The Big Boss Is Orochimaru

The Big Boss Is Orochimaru

Some sensitive names were changed midway through this book. You'll know what they mean when you see them, so it won't affect the reading experience. I'm just worried I might occasionally miss changing one.

And once again, this is merely a parallel world somewhat similar to Earth~ There's no Reincarnation Space on Earth...

"Oh, you're awake already. I've always disliked lucky fellows with potential like you."

Shaking his head groggily as he sat up, Xu Yue heard a teasing voice that seemed to come from the edge of the heavens. Then the voice grew clearer and clearer, pulling him back into reality.

He raised his head and surveyed his surroundings with the vacant look he had long grown accustomed to.

A dense forest. It seemed to be an open-air campsite.

The lush green branches and leaves should have been brimming with life, yet the place was steeped in deathly stillness. There were no chirping insects or singing birds. Dewdrops hung completely frozen on the leaves, the sound of the wind had stopped entirely, and branches remained fixed in place without the slightest movement. Everything seemed to point to the strangeness of the situation before him.

The entire scene seemed to have been frozen in time.

Packhorses, carriages, goods, people resting beside a campfire, and flames that did not flicker at all—all of it suggested this was a merchant caravan's campsite.

Hmm, the clothing styles could roughly be divided into five types. It was likely a market event organized by merchant caravans from five regions with different customs, and it looked as though it was about to end.

Was this frozen time effect caused by the so-called Mission Space mentioned in the information forcefully implanted into his mind?

The Reincarnation Space, where all ideals and wishes could be realized and one could discover their true self. One would reincarnate through endless mission worlds, earning points to exchange for anything one desired. Every completed mission granted corresponding points based on one's performance.

Beautiful women, money, power, strength, lifespan—everything could be obtained from the Reincarnation Space!

Of course, that was only if one could survive...

In that case, the man before him, the only other person still awake besides himself, was the so-called newbie guide mentioned in the information.

And those outfits felt vaguely familiar. If nothing unexpected happened...

Scanning his surroundings was practically Xu Yue's instinctive reaction. He had never possessed some great goal in life, and coupled with his professional habits, he preferred to focus his attention on small details.

There was no confusion or fear at finding himself in an unfamiliar place. Just as he had swiftly accepted reality when he first transmigrated, he quickly accepted and adapted to his current surroundings. All he felt was calmness and numbness.

He had drifted through life in a daze. There was nothing he could not let go of.

He only hoped that, just as the Space's introduction said, he could find the goal he needed here and truly live for himself for once.

It had not taken him long to reach those conclusions. Outwardly, he merely looked like someone who had just woken up and was still drowsily looking around in confusion.

"Where is this? How did I get here?"

The right place, the right tone. Xu Yue, who had already integrated masks into his very bones, instinctively chose the best disguise for the current circumstances.

"Wait a little longer. I'll explain everything once the rest wake up. I don't want to say the same thing twice. While you have the time, review the information in your mind. The Space should have already implanted it all into your memories. Don't pay attention to the surroundings."

The burly man leaning against a tree trunk with a cigarette dangling from his mouth merely smiled casually at Xu Yue's appearance, as though he did not care much.

Xu Yue did not ask anything else. Instead, he remained silent, appearing to immerse himself in the "information" within his mind.

But in truth, aside from the information, he was considering something else.

He had already roughly guessed it when he saw the five different styles of clothing. After deliberately searching around and discovering motionless ninjas and forehead protectors in a few inconspicuous corners, he became completely certain of the world before him.

Naruto!

Since he had donated away all his previous money, aside from studying, the only ways he could pass the time were occasionally finding free females who came to him of their own accord to balance his hormones, thanks to his outstanding identity and appearance, as well as reading novels and watching anime.

He had watched every episode of this phenomenon-level anime.

Yet without a doubt, this anime did not exist in the world he had transmigrated to.

That made things interesting.

Merchants and ninjas from the five great nations gathered together. On the surface, it looked like a time of peace.

But that was not actually the case. During peacetime, normal trade between them would have been sufficient. Spending so much effort to gather and organize everyone in one place instead made it more likely that this was during a less intense period of war, or shortly after a war had ended.

Since this was a mission world, the most likely time period was the brief interval between the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War, or perhaps just after the Third Shinobi World War had ended.

So the timeline was before the plot? Based on the Space rules implanted into his memories, being able to enter a Mission Space like Naruto, with such a broad range of power levels, on his first attempt was quite fortunate.

It was better not to keep changing one's foundation and growth system. Naruto's potential for development and growth was more than strong enough...

