After hearing Orochimaru's words, Jun Tianlin glanced thoughtfully at Orochimaru, who was sneering, and could only sigh helplessly in the end.
"Since you've already made up your mind, teacher, I'll accompany you on this journey. So, when shall we depart?"
"Hiss... Of course we'll set off now, because I made an appointment with Rasa for tomorrow. If you hadn't come back today, I was planning to go alone. Fortunately, you're back, so I have an extra helper, and the success of this mission is much greater!"
Orochimaru smiled slightly and blurted out the answer without hesitation. Unfortunately, this answer was quite... unpleasant for Jun.
Fortunately, Jun Tianlin was of good character. Since he knew that this trip to Sunagakure was indeed a big deal, he didn't say much and simply nodded in agreement to Orochimaru's request to set off immediately.
"Alright, let's not waste any more time. Let's get out of Sunagakure as soon as possible so we can deal with Rasa and bring back that Scroll of Seals!"
Seeing Jun Tianlin nod, Orochimaru's smile deepened. He slowly stood up from the stone chair and strode towards the door.
"Sigh... I guess I'm just destined to be a workaholic."
Seeing Orochimaru had already set off, Jun Tianlin sighed in self-pity, then followed Orochimaru outside with a slightly bitter expression.
The next day, at midday when the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was high...
In a desert, two white figures moved slowly forward. Finally, on a seemingly gentle slope, the two stopped.
"Is this the place where you made the promise with the Fourth Kazekage, Master?" Looking at this flat desert, Jun Tianlin's expression was slightly puzzled, and he couldn't help but ask.
Hearing Jun Tianlin's words, Orochimaru nodded helplessly and said,
"There's nothing I can do. Rasa is a cunning old fox. He knows my strength and is afraid of something unexpected happening, so he refuses to go too far from his base— Sunagakure. Even this place was only agreed to after I negotiated with him many times."
Moreover, don't be fooled by the fact that this place is just a flat desert slope. Let me tell you something: right beneath our feet, there was once a prosperous kingdom called Rōran... It's just a pity that this country had so many people, but not a single ninja!
Hehehe, the cruelty of this world is that the strong prey on the weak. When a country has great wealth and occupies an objective geographical location, but lacks the corresponding military strength, you can probably guess the result, right? Tianlin?
Rōran was like that. Despite having a powerful Sunagakure eyeing it covetously, it relentlessly pursued peace talks instead of developing its own military strength. As a result, it was wiped out more than ten years ago by the Third Kazekage, Wind Sand, who was hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history!
Look, this desert beneath our feet is the ruins left behind after the destruction of the ancient Rōran!
Orochimaru gently lifted his foot and stomped on the sand beneath his feet, his face full of disdain as he recounted all the misfortunes and tragedies that had once befallen this land.
In Orochimaru's view, the ruler of Rōran was utterly foolish. Knowing the cruelty of the world, he did not focus on developing his own military strength, but instead pursued peace talks with others, placing his safety on unattainable fantasies. This approach was simply a combination of stupidity, idiocy, and brain damage!
Therefore, with such a ruler who was as stupid as a pig, it was only natural that Rōran was destroyed by the Third Kazekage, Wind Sand...
I'm not afraid of god-like opponents, I'm afraid of pig-like teammates!
The rulers of Rōran exemplified this principle perfectly, proving through the destruction of their own kingdom that might makes right!
After all, the winner takes all, and the loser is condemned. The victor never needs any excuses or reasons; this is an eternal truth!
Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Jun Tianlin was also taken aback, his heart churning with turbulent emotions. He quickly raised his head and scanned his Jun Tianlin, muttering to himself as he looked.
"So this is... the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran? Tsk tsk tsk, I really didn't expect that this ruin, which only the Sunagakure missing-nin Mukade Sunagakure would find in the original story, would be discovered by my teacher first and used as a place for a transaction with the Fourth Kazekage Rasa. Am I too lucky?"
Hehehe, I really wonder what that Dragon Vein, which can distort spacetime and send people back to the past, looks like, and what its power is. I'm really looking forward to it!
"Tianlin, Rasa is here! You'd better hide quickly!"
Just as Jun Tianlin was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Orochimaru's urgent reminder. Instinctively, Jun Tianlin looked up and saw that at the edge of the desert, several small, dark figures were slowly approaching.
In an instant, upon seeing these figures, Jun Tianlin didn't ask Orochimaru for a reminder. His figure flickered and disappeared from the spot, leaving no trace.
Ten minutes later, a red-haired man wearing a red coat, a white shroud, and an earth-colored straw hat, led three Sand Ninja subordinates and slowly walked up to Orochimaru.
"Hehehe, Orochimaru, it seems you're quite punctual. You said we'd meet here at 1:15 noon, and here you are. It seems you value this deal quite a bit, don't you?"
Seeing that Orochimaru was alone, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, wearing a straw hat, secretly breathed a sigh of relief... After all, in terms of strength alone, Rasa was no match for Orochimaru. Therefore, for this transaction, he had specially transferred three Jonin from the village to accompany him, which was why he came to meet Orochimaru.
Even though he was the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, and even though he possessed the Kekkei Genkai Magnet Release, which would greatly enhance his abilities in this desert terrain, Rasa didn't really think he had much of a chance against Orochimaru, who was known for his cold-blooded cruelty and cunning.
Therefore, upon seeing that Orochimaru had come alone, while he himself had brought three Jonin as backup, Rasa breathed a sigh of relief. His unease lessened considerably, and his confidence surged...