The number of people has increased.

It has been about a week since Orochimaru was 'invited' to this base in the name of training.

Sasuke clearly felt that this stronghold was different from the rest of the strongholds that were not taken seriously by Orochimaru, and when he first came, there were already more than a hundred elite ninjas patrolling here twenty-four hours a day. Until now, the number of ninjas has continued to increase, and there are at least 500 ninjas stationed in this stronghold.

And in this, there are quite a few ninjas who have been planted with curse marks by Orochimaru.

Although there are many kinds of spell marks of Orochimaru, with the two spell marks of 'Heaven' and 'Earth' being the most advanced, there are also spell marks that increase the strength of others, but the effect of increasing chakra is far less than the former.

Even so, a human who has been successfully planted with a curse seal, even if he is only a beginner in Chakra, will immediately have the power to surpass the ordinary shinobi. If you're lucky, after a period of training, it's not a problem to reach the middle ninja.

With such a level of strength, it is naturally not a big threat to Sasuke, but with the number of five hundred people, even if he has to spend a lot of time to do it.

What's more, among these hundreds of people, there is also a shinobi.

Sasuke even wondered if Orochimaru would have transferred all the garrison forces from Otokuin Village, right?

However, Sasuke didn't care about it.

In the Sound Hidden Village, apart from Orochimaru, there has not yet been a second ninja worthy of his attention.

Although the power of the curse mark is strong, but after it is developed to a certain extent, the upper limit that can be reached is not high, in the final analysis, it is just an inferior version of the natural energy mixed into the chakra, and the special chakra produced is not a great thing in nature, and it is easy to leave a bane in the body.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, which made Sasuke, who was sitting on the edge of the bed and pondering, subconsciously raise his head, and the red three-hooked jade writing wheel eye appeared in his eyes, which was particularly eye-catching and dazzling in the dim room without lighting, and looked straight at the direction of the door.

Without waiting for Sasuke to respond, the person who knocked on the door outside pushed the door open, and Shigego's tall figure appeared at the door, blocking the light in the corridor by the way, and only a small part of the light squeezed into the room through the gap, dispelling some of the darkness.

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

"Where's the Orochimaru guy?"

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

"He said he went out to buy something and should be back soon."

"Looks like he can't wait. 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 pressed the scabbard to the ground and supported his body to stand up from the side of the bed.

Shigego, who was standing at the door of the room, had a slightly hesitant expression, as if he had something to say.

"What's wrong?"

"Sasuke, are you going to make a move on Orochimaru?"

Jugo confronted Sasuke's writing wheel and asked the question.

Sasuke didn't respond, acquiescing to the answer.

"Although I don't like Orochimaru either, he's undoubtedly a terrible guy. If you can, I'd like you to stay away from him a bit. ”

These are the words that came out of concern for Sasuke's safety.

Compared to Orochimaru, the current Sasuke is more worthy of his follow.

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

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

"Thank you very much for worrying about my safety, but my matter, I'll take care of it myself. If anyone else comes to disturb me, they can stop me at that time. ”

Sasuke passed by Shigego and walked out of the room, leaving behind the most bland words.

"I see."

After a moment of silence, Shigego nodded, followed in Sasuke's footsteps, and began today's training.

◎

At eight o'clock in the evening, at nightfall, 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, so that the hard-working workers inside can also feel the relaxation that has been lost for a long time.

However, this kind of relaxation is not felt by Tsunade at all.

At this moment, there are probably only two words left in her brain: 'work'.

Among them, the most important thing to deal with is the task entrusted by the client from all over the world, and this kind of affairs occupies most of the Hokage's time in the day.

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

"It's so late, are you still working? The Hokage's job is really troublesome. ”

The voice of the hanger rang out by the window on one side, and you didn't have to look at Tsunade to know who was coming.

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

"It's been a long time for you to go out to spy on intelligence."

Tsunade didn't care about the hot ramen on the table, and even though she was hungry, she cared more about the information that Jiraiya was about to explain than about dinner.

However, before Jiraiya told the information, she was sarcastic as usual.

After all, Jiraiya went out to collect intelligence in March, and he didn't return until nearly three months passed, thinking about it with his toes, and knowing that Jiraiya must be collecting intelligence while at the same time, he was at ease outside, and went to Fengyue places around the country to talk about life with the escort girls there.

As a friend, she knows Jiraiya's lustful temperament too well.

"If you go on like this, sooner or later you will die in the belly of a woman."

