Loyal Sound Ninja / Orochimaru, Neither Friend nor Foe

"Thank you for your support." Uchiha Shingen thought that the daimyo was quite easy to talk to.

After all, they are one of the long-term allies of the Land of Fire, so they will give him, Konoha Ninja, face.

They didn't put on airs.

There are quite a few nobles who like to put on airs, but among the daimyo, the five daimyo are actually not very pretentious, while the daimyo of the small countries are quite fond of it.

A typical example is the Land of Frost. Apart from the Raikage and the Raikage, the Frost Daimyo puts on airs with everyone he meets. Moreover, the current Land of Frost is said to be a great literary type.

These kinds of people are the most difficult to deal with. You can't just kill them, and listening to their nagging is annoying. Plus, they're so pretentious that doing business with them is a terrible experience.

"Shingen, let me introduce you. This is my retainer, Aota."

During the banquet, one of the retainers of the daimyo stood up and nodded to Uchiha Shingen.

"He's in charge of building Sound Village) Sound Village, and he can take you there," said Daimyo. "He's also the liaison between the Daimyo's Court and Sound Village."

"Thank you for your name." Uchiha Shingen was very satisfied.

Tian Daming is a man of principle. If he really has to fight Sanyanmei in the future, he will definitely protect Tian Daming.

Chapter 40 Loyal Sound Ninja

Sound Village) is located slightly north of the Land of Rice Fields, roughly the same distance from the border of the Land of Hot Water and the northern coastline.

The location was chosen by Tian Daming, and the meaning is quite clear.

The Land of Rice Fields borders the Land of Hot Water to the east, the Land of Iron to the west, and is on friendly terms with the Land of Fire to the south.

If there are enemies, they will either attack from the direction of the Land of Hot Water or land on the northern coastline.

This enemy can only be the Cloud Ninja Army.

The location of the Tian Daimyo's Court is relatively close to the border between Tian and Huo, in the south.

A convoy departed from Tian Daimyo's Court and headed north.

Uchiha Shingen and Aota were sitting in the same carriage.

"Shingen, the location of Sound Village is somewhat remote and secluded, which may cause some delays along the way," Aota said.

He was carrying a thick set of account books when he got into the carriage, and now he's placing one of them on the small table inside the carriage and opening it to read.

"Lord Aota, are you in charge of the expenditures from the Land of Rice Fields to the Sound Village?"

"It's only temporary. Once the village is completed, someone will be in charge of making the arrangements," Aota said. "The Land of Rice Fields is not a large country like the Land of Fire; its financial resources are limited. The construction of Sound Village will largely rely on the strength of the ninjas. We will mainly be building the above-ground parts."

Uchiha Shingen nodded.

Orochimaru's bases are mostly built underground; the so-called Sound Village) is just a shell.

"The Sound Ninja built the underground section themselves?"

"Yes, probably for confidentiality reasons, we only provide the materials."

"Well, we're in for a treat today," Uchiha Shingen said with a smile. "It's not easy to see ninjas doing construction work themselves elsewhere."

It's really not easy, after all, there's no such unit as Sound Village.

The convoy then traveled for several days.

Perhaps because it was not attacked by the Sengoku period since the Third Shinobi World War, the transportation conditions in the Land of Land of Rice Fields are much better than those in the Land of Hot Water.

At least this journey has been better than when I was escorting the Takadai Landlord.

When Uchiha Shingen was informed that he had entered the autonomous territory granted to Sound Village by the Daimyo, the convoy entered a valley.

This region is located near the western part of the Land of Hot Water and is part of the mountain ranges that extend between the Lands of Frost and the Land of Hot Springs.

However, it's already located at the foot of the mountain.

The convoy stopped shortly after entering the valley.

Uchiha Shingen lifted the bamboo curtain on the lathe and saw a construction site in front of him.

A group of Sound Ninja in distinctive attire stood at the front of the construction site.

To be honest, the Sound Ninja's attire doesn't look like that of respectable people; it's as unconventional as it was in the original timeline.

The villainous aura is quite strong.

The core members of Sound Village were a group of ninjas recruited from the underworld after Orochimaru's defection.

There's no need to even think about him being a subordinate of Leaf Village.

Most of those people followed Orochimaru primarily because he was one of Leaf Village's Legendary Sannin.

When Orochimaru is no longer Leaf Village ninja, these people will no longer follow Orochimaru.

The remaining small group of die-hard loyalists are now serving their prison meals in Hidden Leaf Prison.

Some tried to defect to Orochimaru but were killed.

This is already considered patient; what's truly impatient is that when Orochimaru was imprisoned, some people wanted to break him out.

That means they are dead beyond any doubt.

The convoy stopped, and Sound Ninja came to make contact. However, as soon as the Sound Ninja in charge of the contact reached the front of the convoy, he saw someone get out of a car who should never have been there.

"Leaf Village ninja?" The Sound Ninja was taken aback.

They would gather under Orochimaru's command, not only because Orochimaru was one of the former Legendary Sannin and a powerful figure, but more importantly because Orochimaru painted a rosy picture for them.

No longer do they have to live in fear of having their heads chopped off every day, nor do they have to go to the Bounty Exchange take on missions. Instead, they can do business with the nobles in the village with dignity.

This part of the business needs to be taken from other villages, with Hidden Leaf Village being the top target.

