Two-Pronged Approach

That night.

The moon is bright and the stars are few; snowflakes fall in the cold wind, leaving only black and white in the world.

Shiraha, dressed in Silver-white Wizard Robe, walked across the vast and desolate land. Snowflakes that fell about ten centimeters in front of him were repelled by an invisible force.

At the edge of the horizon, a sharp point faintly emerges; that is Land of Waterfalls Castle, a border Water Mist City, separated from the Earth Country by only a river.

"Is it here?"

Shiraha gazed at Water Mist City. His Mythological Creature bloodline granted him superhuman vision and dynamic eyesight, and with the added bonus of the "Sensory Enhancement" spell, the outline of Water Mist City appeared in his vision.

Based on the connection of bloodlines, Shiraha rushed here without stopping. Shion's bloodline connection with him was getting closer and closer, indicating that she was clearly in this city.

I didn't expect that the person who kidnapped Shion would stay here all this time. They're quite bold.

I don't know if they're waiting for someone to meet them, or if they're just waiting to die.

Gradually, Shiraha blended into the night and silently entered the Water Mist City.

As a major trading city between the Land of Waterfalls and the Earth Country, Water Mist City remains brightly lit and bustling with people even as night deepens.

Shiraha felt an increasingly strong bloodline connection and finally arrived at the entrance of a luxurious Hot Spring Hotel.

"Is this the place?" Shiraha frowned slightly. By enhancing his perception with his "Sixth Sense," he discovered that some of the rooms on the upper floors of the hotel were protected by barriers that were interfering with his senses.

With that in mind, Shiraha walked around the Hot Spring Hotel, set up a temporary defensive Sorcery Array, and then quietly sneaked up to the second floor.

Using his senses, Shiraha arrived outside a private room.

The private room has a small barrier around it, which is designed to isolate sensory perception. Shion should be inside this room.

Shiraha Yu swiftly Hand Seals, creating another barrier outside the small barrier set up by the enemy. This way, no matter how much noise was inside, it wouldn't be heard outside.

Although he wasn't afraid of being ganged up on with his strength, he still wanted to play it safe, since Shion's safety was the most important thing.

After doing all this, Shiraha slowly took a breath.

"Hiss~"

A warm current quickly rose from his lower abdomen, followed by Chakra surging throughout his body. Every muscle in his body was writhing and exerting force. A faint Crimson Airflow gathered on his right fist, which then expanded rapidly at a visible speed, as if it were being inflated.

With Shiraha's current body control abilities, he can precisely control the power of "Crimson Dragon Calamity" and "Colossus Skill" simultaneously.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the barrier and wooden door outside the room were instantly destroyed.

Shiraha's figure transformed into a crimson afterimage as he rushed into the room.

"Shion! It's me."

The scene inside the room made Shiraha's next words get stuck in her throat.

Shion and Orochimaru were sitting at a table laden with food, eating. Shion had half a tempura in her mouth, while Orochimaru tilted his head slightly as he watched Shion eat.

The sudden burst of Shiraha's footsteps startled both of them. Orochimaru instinctively appeared beside Shion and reached out to protect her behind him.

"Dad?!" Shion looked at Baiyu, who suddenly appeared like a god descending to earth, his Shiraha standing on end in anger, with a mixture of surprise and joy.

"Shion, Orochimaru-sensei, what's going on?" Shiraha's Crimson Airflow vanished rapidly like a deflated balloon. He looked at Shion and Orochimaru, as well as a table full of fragrant food, somewhat bewildered.

Upon seeing Shiraha, Orochimaru's solemn expression relaxed slightly. However, the powerful aura emanating from Shiraha made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and his body remained somewhat tense.

"Dad!" Shion put down her chopsticks, jumped up, and leaped into Shiraha's arms. "Why did you take so long? I was kidnapped by bad guys! Luckily, Orochimaru saved me!"

Shiraha patted Shion on the back, gently comforting her. Then, sensing something was wrong, he asked with a puzzled look, "Why didn't any of the Demonic Defense Item I left on you trigger?!"

Shion paused in her coquettish gesture.

Seeing this, Shiraha put Shion down, knelt in front of her, and checked her physical condition. He found that she was not only unharmed, but also looked a little fatter than when they met a few months ago.

