You's Concern

Tsunade's Monstrous Strength Fist relied on chakra control, gathering a large amount of chakra in a short time and releasing it through specialized striking techniques.

It did not fall within the scope of ninjutsu, but its destructive power surpassed ninjutsu.

"Bang!"

A huge crack appeared before Uchiha Yū. The stone wall bore the imprint of a fist, and the shattered area extended downward.

"Hah!"

He let out a heavy breath and analyzed the data he had obtained.

After studying at Tsunade's side for several days, Uchiha Yū had made a beginning with the Monstrous Strength Fist. He had also discovered a fatal flaw.

For every action, there was an equal reaction. While the fist struck an opponent, a rebounding force would also occur.

"It hurts a little."

His fist showed signs of redness and swelling, a side effect caused by inadequate chakra control.

Just as Uchiha Yū was practicing the Monstrous Strength Fist, a massive python suddenly appeared. The snake opened its mouth, and Orochimaru crawled out from inside, speaking with slight appreciation:

"I didn't expect you to learn Tsunade's skills. No wonder Tsunade has been pestering me these past few days."

"Orochimaru-sensei, why do you always appear in such strange ways?"

Orochimaru, who had created many ninjutsu, had a particular fondness for snake-based techniques.

Ignoring Uchiha Yū's strange stare, Orochimaru spoke in his slightly hoarse voice:

"This is a new ninjutsu I developed, inspired by Jiraiya's Toad Summoning Technique. If you want to learn it, I can teach you."

"I'll pass."

He had no desire to become a venomous snake. Compared to darkness, Uchiha Yū preferred sunlight.

"I came to find you because there is a mission. Gather outside the village tonight."

"We need to handle something overnight."

There was more gravity in Orochimaru's voice. For an elite jonin to sound so serious was enough to show the severity of the matter. He just had not expected them to be involved.

Outside the village, Hyuga Reiko and Nawaki were dressed in black nightwear.

"Orochimaru-sensei."

"Orochimaru-sensei."

Looking at the assembled team, they had arrived especially early because they had been slightly late the last time they gathered.

Without wasting words, Orochimaru took out the mission scroll, which recorded the target of the mission.

"A B-rank mission. There should be no danger, but we may encounter Sand Village ninja."

"Our destination is the Land of Rivers. We are to escort a group of people from Sand Village to Konoha."

Because it involved Sand Village ninja, the mission had been raised to B-rank. There was a possibility of combat, but with Orochimaru there, they had the protection of top-tier combat strength.

"An escort mission? Orochimaru-sensei, why isn't Sand Village escorting them? They're from Sand Village—wouldn't it be faster to have Sand Village escort them?"

Nawaki was deeply puzzled after hearing the mission and instinctively asked the question.

But Orochimaru's gaze fell on Nawaki, and that icy look sent a chill through him. He did not know where he had gone wrong.

Orochimaru did not take issue with Nawaki's question and patiently explained the reason:

"You must remember that the captain holds all information about the mission. This is to prevent mission failure and the leakage of mission details, which could cause unimaginable losses to the village."

"This is your first offense, so I will not punish you."

"The mission is an escort mission, but we are not escorting merchants from the Land of Wind. We are escorting a group of Sand Village ninja."

"They have come to Konoha to discuss matters. The main concern is that something might happen in Sand Village, so we are to accompany them and ensure that the blame cannot be placed on us."

It was all for the sake of safety. After all, Sand Village had the typical personality of a fence-sitter.

Whenever things went wrong, they immediately leaned to one side.

Sand Village also happened to be the weakest among the Five Great Ninja Villages. They needed to rely on Konoha for some matters, so their relationship was both hostile and somewhat ambiguous.

Konoha would also sometimes help Sand Village. Before the war arrived, their relationship was better than Konoha's relationship with the other villages.

When Konoha sensed that war was approaching, the other side also noticed that something was wrong and thus proactively sent people over.

"We need to reach the Land of Rivers as quickly as possible!"

The Land of Rivers lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. It was a famous hot spring country, and the people in its villages were more like merchants.

It was also the location agreed upon by both sides. Neither dared rashly enter the other's territory, so choosing neutral ground was best.

They hurried along the entire way and arrived in the shortest possible time.

This time, Orochimaru did not wait for them. As their speed increased, their stamina consumption naturally intensified.

After traveling for half a day, a fine layer of sweat had formed on Nawaki and Reiko's foreheads. To recover their stamina quickly, they prepared Soldier Pills.

It was not until the latter half of the night that Orochimaru stopped and allowed them to rest briefly. Their exhaustion had been within Orochimaru's expectations; maintaining high-speed travel for such a long time was a challenge to both the body and chakra.

What surprised Orochimaru was that You showed signs of unsteady steps and a pale complexion.

"That shouldn't be possible."

Studying beside Tsunade and mastering both medical ninjutsu and Monstrous Strength meant that his body and control met the standard. How could this happen?

"Hm?"

Just as Orochimaru was about to question Uchiha Yū, he noticed cracks appearing in the branch beneath You's feet and immediately understood why he was so weak.

"He has been deliberately strengthening his body."

Compared to the other two disciples, he was exceptionally outstanding. As long as he did not fall before his time, he would certainly become an elite jonin.

"I wonder whether his Sharingan has awakened at this age."

The Sharingan, which struck fear throughout the ninja world, was the Uchiha Clan's bloodline limit and their greatest power.

Orochimaru had always wanted to study it. If Uchiha Yū had awakened his eyes, he could have him cooperate in some experiments.

Fortunately, Orochimaru was merely interested and had not yet gone mad enough to conduct experiments on human bodies.

"I've only heard that the Uchiha Clan needs intense emotional stimulation to awaken their eyes, which causes their personalities to become extreme. I need to ensure that You's emotions do not fluctuate too much."

Orochimaru did not know that Uchiha Yū had already awakened a single tomoe. Awakening his eyes at this age meant that, with intensified training, he would certainly become a powerful three-tomoe user in the future.

The three who were resting did not relax just because they had stopped. Nawaki took the initiative to handle guard duty, standing in a tree and vigilantly watching their surroundings.

Leaning against the tree trunk, You reminded Reiko beside him:

"If we encounter enemies later, don't be softhearted. They aren't like the bandits we met last time."

Hyuga Reiko did not activate her Byakugan, but her gaze remained firm.

"Don't worry. I'm not some delicate young lady."

"I hope we can get through this mission safely."