Escape From Konoha

"It's right ahead, stop!"

In front of the huge rock, three groups of people arrived almost at the same time.

Hanami Haruka from the Kingdom of Demons, the miko Kirie, Tenzo, Hanoko, Saai and Nara Suzaku who were responsible for fighting Deidara, Naruto and Chiyo who were responsible for fighting Scorpion also arrived in no particular order. In front of the boulder.

They didn't ask about the results of their respective battles, because arriving here safely meant that all the enemies on their side had been eliminated.

Next, is the most critical task——

Rescue Gaara.

"Leave it to me."

Tianzang took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and thick vines and trees broke out of the ground, wrapping around the boulder in front of him, making the boulder make a buzzing sound, and forced it to move to the side.

The boulder moved away, revealing the scene inside the cave.

Nothing.

Everyone entered and were stunned when they saw the almost empty cave.

"There is a strong chakra aura left in the air, and even monsters feel fear..."

A black tentacle poked out of Wuzhi's white cuffs, as if sniffing something in the air. Then the tentacle trembled, and retracted into Wuzhi's cuffs as if he was afraid of the smell here.

"over there!"

Naruto discovered something and jumped out first, followed by the others and arrived at the destination.

Everyone was silent for a while when they saw the figure lying on the ground, lifeless, it was Gaara.

"Are you too late?"

Chiyo sighed and looked at Gaara's sleeping face with complicated eyes.

Tenzo knelt down, took Gaara's pulse, and shook his head, expressing his helplessness.

"When the tailed beast is pulled away, the jinchūriki will die."

"hateful!"

Naruto clenched his fists, his face full of reluctance.

After finally defeating the enemy, nothing changed.

"It's not your fault, Naruto. No one wants to see something like this happen. This organization is too dangerous. As a jinchuriki, you must be careful in dealing with it in the future."

Tenzo stood up and patted Naruto on the shoulder, asking him not to be immersed in such sadness, but to think about himself.

Gaara is just one of their targets. As a Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki, he will also be hunted by people from this organization.

"Gaara!"

Voices came from behind, figures flashed, and one person rushed in after another.

It was Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, and the ANBU accompanying him, including Temari.

Although Rasa's face was pale and her complexion was poor, judging from the fact that she was able to move, the poison on her body should have been removed by the antidote Temari sent her.

Arriving next to Gaara's body, Rasa's expression turned slightly gloomy, and finally sighed without saying anything.

Temari trembled, her lips trembled, and she didn't believe the fact that her brother was dead.

"how come……"

"Gaara's tailed beast has been stripped away. Next, the village should enter the first level of combat readiness. That organization will probably cause a lot of trouble in the future."

Chiyo glanced at Luo Sha and said this.

Luo Sha nodded solemnly, looking at Gaara's 'sleeping face', a little absent-mindedly.

"As for Gaara..."

Chiyo turned his attention to Gaara again, sighed, as if he had made some important decision, and said:

"It just so happens that I don't have a few more years to live. In this era, let's let these young people perform."

"Elder Qiandai..."

Luo Sha's body was shaken.

The others also looked at Chiyo, wondering what he meant.

"No matter what, it's my fault that Gaara became like this. I was the one who decided to seal Shukaku in Gaara's body, and now my grandson has killed him. Because of emotion and reason, I should take this responsibility."

After Chiyo finished speaking, he came to squat in front of Gaara, his hands were shrouded in green light, and he placed them on Gaara's chest.

"Grandma Chiyo, what is she doing?"

Naruto looked confused.

Hanajian Haruka narrowed his eyes, and a wave flashed in his eyes.

"This is not a medical ninjutsu, it is a reincarnation ninjutsu."

"What?"

People who didn't understand the truth were immediately surprised.

Reincarnation ninjutsu, as the name suggests, is naturally a forbidden jutsu that can resurrect the dead.

Ninjutsu like this only appears in legends.

"I didn't expect Sunagakure to have such technology..."

Hanajianyao said in surprise.

She only heard the name of the so-called reincarnation ninjutsu, but did not see the reality.

It can be said that reincarnation ninjutsu is the ultimate goal of every medical ninja.

Reversing the cause and effect of life and death is undoubtedly the ability that can pioneer the great achievements of medical ninjas.

"but……"

Hanami Haruka stopped here.

"But what?"

Naruto asked.

"When you perform this forbidden technique, you lose your own vitality. It is equivalent to sacrificing your own life to save others."

Huajianyao shook his head.

"Varied……"

Naruto opened his mouth wide.

"Don't worry, Konoha boy, this is the only place where I can atone for my sins. Looking at the young people who are growing up now, I always feel that I no longer belong to this world..."

Chiyo continued to breathe life into Gaara with a soft smile on her face.

It seemed that because Chiyo continued to inject vitality into Gaara, Gaara's originally pale complexion finally regained some of its human color.

