Dozens of seconds later, that man raised his head and said firmly: "Amegakure is not to be feared. The greatest threat to us right now is Konoha, and those three individuals are Konoha's leaders for the next decade. Hunt them down with full force."
Having clearly made up his decision—and driven by a deep jealousy of Konoha's good fortune after discovering Orochimaru and his two companions and realizing they could potentially break through to the Kage level at any moment—Onoki issued orders to the front lines, acting on the mindset that if he could not have them, he would destroy them. At the same time, he dispatched a squad of ANBU secretly to the front lines, determined to eliminate all three of them if the opportunity arose, or even just one of them would still be a good outcome.
"As for Hatake Sakumo, leave one squad behind to monitor him, and let the rest depart with me." The leader of this detachment clearly underestimated Hatake Sakumo, figuring that his strength was at most on par with just one of the Sannin. Naturally, his primary targets were Orochimaru and the other two. Besides, Hanzō of the Salamander was at Hatake Sakumo's side with an uncertain stance, making him a difficult variable to manage.
Chapter 49