I Was Evenly Matched with Orochimaru

Hearing Hotaru bring up the matter.

Zong Quan picked up the newspaper and asked in return.

The convoy, which had been completely silent, immediately erupted. The members in every carriage began making all sorts of guesses about the matter.

You said one thing.

I said another.

The convoy instantly became lively.

Recently, the major shinobi villages and the smaller shinobi villages had learned through various channels that Leaf Village had deliberately announced the information about a wanted Uchiha defector squad.

The news threw the entire Ninja World into turmoil.

For the time being, no one knew what had actually happened within Leaf Village, but every shinobi in the Ninja World could guess that something major might have happened there!

As for this eleven-man Uchiha defector squad.

Leaf Village had issued an astronomical bounty.

Moreover, this meant that eleven pairs of Sharingan were now wandering throughout the Ninja World. Anyone could try to seize them, and this rare dojutsu Kekkei Genkai was practically regarded as an unsurpassed treasure by all the major shinobi villages.

After the Ninja World had been silent for more than a decade.

This Uchiha defection.

It was like tossing bait into a pond teeming with fish, or suddenly detonating a massive bomb. It stirred hidden currents throughout the Ninja World and set the winds of change blowing once more.

Aside from Leaf Village, the other Four Great Shinobi Villages also gradually formulated a series of plans to pursue this squad.

This Uchiha squad had already become the after-dinner topic of shinobi villages, missing-nin, bounty hunters, and bandits. They were the focus among the entire Ninja World's many points of attention.

For a time, it seemed as if everyone wanted to find them and strike it unimaginably rich!

Compared with the name "Uchiha Ingetsu," Zong Quan preferred to call him five hundred million ryo on legs.

Unfortunately.

A ninja rated as S-Rank would inevitably possess terrifying strength. They were beyond the level that an escort team like his could ever come into contact with.

Although he could not go after them, the more famous a missing-nin was, the more useful they could be to Zong Quan in other ways.

For example, he could use them as stepping stones in front of outsiders to enhance his own reputation and make it easier to land contracts!

In any case, people at that level would not deliberately come looking for a nobody like him just because they learned that someone had borrowed their reputation to make himself look impressive.

Seeing Zong Quan ask in return.

Hotaru, who had little experience with the world, nodded. She simply had not expected this matter to be so hotly discussed.

Ever since the people in the convoy learned the news, they talked about it during the day, and at night someone would take the lead. They were all this enthusiastic.

It was as if they were participating in the pursuit of that Uchiha defector squad.

The reason the members of the merchant caravan cared so much about this matter was that this Uchiha defector squad seemed to have fled in the direction of Katsuragi Mountain!

With such an extraordinarily dangerous factor present.

How could they not care!

Zong Quan tucked the newspaper back into his clothes, stood in the middle of the wagon, and spoke with impassioned fervor:

"This newly promoted S-Rank Missing-nin from Leaf Village, Ingetsu, assassinated Leaf Village's upper echelons and brutally murdered civilians. His many atrocities have certainly made him notorious.

"But speaking of S-Rank Missing-nin.

"I've dealt with people like that before!"

Hotaru's indigo eyes slowly widened as she looked at Zong Quan in disbelief.

"Hm?"

Even the Great Elder of the Tsuchigumo Clan looked at their hired captain with a surprised expression.

"How is that possible?"

The white-haired old man sized Zong Quan up and down, confusion showing in his vigorous eyes.

The man before him, wearing a green short cloak and sporting short brown hair, looked like nothing more than someone skilled with his mouth. He looked utterly ordinary, nothing like someone who had dealt with an S-Rank Missing-nin.

Back in the market town.

The white-haired old man had originally not wanted to hire this escort team, but their young lady had insisted, so he had reluctantly agreed.

At this moment, in the other carriages.

The temporary escort members Zong Quan had recruited at a low price also looked at their supposedly unfathomable temporary captain with surprise and shock.

Could he really be an expert?

On the other hand, the two girls beside Zong Quan knew what this guy was about to do. They immediately turned their heads toward the forest, pretending to avoid it.

If they had not been sitting in the same carriage.

Both of them would have left immediately.

"Cough, cough..."

Zong Quan raised a fist to his mouth and coughed twice, feeling the shocked, expectant gazes of the others.

Zong Quan stared intently at Hotaru, an inexperienced girl, and continued asking:

"Everyone, you should have heard of another S-Rank Missing-nin from Leaf Village, Orochimaru, right?"

Hotaru's jewel-like eyes trembled slightly. Orochimaru, once one of the Leaf Village's Three Legendary Sannin and now an S-Rank Missing-nin, was naturally someone she knew.

Upon hearing the name Orochimaru.

The Great Elder of the Tsuchigumo Clan narrowed his eyes slightly. In the Ninja World, that name represented extreme danger!