Although he couldn't hear his heartbeat or feel his breathing, the injection of life force was truly awakening Gaara's sleeping consciousness.

Soon, Chiyo began to take a breath.

Looking at Gaara's face, he gradually felt tired and coughed softly.

The green light on the palm also began to fade.

Oops, there's not enough chakra... The green light in Chiyo's hand faded and she gritted her teeth. She didn't expect it to be so difficult for her.

Are you really old?

"Let me do it."

Naruto squatted opposite Chiyo and placed his generous palm on the back of Chiyo's somewhat cold hand.

A huge stream of chakra covered Chiyo's palm, and in this chakra, there was a rich vitality that even Chiyo was frightened by.

"Is it the magic of Miaomu Mountain? Legend has it that Miaomu Mountain also has the ability to bring people back to life. It seems that the rumors are true..."

As an old scholar in the ninja world, Chiyo has naturally done research on holy places like Mt. Myoboku and learned many things from ancient books.

With Naruto's help, the pressure on Chiyo suddenly weakened a lot.

Boom!

I don't know how much time passed, but everyone heard the strong beating of the heart, and all looked at Gaara's face that had regained its human color.

There was also the faint sound of breathing, which was also extremely clear.

Chiyo loosened his hands and stood up, staggering slightly, but was helped up by Naruto without falling.

"Next, Gaara should wake up soon..."

◎

"Stop."

Cai came to an open space, and Xiang Rin and Yamazaki Jiu stopped behind him.

The person who appeared in front made the three of them feel slightly different.

The tall and muscular body is covered in a black cloak and coat, and a gold nameplate with an aster symbol engraved on the chest is shining.

He was carrying a suitcase in his left hand, and a head in his right hand.

The head of the undead Hidan.

There was some dirt on the cheeks, as if they had just been dug out of the earth.

"Mr. Kakuzu."

Sai was slightly surprised by Kakuzu's arrival.

"It seems to have disturbed your mission, but I will help you dig out this head."

Kakuzu showed Hidan's head in his right hand. He probably fainted due to temporary lack of oxygen, but he was still breathing, proving that he was still alive.

It would be false to say that people are not interested in such a strange life form.

Not to mention the others, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Kingdom of Ghosts must be full of interest in researching this special life structure.

Sai nodded, took the Hidan head that Kakuzu handed over, and handed it over to Yamazaki Ku for safekeeping. He asked:

"Why are Mr. Kakuzu here?"

"I've been quite free recently, so I wanted to go out and make some extra money. When I met this guy a few days ago, I found that he had a batch of goods with good qualifications, which could be exchanged for a lot of bounties. I was on the back of his head. , and attached a micro locator, but I didn’t expect it to come in handy at this time.”

As for the source of the goods, it must be the hard currency of the underground black market - corpses with bounty value.

"..."

Hearing Kakuzu's explanation, Cai and the other three were slightly speechless. Are they worthy of being former bounty hunters?

Even after becoming a debt collector, the past instincts engraved in the genes still remain and have not been completely erased.

The main source of income for debt collectors is undoubtedly the completion of debt collection work. Each time a target is completed, the commission will be different depending on the level of the debt collection target.

The highest-level gold medal debt collectors like Kakuzu are responsible for major clients in various countries. For example, for high-level officials in various countries, big businessmen, or famous names in a country, the commission alone, not counting the basic salary, may reach tens of millions in a year. If there are enough big customers that year, the commission can easily exceed 100 million.

In addition, debt collectors can also work part-time in other jobs in their spare time. As long as they do not violate discipline, the superiors will only turn a blind eye.

Kakuzu's method of making extra money is quite normal.

"But in this way, our mission is finally settled, let's go."

As for the escaped blood successor ninja, Cai has no intention of pursuing him. The other party's lurking ability is very strong. Even if you want to track it, you don't know where to start investigating.

Recovering an undead like Hidan was a great achievement in itself.

◎

"Even eternity will fade... Scorpion, you have stopped here."

The news of Scorpion's sacrifice quickly reached Orochimaru's ears through Akatsuki's intelligence channels.

He put down his research work, closed himself in a secret room, and suddenly became absent-minded.

With Scorpion's death, he not only lost an explorer with whom he could discuss academic matters, but it also meant the passing of 'eternity'.

Orochimaru suddenly felt sad. This kind of sadness was far more sad than the short and sharp pain he felt when he received the news of the death of his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The questioning and disillusionment of his ideals gave Orochimaru the idea that the so-called 'eternity' is ultimately nothingness.

Although such negative thoughts were quickly suppressed by Orochimaru, the dust in his mind would not be eliminated so easily.

This is a denial of his path and a blow to his ideals.

Likewise, his pursuit of ‘eternal life’ was once again determined in his heart!

Except for eternal life, everything in this world is meaningless in his eyes.

