"What's wrong, Jie?" Orochimaru forced a polite smile. "Is there something strange on my face?"
"Nothing, just looking," Jie Uchiha said casually, snapping out of his brief daze and turning his head away.
Inwardly, however, the gears in Jie's head were turning.
'Just robbing him gave me two good things from the system's calculations. If I beat Orochimaru to a pulp—or just outright kill him—would it calculate even better rewards?'
The thought made Jie's fingers itch with eagerness. Still, rationality prevailed. Orochimaru was his ally now, and turning on an ally right after striking a deal was bad for business.
'Maybe after the Konoha Crush plan is over, I can give it a try. I'll beat him up and see if the system drops anything else.'
At that exact moment, Orochimaru couldn't help but shiver. A heavy, suffocating wave of malice seemed to loom over him out of nowhere. He expanded his senses, meticulously scanning their surroundings, but found absolutely nothing.
He chalked it up to paranoia—a psychological side effect of having just surrendered a priceless treasure.
Pushing the intrusive thoughts aside, Jie hurried in the direction of the Konoha army encampment. As they traveled, he split a portion of his attention to inspect the two rewards he had just acquired.
[Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon]
It was the signature defensive ninjutsu of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. During his legendary clash with Madara Uchiha, Hashirama had faced a Tailed Beast Bomb fired from the Majestic Attire: Susanoo-clad Nine-Tails. He had forcefully summoned the Quintuple Rashomon, grinding the devastating attack to a halt and exhausting its power.
Afterward, Rashomon was classified as a forbidden jutsu and sealed within Konoha's restricted scrolls. Only due to his exceptional military merits was Orochimaru able to obtain its summoning rights. From then on, it became the Sannin's ultimate defensive technique.
As for the [Soft Physique Modification], it was Orochimaru's proudest personal creation. A body modified by this jutsu became practically immune to physical damage from blunt weapons. It was also the reason Orochimaru could continuously stretch his neck out like a certain rubber-limbed pirate.
Upon seeing the jutsu's effects, Jie subconsciously glanced downward, a hint of mockery touching his lips.
'I might be young now, but I'll naturally be well-endowed in the future. Why would I ever need a jutsu like this?'
"System, accept the rewards," Jie murmured. A satisfied smile graced his face. He had absolutely zero need for the Soft Physique Modification; he only cared about the Rashomon.
Yes, just the Rashomon.
"Orochimaru," Jie spoke up, breaking the silence after half a day of boring travel. "Is the organization you're in called the Akatsuki?"
Orochimaru frowned slightly, his internal estimation of the Uchiha clan's intelligence network rising by yet another tier. "Jie, you know of the Akatsuki as well?"
"I've heard a few rumors."
Orochimaru hesitated for a moment before answering. "That's right. I am currently in the Akatsuki. My codename is Ku." A flicker of genuine dread flashed through his serpentine eyes. "The Akatsuki is a terrifying organization. Its leader, Pain, possesses the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."
It was obvious that Pain's strength far surpassed his own.
"Furthermore," Orochimaru continued, "every member of the Akatsuki is an S-rank missing-ninja from the major hidden villages. My current partner is the S-rank missing-ninja from Sunagakure, Sasori of the Red Sand."
Jie nodded. It seemed the Akatsuki wasn't any different from the one he was familiar with. As for Obito Uchiha, he was probably still holed up somewhere in the shinobi world with that dutiful son, Black Zetsu, secretly observing the Akatsuki from the shadows.
After probing a bit more into the Akatsuki's internal affairs, Jie and Orochimaru arrived at the border between the Land of Rice Paddies and the Land of Hot Water.
Not long after, a massive lake appeared before them.
"Since when was there a lake here?" Jie asked curiously, trying to recall the geographical maps he had studied.
"A few days ago, during the battle between Kumogakure and Konoha, the Eight-Tails fired a Tailed Beast Bomb that landed here, blowing out a massive crater," Orochimaru explained, surveying the surrounding terrain. "I just didn't expect it to fill with water and turn into a lake in just a few short days. In the future, merchants traveling between the Land of Hot Water and Konoha will probably doubt their own eyes when they see this."
Hearing that the lake was formed by a Tailed Beast Bomb, Jie suddenly felt a strong sense of familiarity.
'Wait... this is the crater I blasted out when I was testing my own Tailed Beast Bomb.'
Beside him, Orochimaru couldn't help but sigh in awe. "Tailed beasts are truly miraculous creatures. Not only do they possess immortal lifespans, but they also wield such overwhelming, apocalyptic power. Just a single Tailed Beast Bomb fired from a distance was enough to immediately alter the topography of two nations."
'Altered the topography?' Jie suddenly realized something. Earlier, he had been walking straight along the main road, yet inexplicably ended up in the Land of Rice Paddies. Was that the aftermath of his own attack?
Concealing his realization, Jie asked casually, "Did this Tailed Beast Bomb change the route from Konoha to the Land of Rice Paddies?"
Orochimaru pondered for a moment. "It didn't really affect the road from the Land of Fire to the Land of Rice Paddies. However, the original road leading from the Land of Hot Water to Konoha has now become a direct route to the Land of Rice Paddies."
Case closed.
It really was the fault of his own trigger-happy Tailed Beast Bomb. An imaginary drop of sweat formed on Jie's brow, but it was quickly replaced by an undeniable sense of smugness.
If he hadn't fired off that attack and changed the terrain, how could he have gotten lost, stumbled into the Land of Rice Paddies, and run straight into a walking treasure trove like Orochimaru?
Therefore, he wasn't at fault. Everything was simply gods' will.
Meanwhile, after answering Jie's question, a horrible realization suddenly struck Orochimaru. 'Wait. Jie ending up in the Land of Rice Paddies... was it purely an accident? Had I really just foolishly believed his extortion excuses and voluntarily handed over the Sword of Kusanagi and the Ryuchi Cave Summoning Scroll to a kid who was just lost?!'
Thinking of this, Orochimaru actively wished he could slap his past self across the face.
The two of them crossed the great lake and soon arrived at the Konoha army's encampment. Bypassing the sensory nets of all the Konoha shinobi with ease, Jie led Orochimaru straight into the command tent where Fugaku Uchiha was stationed.
Seeing his eldest son return so soon, Fugaku was startled. He immediately stood up. "Jie? Did something happen in Konoha? Why are you back?"
Jie smiled and shook his head. "Father, I've found a new partner for the Uchiha clan."
'A partner?' Fugaku looked up in confusion, only for a familiar, terrifyingly pale face to enter his vision.
"It has been a while, Clan Head Fugaku," Orochimaru said, his long tongue sliding out to lick his lips in a chilling smile.
To Fugaku, that smile triggered every alarm bell in his head.
"The Snake Sannin, Orochimaru!" Fugaku shouted anxiously, reaching for his weapon. "Jie, get away from him! This man is dangerous!"
"Relax, Father," Jie said, patting Fugaku's shoulder reassuringly. "Right now, Orochimaru is our ally. To kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and destroy Konoha's higher-ups... we're going to need his help."
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