vncnus Chapter 475 Hidan in the Lab: Oh ho ho ho! [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Chapter 475 Hidan in the Lab: Oh ho ho ho! [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Chapter 475 Hidan in the Lab: Oh ho ho ho! [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
The Kingdom of Stars, the Capital of Stars.
The research area is located in the southeast corner of the city. From the outside, it is just an inconspicuous cluster of low-rise buildings. The gray-white walls are not decorated with any extra decorations, except for the five-pointed star logo imprinted on the steel door at the entrance.
But after taking the elevator down and passing through three sealed doors that require chakra authentication, the scene becomes completely different.
The walls on both sides of the corridor gleamed with a soft, cool white light; there were no lamps, and the light seemed to seep out from the walls themselves.
The ground, paved with special materials, reflected blurry human figures, and a faint smell of disinfectant lingered in the air.
At intervals, there is a transparent observation window embedded in the wall. Through the thick reinforced glass, you can see the neatly arranged culture tanks and precision instruments inside.
The entire underground test area resembled a colossal steel beast slumbering beneath the Star City.
Kushina Uzumaki emerged from a laboratory at the end of the corridor, her long, crimson hair casually draped over her shoulders, with a few unruly strands hanging down beside her ears.
The reanimated body cannot fully simulate all the senses of a living person, but the research team led by Orochimaru has been improving this forbidden technique. Her current condition is much better than when she was first summoned. At least, she can smell the faint scents in the air and taste the saltiness of the food.
She hummed a light, cheerful tune, her fingers tapping out a rhythm.
The laboratory door behind me wasn't completely closed, and a pale light shone through a crack.
"Release me right now!!"
A powerful roar burst from the crack in the door, echoing through the empty corridor.
"Damn it!! Once I get out of here, I'll sacrifice you all to that evil god, one by one!! Do you hear me?! Sacrifice!!"
Kushina didn't even frown, continuing to hum the tune, only slightly tilting her head, causing her long red hair to sway.
"Oh my god!"
"Stop shocking me! Stop shocking me! Stop shocking me, you bastard!!"
The scream suddenly rose eight notes, followed by a crackling sound of electricity and a dull thud as a heavy object slammed onto a metal table.
Kushina nodded in satisfaction.
The electric shock feedback mechanism added to that new sealing technique works quite well.
She looked up and saw a figure emerging from the end of the corridor.
"Menma!" Kushina smiled and took a few steps to greet him, reaching out to ruffle her son's hair.
"Perfect timing! Tell me, where did you find this guy?"
As she spoke, she gave a thumbs-up towards the laboratory behind her.
Another powerful, angry curse echoed from the lab, followed by the hissing of electric shocks and screams of agony, repeating in a vicious cycle.
Menma let his mother ruffle his hair, tilting his head slightly: "Mom, all I know is that he gained immortality through forbidden experiments by a church called the Evil God Cult in Yugakure. The specifics—I don't really know."
"Yugakure Village?" Kushina crossed her arms, tapping her elbow with her index finger, her brows furrowing slightly as she began searching her memory for the name of the place.
"This name—"
If she remembered correctly, the hot springs produced in this place were once quite famous in the ninja world.
The water is soft and the temperature is moderate; it is said to have therapeutic effects on some old injuries.
Moreover, thanks to the economic benefits brought by the hot springs, Yugakure has transformed from a military ninja village into a commercial and tourist destination.
"Oh, right!" She suddenly clapped her hands, and her long red hair swayed.
"I heard Minato mention that the village was supposedly wiped out?"
There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
For years, Minato has been stationed in the Land of Stars, helping Menma handle the mountain of government affairs.
The situation in the ninja world changes every day, and intelligence flows through his desk like water.
Although Yugakure is not large in scale and can only be considered an insignificant piece on the chessboard of the entire ninja world, it is still a medium-sized ninja village.
When it was suddenly destroyed a few years ago, Minato mentioned it briefly at the dinner table, his tone tinged with surprise.
Menma nodded: "Yeah, he was killed by Hidan, and later that guy was recruited by Akatsuki."
"A madman who wiped out his entire village—"
Kushina hadn't finished speaking.
The floor beneath my feet suddenly trembled.
Immediately afterwards, a muffled roar rolled out from the depths of the corridor, like a muffled thunderclap exploding underground.