"There are still four months left...my 'eternal life' will take the most critical step."

As he murmured, Orochimaru's golden eyes revealed a completely different kind of fanaticism than usual.

Sasuke Uchiha.

It will be the key to your promotion to eternal life.

After devouring Sasuke's body and obtaining the Sharingan and Senjutsu, he can then capture Itachi's eyes and further improve the Sharingan... In the end, he might be able to cultivate a second pair of Rinnegan eyes!

Thinking of this, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel excited. The corners of his mouth raised, and he let out an extremely deep laugh that rang in the room.

At this moment, a knock on the door came.

"Come in."

Orochimaru glanced sideways at the door, the expression on his face returned to normal, the eagerness in his eyes quickly calmed down, and he spoke to the person outside the door.

"Excuse me, Orochimaru-sama."

Kabuto, wearing glasses, walked in from the outside with a respectful expression.

His gaze only stayed on Orochimaru's pale, waxy face for a moment, and then he quickly shifted his gaze, lowered his head slightly, and missed Orochimaru's golden snake eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

The chakra aura on his body is becoming increasingly unstable and full of chaos. It is estimated that he will need to be reincarnated again soon. Kabuto noticed that Orochimaru's aura was a little confused, and the medicine he had prepared recently was also related to this aspect. He immediately guessed that Orochimaru's next reincarnation was not far away.

As expected, the target is Sasuke Uchiha who was carefully cultivated here.

The descendant of the Konoha Uchiha clan.

If two tigers fight, one will die. Who will be the final winner? Kabuto was full of expectations and uneasy anxiety about this matter.

It would be great if Orochimaru wins, but if he fails... what will a person like me who doesn't even have an 'identity' do?

However, on the other hand, he hoped that Sasuke could defeat Orochimaru and become the transcendent person who broke his own destiny.

Such a contradictory state of mind made Kabuto feel extremely complicated.

"Kabuto, what's going on at this time?"

Orochimaru had no way of knowing Kabuto's state of mind at this time, so he just asked lightly.

"Sasuke's senjutsu training has basically reached a mature stage. Jugo is also practicing senjutsu. It may not be long before he becomes the second ninja on our side to learn senjutsu after Sasuke."

Kabuto told Orochimaru the news as he should.

Not only Sasuke, but also Jugo's information was reported to Orochimaru.

In fact, when Sasuke came to Otogakure Village, it was not just Orochimaru who helped him a lot, but also Jugo who had a special physique.

Orochimaru provided various training resources, as well as sparring opponents, and various secret medicines that had no side effects to enhance his strength. Orochimaru spent all his efforts over the years.

This amount of effort put into one person is enough to cultivate a five-kage level ninja.

If they were spread among the other ninjas in Otogakure Village, there would be at least a dozen more powerful jounin.

As a result, all these resources were spent on Sasuke. Kabuto knew very well that some ninjas in Otogakure Village were quite unhappy with Sasuke.

Because of his existence, he took away the cultivation resources that originally belonged to them.

In addition, even Jugo, who has a special physique, was arranged by Orochimaru to be beside Sasuke... It can be said that in order to make Sasuke stronger, Orochimaru simply spared no effort.

If it wasn't clear that Orochimaru's ultimate goal was to take away Sasuke's body, Kabuto would have suspected that Sasuke was actually Orochimaru's illegitimate son.

"Jugo? As long as Sasuke enters the realm of immortals, he will embark on this path sooner or later... What Jugo lacked in the past was not talent and qualifications, but the correct guidance method."

Orochimaru said with emotion.

He was not surprised at all that Jugo entered the realm of immortals.

The opponent is born with a special physique that absorbs natural energy. It can be said that he has a genuine 'immortal body'. As long as he finds the right path and steps into the immortal realm, it is a sure thing. There is no need to spend too much time in the early stage to sense the existence of natural energy like ordinary people.

"It's just that this way, Jugo will be completely on Sasuke's side."

Kabuto replied.

Strictly speaking, the relationship between Jugo and Orochimaru is not a superior-subordinate relationship, but a 'cooperative' relationship.

Orochimaru provides a place of refuge for Jugo, and Jugo provides his own body to become Orochimaru's experimental material. Both sides have what they need.

But now with Sasuke's intervention, Jugo has begun to lean towards Sasuke.

"At this point, it doesn't matter what Zhonggo is. As long as my plan can be completed, the curse seal will naturally go further and Zhonggo's power will no longer be needed."

There was no fluctuation in Orochimaru's eyes, and he directly regarded Jugo as a dispensable and abandoned child.

To him, Sasuke was the most important thing.

As long as he gets the other person's body, Chongwu and his like are not within his scope of consideration.

"It sounds really cruel. If other people heard it, they would be extremely chilling."

Kabuto smiled slightly.

