospital with Kozo, and with the greeting of the medical ninja, he found the director of Konoha Hospital.

"Where is the highest ranking person from the Rain Country?"

"Over here, Sandaime-sama, please follow me."

The director of Konoha Hospital took a second longer look at Kozo on Hiruzen's shoulder.

He had an impression of Gu Zang. Ten years ago, many tables, chairs and equipment in the hospital were smashed by Tsunade because Gu Zang brought Nawaki to the hospital.

The two of them arrived at a ward on the first floor, one in front and one behind. A young man with long white hair was lying on the bed.

His body was covered in bandages, but he was still awake, though he looked seriously injured.

"Beiliuhu?"

Looking at the guy on the bed, Hiruzen barely remembered his name. He was from the same class as Tsunade and the other two. He had average talent, but good ninja qualities.

"Sandaime-sama! Why are you here? And Mr. Kozo!"

Beiluo immediately tried to stand up, but the severe pain in his body and the restrictions of the bandages made it difficult for him to do so.

"Lie there and don't move."

Hiruzen immediately frowned and stopped Hiruko from doing so.

"What's going on at the front? What happened?"

Beiliuhu shuddered and spoke while recalling the past.

"Sandaime-sama, that Hanzo went crazy. He released poison gas all over the battlefield. All my companions are dead... all dead..."

Let’s go back to three days ago.

Orochimaru had already led the Konoha ninjas to encircle the border of the Rain Country and was constantly encroaching on the interior of the Rain Country.

But as the battle on the River Country front died down, the Sand Ninja immediately put greater defensive pressure on the Rain Village.

Hanzo and Chiyo fought for nearly a year, but in the end neither could defeat the other. No one expected that Hanzo would ignore the Sand Ninja on the western front and suddenly lead his team to rush towards the Konoha Ninja on the eastern front.

The Konoha ninjas were caught off guard. Even though Orochimaru immediately gave orders and stabilized the situation, the Konoha side still suffered heavy casualties.

Because of the siege of Rain Village, Konoha's front line was too long and was torn open by Hanzo almost in an instant.

Then, Hanzo, like a mad dog, led the Rain Ninjas to chase after one of the Konoha ninjas.

On the other side, when Orochimaru received the battle report, Hanzo had almost swallowed up half of the Konoha ninja's position.

The calm Orochimaru immediately integrated the Konoha ninjas on this side to stabilize the situation. As for the other side... they could only hope for the best.

But it's not just Hanzo who's crazy.

The Rain Ninjas felt that they were doomed, and began to launch suicidal attacks on the Konoha Ninjas.

What with the chakra self-destruction and the large-scale ninjutsu that exhausted all his strength, Konoha was in danger for a while.

The ninjas under Orochimaru suffered heavy casualties, and even civilian ninjas like Obiru had already sat in the command tent.

"Everyone, this isn't a good situation."

Orochimaru had a cold face, but his slender eyes were full of calmness.

Only when the commander is calm enough can the subordinates not lose their composure. Orochimaru knows this very well.

In fact, he was also very panicked. If the next battle went as expected, he would face Hanzo. If he lost, the Rain Country front would be completely collapsed.

At this time, there is actually no need for any tactical arrangements. We can only stabilize the morale of the army and maintain basic intelligence exploration. The rest is a close combat.

"This battle concerns Konoha behind us. I don't want anyone to retreat. Everyone, do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Orochimaru~ I will let the Rain Ninja see how powerful I am! Hehehe~"

Mitarai Toumaru twisted his wrist and was the first to respond to Orochimaru.