The floor resonated with a buzzing sound underfoot, and the glass panes of several observation windows on the wall vibrated violently, emitting a soft creaking sound.
Orochimaru!!
Tsunade's roar exploded from the laboratory at the end of the corridor, penetrating the walls and still deafening.
The anger contained in that voice was far more ferocious than Hidan's scream just now.
"Die!!"
boom!
Another loud bang.
The light strip on the ceiling of the corridor flickered twice, and in that instant of alternating light and darkness, the ground shook violently again.
Menma and Kushina both turned to look in the direction from which the roar came.
At the corner at the end of the corridor, a crack spread out from the wall. The special steel wall was torn open like paper, with a hideous gash. The broken metal edge curled up and gleamed with a dim luster.
"I knew it." Kushina sighed, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes.
She put her hands on her hips, her tone as if she were talking about a troublesome matter: "Although Tsunade doesn't say anything and seems indifferent, how could she not have feelings for the Third Hokage in her heart?"
She paused.
"After all, the three generations were her teachers, and also her great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather's disciples."
Menma listened quietly, her gaze still fixed on the cracked wall at the end of the corridor, and nodded slightly.
"To the Third Hokage, Tsunade was not just a disciple; she was the last bloodline of the First and Second Hokage in this world."
"Tsunade left Konoha because of hemophobia, but he never allowed the Anbu to track her down. No matter how much money Tsunade lost outside, he turned a blind eye."
The roar at the end of the corridor has stopped.
Instead, there was a rustling sound, like something sticky was wriggling on the metal floor.
"Oh dear, that was dangerous, I almost lost my life." Then Orochimaru's gloomy yet somewhat amused laugh drifted over intermittently.
Then everything fell silent.
Menma withdrew his gaze, turned to Kushina, and suddenly asked, "But Mom, when did Orochimaru return?"
He was indeed curious about this question.
The Konoha Crush plan was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Urashiki Otsutsuki and Jigen. When the final move was self-destruction, the clone that carried Orochimaru's soul was instantly blasted into ashes, leaving not even a trace.
According to Menma's estimate, even if Orochimaru immediately activates the backup Cursed Seal Reincarnation, reactivates a clone, and completes the soul transfer, it would still take at least one or two months for him to fully recover.
"Heh." Kushina's lips twitched, as if she had recalled a scene that displeased her, and a chill ran down her spine.
"That guy—he made countless clones as backups. Each one was sealed with a curse, like a phonograph; if one was destroyed, the next one would be activated immediately."
After she finished speaking, she clapped her hands together, making a crisp sound.
"Let's not talk about that. I'll cook something delicious tonight!" She poked Mianma's forehead with her index finger and said in a tone that left no room for negotiation.
"Remember to come back early, don't stay out too late, okay?"
Mianma leaned back slightly when poked, but didn't flinch. She just smiled gently and nodded, "Okay, Mom."
Kushina's cooking skills in her youth were indeed hard to describe.
Minato once told Menma in private that back in Konoha, Kushina made a pot of miso soup on a whim. When he picked up the bowl, the miso granules at the bottom of the bowl stubbornly refused to dissolve, and the whole thing sank there like a solid red reef.
After Kakashi took a sip, the expression under his mask was probably the most difficult to fake in the genius ninja's entire life.
Later on, it was Minato who did most of the cooking.
However, people do improve.
During her years in the Land of Stars, Kushina learned a lot of cooking skills from Mikoto. Coupled with her own passion for cooking, her competitive spirit, and her desire to make up for her regrets as a mother, Kushina's cooking skills are now good enough for Minato to say "delicious" from the bottom of his heart after dinner.
Just as her mother turned to leave, Mianma suddenly spoke again.
"Oh, right, Mom."
Kushina stopped and turned her head, a strand of red hair slipping down her shoulder.
"I have another surprise for you in a few days," Menma said mysteriously.
"A surprise?" Kushina's eyes lit up. She turned around, put her hands behind her back, bent slightly, and guessed in a curious tone.
"Is the clone for reincarnation ready? I knew you'd been hanging out in the lab with Orochimaru lately, working on that, right?"
Although she and Minato have gradually adapted to their reanimated bodies over the years, these bodies are ultimately just puppet containers made of dust.
There was no pain, no temperature, no fatigue, no hunger, and no sleepiness.
