Secret Meeting with Orochimaru

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Only the Tenseigan possessed that level of insight. No one else, including Itachi, whose Sharingan had not yet awakened, noticed the fleeting joy on Shinno's face.

Naoki, who had caught it, began thinking.

'Why would Shinno be happy to see Orochimaru and Jiraiya? The whole world knows Orochimaru defected from Konoha. With him and Jiraiya appearing at the same time, one gain cancels out one loss. Logically, that does not help our current situation in any real way. Unless... unless Shinno is certain Orochimaru and Jiraiya will join forces to help us against the Cloud shinobi.'

'But why would he be certain that Orochimaru, a missing-nin, would help?'

'If he knew Kumogakure was hunting him right now, why insist on coming to the Land of Rice Fields?'

'He hired Konoha shinobi as escorts so openly. Was he trying to provoke a dispute between Konoha and Kumogakure? If so, what confidence does he have that he can escape safely?'

'Could it be... meeting Orochimaru here is not a coincidence? Is his hidden card Orochimaru, who is sheltering in the Land of Rice Fields?'

'Is Shinno working for Orochimaru? No. He is a Sky shinobi remnant. He cannot be an Orochimaru subordinate. There must be some kind of cooperation between them.'

Combining what he had observed with his hazy memories, Naoki quickly arrived at an answer.

In any case, the unexpected appearance of Orochimaru and Jiraiya was a turning point for him. If Orochimaru truly had some cooperation with Shinno, he would not ignore him. And Jiraiya would not allow Konoha shinobi to be killed by Cloud shinobi right in front of him.

With that thought, Naoki immediately moved one hand behind his back and gave Itachi a signal.

Itachi saw it and quickly took out a Konoha distress signal rod, throwing it high into the sky.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

With a series of explosive cracks, the signal burst into three clouds of red smoke in the air.

In truth, Itachi's distress flare was unnecessary. At the same time Naoki's group discovered Orochimaru and Jiraiya, the two Sannin had discovered them as well. They tacitly stopped fighting and came over together.

Soon, one after the other, Orochimaru and Jiraiya appeared before Naoki's group.

Looking at everyone present, Orochimaru smiled with a sinister edge, his voice hoarse. "I did not expect to run into Kumogakure's jinchuriki here. It seems there is a harvest today."

Jiraiya snapped anxiously, "Orochimaru, don't do anything reckless. You'll start a war!"

Orochimaru ignored Jiraiya. His gaze moved away from Yugito Nii, swept across Naoki's group, paused briefly on Naoki and Itachi, and finally settled on Shinno. A playful smile appeared on his face.

On Kumogakure's side, Yugito lost her earlier composure as Orochimaru and Jiraiya appeared one after another. The three Cloud shinobi accompanying her were even more tense, as if facing mortal enemies.

Unlike Naoki, who had kept a low profile during the war, and Itachi, who was only just stepping into the field, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had earned their fame through real battles. Even someone as proud as Yugito did not dare act arrogantly in front of them.

"This isn't over."

Seeing that the situation could no longer be forced, Yugito threw down one harsh line and decisively led her squad away.

Orochimaru had no intention of chasing them. He still stood with one hand at his waist, calm and unmoving. Clearly, his earlier words had only been meant to frighten Yugito.

Jiraiya let out a long breath of relief.

At that moment, Naoki shifted his guard from the Cloud shinobi to Orochimaru and tested the waters. "Lord Jiraiya, do you need our help?"

Orochimaru was a Konoha missing-nin. On the surface, Naoki, as a Konoha shinobi, naturally had to make his position clear.

Jiraiya waved him off. "Orochimaru isn't someone you can handle. This has nothing to do with you. Go finish your own mission."

Naoki had only been putting on the proper stance. Hearing that, he said nothing more and immediately left with Itachi and Shinno.

After that disturbance, the three of them became even more cautious. They avoided all towns, did not interact with anyone, and when they encountered flat, open terrain with no cover, they even switched to moving by night and resting by day.

With such caution, Naoki's group finally reached their destination safely after a week.

The village was indeed suffering from a plague. Everywhere they looked, the scene was bleak. There was also a villager who claimed to have written the letter asking Shinno to come treat the outbreak.

Naoki already knew Shinno's identity, so he acted as if he knew nothing and completed the B-rank escort mission according to the proper procedures.

On the return journey, Itachi looked back at the village behind them and said quietly, "Captain, there is something wrong with Shinno."

"I know," Naoki said. "But that has nothing to do with us."

After hesitating, Itachi said, "I do not know if it was only my imagination, but I felt hostility from him toward Konoha."

Naoki looked at Itachi in surprise. After a long moment, he said, "Maybe."

The Sky shinobi village had been destroyed by Konoha. It was perfectly normal for Shinno to feel hostility toward Konoha.

Naoki had been able to judge Shinno's identity because of the memories from his previous life. But Itachi, at such a young age, had actually sensed something so sharply. That surprised him.

When they made camp that night, Naoki noticed a secret mark left by Orochimaru on a nearby tree. Knowing that Orochimaru was summoning him, he casually made up an excuse to Itachi and slipped away to the meeting place.

The moment Naoki arrived, Orochimaru stepped out from the shadows.

As always, Naoki said respectfully, "Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru studied Naoki with great interest. Only after a long while did he say, "Naoki, you feel rather different from before."

Naoki answered calmly, "Thanks to you, I almost died at the village's hands. A person changes at least a little after that."

The corner of Orochimaru's mouth rose. "A blessing in disguise, then? In that case, you should thank Danzo properly."

"Are you saying Danzo was behind this purge?"

"Mm. I overestimated his tolerance and underestimated his methods." Orochimaru's expression was casual, as if he were speaking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Naoki probed, "It seems you must have taken something valuable from him."

Orochimaru did not deny it. Instead, he smiled. "Yes. A very fine treasure indeed."

After confirming his guess, Naoki did not continue testing that subject. He took the initiative to change topics and asked softly, "That man Shinno is one of yours, isn't he?"

Orochimaru stared at Naoki. "Even that did not escape you. You truly are different from before."

Naoki shook his head modestly. "He exposed too many flaws on his own. Not only me; even the little Uchiha noticed something."

Orochimaru smiled without committing either way. "He stole some secret techniques related to physical regeneration from Kumogakure. They are very useful to my current experiments."

"So that's it. No wonder Kumogakure sent such a strong pursuit squad."

Seeing that Naoki seemed interested, Orochimaru tempted him in a hoarse voice. "Naoki, if you are interested, I can consider giving you a copy as well."

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