"Hey, hey, Tsunade, you're slandering, aren't you? I'm still a virgin! ”

Zilai also hurriedly waved his hand to explain, indicating that he was still guarding himself like jade, not touching a leaf in the dense flowers.

"This is probably not a heroic deed worthy of praise."

Tsunade looked at it with a subtle look.

"Not really." Jiraiya's old face flushed, stared at Tsunade's fair skin, which was still like a young woman, sighed, and then cleaned up his lost mood, and said solemnly: "Compared to this, let's get down to business." Regarding Orochimaru's imminent reincarnation, this matter is indeed true, and as for the stronghold that the scorpion said before he died, I also secretly patrolled around the outside and found that there was a very strong garrison there. But since there was no action yet, I didn't start, and I confirmed that Sasuke Uchiha was staying in that stronghold. ”

Although with his strength, it would not be difficult to break through the stronghold where hundreds of ninjas were stationed, but in that case, it would definitely cause Orochimaru to be alerted and move the reincarnation ritual to another stronghold. At that time, it would be difficult for Konoha to confirm Orochimaru's whereabouts, let alone arrest the other party.

A ninja like Orochimaru, wouldn't make the same mistake.

If you want to arrest the other party, you must succeed at the first time.

"What about Orochimaru?"

Tsunade cares about this.

Sasuke Uchiha found it, so all that remains is to confirm Orochimaru's whereabouts.

Compared to Sasuke Uchiha, she is more concerned about Orochimaru's whereabouts.

"Judging from the conversation I overheard from the people at that base, Orochimaru is not at that base at the moment, so I guess he went out to run errands. But if Orochimaru really plans to perform the reincarnation ritual on Sasuke Uchiha in that stronghold, he should return to that stronghold in the near future and take corresponding action. ”

Jiraiya's words were awe-inspiring and serious.

"In that case, then please keep an eye on that stronghold, and I will send invitations to the rest of the villages in the name of holding the joint middle ninja exam this year, and ask Sha Yin and Yun Yin to send people over."

Although it is also possible to directly ask Sha Yin and Yun Yin to secretly send someone over, if they are discovered, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of outsiders.

In addition, there may be Orochimaru's eyeliner in the village, and at this juncture, there must be no such uncontrollable accident.

In the name of the joint middle ninja exam, invitations were sent to the rest of the villages, and then the ninjas supported by Sand Hidden and Cloud Hidden could be allowed to settle in Konoha openly, and it would not be suspicious.

"Okay, I'll disarm the shadow clone later, and pass the information to the main body."

Jiraiya's words also prove that it is only a shadow clone of him here.

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

Speaking of this, Jiraiya scratched his head in embarrassment.

Three months ago, he clearly said that he would come back to train Naruto in a few days, but now that three months have passed, he has returned to Konoha.

You don't have to think about it to imagine how Naruto would arrange himself in the corner.

"Don't worry, that kid only came over a few times to make a fuss. I'll use the excuse that you're looking for Sasuke Uchiha to stabilize him. ”

Tsunade felt that compared to what he had to do next, Naruto was just a level of trouble, and it was not worth mentioning.

"And how is Kai's training progressing on him?"

Jiraiya continued to ask.

Before leaving, he asked Kai to train Naruto one-on-one, not knowing if the other party had grown after so much time.

"Training? Although neither of them used their full strength, for now, it was Kai who had the upper hand slightly. After all, there is a considerable gap between the combat experience of the two. ”

Tsunade tilted his head sideways and said the result.

Jiraiya was not surprised by this result at all, the power of the Eight Gate Dun Armor, he had witnessed it with his own eyes, although Naruto had mastered the immortal art now, and his strength had also improved very significantly, but to this extent, it would still be extremely difficult to deal with Kai who had the Eight Gate Dun Armor Technique.

"One last thing, I'd like to confirm." Speaking of this, the expression on Jiraiya's face became more serious than ever: "This operation, are you planning to let Naruto join in?" ”

Tsunade was stunned for a moment and replied, "Regarding this matter, Shikaku also mentioned to me that if Naruto didn't know anything, forget it, but since he is also a witness, there is no point in hiding from him. If he is not allowed to join him, he may sneak out of the village alone, in which case the situation will be even more dire than if he were allowed to join the operation. ”

Jiraiya's face was slightly bitter, indeed, he could have thought that Naruto would definitely be able to do such a thing.

Because Orochimaru's information about Sasuke's upcoming reincarnation was learned by Naruto from the scorpion's mouth, even if it was concealed, it would be meaningless, but it would make him take risks and act alone.