All the senses that humans should have are either missing or are just simulated false signals.
She could feel that Mianma's hair was very soft, but that wasn't real touch; it was just the force feedback of her impure body to the outside world.
If one could possess a real physical body, and truly be resurrected—
If only I could feel the chill of the morning air again, the warmth of hot water soaking my skin again, and the fullness and drowsiness after a meal again.
Embrace Menma and Naruto in person, and feel the real proof that they are alive.
Kushina is indeed looking forward to it.
He put his finger to his lips, smiled mysteriously, and said, "It's a secret."
"Huh? You're keeping it a secret from your mom? You brat." Kushina narrowed her eyes, pretended to glare at him fiercely for a few seconds, then burst out laughing and reached out to ruffle Menma's hair again.
"Okay, then Mom and Dad will wait and see what kind of surprise you have in store."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards the elevator with light steps, humming that unknown little tune again.
The red figure gradually disappeared into the halo of light at the end of the corridor.
Menma watched his mother leave, and only looked away after the elevator's upward notification sound had finished echoing in the corridor.
He turned around and pushed open the laboratory door, which was still ajar.
The laboratory was brightly lit.
Two metal tabletops are placed side by side in the very center.
The left table was empty, while Hidan's body lay on the right table.
To be precise, it's the lower half of the body.
From his neck down, Hidan's body was tightly bound by layers upon layers of Adamantine Chains.
Chakra chains pierced through his shoulder blades, ribs, and pelvis, pinning his entire body to the metal tabletop. The ends of the chains were deeply embedded in the sealing array nodes around the tabletop, each chain still faintly glowing with a dark golden light.
The body, which was supposedly immortal, still bore the scorch marks left by the electric shock experiment. Its muscles twitched slightly and uncontrollably under the skin, but because every joint was precisely restricted, it could not make any substantial movements.
On the other side of the laboratory wall, a special steel wall had been completely deformed.
A crater more than three meters in diameter was deeply embedded in the wall. The shockwave spread outwards from the crater, tearing open countless dense cracks, as if the wall was stuck to it by a giant spider web.
The steel plate at the deepest point of the depression has cracked, with the fractured edge curling up, exposing the broken reinforcing steel bars inside the wall.
The mark left by Tsunade's fist.
"That was close!"
Orochimaru stood less than two meters from the wall, with a pool of sticky, transparent liquid at his feet and a piece of molted skin slowly dissolving.
He was wearing a greyish-white kimono, his long hair cascading over his shoulders. His golden, vertical pupils gleamed eerily in the pale light. He licked his lips with his tongue, his tone carrying a mixture of relief at surviving a close call and a hint of playful appreciation.
"Tsunade, you're being so enthusiastic towards me right after we met, it's almost overwhelming."
"Shut up."
Tsunade's voice was squeezed out from between her teeth.
She stood less than five meters away from Orochimaru, her right fist clenched tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead gleamed faintly, and a few strands of hair clung to her cheeks with sweat.
Her body leaned slightly forward, her center of gravity low, taut like a bowstring about to be released.
But her face was white.
It wasn't because of anger.
Her gaze was fixed on the thing on the ground.
One head.
Hidan's head.
At this moment, Hidan's head rolled to a spot less than half a meter from Tsunade's feet. The major blood vessels at the severed neck were sealed, but a few strands of dark red blood still seeped out from the edge of the cut, spreading a small, glaring dark red stain on the silver-white metal floor.
The head was still moving.
Hidan's short, silver-gray hair was already soaked with sweat and some unknown liquid, sticking messily to his scalp.
His eyes were wide open, and there was no trace of madness or arrogance in his purple pupils, only an instinctive fear.
Because this blonde woman in front of us just punched through an entire special steel wall.
That fist was only a fist's distance from his head at that moment.
"What a terrifying woman!! What a terrifying woman!!!" Hidan's head rolled half a circle on the floor in terror, the back of his head hitting Tsunade's ankle, and then bounced back as if he had been electrocuted, letting out an even more shrill scream.
"Don't come any closer! I'm warning you, don't come any closer!!"
Tsunade's ankle was touched by the moving head, and she froze, as if she had been nailed to the spot.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on the few streaks of blood seeping from the severed wound on Hidan's neck.
blood.
Bright red blood.
