Five-Person Journey

In the Sunagakure, on a desert landscape, five short figures sat atop camels, curiously surveying their surroundings.

But the unchanging desert and the occasional sandstorms soon made Tsunade, one of the five, get tired of it.

"Orochimaru, how much longer until we reach Sunagakure? Pshaw!"

Tsunade spat out the sand that had flown into her mouth, quickly put on her veiled hat, and looked at Orochimaru leading the way with a worried expression on her small face.

"We'll reach the next oasis town in half a day."

Orochimaru also put on a straw hat, his narrow snake-like eyes scanning the surroundings. He mentally compared their route with the map before answering Tsunade's question.

"Hey, Tsunade, you can't even handle one thing? You're supposed to be a soon-to-be graduate of the Higher Education Department, don't embarrass us!"

Jiraiya, who always seizes every opportunity to spar with Tsunade, didn't hesitate to utter a disdainful remark from the camel. "Outside, don't you dare say you're Master Wu'an's disciple; that would bring shame to the title of '[Ninja World Head of State]'!"

"Jiraiya, I think you're asking for a beating again!"

Tsunade immediately clenched her small fists, her gaze somewhat reminiscent of Mito Uzumaki's angry Jiraiya shuddered, and quickly led the camel to the very edge.

"Jiraiya, stop arguing with Tsunade so much. You get beaten up Tenten. Is there something wrong with you?"

Dan Katō, who had received many love letters and even been confessed to by girls in Konoha, was also a little confused about Jiraiya's actions.

It's said that Jiraiya likes Tsunade, yet he keeps making her angry; it's said that he dislikes her, yet during sparring matches, he always hits the lightest, which in turn angers Tsunade.

After a series of actions, even Dan Katō, who seemed the most mature and composed in the group, came to believe that Jiraiya had become addicted to being beaten by Tsunade and had developed some strange quirks.

"Duan, don't talk nonsense!"

Upon hearing others suspect that he had a problem, Jiraiya immediately became furious. He pulled out several adult photo books from his pocket, pointed at the large-breasted women posing provocatively on the covers, and started arguing with Dan Katō.

"I like this!"

(I like this style too, but don't tell anyone!)

Jiraiya's eloquent words left Dan Katō speechless. The boy, who had been hesitant to speak, looked at Jiraiya with an expression of admiration.

"Duan, I know you like it too."

Jiraiya chuckled softly, "No man in the world can resist big breasts. How about we admire them together tonight? This is a rare masterpiece!"

Dan Katō's face lit up with excitement, but watching something like this with Jiraiya would be a lifelong black mark if someone found out, so he politely declined, saying, "We're only nine years old!"

"Hehe, I have another one, it's the latest masterpiece from that big TV star!"

Jiraiya keenly sensed Dan Katō's reluctance and quietly increased the stakes, causing a dilemma to appear on Dan Katō's face.

Hiruko at the two men with disdain and led his camel closer to Orochimaru.

The scorching sun on the horizon prompted Tsunade to open her water bottle again. Finding it empty, she took a new bottle from the camel's back, took a sip, and then complained.

"How do the people of Sunagakure survive in such a horrible place? No wonder they were defeated by Amegakure and couldn't even protect the name of the Kage of a great ninja village."

The news from the Black Horn Domain, after three days of fermentation, has spread throughout the entire Ninja World.

As long as they weren't cut off from the outside world, the ninjas could find out everything from televisions on the streets and from newspapers with extra editions.

Having seen the scenery of Rōran, the five people who had rented five camels naturally knew this.

"Tsunade, don't underestimate a person's resilience and potential. The fact that Sunagakure can exist and continuously produce Kage Level shinobi is due to its own strength and tenacity."

Orochimaru, feeling bored in the desert, also wanted to say a few more words to relieve his fatigue.

"From the first to the Second of Sunagakure, the development in between was unremarkable, but the Second, Shamon, was much more capable."

"First, they researched Magnet Release from the One-Tail Beast, and then they developed the Puppet Technique. If they hadn't overestimated themselves and tried to invade Konoha, which led to their execution by Master Wu'an, their subsequent developments would have been enough to maintain the great reputation of the great ninja village."

"Unfortunately, after the Second Shinobi World War, Sunagakure lacked a successor, and a woman was appointed as the village leader. Although she was also Kage Level woman, she was not as good as Hanzo of the Salamander in Amegakure."

Orochimaru's confident and assertive speech initially captivated Tsunade, but she became somewhat displeased with the idea of a "mere woman" becoming the leader of a ninja village, and raised her voice in protest.

"Orochimaru, do you have a problem with women becoming leaders?"

Orochimaru paused for a moment, finding it difficult to respond—because he sensed that if the argument continued on this topic, he would be the one to suffer.

Hiruko to Orochimaru's rescue, saying, "Tsunade, Orochimaru didn't mean that. He was probably just lamenting that the Sunagakure has no successors."

"Isn't there another One-Tails Jinchuriki named Bunpuku?"

The change of topic relieved Orochimaru, who then explained after hearing Tsunade's words.