"This is the necessary price for exploring the truth. However, in the end, it can bear fruit smoothly, which is more important than anything else..."

Orochimaru chuckled.

I have lost too much for this path.

Companions, teachers, close friends from life to death, the Will of Fire, the Leaf Village... all of them were cut off without mercy, so that I could focus on the road of 'eternal life' wholeheartedly and never look back.

Even if you can give up these things you cherished in the past, is there anything you can't give up now?

The difference is that the precious chess pieces are not yet discarded.

"So, about Akatsuki..."

"I have done everything I need to do. This time to capture Ichibi, the Kingdom of Demons has officially intervened. I will not participate in Akatsuki's activities anymore. I don't want to be involved in the battle between Nagato and the Kingdom of Demons. ...Otherwise, even I will not be spared."

A deep fear flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.

For him, whether it is Nagato or the Kingdom of Ghosts, they are existences that he cannot resist at present.

It is estimated that only by devouring Sasuke and obtaining Itachi's sharingan, he can barely have the ability to protect himself between the two parties.

Until then, you still need to keep your tail between your legs.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru always felt that he was a genius among the three ninjas, and he kept crying.

◎

The atmosphere in the room was relatively leisurely. Shiraishi, Ruri, and Ayane were enjoying tea time quietly in the afternoon.

It seemed like they were just having a very ordinary short meeting.

"One tail is sealed."

Shiraishi broke the silence in the room, stood up from the sofa, walked to the window, and looked out at the scenery outside the window.

"Is it already the fourth tailed beast? If Akatsuki continues to act, the situation will be a bit troublesome."

Liuli put down her tea cup and spoke calmly.

"Currently, Akatsuki and Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure have become direct conflict parties. Next is Konoha's Nine-Tails, but the power of the Nine-Tails is very dangerous... especially if it falls into Akatsuki's hands. inside."

Shiraishi narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the scenery outside the window, full of intriguing thoughts.

The Nine-Tails possesses part of the origin of the Ten-Tails, and is the most special one among the nine-tailed beasts.

Although the Seven-Tails, which now belongs to the Kingdom of Demons, also possesses the origin of the Ten-Tails, that part of the Ten-Tails' origin is almost negligible.

"So, when do you plan to take action, Shiraishi-kun?"

Ayane asked in a leisurely manner, seemingly not worried about the next situation.

"In the order in which Akatsuki will capture the tailed beasts next, the nine-tails will be at the end, followed by the first tail, the three-tails and the six-tails, and then the eight-tails."

The three-tails and six-tails are the tailed beasts of Kirigakure's ally.

This must not happen unexpectedly.

But in that case, Shiraishi is more worried about this.

Because it might be Nagato himself who will deal with Kirigakure himself.

That means that the Kingdom of Ghosts must also take corresponding actions to stop Nagato.

But in that case, the relationship between the Demon Country and Kirigakure will inevitably be exposed.

This will directly affect the arrangements of the other five major countries.

"With the strength of the three of us, if we join forces, we should be enough to defeat Nagato, but if he wants to leave, I'm afraid he can't stop him. Judging from the repulsion he controls, judging from the information Kisame provided long ago, even space can be distorted. , in order to prevent Obito’s Mangekyo from sneaking a surprise attack on him, presumably..."

Shiraishi did not say any more, but considered the relative strength between the enemy and ourselves.

Distorting space, Liuli can also do this.

The Saki Thunder Eye Technique among the Eight Thunder Gods of the Mangekyō Sharingan can improve the sharpness of Susanoo's chakra sword, and to a certain extent, it can also disrupt space.

Compared with Nagato's methods, it is difficult to judge whether they are superior or inferior, but what is certain is that the three of them do not have the ability to leave Nagato behind.

Unless Nagato is willing to fight to the death with them at this time.

Moreover, the confidence that the three of them could defeat Nagato by joining forces was only based on their own abilities, which was just speculation. Shiraishi cannot guarantee 100% who is stronger and who is weaker.

What's more, beside Nagato, there is a black Zetsu who doesn't know the details.

Thinking that Indra had mentioned this guy, Shiraishi felt dizzy again.

It is precisely because he has become the top ninja that he feels more and more that there are still many terrifying and shocking secrets in this ninja world that have not yet been revealed.

"Anyway, let's calm down and take a look first. After this action, Akatsuki has suffered a lot. The time for Nagato to reach the stage will be further shortened, and the fifth ninja war is not far away. Before that , we also need to add a strong chess player here to ensure the implementation of the plan..."

Shiraishi left the window and came to a wall with a precise map of the ninja world hanging on it.

His eyes were fixed on the top of the Country of Fire, the area of ​​the Country of Fields.

"Uchiha Sasuke... I hope you won't disappoint me."

The reincarnation of Indra.

Shiraishi was full of expectations for the future of this young Uchiha ninja.