"I'm so bored staying at home. Mom is busy every day and doesn't spend time with me. I can't even go out when I want to. Dad, you haven't come to see me for months. I wanted to take this opportunity to go out and have some fun. I'm sorry, I was wrong." Shion looked at Shiraha pitifully, with an expression that looked like she was about to cry.

Shiraha's expression froze, and he couldn't bring himself to say any words of reproach or reprimand. Although Shion's birth was an accident, in addition to receiving Luck Value from Miroku Shiraha, Bai Yu also gained a daughter with exceptional talent for free.

It seems that not having time to spend with her now is indeed his own fault. However, the Uzumaki Clan and Kirigakure were at war recently, and Shiraha was busy collecting Kekkei Genkai and conducting experiments, so he couldn't find the time to travel to the Demon Country. In the end, these experiments are beneficial to him, but they can also save his descendants from many detours in the future.

However, what children want may be different from what adults think.

"It's true that Dad was wrong about this, but you can't do it again next time. Think about how worried your mother and I were when you were kidnapped. You were lucky to run into Orochimaru-sensei this time. What if you had run into other bad guys? Even the Demonic Defense Item I gave you couldn't stop all attacks. What you did was really dangerous, you know?"

Shiraha said.

"I promise it won't happen again." Shion lowered her head.

"Let's eat first, I'm hungry too." Shiraha smiled and carried Shion back to her seat, then sat down next to Orochimaru and said, "Orochimaru-sensei, can you tell me about how you saved Shion? I want to know who dared to lay a hand on her?"

Orochimaru snapped out of his daze and looked at the broken door and the debris scattered around it.

Shiraha noticed his gaze and smiled slightly:

"Don't worry, I added another layer of barrier outside the main barrier, so ordinary people can't get in."

Although Orochimaru seems to have taken good care of Shion and may have indeed saved her, the fact that he didn't inform him about her identity despite knowing it suggests that he may have other motives, something Shiraha needs to figure out.

Of course, in any case, Orochimaru did help Shion, and that's enough. After all, a gentleman judges by actions, not intentions.

Given their past relationship, Shiraha wouldn't make things difficult for Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat, and he then briefly recounted what had happened. Of course, he wouldn't mention a word about his intention to conduct research using Shion's bloodline, since Shiraha himself could guess that if he were too direct, things would get complicated.

"Orochimaru-sensei said he passed on information to me, but why haven't I received it? It's been four days already."

Shiraha frowned slightly.

Just then, Shiraha's expression changed, and he took out a Summoning Scroll from his pocket.

Bang!

As the smoke dissipated, a small, earthen-yellow snake appeared on the scroll, and from its mouth emerged an even smaller scroll.

Shiraha opened the scroll and his expression turned somewhat strange. The scroll contained exactly what Orochimaru had said, and it also told him about how he had saved Shion.

"It seems that the Message Snake in Ryūchi Cave have become this bad now?" Shiraha looked at Orochimaru with a half-smile. He didn't expect Orochimaru to pull this trick on him. If Shiraha hadn't been able to find Shion, this letter probably would never have reached him.

However, Orochimaru lingered here, probably not wanting to make things too ugly, so he could wait for Shiraha's arrival.

Orochimaru understood what Shiraha meant and didn't say anything more.

"Anyway, I have to thank you on behalf of Shion." Shiraha picked up the empty wine glass next to him.

"Dad, let me do it." Shion quickly picked up the wine bottle and poured wine for Shiraha and Orochimaru.

"I toast to you." Shiraha raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Orochimaru and Shiraha clinked glasses.

After a few drinks, Shiraha changed the subject. "Besides Iwagakure, did no one else participate in this matter?"

"As far as I know, no," Orochimaru said in a deep voice, without mentioning the cooperation with Shinnō.

"And what about here? You're just eating, why are you setting up Warning Barrier?" Shiraha continued to ask.

"There are many people from the Earth Country doing business here, including ninjas from Iwagakure who act as guards. I'm afraid of being discovered by the people from Iwagakure. Moreover," Orochimaru paused, "This Hot Spring Hotel is owned by Hiruko. If he finds out about Shion's special abilities, he might have some other ideas."

"Hiruko's businesses?" Shiraha was slightly taken aback, but it made sense. After all, missing-nin like Orochimaru and Hiruko were still researching various advanced Forbidden Technique, which required a lot of resources and funds. The purchase of experimental equipment and materials alone would be a considerable sum.

