"You continue to travel. I'll go ahead and see if there's any commission worth accepting."
After leaving those words behind, Jiraiya vanished into the dense forest. His speed was so fast it practically outran the sound itself.
After the outsider left, the man kept a straight face and asked Naruto, "Master Menma, what should we do now? Should we rush over and support them immediately?"
Naruto took a deep look in the direction of Uzumaki Village and nodded.
It didn't take long before several of them appeared at the edge of the battlefield. They saw the giant snakes from Ryūchi Cave rampaging along the road while Uchiha ninjas desperately fought them.
Raising the Executioner's Blade, Zabuza leaped high into the air and swung it down violently, slicing a Dragon Cave snake clean in half.
Haku also unleashed his Ice Release. Ice thorns appeared out of thin air and rained down like needles, piercing into the swarm of poisonous snakes. At the same time, with Naruto's Water Release spreading moisture across the battlefield, all the puppets hiding in the shadows were instantly frozen solid.
"Master Menma's Water Release is too strong!"
Haku sincerely felt that his combat power increased by an entire level whenever there was water nearby.
"Your Ice Release isn't bad either," Naruto said casually. "With that ability, you might become famous across the ninja world one day. At the very least, you'll have a brighter future than Zabuza here."
Haku was praised, so as his teacher, Zabuza should've felt proud.
But why the hell was he being used as the comparison?
Still, after spending so many days together, Zabuza understood that Naruto meant no harm. In fact, it was practically Naruto's twisted way of showing familiarity. At least it meant Naruto wasn't planning to kill him someday just by casually finding an excuse.
After dealing with the nearby enemies, Zabuza locked his gaze onto Orochimaru, who stood calmly on a tree trunk. His expression immediately turned weird.
He originally thought attacking the Land of Whirlpools would just involve small fry—finally a chance to show off his muscles.
But it turned out to be Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, attacking the place. A monster capable of forming an army by himself.
Zabuza could handle a Jonin.
But this kind of freak?
Yeah… forget it.
Besides Zabuza, someone else had also noticed that Orochimaru's opponent was Jiraiya, who had been hiding his identity until now. When Orochimaru approached an Uchiha ninja, Jiraiya let out a faint sigh and instantly stepped between them.
"I'm a wandering ninja traveling the world," Jiraiya declared dramatically. "Whenever I see injustice, I draw my sword to help. Would you like to hire me to deal with the powerful enemy in front of you? I'm cheap—only 10 taels."
"Two million taels…"
Izumi Uchiha looked at the mysterious middle-aged uncle who had suddenly appeared in front of her. Although he seemed strange, she still nodded.
Ten taels wasn't a small amount.
But the village was facing a huge crisis. If this man could hold Orochimaru back even for a moment, it would already be worth it.
After the deal was made, Jiraiya signaled for Izumi to leave.
Then Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru and sighed slightly.
"Orochimaru… we meet again after so many years."
"Jiraiya?"
Orochimaru put away his earlier contempt and smiled faintly.
"I haven't seen you for years. Did you come here specifically to find me… or did that old man send you on a mission to hunt down these Uchiha traitors?"
"That's not important," Jiraiya replied calmly. "What's important is—why are you here?"
Orochimaru frowned.
"Why can't I be here? The Land of Whirlpools isn't Konoha's territory. And these Uchihas aren't Konoha ninjas anymore. Don't tell me you plan to stick your nose into someone else's business?"
"Even if they're rebels, they're still rebels from the village. I can't just sit here and watch you do whatever you want."
After a pause, Jiraiya added:
"Besides, they didn't defect willingly. They were forced to flee because of Uchiha Itachi's massacre. Maybe… someday they can return to the village."
"What stupid naivety."
Orochimaru spoke without mercy.
"You understand the attitude of that old man and his gang toward the Uchiha clan better than anyone. You should know it's impossible for them to return. Why not give them to me? At least I can make some useful… materials out of them and save Konoha the trouble."
"Being killed by the rogue ninja Orochimaru… might actually sound better than dying under ANBU blades."
Jiraiya was momentarily speechless.
Based on what he knew about Danzo, that old bastard might actually do something like that. And the Third Hokage would probably choose to tolerate it.
At that moment, Jiraiya caught a glimpse of Sasori of the Red Sand fighting Shisui Uchiha in the distance. Frowning, he asked:
"And what about that guy? Who is he, and why are you cooperating with him? If I remember correctly, Sunagakure only has one famous puppet master."
"Just a temporary collaborator," Orochimaru replied lightly. "Don't be so curious."
"Collaborator?" Jiraiya frowned deeper. "What kind of thing can't you cooperate with the village about that forces you to team up with some unknown ninja?"
"Human experiments."
"You know the old man has always opposed that."
"Human experiments…!"
Jiraiya fell silent.
He knew this was the real reason Orochimaru defected from the village. In order to pursue knowledge and the limits of ninjutsu, Orochimaru had long since abandoned his humanity and began experimenting on fellow ninjas.
That was something Konoha would never tolerate.
After a long pause, Jiraiya looked directly at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru… I can't stand by and watch you attack innocent people. Prepare yourself. I'll stop you."
As he spoke, Jiraiya formed hand seals, suspicion filling his eyes.
Orochimaru stared at him for a moment. Then he glanced at the distant battlefield where Sasori and Shisui were still fighting, and realized that obtaining the Mangekyō Sharingan today was impossible.
"I'll give you face this time," Orochimaru said lightly. "But next time we meet… don't expect me to be so patient."
The moment his words fell, Orochimaru vanished from the spot.
Jiraiya immediately tried to chase him, but all he found was a piece of discarded snake skin on the tree trunk. Orochimaru had used some secret technique to escape.
With Orochimaru gone, the giant snakes from Ryūchi Cave quickly lost their momentum and were killed one by one.
The only enemies left outside Uzumaki Village were Sasori, who was still fighting Shisui, along with the various human puppets scattered across the battlefield.
After driving Orochimaru away, Jiraiya didn't feel relieved. Instead, his mood became even more complicated.
He didn't know how to deal with this group of Uchihas.
Should he reveal his identity and capture them all?
Or should he continue hiding his identity and investigate this ninja village built on the ruins?
At that moment, Jiraiya noticed Naruto, who had been hiding behind a large tree watching the battle. In an instant, he appeared beside him.
Naruto's eyes sparkled like stars.
"Uncle Ninja! You're amazing! You actually scared Orochimaru away!"
"It wasn't a fight," Jiraiya corrected. "We're just… mutually cautious of each other."
"That's still awesome!" Naruto stepped out from behind the tree. "But Uncle, I think you're lying when you say you're a Chunin. You must be a Jonin."
"I am a Jonin," Jiraiya admitted. "But sneaking onto a battlefield like this is too dangerous. Don't do it again…"
Jiraiya scratched his head and slowly approached Naruto.
He intended to use genjutsu to modify Naruto's memory.
But just as he was about to cast the illusion, Jiraiya noticed Zabuza and Haku walking toward them.
Not wanting to expose his identity, he had no choice but to give up the plan.
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