"Moreover, I personally think that although Naruto is a little immature in many of his actions, he will never do anything to hurt Konoha and let him and Sasuke Uchiha make a break, I think this is a good thing for both of them."

Tsunade spoke his mind.

Unlike the rest of Konoha's higher-ups, she would not let Naruto's valuable combat power go and stay in the village all the time, accepting the protection of the village.

That would not only be a waste of the village's public resources, but also a waste of Naruto's talent as a human pillar.

This is also the reason why she has been sending various missions to the seventh class in the past few years, and 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 Sasuke Uchiha, it would be tantamount to burying a hidden danger for the village.

As the Hokage, Tsunade naturally didn't want Naruto to be dissatisfied with the village because of this kind of thing.

"Of course, the premise of all this is based on the fact that Uchiha Sasuke can survive from Orochimaru's hands, and if Uchiha Sasuke can't survive from Orochimaru's hands, the so-called ruin will not exist."

Tsunade said this calmly.

Jiraiya fell silent, stared at Tsunade's face, and replied, "I know, then the matter over here will trouble you, I will continue to keep an eye on the vicinity of that stronghold, and then I will ask the toad to contact you." ”

With that, Jiraiya sealed his hands and disappeared into a puff of light smoke in the Hokage's office.

◎

"Speaking of which, in the last few meetings, Orochimaru seems to be absent, is that guy secretly holding back some bad tricks?"

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

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

Except for Scorpion and Feidan, who have died in the line of duty, Orochimaru has not been notified by Nagato to be dead, and it is obvious that he can't come here to participate in the meeting because of other things.

The oni shark made a voice about the matter, but his tone was not particularly concerned, as if he was just asking casually.

Beiliuhu, who is also a researcher of the organization with Orochimaru, also glanced at the vacant position belonging to Orochimaru, and said, "It's true that I haven't heard much about him recently. Still, maybe that Scorpion guy knows something, and the two of them seem to have something in common compared to me. ”

The so-called common topic is undoubtedly the immortality that Orochimaru is looking for.

Scorpion is the only known ninja in their organization who can live forever, and despite the flaws that require regular replacement of body parts, such an alternative immortality also gives Orochimaru a lot of inspiration.

Although when the scorpion was still there, he was annoyed by Orochimaru's harassment, but he also learned many things from Orochimaru's mouth.

If you ask who in the organization knows the Great Snake Pill best, it is undoubtedly a scorpion.

"The scorpion is dead."

The ghost shark replied.

"Well, yes, I'm sorry about this, I'm still quite interested in his puppet forbidden technique."

Beryuhu made no secret of his covetousness.

Even if he was obsessed with the power of the Blood Inheritance Limit, who could refuse such a power as Immortality?

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

"You two, if you dare to be disrespectful to Big Scorpion again, I don't care if this is a conference room or not. Well. ”

When Deidara heard the conversation between the ghost shark and Beryuhu, she instinctively felt uncomfortable, and glared at the two with murderous eyes.

Even if he knew that the scorpion was not dead, but only faked his death and broke away from Xiao, but even so, he did not allow his respected predecessors to be treated as a joke.

"Is that really terrifying, the artist's sympathy?"

The ghost shark grinned, baring a mouthful of fangs and letting out a hehe laugh of unknown meaning.

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

"So, what is the purpose of bringing us here this time? Are you going to do it to the Three Tails and Six Tails? ”

Itachi, who had been silent, opened his eyes, and the scarlet writing wheel glanced at Nagato, who was sitting in the chair without moving, and went straight to the point.

The rest of the people also shifted their gaze at the same time, and they all landed on Nagato's calm face.

So far, they have obtained the four-tailed beast, and only five tailed beasts have not been captured.

The organization's itinerary for capturing tailed beasts has already been determined, and the next goal is to return the three tails and six tails to their positions at the same time.

In that way, Akatsuki has a six-tailed beast.

At that time, even if the organization is exposed, it will have the power to fight, and it will not be as passive as before.

"Nope." Nagato lightly denied: "At present, I haven't found the entry point to start, the four generations of Mizukage Yakura, and the whereabouts of the six-tailed human pillar force are difficult to grasp, not to mention that at the same time, we must pay more attention to the timing and means, and we can't be in a hurry." ”

"Then call us over......"

"It's to introduce you to a new member. It just so happened that the scorpion died, and Deidara still lacked a teammate on his side, which could make up for the lack of strength in Qingyu's group. ”

Nagato's voice fell, and before everyone could react, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Then came the click of the door to the conference room being pushed open.

