Konoha's Tatsuya

Konohagakure, Hokage's Office.

"Hokage-sama."

Mizuki and Chishima Matsu stood respectfully in front of the Hokage's desk, bowing.

"Ah? You've arrived. I've summoned you here because there's a mission I need you to undertake," Minato Namikaze said, lifting his head from the mountain of documents piled on his desk and rubbing the bridge of his nose. He looked at Mizuki and Chishima Matsu.

"Please instruct us, Hokage-sama," Mizuki and Chishima Matsu replied respectfully.

"It's like this. In the past two months, a powerful giant snake has appeared in the Forest of Death. Its presence has caused significant damage to the forest's natural ecosystem. The next Chunin Selection Exams are only two months away, and the Barrier Team responsible for maintaining the Forest of Death isn't skilled in fighting these types of large ninja beasts. The two of you will go and cooperate with them to resolve this issue as quickly as possible."

Minato Namikaze nodded, his expression serious.

In truth, the Hokage's Office had received reports about the emergence of a powerful ninja snake in the Forest of Death a month ago.

However, Minato Namikaze, who had been busy handling village affairs and caring for his wife during this time, hadn't paid much attention to it.

But who would have thought that in this short period, this ninja snake would have such a huge impact on the Forest of Death, with losses far exceeding the village's expectations.

According to intelligence reports, this giant snake had suddenly appeared in the Forest of Death.

In just a few months, this giant snake had almost devoured all the large animals in the Forest of Death, severely disrupting the forest's original ecological balance.

The Barrier Team responsible for maintaining the Forest of Death consisted mostly of ninja skilled in sealing techniques. After discovering the giant snake, they had made several attempts to capture it.

However, the Barrier Team ninjas weren't proficient in fighting this type of large ninja beast, and all their capture attempts ended in failure.

Having no other choice, the Barrier Team had to report the situation and request assistance from the Hokage's Office.

Mizuki and Chishima Matsu were Konoha Special Jonin, both with extremely rich combat experience.

They were long-time partners. Mizuki excelled in close-quarters combat, while Chishima Matsu was skilled in using Water Release techniques. They also had excellent synergy.

Moreover, Mizuki's Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field and Water Release: Syrup Rope were both binding Water Release ninjutsu, making them ideal candidates for this mission.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the two replied, accepting the mission.

After receiving the mission and leaving the Hokage's Office, Mizuki and Chishima Matsu immediately headed straight for the Forest of Death.

In the Hokage's Office, after Mizuki and Chishima Matsu had left, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, once again buried himself in the piles of documents.

"Akimichi Tatsuya..."

Minato Namikaze was currently holding a file, which contained detailed information about the three A-rank missions Tatsuya, Shisui, and Itachi had completed together over the past six months.

Looking at the mutual evaluations recorded in the file, Minato Namikaze's brow furrowed slightly.

As the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, Minato Namikaze was naturally well aware of the relationship between the village's upper echelons and the Uchiha clan.

Minato Namikaze didn't have much prejudice against the Uchiha clan.

Obito, who he had once led, was a member of the Uchiha clan.

However, after becoming Hokage, Minato Namikaze came to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village.

Minato Namikaze hadn't yet decided how to handle this matter.

At the outer edge of the Forest of Death, a hidden circular opening led to a dark and damp tunnel that stretched deep underground.

Inside the tunnel, the drip, drip, drip of water droplets echoed continuously.

Beyond the end of the tunnel was a spacious stone cavern. Inside the cavern were more than ten large, man-sized cultivation tanks filled with strangely shaped limbs and flesh, some of which already showed clear human-like outlines.

In the center of the cavern, on a huge experimental table, Konoha's black technology enthusiast, one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, was busy, holding various instruments.

Boom!

Just then, the experimental table vibrated slightly.

Orochimaru stopped what he was doing and looked up, his cold, snake-like eyes focused on the upper left.

This was a secret laboratory Orochimaru had set up beneath the Forest of Death.

Ever since he lost the Hokage election to Minato Namikaze, Orochimaru, relieved of all his village duties, had gone even further down the path of forbidden jutsu research and human experimentation.

With ample financial support provided by Danzo, many of his forbidden jutsu research and human experiments had yielded good results.

A few months ago, based on Orochimaru's human experimentation research, Danzo had just completed the bodily fusion of Hashirama's cells.

Although the vibration just now was slight, Orochimaru clearly felt that the source of the vibration came from the direction of the Forest of Death.

For him to feel the vibration from dozens of meters underground, the commotion in the Forest of Death must have been considerable.

Could it be that someone was fighting there? And the location was right in the Forest of Death!

Could it be that the Chunin Exams had already begun?

Putting down the instruments in his hands, Orochimaru took a step, and his figure disappeared from the experimental table.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Inside the Forest of Death, in the dense woods, a giant green snake about one meter in diameter and over twenty meters long was violently thrashing its tail. A large tree was easily uprooted by the immense force carried by the snake's tail.

Dust and smoke billowed, and wood chips flew everywhere!

Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, Mizuki and Chishima Matsu were constantly leaping and retreating between the tree branches, dodging the attacks of the green snake.

Looking at the devastated Forest of Death, ravaged by the snake's tail, Mizuki and Chishima Matsu's expressions were grim.

While retreating, the two continuously threw shuriken at the giant snake.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of metallic clangs rang out as the shuriken they threw were all deflected by the snake's hard scales, failing to cause even the slightest damage.

"This guy's strength is too terrifying. I underestimated it!"

Seeing this, Chishima Matsu's face turned somewhat ugly.

"It's not your fault! Who would have thought that such a powerful monster would appear in the Forest of Death? Those guys from the Barrier Team didn't even bother to warn us."

Mizuki also looked displeased and said in a consoling tone.

When they left the Hokage's Office, the two had tried to overestimate the difficulty of the mission as much as possible, but they still hadn't expected this situation.

Clearly, the Barrier Team hadn't properly investigated the true strength of this giant snake.

The Barrier Team hadn't reported the truth, so the Hokage naturally had no way of knowing. As a result, the two of them, who had accepted the mission, were now in trouble.

After arriving at the Forest of Death, Mizuki and Chishima Matsu, accompanied by a ninja from the Barrier Team, had found the giant snake's hiding place.

After all, the Forest of Death had a limited area, and it was very difficult for such a huge ninja snake to completely hide its tracks.

Moreover, this giant snake didn't seem to have any intention of hiding its tracks.