Chapter 420: Special Map – Path of Yellow Springs
Naruto frowned, not understanding what Neji meant.
Beside him, both Tsunade and Jiraiya wore complicated expressions—clearly, they already knew the reason behind Hyūga Neji's betrayal.
Naruto was about to question further,
but Tsunade stopped him and sighed. "The caged bird is a cursed seal used by the Hyūga main family to control the branch family."
Hearing her explanation, Naruto's frown deepened.
He turned to Neji, whose face remained emotionless. "Becoming a protector, guarding the main family and Konoha—isn't that a good thing?"
"A protector?"
Neji sneered. "In that case, is Orochimaru also the main family?"
Naruto was stunned into silence.
He suddenly realized—the cursed seal used on the Hyūga branch family and Orochimaru's branding of his test subjects were… basically the same?
Neji raised his thumb and pointed at his unmarked forehead. "Is it wrong for a slave to want to break his chains?"
A scapegoat's son—was he destined to always be the scapegoat?
If that was fate, then breaking it was his will.
It was that very will that had brought him this far.
[Nen Master Lv. 44]
"So… you want to kill me, Jiraiya?"
Countless cursed snakes crawled across Orochimaru's body. His necrotic aura flared—not as an attack, but it still made Tsunade and the others' faces change.
"Golden-tier…"
Tsunade drew a deep breath, her expression tense.
Most players had realized by now that the corrupted monsters far exceeded the baseline player stats.
A naked player with no gear or skills had stats equal to basic monsters.
With green and blue gear and some skills, players could match elite or commander-level mobs.
But even that wasn't the full picture—combat strength also depended on level. It was easy to misjudge enemies.
So the community developed a reliable way to evaluate strength:
every 10 levels was a benchmark, comparing player levels to those of corrupted monsters.
Orochimaru's aura now was comparable to Lv. 40–49 golden-tier bosses.
"The inside of the Reincarnation Shrine forbids combat. Come with me instead."
Orochimaru licked his lips and stepped out beyond the shrine's glow into the black fog.
"Tsunade…"
Jiraiya looked serious. "This is a good chance to gauge Orochimaru's strength. Don't be rash—let me fight him."
"The Black Myth map… dying here sends you to the Path of Yellow Springs…"
Tsunade frowned. Everything about this new season was still unknown.
Even if the system said you could revive by completing Yellow Springs Quests and collecting Underworld Flowers, the difficulty and limits were all a mystery.
"Don't worry. I'm a [Seer]. Even if I can't beat him, I can get away."
Jiraiya laughed and dashed after Orochimaru.
A few minutes later—
Tsunade sensed something wrong.
There had been no sounds of battle.
Was Jiraiya… killed instantly?
Suddenly—
At the edge of the Reincarnation Shrine, the black gravel was pushed aside.
A thumb-sized cursed snake emerged.
Gag…
A pale arm stretched from its mouth, followed by a slime-covered torso.
Orochimaru crawled out, disappointment in his eyes.
"Still so foolish, Jiraiya. You haven't improved at all."
"No way…"
Tsunade clenched her fists.
As Jiraiya himself said, the Seer's skill set was incredibly diverse, ideal for survival even if not strong in direct combat.
Even Orochimaru shouldn't be able to kill him in just minutes.
"That's true. I couldn't kill a Lv. 40 Seer—a lord-tier player—in such a short time."
Orochimaru spread his hands and smirked.
"But corrupted monsters could."
The hundreds of cursed snakes he'd summoned had been wiped out.
But one had reached the outpost of the Corrupted Bandits.
Hundreds of them.
Plus two commander-level bandit captains, all Lv. 50 elite monsters.
Even the best survival skills couldn't save someone outnumbered and outleveled like that.
"I only wanted to provoke him. Didn't expect the fool to take the bait so easily…"
"You're still as vile as ever, Orochimaru!"
Tsunade's veins bulged in fury. But she held herself back.
Jiraiya could still revive—and now he could scout the mysterious Path of Yellow Springs.
…
Elsewhere—
Jiraiya, who had just been killed by Corrupted Bandits, opened his eyes in confusion and looked around.
A pitch-black sky.
An inverted gray river flowed above, as thick as mercury.
Below stretched endless mountains covered in brilliant flowers.
Everywhere, human figures—men, women, children.
City folk in suits, bandits in headscarves, knights in armor, mages in tattered robes…
All blank-faced, dead-eyed.
Tiptoeing forward in silence.
Like spirits from countless worlds, converging here for their final journey.
[You have entered the special map: Path of Yellow Springs. Revive quickly, or be devoured by the Yellow Springs Ghost King.]
"There's a time limit for revival?!"
Jiraiya paled.
Looking up, he saw at the end of the procession—
a colossal skull with jaws wide open, devouring every spirit that reached it.
Above his head floated a burning incense stick, its smoke curling faintly.
[Soul Return Incense]: While it burns, the soul can return. When it's gone, you are lost. Time remaining: 3 days.
Note: If the incense extinguishes, the player will truly die.
"As expected… the higher the map level, the harsher the death penalty."
Jiraiya's face turned grim.
His Seer instincts had warned him—the Tier-4 Black Myth map would be brutal.
And now it was confirmed.
"Where's the quest?"
He opened his quest log—nothing.
Activating Seer's Insight—
he pressed his fingers to his brow. A faint glow emerged, forming an eye-shaped mark.
"Damn… even two seconds drained half my energy…"
"This map's level is insane!"
Panting,
Jiraiya realized his detection ability worked here, but the mana cost was massive.
In the Black Myth map, rules had suppressed his skills completely.
But here in the Path of Yellow Springs, they worked—but at great cost.
"Shop, messages, teleport… even the logout button is gone?"
Meaning,
if he couldn't collect enough Underworld Flowers,
he'd be trapped here forever.
"I have to get back… warn Tsunade. This place is too dangerous. We can't afford to die casually in this new season!"
He chased after one of the slowly marching spirits.
The moment he touched it—
[You have triggered a Yellow Springs Quest]
Quest World: Attack on Titan
Objective: Defend against the Titans and protect [Wall Maria]
Reward: Underworld Flower x1
Note 1: During the quest, your stats, gear, and skills will be sealed. They will be converted into Yellow Springs Points.
Note 2: Yellow Springs Points can be used to buy items in the quest world.
Note 3: Upon exiting, your gear and skills will be restored. Any items purchased with Yellow Springs Points will be lost unless bought permanently with contribution points.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1