"Hello, good evening, seniors, it's been a long time, and I'm also a full member of the organization in the future, please advise~"

Informal, playful voices rang out in the room, and struck a funny salute, full of twists and weirdness.

The person who spoke like this was wearing a red cloud coat on a black background, an orange spiral mask on his face, and the hole in his left eye was pitch black.

The whole body is shrouded in an atmosphere of mystery and comical.

"What, it's Ah Fei."

I thought it was an interesting newcomer, but after seeing the other party's true face, they all put on a face of disgust for him.

Even Deidara was pale, and he couldn't believe that this kind of guy would be the guy who replaced the scorpion and became his teammate in the same group.

This guy named Ah Fei is an alternate member of the Xiao Organization a long time ago, and he entered the organization earlier than Deidara, but because of his lack of strength, he has not been selected and has become a core member.

"Is the organization short of people to the point where even this kind of guy has to be sent out?"

Deidara covered her forehead with one hand, looking rather headache.

"No way, even this kind of guy will come in handy one day. In short, I'll trouble Deidara, you should take care of him more in the future. ”

Nagato also said in a subtle tone.

Among the white absolute that Madara left to himself, this guy is the strongest, but relatively, his personality is also extremely troublesome.

"Haha, I'll trouble you in the future, Deidara senpai. Speaking of which, I've always wanted to ride the big bird of my predecessors, but now I'm waiting for the opportunity, which is great, and I can finally go on my own in the future! ”

Ah Fei showed the 'jade' ring on his finger, and at the same time approached Deidara's side in an almost clingy way, like a child who was spoiled by adults.

"Seriously, Chief, can I blow this guy up now? My art tells me that it needs a fool as a sacrifice. Well. ”

Listening to Ah Fei's almost stupid speech, Deidara subconsciously thought of those Bai Jue who were killed by him, and the level of idiocy was simply the same.

"If that's the case, please feel free to adjourn the meeting."

After saying this, Nagato left the conference room with Xiao Nan, for fear that he would also be infected by Ah Fei with a germ called an idiot.

The rest of the people also took the initiative to distance themselves from Ah Fei, although they don't know if the idiot will be infected, but there is no harm in being careful.

"Itachi, what's wrong?"

As if sensing the breath on the ferret's body, there was a trace of unusual fluctuations, and the ghost shark asked suspiciously.

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

The scarlet writing wheel eye inadvertently lingered on Ah Fei's body for a moment, and left the conference room with the ghost shark.

◎

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

Located thousands of meters in the air, Baishi looked at the stars and moon hanging overhead, and stretched out his hand slightly, as if he could reach the bright and dazzling stars and moon in the palm of his hand.

In the darkness of the night, a blackened beast soared through the sky with its steely wings.

Although the surface of the behemoth is still predominantly black, with its horns and limbs, including its main body, being made gigantic, it is still possible to clearly distinguish the metal energy pipes that shimmer reddish, interspersed with flesh and blood, and some of which are exposed to the air.

The steel hard but incomparably soft wings also reflected a dark and cold glow in the moonlight. It can be vaguely seen that the edges of the steel wings on both sides of the giant beast are like sharp blades densely arranged, easily cutting through the wind on both sides between flights, and moving against the wind with lightning speed.

Sitting on top of the giant beast was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, dressed in a red and white witch costume, and she spread out one hand, forming a wind escape wall on the back of the giant beast to isolate the surrounding wind layer, preventing the surrounding wind from blowing and disturbing Shiraishi, who was opening his lunch box and preparing to eat supper behind him.

The black behemoth beneath the two of them was not so lucky.

Although half of the body has been turned into machinery and steel, the other half is flesh and blood, flying at an altitude of thousands of meters, you can still feel the slightest coolness, like a needle pricking the skin.

I really miss the good times when I squatted on the shoulders of Sister Tianyu in the past. Thundering Pill, who had turned into a giant beast, let out such an emotional voice in his heart.

Sadly, those days are gone.

Not only that, but the positions of the two had been completely reversed at this time, and it had become the mount of the Heavenly Feather Girl.

As he was thinking about it, the hot aroma of the food had already penetrated into the nostrils of Lei Mingmaru through the air, making it subconsciously twitch its nose twice, sniffing the delicious smell, and for a while, its teeth were filled with water thirsty for food.

I don't have to think about it to know that my father, on his broad, stable back, is enjoying the supper that Tianyu Girl made from home while admiring the moonlight.

What a callable father.

With such a huge grudge, Thunder Honmaru flapped the steel wings on both sides even harder, and flew into the sky, heading in the direction of Tanokuni.

(End of chapter)