"As can be seen from the battle in the Black Horn Domain, Bunpuku's control over the One-Tail is far weaker than that of the Fifth Generation, Han, from Iwagakure. Someone who could trigger Tailed Beast crisis at any time is unlikely to become a leader."

"What's so difficult about controlling Tailed Beast?"

Tsunade and said disdainfully, "It's simply because the Jinchuriki is too weak."

Orochimaru, seeing that his mother was the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki and his grandmother was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Tsunade, was speechless at the unexpected revelation of Versailles.

"Tsunade, not all ninja villages possess the powerful Sealing Jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan, nor do all ninja have the strength of Lady Minako and Mito-sama."

Hiruko continued the conversation, bringing up recent events with intense curiosity in her voice.

"The [Lava Release: Bloodline Seed] recently announced by the Science Academy was obtained from the Four-Tails, the Sunagakure obtained Magnet Release from the One-Tail, and Master Wu'an's clan obtained Flame Release from the Two-Tails. I just don't know what kind of blood-related secret techniques the Seven-Tails and Nine-Tails can produce."

"I once heard my mother and grandmother mention that the Seven-Tails and Nine-Tails can also produce corresponding blood-stained secret techniques."

"Really, Tsunade?"

"Of course it's true, would I lie to you?"

Under the expectant gazes of Orochimaru and Hiruko, Tsunade, tilted her head, and pondered for a moment.

"The Seven-Tails is a large beetle with six wings and a tail. It flies extremely fast and can spit out scales that can blind its opponents. Its development focuses on Swift Release and Dark Escape."

"The Nine-Tails is a large, fiery red fox with nine tails. It has very comprehensive abilities, but I'm not sure about its specific research focus yet."

Seeing the disappointment in their eyes, Tsunade was speechless. "You can just join the Science Academy and do the research yourselves later."

"That's true."

Orochimaru nodded, a determined look in his eyes. "Not only do I want to study the power of the Tailed Beast to make Konoha stronger, but I also want to study Wood Release and the Sharingan!"

"Then I'll be waiting for you, Orochimaru. Wood Release... wait, why haven't I awakened it yet? Is it only Hashirama who has it?"

Tsunade forward with tremendous force, shattering the air with a loud crack.

The incident startled Jiraiya and Dan Katō, who were tugging at each other on the edge. Jiraiya almost shoved the photobook into Dan Katō's hands, but it slipped out of his grasp.

(My wife!)

Jiraiya swiftly bent down and grabbed the photobook, glanced at it to make sure it was free of dust and grit, breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned his gaze to Tsunade.

"Tsunade, what are you doing? You've scared the camel half to death!"

"I think you're just terrified!"

Tsunade glanced at the camel that was still moving slowly forward and sighed.

"I'm almost at the level of Special Jonin, but I still can't awaken Wood Release. I guess there's not much hope left. Once I become Combat Ninja and earn some merit points, I'll exchange them for [Lava Release: Bloodline Seed]."

Hiruko a little surprised, "Eh, didn't Lady Minako and Mito-sama prepare anything for you?"

Tsunade said dejectedly, "Didn't Master Wu'an say that we have to fight for what belongs to the public?"

"That's to train our abilities, and the three techniques of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu in the Higher Education Department are enough for us to learn. There are still many things we haven't learned yet."

After Orochimaru explained, an expectant expression appeared on his face. "However, people have different levels of closeness, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing what gifts Teacher Wu'an will give us after we graduate."

"Hopefully, it won't just be a verbal reward."

Tsunade remarked that the desert remained endless, and the so-called oasis still hadn't appeared.

"I really don't understand, what's the point of having land like this? I wouldn't take it even if it were given to me for free."

"That's how it is now, but isn't the Science Academy developing a desert transformation project? Perhaps in the future, this vast and boundless desert and Gobi will become a magnificent forest that rivals Konoha."

Orochimaru took a sip of water from the bottle, smiled, and said, "The power of Chakra is limitless, and the future development of Chakra technology is also limitless."

As the group talked amongst themselves, time slowly passed, and as the sun was about to set, an oasis appeared before them.

The more dissatisfied they were with the desert, the more awe they felt upon seeing the oasis.

That was a miracle born of nature.

And this miracle is now being amplified by the ninjas.

The Flying Thunder God Array, connected to the Yangtze River, was continuously spewing out water, while a group of Water Release Life Ninja were methodically performing combined Ninjutsu on the side.

Not far away, a Earth Release skilled in Earth Life Ninja was controlling the desert land, planting trees transmitted through the Flying Thunder God Array. The oasis was expanding outwards at a visible speed.

"Perhaps this is what Teacher Wu'an meant by 'human determination can conquer nature'."

Orochimaru looked at the scene before him with longing in his eyes.

"I heard that Lord Hashirama once used Wood Release to create a vast sea of trees. If someone in the village were to awaken Wood Release, the transformation of the desert would be much easier."

"Let's go. There should be a teleportation array in the oasis. We can use it to go directly to Sunagakure."

Orochimaru led his team to the oasis, when someone behind him said something.

"There's nothing much to see on the Ninja World Continent anymore. How about we go check out another continent?"