Escape From Konoha

The number of people increased.

About a week has passed since Orochimaru was 'invited' to this stronghold in the name of training.

Sasuke obviously felt that this stronghold was different from other strongholds that were not taken seriously by Orochimaru. When he first came, there were already more than a hundred elite ninjas patrolling here 24 hours a day. Until now, the number of people has continued to increase. There are at least five hundred ninjas stationed in this stronghold.

And among them, quite a few ninjas were cursed by Orochimaru.

Although Orochimaru's curse seals are divided into many types, the two curse seals of 'Heaven' and 'Earth' are the most advanced, but there are also other curse seals that increase power, but the effect of increasing chakra is far less than the former.

Even so, humans who are successfully planted with a curse seal, even if they are just beginners of chakra, will immediately have power beyond ordinary genin. If you're lucky, after a period of training, it won't be a problem to reach Chunin.

This level of power is naturally not a big threat to Sasuke, but with the number of five hundred people, even he has to spend a lot of effort.

What's more, among these hundreds of people, there are still jounin.

Sasuke even wondered if Orochimaru had mobilized all the defense forces of Otogakure Village, right?

However, Sasuke didn't pay much attention to this matter.

Apart from Orochimaru, there was no second ninja worthy of his attention in Otogakure Village.

Although the power of the curse seal is powerful, after it is developed to a certain extent, the upper limit it can reach is not high. In the final analysis, it is just a special chakra produced by mixing the inferior version of natural energy with chakra. It is not something amazing in nature, and it is easy. Leaves a legacy in the body.

At this moment, a knock on the door came, causing Sasuke, who was sitting by the bed and meditating, to subconsciously raise his head. The red three-magatama Sharingan appeared in his eyes. In the dim room without lights, it was particularly eye-catching. Look directly in the direction of the door.

Without waiting for Sasuke inside to respond, the person who knocked on the door opened the door familiarly. Jugo's tall figure appeared at the door, blocking the light in the corridor. Only a small amount of light squeezed into the room through the gap, dispersing some of it. dark.

"Sasuke, it's time to practice in the afternoon."

"Where's that guy Orochimaru?"

There was no hint of respect in Sasuke's tone, and he was quite calm, as if he was asking about a trivial matter.

"He said he went out to do some shopping and should be back soon."

"It seems he can't wait any longer. It just so happens that I'm a little tired of staying in this snake cave."

Picking up the Kusanagi sword next to him, Sasuke touched the ground with the scabbard and supported his body to stand up from the bed.

Jugo stood at the door of the room with a slightly hesitant expression, as if he had something to say.

"What's wrong?"

"Sasuke, are you going to attack Orochimaru?"

Jugo looked at Sasuke's Sharingan and asked this question.

Sasuke didn't respond, acquiescing to the answer.

"Although I don't like Orochimaru either, he is undoubtedly a terrible guy. If possible, I still hope you can stay away from him."

This was said out of concern for Sasuke's safety.

Compared to Orochimaru, Sasuke is now more worthy of his following.

Moreover, the relationship between him and Orochimaru was not originally a boss-subordinate relationship, but came from a transaction.

But because of this, he felt that Orochimaru was scary and needed to remind Sasuke not to mess around.

"Thank you for worrying about my safety, but I will take care of my own affairs. If anyone else comes to disturb me, please help me stop them."

Sasuke passed by Jugo and walked out of the room, leaving behind these extremely plain words.

"I see."

After a moment of silence, Jugo nodded and followed Sasuke's footsteps to start today's training.

◎

At eight o'clock in the evening, when night falls, Konoha Village is enveloped in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

The commercial street not far from the Hokage Building also conveys the excitement of the night market to the Hokage Building, allowing the hard-working employees inside to feel the relaxation they have not seen for a long time.

However, Tsunade couldn't feel this kind of relaxation at all.

At this moment, there was probably only the word 'work' left in her mind.

Among them, the most tasks to be handled are the tasks entrusted by clients from all over the world. Such matters occupy most of Naruto's time in a day.

It can be said that if there is no so-called task delegation, Naruto's work will undoubtedly be much easier, and he will not have to be busy very late every night before he can go home from get off work.

"It's so late, are you still working? Hokage's job is indeed very troublesome."

A casual voice sounded from the window on one side, and Tsunade knew who was coming without looking at her.

Jiraiya carried the ramen he just bought and placed it on Tsunade's table.

"You went out to gather information for a long time."

Tsunade didn't pay attention to the hot ramen on the table. Although she was very hungry, she was more concerned about the information that Jiraiya was about to explain than the problem of dinner.

However, before Jiraiya revealed the information, she still made some sarcasm as usual.