While Xu Yue swiftly settled into his role and began planning his path for himself in a true sense for the first time, the dozen or so people lying around him in varied clothing gradually groaned and woke up as well.

"Where is this?"

"Hiss~ My head hurts."

"Haha, hahahaha! So this is that legendary place! I finally got in, I finally got in!"

"What? Where exactly is this?"

"You know something?"

"..."

After waking up one after another, everyone reacted differently. However, one of them drew the attention of both Xu Yue and the "guide."

Sure enough, even under those bizarre conditions outside, no matter how strict the secrecy measures were, news related to this Space would still leak out. Or perhaps this was someone whom a Reincarnator had deliberately exposed to the information through special means.

"Oh, I didn't expect there to be someone informed among this group. Looks like I'm lucky. The mission I spent so much effort obtaining won't go to waste."

The burly man flicked the ash off his cigarette and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke. He grinned, revealing rows of pale white teeth.

He looked at everyone present as though they were prey.

"Of course. I'll have to rely on you for plenty of ordinary information, sir. After all, with the Space rules being what they are, there's only so much I can know."

The slightly chubby young man, around eighteen or nineteen years old, respectfully flattered the "guide."

"A connected kid, huh? I don't care what your goals are, but if you want to get something from me, you'll have to pay."

The guide gave the chubby young man an interested look, his expression all business.

"Of course, I understand the rules. If things work out after the mission, I can personally offer five hundred Reincarnation Points. We can sign an agreement."

"Five hundred? You're quite confident. But does everyone agree?"

A smile appeared at the corner of the guide's mouth. His information was sold by the head. Usually, being able to sell it for one hundred points per person in this kind of mission was already decent. If he could get five hundred points from each person this time, then he truly had to thank this fellow.

Information sharing in newbie guidance missions did not require paying that disgusting intelligence tax.

While the others were still bewildered, the chubby young man took the lead in explaining things to them.

"Everyone, there should be corresponding information in your minds. There's no doubt that we can no longer return to the past. We can only keep moving forward. Although we're still in the newbie phase and the missions offer all kinds of protections, whether we have insider knowledge from our seniors will make an enormous difference to our mission completion."

However, after he said that, very few of the newly awakened newcomers paid him any attention. Most still had terror and confusion in their eyes toward this unknown world, at a complete loss over what to do.

Only a refined young man in a Zhongshan suit, a bespectacled intellectual who had studied abroad, seemed to have finished absorbing the information in his mind. He was also highly adaptable, and without much confused questioning, he said,

"To accomplish something like this without anyone noticing, combined with the strangeness of the outside world, we truly have no choice but to acknowledge the authenticity of this Space. But the basic reward for completing the mission is only one thousand points. Are you saying we'll have to hand over five hundred points after the mission ends? Isn't that too high a proportion?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the chubby fellow interrupted again.

"You know that's only the base reward. Once we get insider information, even the weakest and most useless among us will earn far more than that. Let me tell everyone this: newbie missions are extremely rare. We'll receive a bonus state that we'll never be able to obtain again in the future. Compared to risking our lives later, our chances of success are much greater now."

Since the "guide" wanted to make a big sale, he naturally would not leave all the talking to that fellow. After the young man finished, he nodded and added,

"That's right. During the first mission, to give newcomers a chance to adapt, not only will your physical attributes receive a doubled bonus, but you'll also have newbie weighting. The things you do will more easily earn the trust of mission characters. In that regard, you'll never receive such benefits again in the future. You could say the first mission is absolutely crucial."

"Unfortunately, I didn't have that foresight back then. I still regret it now."

"..."

While the discussion over there continued energetically, Xu Yue sat coldly to the side and observed. He watched the newcomers, frightened and confused by the unknown, instinctively choose to follow along and agree, yet he did not show any reaction.

For most newcomers lacking clues, whether those five hundred points could be recovered was truly questionable. Clearly, that chubby fellow named Xiong Tao had other insider information and was fooling the others into joining in so he could receive better assistance.

However, Xu Yue seemed to possess even more insider information. Besides, without any strength right now, he needed to keep a low profile.

Therefore, when asked later whether he would purchase the information for five hundred points, he nodded in agreement as well.

Once everyone had agreed, the "guide" seemed quite excited. He had not expected the gains from this mission to exceed his expectations.

"Everyone has made a wise choice. You'll eventually realize it was worth every point. Now, let's sign a Space contract. Under the contract's witness, it can ensure that none of you go back on your word, while also guaranteeing the authenticity of the information I provide. You should know that you can only purchase this sort of information at this price because you are newcomers. Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible. This can also be fairly verified."

