Jiraiya Corrupts Akiyama Shun

As the words fell from Akiyama Shun, a dense swarm of snakes began to surge toward Yoshioka Yusuke.

The conversation between the two reached Yoshioka Yusuke's ears with perfect clarity.

This discussion, which treated his life with such indifference, left him feeling deeply stifled, yet he found himself utterly helpless.

However, stifled or not, his hands were quick to act; after all, Orochimaru had yet to make a move, and what if he accidentally let the man escape?

"Fire Style: Flame Whirlwind!"

Several bolts of white lightning struck the snake swarm; the snakes hit by the attack let out immediate hisses before collapsing to the ground, emitting the scent of charred flesh.

In an instant, the entire room was filled with this pungent odor.

At the very beginning, Yoshioka Yusuke could barely suppress the snake swarm, but he was already feeling desperate.

He now had more to worry about than just Orochimaru; if he wasn't careful, this brat in front of him might actually kill him!

The moment this thought crossed his mind, a snake burst through the floorboards and lunged at Yoshioka Yusuke, quickly coiling around his thigh and sinking its fangs in.

As the pain struck, a wave of dizziness washed over him.

It was snake venom!

Damn it!

Yoshioka Yusuke hurriedly tore the snake from his body, threw it into the swarm to be killed by his own lightning, and then quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Flame Whirlwind..."

Unfortunately, his attempt to form the seals failed this time; the Fire Style: Flame Whirlwind required four standard seals, but after he had completed only two, a snake had already coiled around his body, rendering him unable to move a muscle.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!

Once Akiyama Shun restrained Yoshioka Yusuke's body, he was quickly submerged by the snakes of the Mandara Formation, not even a scream escaping his lips.

"It seems he was a Special Jonin specialized in intelligence. Well done, Shun-kun."

Orochimaru's body returned to normal as he leaped down from the rafters.

"Thank you for the praise, Lord Orochimaru."

Akiyama Shun responded politely before signaling for the snake swarm to disperse.

Orochimaru walked over to Yoshioka Yusuke's corpse and rummaged through his belongings, pulling out several letters and examining them carefully.

"A spy from Kumogakure. That Third Raikage certainly loves to stay busy."

Kumogakure, Third Raikage.

Akiyama Shun was very familiar with these two keywords; Kumogakure had played a part in igniting the Third Ninja World War.

The Third Kazekage had just been finished off by Sasori, leaving the village internally hollow, and the Third Raikage had caught the scent and charged in, making his village the one to fire the first shot of the Third Ninja World War.

"Take these letters. Submit them along with the mission report."

As he spoke, Orochimaru tossed all the letters to Akiyama Shun.

These letters were important intelligence, and if Akiyama Shun submitted them, his evaluation for this mission would be significantly higher.

Akiyama Shun naturally understood this and, after taking the letters, offered his thanks to Orochimaru.

With that, the mission was officially complete.

"How about it? Do you feel that A-rank missions aren't as difficult as they seem?"

Orochimaru looked at Akiyama Shun.

"Because Lord Orochimaru was here, the pressure on that man, Yoshioka Yusuke, was too great. Otherwise, while I might have won, it wouldn't have been this easy to end the fight in two moves."

After hearing Akiyama Shun's reply, Orochimaru chuckled twice and said nothing more.

"Not every A-rank mission involves an opponent of this caliber. Sometimes you might even encounter a true Jonin; you must be careful when that time comes."

"I understand, Lord Orochimaru. I value my life very much."

In Akiyama Shun's words, Orochimaru keenly captured the keyword "value my life" and cast a subtle, fleeting glance at him.

"Valuing one's life is a good thing."

When Orochimaru said this, his eyes seemed to be reflecting on the past.

The two chatted idly as they walked toward the casino where Tsunade had been earlier, but after searching for a long time without finding her, they had no choice but to ask a gambler.

"You mean that 'fat sheep'? Hahaha, that woman is a god of wealth! She's already given everyone here a huge sum of money, and it seems she owed the casino a fortune before running off."

Akiyama Shun: "..."

"Heh, it seems Tsunade really likes it here. No matter, we shall stay here for a while; it just so happens that I haven't been here in a long time myself."

Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh and turned to leave; he was not worried about Tsunade.

However, while he might not care, Akiyama Shun, as her student, still felt the need to look after her.

Akiyama Shun began searching through various casinos and taverns, and after a long while, he finally found Tsunade inside an izakaya.

Upon seeing Akiyama Shun, Tsunade showed no signs of anxiety over her debts; the expression on her face was incredibly relaxed, and she was even busy eating and drinking to her heart's content.

"Rest assured, before I started gambling, I already paid for our lodging. We won't end up without a place to stay."

Akiyama Shun: "..."

Do I have to praise you for that?

The three of them stayed in the capital of the Land of Fire for a while longer. Only after Akiyama Shun paid off all the debts Tsunade had incurred did they officially set out on the road back to the village.

During this period, the relationship between Akiyama Shun and Orochimaru became slightly more familiar.

At the very least, they could be considered acquaintances rather than the total strangers they were at the start, though it was limited to just that.

Akiyama Shun did not particularly want to be that close to Orochimaru right now; after all, this snake was already walking down the path of madness.

Maintaining this current dynamic, where Orochimaru felt a bit of curiosity toward him—but only a bit—was the best way to interact.

Akiyama Shun could enjoy the dividends of knowing Orochimaru without having to pay any price himself.

After returning to Konoha, Akiyama Shun's daily routine became quite fixed.

First and foremost was completing missions. Akiyama Shun avoided S-rank missions; the events involved in such tasks were far too complex, making them quite troublesome to handle.

B to A-rank missions were the ones Akiyama Shun accepted most frequently.

Every mission was carefully selected by Tsunade for Akiyama Shun, designed to significantly boost his various performance ratings so that he could be promoted to Jonin as quickly as possible.

Occasionally, he would run into Jiraiya or Orochimaru while on missions. When they teamed up, having an expert leading the way made completing the tasks even easier.

Next was his relationship with the Sannin, primarily focusing on Jiraiya's training and looking after Tsunade.

Looking after Tsunade was the most troublesome part, while Jiraiya's training was simpler by comparison.

Then there was Uzuki Yugao; her talent was truly excellent, and she was already nearing the end of her apprenticeship.

Inside the Hokage's office.

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen held a piece of paper in his hand.

Written on the paper was the opening of the new book Jiraiya had been writing during this time, which he had obtained through special means.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

Akiyama Shun taught him how to write books so earnestly, and he writes this kind of trash?

If this continues, won't he end up corrupting Akiyama Shun?