After all, Jiraiya went out to collect intelligence in March, and did not return until nearly three months had passed. Thinking about it with his toes, he knew that Jiraiya must be collecting intelligence while enjoying himself outside, going to various romantic places and The escort girls there are talking about life.

As a friend, she knew Jiraiya's lustful temper all too well.

"If you continue like this, you will die on a woman's belly sooner or later."

"Hey, hey, Tsunade, are you slandering me? I'm still a virgin!"

Jiraiya quickly waved his hand to explain, saying that he was still keeping his body as pure as jade, not even a leaf touched him among the dense flowers.

"This shouldn't be a heroic deed worthy of praise."

Tsunade looked at her with subtle eyes.

"That's not true." Jiraiya blushed, stared at Tsunade's fair skin that was still like a young woman's, sighed, then put away his disappointed mood, and said solemnly: "Compared to this, Let’s get down to business. It’s true that Orochimaru is about to be reincarnated. As for the stronghold that Scorpion mentioned before he died, I also secretly patrolled outside and found that there was a very strong defense force there. But since there hasn’t been any action here yet, I didn’t alert the enemy, and I also confirmed that Sasuke Uchiha is staying in that stronghold.”

Although with his strength, it is not difficult to break through a stronghold where hundreds of ninjas are stationed, but that will definitely alert Orochimaru and move the reincarnation ceremony to another stronghold. At that time, it would be difficult for Konoha to confirm Orochimaru's whereabouts, let alone arrest him.

A ninja like Orochimaru would not make the same mistake.

If you want to arrest the other party, you must succeed in the first attempt.

"What about Orochimaru?"

Tsunade was concerned about this issue.

Uchiha Sasuke was found, so all that was left was to confirm Orochimaru's whereabouts.

She was more concerned about Orochimaru's whereabouts than Uchiha Sasuke.

"Judging from the conversations I overheard in that stronghold, Orochimaru is currently not in that stronghold. He seems to have gone out to do business. But if Orochimaru really plans to perform the reincarnation ceremony on Uchiha Sasuke in that stronghold, in the near future We should return to that stronghold and take corresponding actions.”

Jiraiya's words were stern and serious.

"In that case, please continue to keep an eye on that stronghold. In the name of holding the joint chuunin exam this year, I will send invitations to the other villages and ask Sunagakure and Kumogakure to send people over."

Although you can directly ask Sunagakure and Kumogakure to secretly send people over, but if they are discovered, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of outsiders.

In addition, there might be Orochimaru's spies in the village. At this juncture, such uncontrollable accidents must not occur.

In the name of the joint Chunin Examination, invitation letters have been sent to the other villages. At that time, the ninjas supported by Sunagakure and Kumogakure can be allowed to settle in Konoha openly and without raising suspicion.

"Okay, I will release the shadow clone later and pass the information to the main body."

Jiraiya's words also prove that what is here is just a shadow clone of him.

"Speaking of which, how's Naruto doing?"

At this point, Jiraiya scratched his head in embarrassment.

Three months ago, he clearly promised to go out for a few days and then come back to train Naruto personally, but now it has been three months before he returned to Konoha.

It doesn't take much to imagine how Naruto would arrange himself in the corner.

"Don't worry, that kid only came here to cause trouble a few times. I stabilized him on the pretext that you were looking for Uchiha Sasuke."

Tsunade felt that compared to what was going to happen next, Naruto was just a trouble and not worth mentioning.

"So how's Kai's training going with him?"

Jiraiya continued to ask.

Before leaving, he asked Kai to train Naruto one-on-one. He didn't know if Naruto had grown in the past so long.

"Training? Although neither of them used their full strength, for now, Kai has the upper hand. After all, there is a huge gap in combat experience between the two."

Tsunade tilted her head and told the result.

Jiraiya was not surprised at all by this result. He had witnessed the power of the Eight Gate Dungeon with his own eyes. Although Naruto had now mastered senjutsu and his strength had also improved significantly, to this extent, it was difficult to deal with it. Kai, who possesses eight armor-defying arts, still finds it extremely difficult.

"One last thing, I want to confirm." At this point, the expression on Jiraiya's face became more serious than ever before: "Are you planning to let Naruto join in this operation?"

Tsunade was stunned for a moment and replied: "Regarding this matter, Shikaku also mentioned to me that it would be fine if Naruto didn't know anything, but since he is also a witness, there is no point in hiding it from him. Not until then Let him join in, and he might sneak out of the village alone, in which case the situation would be more serious than if he joined the operation."

Jiraiya's face was slightly bitter. Indeed, he could think that Naruto could definitely do such a thing.

Because Naruto learned the information about Orochimaru's upcoming reincarnation of Sasuke from Scorpion. Even if he concealed it, it would be meaningless. Instead, it would make him take risks and act alone.