The guide put on an expression that said they had gotten a bargain, then patiently began explaining. You got what you paid for. What he was revealing was all the most cutting-edge information about this Mission Space.

Yet as Xu Yue listened, he felt somewhat helpless.

There was no overly detailed content. Five hundred points was not a small amount, but it was not enough to buy particularly detailed high-level intelligence. Still, as the guide said, what he provided was indeed cutting-edge information, mainly concerning the general setting and environment.

However...

Huh? According to information leaked by the fastest-progressing raider group, traces of the final main-story Boss had already vaguely been discovered in this "Ninja War" Mission Space. It might be cleared soon.

That Boss was called Orochimaru, a rogue ninja from Konoha who had killed the Third Hokage, known as the strongest Kage of all generations.

Of all generations, the strongest...

And the current mission period was the late stage of the Second Shinobi World War. This big Boss named Orochimaru had not yet defected from Konoha and was hiding himself well, so everyone had to be careful.

However, since this was a newbie mission, no one needed to worry too much about safety. As long as they did not actively court death, they could calmly choose a village, complete small missions there, and familiarize themselves with the Space rules.

According to the newbie mode of "Ninja War," after the explanation ended, once they selected a village and arrived at their destination to officially begin the mission, everyone would become five- or six-year-old children because of the mission benefits. With their excellent physical attributes, they would enter the various ninja villages under the cleanest possible identities, with the merchant associations claiming to have discovered "geniuses."

It would be easy to gain trust and benefits.

After explaining the background, he also taught them many techniques and precautions for completing small missions. They were all based on his personal experience and were indeed extremely helpful to the newcomers.

But as Xu Yue slowly listened, sorting through the information he needed, he discovered something interesting. Although the raider groups were rather confused about Naruto's main plot and important characters, unable to distinguish what was major and what was minor...

Because of their repeated raids and scattered progress, their information about missions in ninja villages outside Konoha was far more detailed than in the original work.

Yet in Xu Yue's eyes, this was still not worthwhile. They had not even concluded that Konoha was the core ninja village and were still arguing endlessly about it, to the point that the Mission Space had been collectively named "Ninja War."

Furthermore, lacking an omniscient perspective, they were even more clueless about certain hidden information.

According to this "guide," Konoha's most outstanding Kekkei Genkai was the Byakugan.

Naturally, he could not possibly foresee the evolution into the Tenseigan. He genuinely believed that the ordinary Byakugan was the strongest Kekkei Genkai.

It was a strategic-level Kekkei Genkai.

Before information about the Mangekyo had appeared, when the Sharingan had at most reached Three Tomoe, the Byakugan's activation rate and effects could indeed be said to hold the upper hand.

Its intelligence gathering and initiative in team operations were even more unstoppable.

Most importantly, the difficulty of obtaining the main family's Byakugan had made everyone embrace the belief that "what is hard to obtain is the best."

However, when discussing the Byakugan, the information he casually mentioned about the Sharingan—and his use of the Sharingan as a representative example—also made Xu Yue pay attention.

Unlike several big shots in the Space, who could maximize the Byakugan's value immediately after obtaining it, the Sharingan needed to evolve step by step. Moreover, the first Sharingan one could use had to be a Single Tomoe. This was a mission restriction imposed by the Space.

Every upgrade also required obtaining an actual Sharingan of the next level. This difficulty was one of the reasons he kept criticizing it.

Even so, because Single Tomoe Sharingan users were mostly youths who had not yet matured, they would usually remain in the Uchiha Clan's territory, making them very difficult to obtain.

Combined with his mention that the Uchiha Clan was so "useless" that it had been massacred...

When calculated that way, the Space's consensus that "what is hard to obtain is the best" was indeed not wrong...

The reason Xu Yue cared so much about this information was naturally because he had his own ambitions. He had plans for both of Naruto's two bug-level existences: First Hokage's Cells and the Sharingan.

Coincidentally, both the current time period and the "Space trait" bestowed upon him could help him carry out this plan.

For his first mission, he did not seek to become much stronger, nor did he seek to farm many points, but he had to obtain the greatest possible potential!

Orochimaru, huh? Actually, judging from Kabuto's situation, as long as one understood his personality in advance, he was not difficult to get along with...

There should be two chapters a day. Please support and raise this new book.

New readers can check out the completed older books by Integrity Fungus. Well, only Eye of the Lawbreaker is still alive now... what a pity.