Eiji briefly told his companions the whole story.
Tsunade once again voiced the question from the depths of her soul. "You killed Orochimaru?"
"No. To be precise, I merely drove Orochimaru away."
Eiji pointed at the Snake Skin scattered across the ground. "He seems to have mastered some strange Substitution Technique. He's difficult to kill completely."
"Mm. Let's talk while we walk."
After causing such a huge commotion, there was naturally no way for them to return to the town and rest.
So they walked for a while, eventually reaching a remote forest where they saw hardly any people.
Tenzo used the Three Rooms and One Hall Technique to create a small house for them to rest in.
The group gathered around a small wooden table and discussed their next move.
"Orochimaru came for Eiji today."
Tsunade propped her chin up with one hand.
"Many years ago, Orochimaru lamented the fragility of life. He said he absolutely had to find a way to achieve Eternal Life, which was why he conducted all those strange experiments."
"He may have sought Eiji out because he needed him as experimental material."
"I just didn't expect him to be beaten into such a sorry state by an eleven-year-old brat."
As she said this, Tsunade gave Eiji another deep look.
Judging from the water stains on the ground, Eiji had used a large-scale Water Release.
Who had taught him?
Looking through the history of the Uchiha, there had never been a shinobi with such an ability.
If the scope were expanded a little, Second Grandfather Tobirama could do it.
After all, he was known as the shinobi who had signed a contract with the sea.
Could it be that Second Grandfather had taught Eiji's elder, who had then passed it on to Eiji?
And Eiji had also obtained Second Grandfather's sword...
An Uchiha using Senju Tobirama's jutsu.
Tsunade felt that the world had probably gone mad.
Eiji, meanwhile, felt a chill under Tsunade's stare. What are you looking at? I don't have any money left to lose to you!
"Ahem, Lord Tsunade, I won this time."
"Mm-hmm, yes, you won."
[Tsunade, Tsunade, you really are a Fat Sheep just like Big Brother.] [Mission Reward: You have obtained Forbidden Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation.]
As agreed, Tsunade should have given Eiji a gift.
Eiji was thinking about getting his silver back when he heard some devastating news.
"I lost it all. I still owe you three thousand seven hundred taels."
"Ah! Lord Tsunade, how could you do this?"
Eiji was about to go crazy. Waaah, my money!
Seeing that Eiji was about to roll around on the ground, Tsunade's Byakugan nearly rolled up to the sky.
It was truly difficult to connect him with the shinobi who had just cut down Orochimaru.
Tsunade's head was beginning to ache from all the noise. "I'll write you an IOU first, all right?"
Eiji shook his head furiously. Tsunade's IOUs were no different from wastepaper.
"I heard Lord Tsunade has dozens of vacant residences. You don't live in them anyway, so why not give me one?"
"Hey, you brat, you really know how to tell good from bad."
In the end, Tsunade still lost to Eiji. "Pick one when you return to Konoha. Tell Old Man that I approved it, and he'll help you handle the paperwork."
"Yay! I'll have a new house to live in!"
"All right, let's get to the serious business."
Kakashi took out a map and spread it across the table.
"Now that Orochimaru has escaped, the trail has gone cold. What should we do next?"
"Senior Kakashi, Lord Jiraiya once said that Orochimaru established laboratories throughout the Shinobi World."
"We should take advantage of Orochimaru's weakened state and destroy those places as soon as possible."
Kakashi thought for a while. "Then let's do that. I'll find another way to contact Lord Jiraiya."
After making their plans, everyone stopped talking about it.
Kakashi asked Tsunade about her plans again. "Lord Tsunade, would you like to return to Konoha with us?"
Tsunade refused without a second thought. "What happens to Konoha has nothing to do with me. You're returning to Konoha tomorrow, while Shizune and I will continue wandering the Shinobi World."
Kakashi had nothing more to say after hearing that.
He knew that Tsunade had suffered too many blows over the years, which was why she had become the way she was today.
The night passed peacefully.
Morning came.
The Konoha Team bade farewell to Tsunade. "Goodbye, Lord Tsunade."
Tsunade waved impatiently. "Hurry up and leave. Don't delay me from going gambling."
As she spoke, she rubbed Eiji's head. "The brat had better work hard to earn money. Try to give it all to me at once the next time we meet."
Kakashi and Tenzo turned their heads in unison, only to discover that Eiji had turned red-hot in the literal sense.
"AAAAAAAH! I'm going to fight you!"
Kakashi and Tenzo used every ounce of their strength before they finally managed to drag Eiji away.
Inside a cave, the Masked Man received news that Orochimaru had been driven away.
He found it somewhat hard to believe.
Although Orochimaru was also nothing more than a tiny ant in his eyes, who could have expected him to lose so completely?
"No wonder the brat defeated Itachi with ease. He really didn't disappoint me."
Zetsu suddenly added from the side, "Of course. He injured you the first time he met you."
The Masked Man immediately raised his voice. "What do you mean, injured me? I was merely testing him a little! If I had been serious, both he and that useless Kakashi would be dead!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
"Damn it! How dare you be so perfunctory!"
Zetsu did not want to continue arguing with the brainless Masked Man. He still had many things to deal with.
Several days later, the Konoha Team met up with Jiraiya in the Land of Grass.
After taking many detours, they finally found an abandoned laboratory.
The moment they entered, they smelled a strong scent of blood, along with a faint smell of smoke.
Jiraiya picked up an experimental report and glanced at the records.
"Orochimaru stayed here for a long time, only stopping his records half a month ago. It seems he burned part of it before leaving."
"There should be quite a few useful materials here. Everyone, look around. Be careful."
The four of them immediately split up and began a thorough search of the laboratory.
Eiji kicked open an iron door and entered a small room.
Several shelves stood inside, packed with dense rows of books.
There was hardly any dust on the covers, suggesting that Orochimaru often read them.
The books covered every possible field: medicine, science, theology, and many others.
Eiji picked up a yellowed book and glanced at it, discovering that it recorded all kinds of obscure and difficult-to-understand material.
The only thing he could understand was the shelving Orochimaru had made.
A flash of inspiration struck Eiji, and he went to inspect the shelves farther back.
Sure enough, he found a wooden chest there. Neatly arranged inside were a stack of small notebooks.
These were Orochimaru's latest experimental results, along with some of his experiences and insights.
"They're all evidence of Orochimaru's crimes. We have to take them back to Konoha!"
He picked up the chest and was about to leave when he tripped over a cylinder on the ground.
"What is this thing?"
Eiji picked it up and took a look. It was actually an ancient-looking scroll.
Its contents were Orochimaru's understanding of the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
[Ninja World Scientist activated!] [Many years ago, Lord Tobirama developed Forbidden Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation.] [However, version 1.0 of this jutsu had many flaws. For example, it could not bring out the deceased's full strength.] [Who would have thought that, many years later, a successor would improve this jutsu?] [You have mastered Forbidden Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation Enhanced Version.]
Before you continue