Seeing Tsunade leave, Jiraiya smiled softly and turned back to look at Naruto, who was lying on the grass gasping for breath.
Especially when Jiraiya noticed the countless wounds on Naruto's hands, caused by the Rasengan's powerful tearing force, a glimmer of sympathy flickered in his eyes.
With a light movement of his feet, Jiraiya vanished from the tree.
Step, step!
Footsteps on the lawn reached Naruto's ears.
Lying spread-eagled on the grass resting, Naruto froze for a moment, then turned his head toward the sound.
"Pervy Sage?"
Naruto looked at Jiraiya walking toward him, startled for a moment, then quickly sat up and shouted:
"Pervy Sage, I actually mastered that Ninjutsu you taught me, just now!"
"It's only been exactly one week today! Does that mean I've passed the test and can have Lord Senju Hashirama teach me now?!"
Jiraiya walked over to Naruto's side. Looking lazy, he yawned, picked his ear, and said casually:
"Is that so? I didn't see anything."
Hearing Jiraiya's seemingly dismissive tone, Naruto loudly protested. He tried to stand up, preparing to demonstrate for Jiraiya.
But before Naruto could get up, a lunchbox had already appeared in Jiraiya's hand, offered out to him.
"Eat first. There's no rush to show me."
Jiraiya still wore that lazy expression as he spoke casually.
Grrr—grrr—!
Right on cue, Naruto's stomach began to growl.
On a wide-open stretch of wasteland.
A small house built entirely of wood sat alone near the seaside.
The house didn't look run-down at all. In fact, some details appeared quite new, suggesting it hadn't been built very long ago.
At that moment.
On the calm sea in the distance, dozens of black dots suddenly appeared from various directions. They rapidly flew toward the wooden house.
As the black dots drew closer, they gradually became clearer. It turned out those dozens of black dots were all bats!
Just as the bats were about to reach the house, the door was gently opened.
A ninja with dark skin and short dark-green hair stepped out. He had a brooding, intense look about him.
As soon as the man appeared, the dozens of bats swiftly gathered around him.
The brooding man seemed to have received information through the bats. He gave a slight nod, then turned and re-entered the house.
As soon as he stepped inside, the man dropped to one knee and spoke with utmost respect:
"Lord Orochimaru, after a thorough search of the surrounding coastline, no traces were found."
Inside the house, besides this brooding man, two other figures stood silently.
Orochimaru wore a mildly amused expression as he sat casually on a wooden bed against the wall. A contemplative light flickered in his eyes from time to time.
At Orochimaru's side, Yakushi Kabuto stood calmly with his head slightly lowered, his expression unreadable.
This brooding ninja was named Rinji, a subordinate of Guren. He possessed the ability to control bats and use them for reconnaissance, making him a fairly outstanding sensory-type ninja.
"Any news from the others?"
A hoarse, somewhat eerie voice came from Orochimaru's lips.
"Lord Orochimaru, the others are likely still searching. There's no concrete news yet."
Rinji continued respectfully, but when he reached this point, his voice paused slightly. Then he spoke up cautiously:
"This subordinate speculates that the Four-Tails Jinchuriki must have left this area already. There's nowhere to hide around here."
"Good analysis."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and let out a strange chuckle.
Hearing Orochimaru's praise, Rinji's face lit up with delight. He was about to say more when suddenly, he felt a familiar gaze upon him.
That gaze made Rinji's body involuntarily tense.
Yakushi Kabuto!!
A flash of killing intent crossed Rinji's eyes, but it vanished just as quickly. At the same time, the words he had been about to say were swallowed back down.
Having delivered his report, Rinji bowed his head and left the house.
Yakushi Kabuto shot a glance in Rinji's departing direction, a flicker of disdain in his eyes. A fool who thinks himself clever!
That remark from Orochimaru just now wasn't praise. Wouldn't it be better to just do his own job properly?
Sometimes, thinking yourself too clever can get you killed!
Orochimaru licked his lips, the faintest hint of a smile forming at the corner of his mouth:
"Kabuto, you really are kind-hearted. He wants to kill you, you know."
Yakushi Kabuto's expression didn't change. How could he possibly be unaware of Rinji's hostility?
It was just that Yakushi Kabuto didn't care in the slightest.
"Lord Orochimaru must be joking. Rinji is, after all, quite an outstanding sensory-type ninja."
"He serves a significant purpose right now."
"If he were to die just like that, it would be quite a loss."
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses and spoke softly with his head lowered.
Orochimaru slowly raised his head, his pale skin carrying a sickly quality. For a moment, the entire wooden house fell into silence.
This silence didn't last long, however. Before much time had passed, the search teams began returning one by one, reporting the intelligence they had gathered to Orochimaru.
A short while later, only Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto remained in the house.
"What do you think?" Orochimaru asked without turning around, clearly addressing Yakushi Kabuto.
"This search doesn't seem to truly be about finding the Four-Tails Jinchuriki. Or rather, Lord Orochimaru's search this time isn't targeting the Four-Tails Jinchuriki—it's about confirming something."
After a brief silence, Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses and spoke respectfully.
"You had already figured that out from the beginning, hadn't you?"
"Kabuto, being too clever is foolish, but pretending to be oblivious is equally foolish."
The hoarse voice echoed through the wooden house, causing cold sweat to bead on Yakushi Kabuto's forehead.
Unlike the original story, Orochimaru had not had both arms sealed by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Combined with the terrifying immortality he displayed through his resurrection from Mitarashi Anko via the Curse Mark...
As a result, whether in terms of personal strength or sheer intimidation, Orochimaru far exceeded his counterpart in the original story.
Yakushi Kabuto silently recalled the intelligence he had just heard, organizing it in his mind.
Based on Yakushi Kabuto's understanding of Orochimaru, what Orochimaru truly wanted was simply to confirm his own conjecture.
[
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