It slowly seeped onto the floor.
The blood gushing from Kato's broken chest, the scalding blood flowing between his fingers, the unstoppable bleeding—it just kept flowing and flowing.
"Lady Tsunade!!"
Shizune's hands firmly supported Tsunade's elbows, her face filled with worry. She quickly pulled Tsunade back two steps, placing herself between Tsunade and the still-screaming head.
Several palm-sized slugs were wriggling across the ground beneath Tsunade's feet, leaving trails of pale, damp white.
Tsunade just summoned a sage, wanting this living fossil who has lived for thousands of years to see what the origin of Hidan's "immortal body" is, and also wanting to do some basic decomposition experiments using the acidic liquid of slugs.
Then Orochimaru wandered in at an inopportune moment.
"Lady Tsunade————" Shizune gently patted Tsunade's back, lowering her voice, her tone both distressed and helpless.
"Take a moment to calm down, take a deep breath—"
Her fingers gently massaged Tsunade's back, while her other hand took out a clean handkerchief from her ninja tool pouch and quickly covered the few drops of Hidan's blood on the ground.
With the red color no longer in sight, Tsunade's breathing returned to normal slightly.
But she remained stiff, her clenched fists still white at every knuckle, and her thumb nail dug into the knuckle of her index finger.
Just then, a soft, sweet voice came from the side.
"Ah, Little Mianma is here."
A tiny slug, no bigger than a palm, stretched its upper body out from the edge of the table, its two antennae on its head swaying gently towards the doorway, its sound as soft as freshly baked cotton candy.
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils spun halfway around in their sockets before glancing towards the doorway.
Shizune, while supporting Tsunade, turned her head to look.
Menma walked into the laboratory, his gaze first sweeping over the huge crater and spiderweb-like cracks in the wall, then over the slowly dissolving snakeskin and slime on the floor, and finally landing on the head that was still calling out at Tsunade's feet.
He walked over, bent down, as if picking up a rolled-down cabbage from the kitchen floor, grabbed his short, wispy hair with his five fingers, and lifted his head up.
"You brat!! Let me go right now!!"
Hidan's mouth was still moving, but he didn't have much strength left. His voice was hoarse, and his purple eyes were filled with resentment and anger.
He tried to intimidate the boy, who looked only eleven or twelve years old, with his eyes, but found that the boy wasn't looking at him at all.
Menma walked to the empty platform on the left and placed Hidan's head on it.
boom!
The metal tabletop made a crisp sound as Hidan's head slammed against the steel plate, causing him to howl in pain.
Orochimaru floated over silently.
His footsteps were very light, and he was still stepping on the wet, sticky puddle, but he made no sound at all.
He bent down, his golden vertical pupils close to Hidan's head, so close that Hidan could see the contracting pupils in those snake-like eyes and his own distorted reflection.
"Shura-kun." Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile, his voice hoarse and deep, the last syllable drawn out with a satisfied smugness, as if he had caught the scent of prey: "Where did you find such excellent experimental material?"
He stretched out his long, slender fingers and poked Hidan's cheek. When his fingertips touched the skin, they made a soft rustling sound.
"Immortal body." Orochimaru licked his lips.
This is something he has always dreamed of.
If it can be further proven that Hidan can maintain this youthful state and never die—
Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly, and an undisguised excitement and greed surged in his eyes.
"He's a rogue ninja from Yugakure who was recently recruited by Akatsuki," Hidan said, resting his head on the table and brushing off a few strands of silver-gray hair that had gotten on his hands.
"They joined after you left, so of course you haven't seen them."
Although Orochimaru had been a member of the Akatsuki organization, Hidan had not yet joined when Orochimaru defected from the Akatsuki.
Orochimaru wasn't entirely clear on which new members Pain recruited after he left.
"The Akatsuki?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, then said "Oh," recalling the number on the Akatsuki ring.
"So, he's the one who's going to replace me? Payne's taste is getting more and more bizarre."
Hidan's reaction, however, was a beat slower.
When Menma spoke his first words, he was still immersed in anger and contempt for the brat.
But after the word "Shura" reached his ears, something clicked in his mind.
Orochimaru called this boy "Shura"?
Hidan's pupils suddenly dilated.
He was personally recruited into the Akatsuki organization by Pain and Konan.