"Also, I personally think that although many of Naruto's behaviors are a bit childish, he will never do anything to harm Konoha. Let him and Uchiha Sasuke come to an end. I think this is a good thing for both of them. Good thing."

Tsunade spoke her mind.

Unlike the other high-ranking officials in Konoha, she would not let such valuable combat power as Naruto stay in the village doing nothing and accept the protection of the village.

That would not only waste the village's public resources, but also waste Naruto's talent as a Jinchuuriki.

This is also the reason why she has been sending various tasks to Team 7 in the past few years. Only ninjas who have experienced blood and fire are worthy of being called ninjas.

The flowers in the greenhouse cannot become the pillars of Konoha.

If Naruto was deliberately excluded from this operation because of the presence of Uchiha Sasuke, it would be tantamount to planting a hidden danger for the village.

As the Hokage, Tsunade naturally did not want Naruto to become dissatisfied with the village because of such things.

"Of course, the premise of all this is that Uchiha Sasuke can successfully survive from Orochimaru. If Uchiha Sasuke cannot survive from Orochimaru, the so-called ending will not exist."

Tsunade said this calmly.

Jiraiya fell silent, stared at Tsunade's face, and replied: "I understand, then I'll trouble you about things here. I will continue to keep an eye on that stronghold, and I will ask Toad to contact you then. you."

After saying that, Jiraiya formed a seal with his hands and disappeared into a puff of smoke into the Hokage's office.

◎

"Speaking of which, Orochimaru seems to have been absent from the last few meetings. Is that guy secretly harboring some bad tricks?"

On the top floor of the tall tower in Yuyin Village, in a conference room.

The Akatsuki members gathered together and sat in their respective seats, but three seats were vacant, one for Orochimaru, one for Scorpion, and one that originally belonged to Hidan.

Except for Scorpion and Hidan, who had already died in the line of duty, Orochimaru was not notified by Nagato that he had died in the line of duty. It was obvious that he could not come here to participate in the meeting due to other matters.

Kisame made a sound on this matter, but his tone was not particularly concerned, as if he was just asking casually.

Beilihu, who is also a researcher in the organization with Orochimaru, also glanced at the vacant position belonging to Orochimaru and said: "It is true that I have rarely heard from him recently. However, maybe that guy Scorpion knows something, compared to I and the two of them seem to have something in common.”

The so-called common topic is undoubtedly Orochimaru's pursuit of immortality.

Scorpion is the only known ninja in their organization who can live forever. Although he has the disadvantage of needing to replace body parts regularly, this kind of alternative immortality has also given Orochimaru a lot of inspiration.

Although Scorpion was very annoyed by Orochimaru's harassment when he was still there, he also learned a lot of things from Orochimaru.

If you ask who in the organization knows Orochimaru best, it is undoubtedly Scorpion.

"Scorpion must be dead."

Kisame replied.

"Well, yes, I regret this very much. I am quite interested in his forbidden human puppet technique."

Beiliuhu made no secret of his coveting.

Even though he is obsessed with the power of blood inheritance, who can refuse the power of immortality?

Even people like Orochimaru abandoned everything and embarked on the path of pursuing immortality.

"If you two dare to be disrespectful to Brother Scorpion again, I don't care if this is a conference room or not. Hmm."

When Deidara heard the conversation between Kisame and Beiruhu, he instinctively felt unhappy and stared at the two with murderous eyes.

Even though he knew that Xie was not dead, but just faked his death and escaped from Xiao, even so, he would not allow his respected senior to be treated as a joke.

"Isn't that really terrifying, the sympathy of artists?"

Kisame grinned, revealing his fangs, and let out a laugh of unknown meaning.

Biruhu ignored Deidara's threat and just poured himself a cup of tea quietly to pass the time.

"So, what's the purpose of bringing us here this time? Are you planning to take action against Three-Tails and Six-Tails?"

Itachi, who had been silent, opened his eyes and glanced at Nagato, who was sitting motionless on the seat, with his scarlet Sharingan, and got straight to the point.

The rest of the people also shifted their gazes at the same time, all falling on Nagato's calm face.

At present, they have obtained four tailed beasts, and only five tailed beasts have yet to be captured.

The organization's plan to capture the tailed beasts has long been decided, and the next goal is to return the three-tailed and six-tailed animals at the same time.

That way, Akatsuki would have six tailed beasts.

Even if the organization is exposed by then, it will still have the power to fight and will not be as passive as before.

"No." Nagato denied lightly: "We haven't found an entry point yet. The whereabouts of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki are difficult to grasp. What's more, if we attack them at the same time, we must pay more attention to timing and means. Don’t rush it.”

"Then summon us over..."

"It's to introduce a new member to you. It just so happens that Scorpion died in the line of duty, and Deidara still lacks a teammate who can make up for the lack of strength in the Sapphire team."