Therefore, the Sound Ninja's first reaction was that people from Leaf Village had come to cause trouble.

But after he saw Uchiha Shingen's face clearly, he changed his mind.

The hell they've come to massacre the village!

It's the White Ghost of Leaf Village!

What does a Five Kage- level ninja from Hidden Leaf Village want to do when he runs into the territory of a Leaf Village missing-nin? It's obvious.

Tian Daming betrayed his brothers!

"Shingen." The Sound Ninja first called out Uchiha Shingen's name loudly, then asked feigning ignorance, "I didn't expect such an important person as you to come to such a small place. May I ask how I can help you?"

It wasn't that he wanted to hide Orochimaru's whereabouts; he wasn't that loyal. Don't drag him into a battle between gods. He was just an ordinary Chunin who knew nothing. Please let him go.

Who is Orochimaru? Never even heard of him! He's just a nobody, please don't accidentally kill him, boss.

"Visiting a friend," said Uchiha Shingen.

Orochimaru has recruited some good people.

He even knows how to play Orochimaru.

It's strange, but Orochimaru was already very popular in his small circle when he was in Leaf Village, and his fans were very loyal. Although Uchiha Shingen didn't appreciate him, he knew that this guy was very good at attracting fans.

And just like that, they gained a new wave of fans after leaving the village.

At this moment, the other Sound Ninja also surrounded them, but they were very polite and showed no hostility whatsoever.

Only one person ran off to deliver the message.

Aota watched the "interaction" between the Sound Ninja and Uchiha Shingen. Although he didn't quite understand it, it seemed like they wouldn't actually fight.

He was relieved, as long as they didn't fight in front of him, mainly to avoid accidental injuries.

"Sir Ninja, all the materials you submitted this month are here. Shall we unload now?"

The Sound Ninja stared at Aota, speechless for a long time.

I'm here living in constant fear of being hacked to death, and you're asking me whether to unload the goods or not?

Unpack it! Of course I'll unpack it! I'm just a ruthless construction worker. Even though I'm dressed as a ninja, I'm not a ninja at all!

"Thank you for your hard work, we'll unload the cargo now." The Sound Ninja was eager to take the lead in unloading the cargo, but was grabbed by Uchiha Shingen's claw.

"Dude, where are you going?" Uchiha Shingen dragged him back. "Why didn't you even ask who I was looking for? That's so inconsiderate!"

Bro! I really don't want to ask! Please let me go! I promise I'll defect today!

"Brother, who are you looking for?"

"Then guess! If you guess right, I'll give you a big treasure."

"I..." The Sound Ninja like vomiting blood. He looked around and saw all his companions suddenly tying their shoelaces or checking the stakes.

Nobody looked this way.

"Big brother, I have to unload the goods, or I'll get docked pay." The Sound Ninja began to try to demonstrate what humility meant. "We're paid daily."

So pitiful.

"Daily pay?" Aota, who was sensitive to this term, frowned. "According to your documents, aren't the Sound Ninja paid monthly?"

Can you shut up? Will you die if you don't cause trouble?

"Well... the project is on a tight schedule right now, so to incentivize everyone, the leader has decided to distribute the pay on a daily basis."

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Uchiha Shingen released the Sound Ninja.

He realized he had guessed wrong; this wasn't a fan of Orochimaru.

I'm almost in tears; Orochimaru's fans are all tough guys.

It's extremely hard because it's perverted enough.

"Could you please let them know I'm waiting here?"

"Alright, please wait a moment." The Sound Ninja, overjoyed at being released, bowed deeply and quickly disappeared.

Chapter 41 Orochimaru: Neither Enemy nor Friend

In the dimly lit underground space, Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, was setting up his new laboratory.

Orochimaru was very satisfied with the rows of brand-new equipment.

It was only after leaving Leaf Village that Danzo realized how difficult Shimura Danzō.

These devices are really difficult to get...

I secretly stole some cash from Akatsuki's public coffers; Kakuzu probably won't find out.

He was determined to perform that technique.

Only an eternal lifespan can carry his dreams.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the empty corridor behind me.

This displeased Orochimaru, who turned around and looked at the door.

That door isn't there yet; it hasn't been installed.

[Soundproofing equipment needs to be installed.]

This was the first thing Orochimaru thought of.

Back when he was conducting experiments in the Root Zone, who dared to disturb him?

Those wild ninjas are just too impatient. What could be so serious as to have some old man come knocking on their door?

A Sound Ninja appeared in his field of vision.

Her bright orange snake eyes stared at the Sound Ninja, seemingly harboring ill intentions.

But Orochimaru hadn't actually thought of anything; he wouldn't use his subordinates to gather materials right after opening a business.

This material has absolutely no value.

"Boss, someone's here." The Sound Ninja was running pretty fast, but when he met Orochimaru's gaze, he felt a chill run down his spine and a cold current surge through his body. So he stood obediently outside the door, his voice lowered.

Orochimaru hummed in agreement, then continued to look at him.

After waiting for a while, Orochimaru, who was used to the professionalism of Konoha Ninja, found that the man was just standing at the door without saying a word. He felt that these wild ninjas were testing his leadership.

"If you can't give me a straight answer today..." Orochimaru patted the spotless operating table behind him, "You'll be the first customer at this table."

"No, no, no, leader, it's the White Ghost from Leaf Village!" The Sound Ninja was terrified and hurriedly blurted out everything he knew.