After joining, Payne once convened a brief meeting with all the members.
The meeting had only one agenda item: to raise the threat level of Shura and the Star Kingdom to the highest level.
Pain's original words were: "If you encounter a Shura, there's no need to ask for permission; retreat immediately."
Even Payne, who considered himself a god, said so.
And now, Orochimaru is standing right in front of him, calling this twelve or thirteen-year-old brat Shura.
"You—" Hidan's hoarse voice caught in his throat. He stared wide-eyed, his purple eyes filled with shock.
The expression, covered in blood, looked more like a twisted horror.
"You—you're the Asura the leader was talking about?! How could that be! You're just a brat!"
He's even younger than Itachi Uchiha!
Menma didn't watch Hidan.
He stepped over the platform and walked up to Tsunade.
Tsunade remained standing in the same spot, neither sitting down nor attacking Orochimaru again.
Her breathing had calmed down considerably, but her face was still somewhat pale, and her fists were still clenched, her nails digging a shallow crescent mark into her palm.
Menma reached out and supported Tsunade's forearm.
Her arm stiffened for a moment, then relaxed slightly.
"Go and rest first." Menma's voice was calm, without any deliberate comfort or extra pity.
Tsunade pulled her arm out of Menma and Shizune's grasp.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes tightly, and suppressed the last trace of darkness in her eyes under her eyelids.
When she opened her eyes again, flames had reignited in her brown pupils.
"No need." She stared at Orochimaru, her tone fierce, but the last tremor in her voice hadn't completely subsided.
"I am still very interested in this material."
Menma followed her gaze to Hidan's head, which was gnawing on the edge of the sealing technique with its teeth on the platform, and then glanced at Orochimaru, who was spreading his hands innocently across from him.
He got it.
Tsunade's hatred for Orochimaru was not as pure as she appeared.
Her punch was more of an outlet for her anger—for her resentment at the sudden departure of the Third Hokage without even a goodbye, for her guilt at not being able to go back and see him one last time, and for her anger at how fate always seemed to arrange things this way.
Orochimaru just happened to be standing at the outlet for her emotions.
The pockmarks on the face were not pointed out.
He crouched down and stretched out his right hand toward a small slug that was still slowly wriggling beside the metal platform.
The little slug gently arched onto his palm, its antennae swaying slightly, emitting a soft glow under the fluorescent light.
Its body was damp and slightly cool, and the feeling of it lying in his palm was like a small clump of melting first snow.
"Little Mianma." As Mianma stood up, a sweet and gentle voice slowly flowed from the palm-sized slug body.
"The human you brought seems to be a fanatical follower of a local deity."
The laboratory fell silent the moment those words were spoken.
Even Hidan's wail was stuck in his throat.
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and the playfulness and nonchalance on his face quickly vanished, replaced by a deep and focused curiosity.
He slowly turned around, facing the tiny slug clone in the palm of his hand.
Tsunade also shifted her gaze from Orochimaru and looked down at the slug.
The pallor on her face hadn't completely faded, but the slug fairy's words meant things weren't simple.
The Slug Sage, the sole ruler of Shikkotsu Forest, is ranked among the three great sages of the ninja world, alongside the Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage. Her lifespan is longer than the history of the Land of Fire.
But this being, who has lived for over a thousand years, almost never utters a single word to ninjas outside the sacred grounds.
All those who went to the three holy lands in search of power, whether it was Jiraiya, Orochimaru, or those nameless ninjas who fell during their training, all came for power.
But the immortals' experience, their silent witnessing of the planet's history, and the secrets they know hidden deep in time are never easily revealed to others.
It is highly unusual for the slug sage to bring up "local deities" on his own initiative.
Only Menma, who had inquired about the history of the ninja world from the Slug Sage, would have prompted the Slug Sage to bring these things up.
With his right hand firmly supporting the tiny slug clone, Mianma lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment.
"The Jashin Cult," he said slowly, "was it because Hidan's faith was so strong that he was blessed by the Jashin?"
He deliberately paused on the word "blessing," but his tone was undisguisedly sarcastic.
If Hidan's immortality can be considered a blessing, then being beheaded, electrocuted to the point of incontinence, or used as experimental material can also be considered a blessing. This god's taste is indeed rather abnormal.
The little slug gently wiggled its antennae in Mianma's palm, as if searching for a distant memory.