After Nagato finished speaking, before everyone could react, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Immediately afterwards, there was a click sound of the conference room door being pushed open.

"Hello, good evening, seniors, long time no see. I will also be a formal member of the organization from now on. Please give me your advice~"

An informal and playful voice sounded in the room, and he put on a funny salute posture, full of distortion and weirdness.

The person who spoke like this was wearing a black red cloud coat and an orange spiral mask on his face. The eye hole exposed on the left side was completely dark.

The whole body is enveloped in an atmosphere of mystery and comedy.

"What, it's Ah Fei."

I thought he was some interesting new guy, but after seeing the other person's true face, they all looked disgusted with him.

Even Deidara's face fell. He couldn't believe that this guy would replace Scorpion and become his teammate.

This guy named A Fei was a candidate member of the Akatsuki organization a long time ago. He entered the organization earlier than Deidara, but due to lack of strength, he has never been selected to become a core member.

"Is the organization so short of people now that even this kind of guy has to be dispatched?"

Deidara covered his forehead with one hand, looking like he had a headache.

"There's nothing I can do about it. Even a guy like this will come in handy one day. In short, I'm asking Deidara to take more care of him in the future."

Nagato also said in a subtle tone.

Among the white Zetsu that Madara left for him, this guy was the strongest, but he also had an extremely troublesome personality.

"Haha, I'll trouble you later, Deidara-senpai. Speaking of which, I've always wanted to ride senior's big bird, and now I've had the opportunity. It's great. I can finally go on my way without having to walk alone! "

While showing off the 'jade' ring on his finger, A Fei came close to Deidara in an almost clingy manner, like a child acting coquettishly to an adult.

"Chief, seriously, can I blow this guy up right now? My art tells me it requires a fool as a sacrifice. Hmm."

Listening to A Fei's almost idiotic speech, Deidara subconsciously thought of the White Zetsus who were killed by him. The level of idiots was exactly the same.

"If this is the case, please feel free to dismiss the meeting."

After Nagato said this, he took Xiaonan out of the conference room, fearing that Fei would also be infected with the germ called idiot.

The rest of the people also took the initiative to distance themselves from Ah Fei. Although they didn't know if the idiot would be infected, there was no harm in being careful.

"Itachi, what's wrong?"

Kisame seemed to notice an unusual fluctuation in Itachi's aura, and asked in confusion.

"It's okay, let's go."

The scarlet Sharingan inadvertently lingered on A Fei's body for a moment, and he and Kisame left the conference room.

◎

"It feels good to go out in the middle of the night. I haven't seen such a clear night sky for a long time."

Baishi, who was thousands of meters high in the sky, looked at the stars and moon hanging above his head and stretched out his hand slightly, as if he could reach it and catch the bright and dazzling stars and moon in his palm.

Under the dark night, a giant black beast flapped its steel wings and soared in the sky.

Although the surface of the giant beast is still mainly black, and the horn and limbs, including the main body, have been enlarged, it can still be clearly distinguished that the flesh and blood body is interspersed with a part exposed to the air. Metal energy tube with dark red color.

The steel-hard but extremely soft wings reflected a dark and cold light under the moonlight. It can be vaguely seen that the edges of the steel wings built on both sides of the giant beast are like sharp blades arranged densely. During flight, they can easily cut through the strong wind on both sides, and travel against the wind with lightning momentum.

Sitting on the top of the giant beast is a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, wearing a red and white witch costume. She spreads one hand to form a wind shield on the back of the giant beast to isolate the surrounding wind layer, preventing the surrounding wind from blowing. The strong wind that hit disturbed Shiraishi who was opening his lunch box and preparing for a midnight snack behind him.

The black giant beast beneath the two men was not so lucky.

Although half of his body has been turned into machinery and steel, the other half is made of flesh and blood. Flying thousands of meters high, he can still feel the slightest chill, like needles pricking his skin.

I really miss the good times in the past squatting on the shoulders of female sister Tianyu. Thundermaru, who had turned into a giant beast, sighed inwardly.

Sadly, those days are gone forever.

Not only that, the positions of the two have been completely reversed at this time, and it has become Tianyu Nu's mount.

While he was thinking about it, the hot aroma of delicious food had penetrated into Lei Mingwan's nostrils through the air, causing him to subconsciously twitch his nose twice and smell the delicious smell. For a moment, his teeth were filled with the desire for delicious food. Jinshui.

You don't need to think about it to know that your father is sitting on his broad and stable back, enjoying the midnight snacks made by Tianyu Nu at home and admiring the moonlight.

What a calling father.

With such great resentment, Thunder Honmaru flapped the steel wings on both sides even more vigorously, flew into the sky, and headed in the direction of Tian Country.