The key to Shiraha's early rise was Kushina's financial support, and the rapid progress of his current experiments, besides his strength and the knowledge in the "Book of the Ancient Warlock," still relies on the Uzumaki Clan's substantial financial support.

Shiraha had invested in Hiruko in the past, and it's unclear whether it's time to reap the rewards now.

"I Hiruko here soon. If Shion isn't your daughter, I'll take some of her blood and Hiruko in exchange." Orochimaru, under pressure, revealed the truth.

Shiraha understood, but didn't say anything. Instead, he took out a Storage Scroll from his pocket, and then took out a Test Tube about the thickness of a thumb, which contained half a tube of red liquid.

"This is Shion's blood. I used the leftovers when I made the Demonic Defense Item for her before. Consider it a thank you gift for saving her this time."

Shiraha gave Shion's blood to Orochimaru. It's clear that after Orochimaru obtained his "Companion Serpent Meditation Method," he didn't fuse with his blood. It's likely that he discovered Shiraha's Mental Power imprint in the blood and wanted to find a breakthrough through the blood.

However, Shiraha was not surprised by this. If Orochimaru directly fused with his blood, then he would no longer be Orochimaru.

The civilization of Wizard and sorcerers has a history of hundreds of millions of years, and the Ancient Sound Civilization even defeated the Wizarding World.

Based on this, Shiraha painstakingly planned for more than ten years before successfully advancing to the first level of "Spirit Summoning Warlock". If Orochimaru could break through his Mental Power imprint with just a little bit of Shion's blood without understanding the key knowledge, then Shiraha would admire him to the extreme.

However, even a Fourth-Level Star-Level expert cannot easily break through the power of bloodline and the shackles of bloodline, let alone Orochimaru, who has never even come into contact with this civilization.

However, Shiraha greatly admired Orochimaru's spirit of exploration and thirst for knowledge.

Only when such a person becomes one of your own can you make others feel at ease.

When Orochimaru wanted to conduct research, Shiraha directly provided him with materials. He really wanted to see how far Orochimaru could go with this limited knowledge.

"."

Orochimaru took the Test Tube from Shiraha's hand and fell silent.

Shiraha had clearly seen through his thoughts, yet he still let him continue his research. This was truly...

At that moment, Shiraha's expression changed slightly.

"It's started in Konoha too! Wolong Fengchu, they're really amazing."

Through the connection between their souls, the Wood Spirit Avatar Uchiha Issei relayed the events that had occurred in Konoha to him.

The ninjas from Kumogakure set off under the cover of night to bring Hizashi Hyuga Kumogakure.

Hizashi Hyuga would commit suicide when he and the Kumogakure ninja left the Land of Fire Border, destroying his Byakugan with the Caged Bird Seal.

"What's wrong?" Orochimaru couldn't help but ask, noticing the change in Shiraha's expression.

"It's nothing." Shiraha smiled. "Shion has been bothering us for so long, it's time for her to go home. I still need to take her back to see Miroku, so I have to leave now."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru glanced at Shion and then nodded.

Shiraha waved goodbye to Orochimaru, and as soon as he picked up Shion, Shion looked up at him and said:

"Dad, can I still come to see Orochimaru in the future? I think it's fun to be with him. Anyway, you and Mom don't have time to spend with me. I think it's okay if I want to be with your teacher, right?"

Shiraha raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru: (⊙⊙)

"Let's go home first," Shiraha said in a muffled voice, and quickly led Shion away.

On the way back, Shion kept mentioning Orochimaru, clearly she had been having a great time these past few days.

"I never imagined that after I poached Orochimaru's subordinate, my daughter would..."

Shiraha had no choice but to send Shion back to the Demon Country in his main body.

He will return here after handing Shion over to Miroku.

This matter cannot be left unresolved.

He wants to teach Iwagakure a lesson!

On the other side, "Kodama" received orders from Shiraha to depart from the Akatsuki in Amegakure and head to the Land of Rice Fields of Kumogakure Delegation en route.

As for whether he would offend Kumogakure because of this, that was the Akatsuki's doing, what does it have to do with him, Yagami Shiraha?

PS: I stayed up too late yesterday for my birthday, I'll update more in a couple of days.