"An evil god?"
"It seems to be a very ancient religion. When I was very young, there were some small countries in the eastern part of this land that worshipped it. Back then, the power of faith was still pure, unlike things like chakra now."
The little slug's antennae tapped gently.
"But that sect later disappeared, and I don't know much more. After all, so much happened on this land during those years—"
Mianma listened quietly without saying a word.
His thoughts, however, had already drifted back to a thousand years ago when Kaguya Otsutsuki and Isshiki Otsutsuki descended upon this planet.
The natural energy in this land is pure.
Wind, forest, mountain, and fire all give birth to deities. Human fear, awe, prayer, and gratitude, accumulated over thousands of years, have given rise to a group of truly indigenous deities.
The evil god should be one of them.
The "Death God" summoned by the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique is probably also one.
Besides, there may have been many other minor deities like the Oni Kingdom spirits, who were active in the sacrificial rituals of human tribes in the ancient times before Kaguya's arrival.
Then the Otsutsuki descended, and the divine tree was planted.
It absorbed the natural energy scattered across the planet into its root system like a whale swallowing a shrimp, transforming it into the chakra fruit that Kaguya Otsutsuki ate.
After that catastrophe a thousand years ago, the human population plummeted, and the flame of civilization was almost extinguished.
As human faith declined and natural energy was transformed into the chakra system by the Divine Tree, the gods who relied on faith and natural energy weakened, disappeared, and were gradually forgotten.
The "Grim Reaper" and "Evil God" of today are probably just the most tenacious survivors among those gods of yesteryear, barely maintaining their existence with the help of a few scattered believers and the remaining natural energy.
However, the words spoken by the priestesses of the Land of Demons when Miroku explained the nature of demons to Menma in the main hall of the shrine are now coming true step by step.
She was sitting upright on the tatami mat, holding a sealed ceramic jar, with young Shion behind her and Menma wearing a white three-eyed fox mask opposite her.
She said, "The essence of demons is the materialization of the evil in people's hearts after absorbing natural energy. And since ancient times, priestesses have been responsible for absorbing and sealing this evil in people's hearts. That's why we can resonate with demons, because we are of the same origin but different."
Local deities, the evil in people's hearts, natural energy, the chakra system —
These seemingly unrelated words actually all point to the same answer.
Before the arrival of the Otsutsuki clan, this world had a completely independent set of energy operation rules.
The remnants of that rule are still scattered throughout the ninja world.
Hidan was a sacrifice to one of the pieces of wreckage.
Death is the contractor of another piece of debris.
Three Holy Sites —
His thoughts paused for a moment here.
What is the relationship between the immortals of the three holy sites and these local deities?
"Shura-kun." Orochimaru's voice interrupted Menma's thoughts: "What are you thinking about?"
That soft, husky voice carried a hint of genuine curiosity.
"It's nothing, just some guesses." Menma snapped out of his thoughts, bowed his head to thank the slug sage, and put the little slug back on the metal stand.
Before the little slug crawled away, it turned back and touched the numb little finger with its antennae, as if making a promise to meet again next time.
Tsunade stared at Hidan's head, her eyes, now brightened, no longer seemed to be looking at a person, but rather at a subject.
Orochimaru was also standing on the other side of Hidan's head.
Neither of them spoke, but the tension in the air had clearly eased.
The conflict that almost led to the demolition of the entire laboratory came quickly and went quickly.
As Menma walked out of the lab, Hidan's howling started up again, but this time the target was different.
"Hey!! What the hell is Orochimaru?! What do you think you're doing?! Don't stick that pipe over here! Stay away from me!!!" This is Hidan.
"Orochimaru, stop! This slug hasn't even warmed up its acid tolerance yet—" This was Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade, please step back, let me help you hold his eyelids closed!" This is silence.
"Bastards!! Let me go!! You perverts! Sacrifices! You're all sacrifices to the evil god!!"
"Oh my god!!!"
The mahjong-style door closed, shutting out Hidan's screams and the busy sounds of the three medical ninjas within the laboratory.
When Mianma came out of the research area, it was already completely dark.
The streetlights on both sides of the street lit up one after another, casting a warm yellow glow on the stone pavement and making the shadows of pedestrians appear longer and shorter.
