Starting the fourth generation Hokage

No one expected that the attacker in front of them would be one of the missing persons before.

The name of Ida Ryo is an elite Chunin with strong strength among the missing persons. Because before sending Uchiha Shisui and Die Iwashi to investigate the missing ninja incident, Minato Namikaze had shown the intelligence information of the incident to the two, so he had a certain impression of the appearance of Ida Ryo.

However, after confirming the identity of the man, Shisui and the others had new doubts.

The identity information of the missing person did not record his strange ability to manipulate the snake group. Not only that, this Chunin named Ida Ryo did not even have a spirit beast, so what happened to the previous action of summoning the snake group to attack them?

"Hokage, this guy is indeed one of the missing persons..."

Die Iwashi was very sure at this time.

Not only Ida Ryo, he also remembered the appearance of several other missing Chunins in his mind.

"Let's take him back to the village first..." After thinking for a long time, Minato Namikaze said in a deep voice.

Although he was also confused about how the missing person became the perpetrator, the only thing he could do now was to take the person back and investigate thoroughly before he could get the answer.

Cough cough.

Just as Die Iwashi and Uchiha Shisui were following Minato Namikaze's order to lift the dying Ida Ryo on the ground, the latter suddenly coughed in pain.

Soon, another shocking scene happened in front of the three of them.

Ida Ryo, whose face gradually became distorted, suddenly opened his mouth, and then a strange small white snake came out from the depths of his throat.

Looking closely, although the white snake was small in size, it had countless small scales and fierce eyes.

Buzz.

Before Minato Namikaze and the other two could react, a strong light suddenly burst out from the body of the small white snake.

This sign of emitting light and heat is undoubtedly very similar to the effect before a certain ninja tool takes effect.

"Be careful!!"

Minato Namikaze's reaction was extremely fast, and he immediately realized something.

He immediately put his hands on Die Iwashi and Uchiha Shisui. Without any hesitation, the three figures flashed at the same time and disappeared from the spot.

At almost the same time, an explosion occurred at the location where Ida Ryo was.

Rumble.

A cloud of blood mist suddenly exploded, and the tragic scene of broken limbs and arms scattered was really unbearable to watch.

In the distance, Shisui and Die Iwashi, who were taken away from danger by Minato Namikaze with the Flying Thunder God Technique, slowly came back to their senses at this time, and both of them were frightened.

At this time, they gradually realized what had just happened.

"Who is it? Isn't this too cruel?"

Die Iwashi's face was full of anger.

It was obvious that Ida Ryo was controlled by the strange white snake. Originally, he could have been rescued, but he didn't expect that the person who drove the white snake would choose to destroy the witness in order not to expose his information.

"For someone who can do such a cruel act, his experiment is probably not humane..." Uchiha Shisui also said with a little anger.

Although the witness was gone, Minato Namikaze's doubts disappeared.

He was sure that this was definitely the work of Orochimaru. It had to be said that this secret control method was indeed cautious enough. It did not require him to show his face and would not leave any evidence.

After sighing softly, Minato Namikaze turned to look at Shisui and the other man who still looked unwilling, and said in a complicated tone: "I was a little careless and failed to realize that the enemy was being controlled early..."

"Let's put this matter to an end. Thank you for your hard work."

No one expected such a result.

Helpless, Minato Namikaze and Shisui could only return to the village at this time.

...

...

At the same time, inside a secret space deep underground in the Land of Fire.

A man with long black hair who was next to various experimental equipment suddenly felt something in his heart, as if he had sensed something.

Then his pale face became a little ugly.

Crack.

The sound of glassware falling to the ground sounded, echoing in this dark space and sounding particularly harsh.

After smashing the test vessel in his hand, Orochimaru's golden pupils showed a bit of hatred, and he murmured: "Damn Fourth Hokage, you are so nosy..."

"My reincarnation experiment is clearly at a critical period..."

As if he suddenly lost interest, the various equipment on the table no longer had any appeal for a while. Orochimaru, who was in a very bad mood, turned around and walked out.

...

After this incident, although Orochimaru was not caught personally, he also restrained himself a lot.

There have been no ninja disappearances in the nearly half a month since then.

Winter Solstice.

Not long after the first snow fell in Konoha Village in the Land of Fire, the war between Rock Ninja and Konoha officially broke out in the Land of Grass.

Because both sides had made sufficient preparations in advance and the deployment of troops was almost the same, after the fierce battle at the beginning of the war, the situation quickly turned into a tug-of-war and a war of attrition.

Regarding the renewed war between the Rock Ninja and Konoha, the rest of the countries are taking a wait-and-see attitude.

The Kirigakure of the Land of Water is still a closed country. The blood mist policy and the serious internal friction have long made it unwilling to launch a foreign war.

The Kingdom of Wind was severely weakened by its defeat at the hands of Konoha in the Battle of Mount Kikyo, so it signed an armistice agreement early and formed an alliance with Konoha.

Only the Kingdom of Thunder has not signed an armistice agreement, and at the same time it appears to have ceased operations.

It's hard to guess its true intention.

On this day, Danzo Shimura finally rushed back to Konoha, assisted by the Hokage who had returned from visiting the Daimyo Mansion of the Land of Fire.

As soon as we return to the village, we will convene an important meeting with senior officials.

Not long after, in the living room of the Hokage building, all the Shinobi, including Namikaze Minato's shadow clone and the consultant duo, gathered together. After taking their seats, everyone first turned their attention to the returning Danzo.

Because everyone is waiting to see whether the issue of military expenditures that has been delayed for a long time will be properly resolved.

Shimura Danzo was also very straightforward, and directly released the good news: "The Fire Country Daimyo has responded to the time for the distribution of military funds, and confirmed that it will be allocated to Konoha within three days."

"Is the military spending finally coming? This is good news..." After sleeping, Xiaochun's expression perked up and he smiled rarely.

"Danzo, you did a good job."

Mito Monoyan also nodded and said in approval: "I originally thought that it would be inappropriate for you to handle this matter."

"But now it seems that you have lived up to expectations."

Among the four, only Namikaze Minato remained silent because he noticed that Danzo's face looked a little complicated when he heard the compliments from the consultant duo.

Maybe things are not that simple...

Just as he was thinking this, Shimura Danzo on the other side actually spoke again: "Actually, the daimyo also made a small request."

"He hopes to expand the number of people who protect the Twelve Ninjas, and requests people to come from Konoha..."