Yuu's Concern

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

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

Bang!

A huge crack appeared before Uchiha Yuu. A fist mark was left on the stone wall, with the shattered area spreading downward.

"Huff!"

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

After studying at Tsunade's side for several days, Uchiha Yuu had finally gotten the hang of the Monster Strength Fist. However, he had also discovered a fatal flaw.

For every action, there was an equal reaction. When his fist struck an opponent, it would also suffer recoil.

"It hurts a little."

His fist was beginning to swell and redden, a side effect caused by insufficient chakra control.

While Uchiha Yuu was practicing the Monster Strength Fist, a gigantic python suddenly appeared. The python opened its mouth, and Orochimaru crawled out from within, saying with a hint of admiration:

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

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

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

Ignoring Uchiha Yuu's strange look, Orochimaru spoke in his slightly hoarse voice:

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

"I'll pass."

He had no desire to turn into a venomous snake. Compared to darkness, Uchiha Yuu preferred sunlight.

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

"We're heading out overnight to take care of something."

There was greater solemnity in Orochimaru's voice. For an Elite Jonin to sound so serious, the matter was clearly grave. Yuu just had not expected that they would 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 during their previous gathering.

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

"It is a B-rank mission. There should be no danger, but we may encounter Sunagakure shinobi."

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

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

"An escort mission? Orochimaru-sensei, why isn't Sunagakure handling the escort? They're from Sunagakure, so wouldn't it be faster for Sunagakure to escort them?"

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

But Orochimaru's gaze fell on Nawaki. That icy look sent a chill through him, and he had no idea what he had done wrong.

Orochimaru did not take offense at Nawaki's question and patiently explained:

"You must remember that the team leader holds all the details of a mission. This is to prevent mission failure and the leaking of mission information, 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 Sunagakure shinobi."

"They have come to Konoha to discuss matters. Mainly, they are worried that something might happen to the Sunagakure side, so they want us to accompany them and ensure that blame cannot be placed on us."

Everything was for the sake of safety. After all, Sunagakure had the classic temperament of a fence-sitter.

As soon as things went wrong, they would immediately side with whichever side suited them.

Sunagakure also had the weakest strength among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They needed to rely on Konoha for certain matters, so their relationship was both hostile and somewhat ambiguous.

Furthermore, Konoha sometimes aided Sunagakure. Before the war arrived, their relationship was closer than Konoha's relationship with the other villages.

When Konoha sensed that war was coming, Sunagakure had also noticed that something was wrong and had therefore taken the initiative to send people over.

"We must reach the Land of Rivers in the shortest possible time!"

The Land of Rivers lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. It was famous for its hot springs, while its people were more like merchants.

This was also the location agreed upon by both sides. Neither dared enter the other's territory rashly, so neutrality was the best choice.

They sped along the entire way, arriving in the shortest time possible.

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

After hurrying for half a day, Nawaki and Reiko had a fine layer of sweat on their foreheads. To recover their strength quickly, they had prepared Soldier Pills.

It was not until the latter half of the night that Orochimaru stopped and allowed them a brief rest. He had expected the two to run out of stamina; prolonged high-speed travel was a challenge to both the body and chakra reserves.

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

"That shouldn't be possible."

He had been studying under Tsunade and had mastered medical ninjutsu as well as Monster Strength. That meant his body and control had both met the standard, so how could this happen?

"Hm?"

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

"He's deliberately increasing his physical strength."

Compared to the other two disciples, Yuu was exceptionally outstanding. As long as he did not die young, he would definitely become an Elite Jonin.

"I wonder whether he has awakened the Sharingan at his age."

The Sharingan, which struck fear throughout the Shinobi World, was the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan and their greatest power.

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

Fortunately, Orochimaru was only interested and had not yet become deranged enough to conduct human experiments.

"I've only heard that the Uchiha Clan needs intense emotional stimulation to awaken their eyes, which is why their personalities tend to become extreme. I need to make sure Yuu's emotions do not fluctuate too greatly."

Orochimaru did not know that Uchiha Yuu had already awakened the One-Tomoe Sharingan. To awaken his eyes at this age, as long as he trained harder, he would certainly become a powerful Three-Tomoe user in the future.

The three of them, having settled down to rest, did not relax because of it. Nawaki took the initiative to handle guard duty, standing on a tree and vigilantly watching the surroundings.

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

"If we encounter enemies later, don't show mercy. 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."