34 Encountering Orochimaru Again

The Land of Demons is situated between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, and given the vast distance from the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage, considering the Third Great Ninja War had only recently ceased, was unwilling to stir up further trouble.

However, since Uchiha Shiraha intended to go, he decided to let him make the trip.

He considered having Shiraha take Uchiha Itachi along, thinking it might help keep the Uchiha clan a little more settled.

Uchiha clan compound.

Uchiha Fugaku was at home instructing his youngest son. Sasuke was now nearly four years old, reaching the age to begin chakra cultivation.

Itachi had started learning at this age, and now Sasuke was beginning at the same age.

"Come, Sasuke, refine your chakra once more. Strive to manifest it before you turn four!"

Uchiha Fugaku held high expectations for Sasuke, as could be seen from his name.

Sharing the same name as the Third Hokage's father, one could only wonder what Fugaku was planning.

"Yes, Father!"

The little Second Pillar practiced diligently, yearning to earn his father's approval, yet he returned disappointed every time.

Uchiha Itachi's talent was simply far superior to his.

By the time the Second Pillar was thirteen, he was still just drifting through life, while Itachi had already awakened the Mangekyo and slaughtered the clan.

Sasuke worked very hard, but the expression on Fugaku's face never changed.

After a long while, accompanied by a heavy sigh, Fugaku finally told Sasuke to go and rest.

"Still too far behind!"

Fugaku shook his head; Sasuke's performance was barely satisfactory.

"Father."

Just as Sasuke finished his training, Itachi's voice came from beside him.

A smile appeared on Fugaku's face, though it vanished in an instant.

"You're back. What assignment did the Third Hokage give you?"

Fugaku asked.

"He placed me in a team with Shiraha. We are to arrange the specifics of the mission ourselves."

Itachi replied.

He had known for a long time that his father intended to nominate him for Jonin, but the village had refused to budge.

By taking advantage of this opportunity with Shiraha, the village had finally promoted him to Jonin.

"Very good. You have finally crossed the threshold of a Jonin. Your next step is to strive to enter the Anbu, uncover the secrets of the village's Anbu, and replace them with our Uchiha people."

"Yes, Father."

Itachi replied. Fugaku nodded in satisfaction and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Sasuke looked at his brother with envious eyes; his father was always gentle and kind to his brother, while he was always stern and rigid toward him.

The disparate treatment of the two brothers would lead to their different personalities in the future.

Influenced by his father, Sasuke harbored a natural adoration for his brother.

"How was your training today?"

Itachi asked gently.

"I suppose... it was alright?"

Little Sasuke said uncertainly, as his father hadn't offered any evaluation at the end.

He didn't understand what Fugaku's words implied.

"Keep practicing hard."

Itachi urged. Seeing Fugaku's expression, he had a fair idea of what had happened.

"Brother, you said you'd teach me ninjutsu!"

Little Sasuke tugged on Itachi's hand, his face full of anticipation.

Itachi looked up and saw Fugaku still waiting at the door of the study, and he sighed inwardly.

Forcing a smile, he said gently, "Next time, for sure."

As soon as the words left his lips, he flicked Sasuke on the forehead, causing the boy to yelp in pain.

By the time Sasuke looked up again, Itachi had already vanished.

"Not again!"

Sasuke stomped his little feet in frustration.

In another part of the Uchiha compound, when Shiraha returned home, someone was following behind him.

Ever since Baiyu accepted the mission, Miroku had been by his side.

Including her guards, there were five people in total; Baiyu's home was small, so he arranged for Miroku and the others to stay outside.

But Miroku refused, worried that Konoha would break the agreement, and followed him directly to the Uchiha compound.

"You live here?"

Miroku asked softly, carefully surveying the cramped room before her.

It was not even as spacious as one of the small rooms in her shrine.

"That's right, just here."

Baiyu replied, beginning to process the ingredients he had bought.

He had just bought two jin of pork belly at the Uchiha market to make some Twice-Cooked Pork, along with some cabbage to stew a soup.

The two dishes were quick; the rice had just finished cooking when the food was ready.

Baiyu took out a bowl and chopsticks for himself and began to eat without a second thought.

Miroku, standing to the side, felt slightly awkward; she had not expected Baiyu to ignore her completely.

"I didn't expect you to know how to cook!"

Miroku smiled. She had been rushing about for so long recently, trying to invite helpers from various major nations, but upon hearing the name Land of Demons, they had basically all refused.

The Priestess of the Land of Demons was a special existence in this world.

"If you want to eat, go get a bowl yourself! Since we aren't close, one meal is clearly priced at five hundred ryo."

Baiyu glanced at her; for the sake of his benefactor, he loosened his stance slightly.

Upon hearing this, Miroku said nothing more and went to the kitchen to fetch a bowl and chopsticks.

"When are you departing tomorrow? I feel the seal has loosened somewhat, and we need to rush back to the Land of Demons as soon as possible."

Miroku asked with concern. Recently, some people in the Land of Demons had been searching everywhere for traces of Moryo, eventually tracking it to the shrine and launching multiple sneak attacks.

"I need to prepare some things, so we will depart tomorrow morning."

Baiyu replied. He planned to spend the night making several types of poison and would set off once he was ready.

He had the main ingredients at home, and after finishing his meal, he would collect the auxiliary materials and craft them all into poisons.

At the same time, he also needed to retrieve the two swords Kin Uchiha had finished forging. These were his primary weapons and had to be obtained.

After the meal, Miroku was led by her guards to rest in the village.

Baiyu went to manufacture his poisons and, incidentally, to pick up his Reverse-Blade Sword and Forward-Blade Sword. Meanwhile, under his father's instructions, Itachi began to unfold the next step of his plan.

At dawn the next day, before the sky had even brightened, a group of people gathered at the village gate.

"Has your companion not arrived yet?"

Miroku asked Itachi. It was almost daylight, and they still had a long way to travel.

They had to get back as quickly as possible.

"He..."

"Let's go!"

Before Itachi could finish, Baiyu's voice rang out from behind.

The group traveled at maximum speed. After just a day and a half, they reached the border of the Land of Rain. Crossing the Land of Rain and continuing for two more days would bring them to the Land of Demons.

"Let's rest here tonight!"

Baiyu proposed, finding a relatively concealed spot to settle Miroku and the others.

"Itachi, stay here and protect them. I'm going to keep watch."

Baiyu looked at Itachi and gave the order.

"No problem, I will protect them well. Has something happened?"

Itachi asked. He sensed a shift in Baiyu's mood and had also detected an unusual disturbance earlier.

"That's right, an old friend has arrived. We have both met him before..."

Baiyu smiled.

"Orochimaru?"

A name surfaced in Itachi's mind. Of the enemies they had encountered together, Orochimaru was the one who left the deepest impression.

"Heh, I'm going to keep watch; you protect Miroku well. We cannot rule out that their target is the Priestess."

Baiyu cautioned him again.

He trusted Itachi's strength, but he feared that a moment of negligence might lead to Miroku getting hurt.

"No problem."

Itachi replied.

Following this, Baiyu left the spot.

At the edge of a cliff, Baiyu's figure appeared once more, facing two familiar silhouettes.

"Baiyu-kun, long time no see!"

One of them was none other than Orochimaru, who was greeting Baiyu with an intimate tone.