The shops along the roadside began to light up, the aroma of tonkotsu soup wafted from the noodle shops, and pedestrians strolled along the sidewalk in twos and threes, occasionally punctuated by laughter and chatter coming from one of the shops.
He walked three blocks along the familiar street and turned into a lane lined with cherry blossom trees.
Deep in the alley, there is a three-story detached courtyard with gray tiles and white walls. Several honeysuckle plants climb on the walls, swaying gently in the night breeze.
-
The light in the entryway was on.
As Mianma pushed open the door to the Whirlpool Clan emblem and changed her shoes, she heard hurried footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen.
"Menma-nii is back!"
Hydrangea poked half her body out from the kitchen doorway. Her short, light purple hair was slightly fluffy from the heat of the kitchen, and her bun was a little crooked, with a few stray hairs sticking to her forehead.
She was still clutching a handful of scallions she was picking, and there was a little sauce on the collar of her apron.
"Wait a minute! There are still a few more main dishes! Today, Auntie and I prepared a super luxurious lineup!" Her eyes sparkled, and there was a hint of pride in her tone.
Kushina's cheerful laughter came from the kitchen: "Stop showing off by the door, the green onions aren't even finished yet! Menma, go wash up first, your dad and Hikaru are in the living room, dinner will be ready in a little while."
"Okay." Menma changed into a pair of light gray indoor slippers and walked through the entryway.
The living room lights are a warm orange.
The chandelier hanging from the ceiling casts a soft light, and all the furniture—the sofa, coffee table, bookshelves—is in a warm-toned wood color.
On the coffee table were several half-read scrolls and a Flying Thunder God kunai that looked like it had been used for many years and whose edges were worn.
Minato Namikaze sat at one end of the sofa, holding an open document in his hand. He was wearing a light blue long gown, and his golden hair fell over his forehead. He was relaxed, but the calm and composed temperament between his brows remained unchanged.
Uchiha Hikaru sat at the other end of the sofa.
She wore a light orange lounge dress with a thin light pink belt around her waist, and her long black hair was not tied up, but hung smoothly down her back.
Just like the characters in ninja hero games.
She turned slightly to the side, pointing to a line of text on the scroll in Minato's hand, her expression serious, and her voice cool as she said, "Inahikazuchi has just sent back the latest intelligence from Iwagakure."
"That old fox Onoki, although he outwardly reported the Four Kage Summit to us and responded positively under the guise of testing our intelligence, has been secretly making moves all along."
"Furthermore, the flow of supplies that Iwagakure has acquired in the Land of Earth has increased significantly, which is obviously a sign that they are stepping up their military buildup."
Upon hearing this, Minato frowned even more deeply.
"Onoki's wariness and hostility towards the Land of Stars has never disappeared; it was just suppressed by our strength in the past. This meeting of the Four Kage" gives him a legitimate opportunity to find allies. Minato raised his head, looked at Hikaru, and his tone became decisive.
"Take advantage of the time when Onoki is away from Iwagakure to attend a meeting in the Land of Iron, leaving the country relatively vulnerable, and bring back Inahisa and his military advisory group."
"It's too risky to stay there any longer. If Onoki really decides to take action, or if the talks reach some secret agreement against us, Inahisa and the others could very well become the first victims."
After Iwagakure was defeated in the war with the Land of Stars a few years ago, it was forced to accept the "military advisory group" sent by the Land of Stars. Ostensibly, the group was there to assist in reforms and promote exchanges, but in reality, it was there to monitor and control the village.
"Yes, I agree." Guang nodded.
Just then, both of them noticed Menma's arrival, with Hikaru turning his gaze over first.
"You're back," Hikaru said softly.
Her dark eyes lit up for a moment, and then she naturally shifted her body to the side of the sofa to make room.
Mianma sat down next to her, her back sinking into the soft sofa cushions.
Guang's shoulder gently rested against his, a few strands of black hair slipping onto Mianma's sleeve.
Minato looked up from the documents, saw the two children sitting together, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips: "Tired, aren't you?"
"Take a break first, your mom's still busy for a while."
He picked up a clean cup from the coffee table and poured a glass of warm water for Mianma.
"Father, Naruto has already set off." Menma took the cup, took a sip, and then spoke softly.
Shuimen stopped holding the documents.
He paused for two breaths, then gently closed the file and placed it on his lap.