The Tsuchigumo Clan members in the other carriages, as well as the escort members, all wore solemn expressions.

No one who made a living in the world disliked hearing a good story.

Seeing everyone quiet down.

Zong Quan calmly used a low voice to describe how, back when Leaf Village's S-Rank Missing-nin Orochimaru had defected, he had been a wandering adventurer who bravely pursued the severely wounded Orochimaru and fought him one-on-one.

Zong Quan told the story with tremendous dramatic flair.

He did not simply boast about himself. Instead, he focused on Orochimaru's strength, describing himself as a brave young upstart who had ultimately fought the severely wounded Orochimaru to a draw and survived by sheer luck.

The story was told so convincingly that it was impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood.

After listening, whether they were members of the Tsuchigumo Clan or temporary escort members, everyone fell silent.

"This..."

Hotaru exchanged a glance with the Great Elder of the Tsuchigumo Clan beside her. The former was delighted, feeling that she had found a treasure, while the latter was half-convinced and did not know what to say.

Hotaru suddenly felt a little regretful. She regretted not speaking to Captain Zong Quan sooner. He actually had such a brave achievement to his name.

It filled her with boundless admiration!

Young girls loved heroes most.

The Great Elder of the Tsuchigumo Clan furrowed his brows tightly. Watching Zong Quan become more and more carried away as he spoke, he could not help complaining inwardly:

"What utter bullshit! If you really had the ability to fight Orochimaru to a draw, would you need to come here and work as a hired escort?"

However, the Great Elder did not argue with this sort of person. Not exposing him was the dignity he was leaving the man.

"Heh heh!"

Seeing that everyone had been fooled by him, Zong Quan hurriedly looked at his two companions beside him and whispered urgently:

"What are you two waiting for? Say something and help set the mood. When you're making your way in the world, you need to build a reputation to get better merchant contracts!"

The two female escorts nodded perfunctorily:

"Exactly, exactly!"

They still had some shame, after all.

"..." Zong Quan.

Seeing the admiration in Hotaru's eyes, Zong Quan immediately flung back his green short cloak and declared righteously:

"Miss Hotaru, you don't need to be afraid.

"Even if the Uchiha defector squad is nearby, we'll protect you!

"Ingetsu?

"Heh...

"I'll make sure he comes here but never leaves!"

Hearing this, Hotaru looked delighted. She felt that having an expert beside her who could fight one of the Three Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, to a draw was truly reassuring.

The Uchiha defector squad...

Did not seem so frightening anymore.

While everyone chatted, the merchant caravan passed through the forest and arrived at an open area.

But the farther they went, the more terrified everyone became.

The open ground was scattered with large amounts of wood chips, and the air was thick with the rich scent of resin.

"The trees here seem to have been broken down by a dense amount of Wind Release Chakra!"

The Great Elder of the Tsuchigumo Clan jumped down from the merchant caravan's carriage, crouched beside a plant covered in wood dust, and examined it carefully.

Having seen much of the world, he spotted the clue at a glance.

"Hm? What's that... the smell of roasted meat?"

Zong Quan's eyes lit up. Amid the scent of resin, he caught the rich aroma of roasted wild boar drifting over from somewhere nearby.

He swallowed.

While everyone was examining the forest clearing.

Zong Quan raised his head.

He looked around.

To his astonishment, he discovered that on the plain to the northwest, beyond the forest, an eye-catching campfire was burning not far away.

Zong Quan got a mischievous idea and grinned:

"Everyone, there are refugees roasting meat over there. A few of you, come with me and let's 'borrow' some roasted meat for a late-night snack. We can also ask them what happened around here!"

As soon as they heard there was food.

Ten escorts stepped forward.

Zong Quan led the escort team toward the campfire in grand fashion.

Side Mission: Disguise

Options:

1. Lead the team and infiltrate the Tsuchigumo Clan merchant caravan.

Reward: Ninja Tool Pouch.

Beside the campfire, a Side Mission prompt suddenly appeared in Ingetsu's mind, instantly lifting his spirits.

P.S. Tomorrow is Tuesday again, the moment that will decide whether the results are good or bad. Dear readers, I hope everyone can help click through to the final page tomorrow.

Your humble little brother wishes everyone an early Happy New Year!

Let me explain.

Regarding the issue of anime characters appearing as cameos.

This is an adventurous attempt on my part;

My thinking is that this is already a fanfiction, and cameos require a large number of characters. Rather than creating some original background characters with no sense of immersion, it would be better to include characters from other anime as Easter eggs.

Readers who recognize these characters can treat them as Easter eggs. Those who do not recognize them will not be affected in their reading.

These characters will not enter the main storyline or interfere with the Ninja World's combat system.

As for the price of doing this, it is also quite obvious.

However, it seems everyone doesn't like it. That's fine. Your humble little brother will take your advice and change it!