"Yeah----"
Minato's voice was soft, carrying a hint of indescribable emotion: "Jiraiya-sensei—didn't you stop it?"
He knew that Jiraiya had become Naruto's teacher.
He also knew that Jiraiya understood better than anyone what Naruto's departure from the village meant.
But he also knew that if Jiraiya really wanted to stop Naruto, Naruto wouldn't be able to escape with his current strength.
"After Danzo took over, there were significant personnel changes within Konoha." Menma leaned back on the sofa.
"Meanwhile, he himself had just departed for the Land of Iron to attend the Four Kage Summit." The timing I arranged was precisely between the completion of the purge of the old Anbu system and the fact that the new command structure was not yet fully operational.
A precise vacuum period.
"So it wasn't that Jiraiya didn't stop it, but that Danzo was diverting the village's energy to internal strife," Minato said softly, gradually understanding the situation.
"That's basically it." Menma nodded. "Furthermore, before Danzo left Konoha, he removed Yamato from the position of Anbu Captain-Commander and replaced him with his subordinate, Aburame Ryoma. With the Captain-Commander changing, the entire Anbu command system has to be adjusted accordingly, and Root has to take over the positions that were originally held by the Third Hokage's Anbu members—"
"So when Naruto and Sasuke left the village, the information transmission chain for the pursuers had already been broken?" Minato continued, following the logic.
"Almost." Menma picked up his water glass and took another sip.
Minato sighed softly. He looked at the kunai on the coffee table, his eyes filled with neither anger nor anxiety, but a very faint regret.
The timing was perfectly arranged by Mianma.
But he knew that Mianma wouldn't be arranged to this extent.
"As for Konoha," Minato raised his head again, speaking with certainty, "they will definitely send out a pursuit force."
After all, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki leaving the village without permission is a major incident in any ninja village!
"Hmm." Menma put down his water glass, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Don't worry, I've arranged for backup."
"Oh?" Minato blinked, as if he had suddenly thought of something.
"Are they the teams that participated in the Chunin Exams?"
Minato remembered that in the work report that Shisui had sent a few days ago, a few people were missing from the team returning to the Land of Stars.
At the end of the report, Shisui noted, "Lord Menma has been reassigned and has not returned with the main force."
Since it was Menma's personal arrangement, Minato didn't ask any further questions.
Menma leaned back on the sofa, crossing his right leg over his left, and said casually, "Well, I've left Neji, Toneri, and Kimimaro in the Land of Rivers to provide backup."
"Judging by the time, we should be meeting soon."
Hyuga Neji, Otsutsuki Toneri, Kaguya Kimimaro —
Minato mentally matched the three names one by one, frowned slightly, and said carefully, "All three are elites with bloodline limits, their combat strength is sufficient."
"But you've arranged for them all to go there—it's probably not just about providing support, is it?" These three are definitely Jonin, even in Konoha.
"Yes." Menma did not deny it.
"You want to—" Minato suddenly realized Menma's scheme and chuckled.
The two chatted for a few more minutes when Kushina's voice came from the entrance hall.
"Come and help serve the food! Don't just sit and wait to eat!"
Hikaru got up first to help, while Minato and Menma exchanged a glance and, quite in tacit understanding, rolled up their sleeves and stood up at the same time.
After dinner, Mianma returned to his study and opened the window to let in some fresh air.
A cool night breeze brushed against his cheeks, and the starry sky above him was clearer and more luminous than when he was in Konoha.
He stood quietly for a while, then took a scroll from his sleeve and spread it out on the table.
The document is densely packed with information gathered from various intelligence networks, including updates from within the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Mist Village.
"Next, we just have to wait for Naruto to arrive," he muttered to himself.
With less than ten days until the "Four Kage Summit," the Akatsuki organization seems to be making moves as well.
Should we get involved?
He heard soft footsteps behind him, followed by a refreshing scent of oranges, and then a pair of arms gently wrapped around his neck from behind.
"Looking at intelligence again?" Hikaru rested her chin on his shoulder, her voice soft and gentle, a stark contrast to her demeanor in front of others.
"It's time to rest."
Mianma rolled up the scroll, turned around, and gently kissed her forehead.
"Okay, let's go."
[P.S.: It's almost the end of the month, so if you still have unused monthly tickets, remember to cast them!]
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