"Yes."
Araki and the other two responded in unison.
Jiraiya nodded silently, said nothing more, and then leaped up and jumped towards the tree branch.
Following Jiraiya's lead, Araki and the others also jumped up.
Immediately afterwards, they began leaping rapidly through the trees, running towards their desired destination, their speed increasing further.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jiraiya and his companions moved through the forest. They had already left Konoha far behind and were traveling through the forests of the Land of Fire. For the time being, they had not encountered anything dangerous along the way.
Araki raised the wooden box high with his right hand. Perhaps because the Kumogakure ninjas were too much of a focus for them, no one noticed that the wooden box in his hand was undamaged after killing those Kumogakure ninjas. Or perhaps even if they did notice, they wouldn't think much of it and would simply assume that the box was of good quality.
Araki wasn't simply rushing along; instead, he was radiating his attention outwards, allowing him to clearly sense the aura within a certain distance.
Within his observation range, he encountered almost exclusively animals, and no other ninjas.
This made him feel a little more relaxed.
certainly.
Araki did this not because he didn't trust Kushina's sensory abilities.
Instead, he wanted to take control of the situation; he needed to detect any potential ambushes or ninjas tracking them as soon as possible.
If he can't do that, then he can't relax his mind; that's the state Kushina and Minato were in.
Kushina's expression was quite solemn. Chakra controlled her chakra and focused on her senses. So far, she had not found anything. However, unlike Araki, she was not so confident in her own senses. Not finding anything did not make her relax; on the contrary, it made her even more nervous.
The quieter it is, the more terrifying it is!
That's exactly the feeling!
Kushina still felt a lot of guilt about the attack by Kumogakure ninjas at the village gate. Even though no one blamed her, it was indeed her negligence and carelessness that prevented her from sensing the ambushing ninjas in advance, leading to a battle they were caught off guard.
They were lucky this time; their opponents were ninjas from Kumogakure, and even Genin, so dealing with them wasn't particularly difficult.
But if it were an even more powerful being, some of them might get injured, which is not the scene he wants to see.
That's why.
Kushina's journey was far from easy; in fact, it was quite arduous. She focused entirely on her senses, afraid of missing even the slightest detail, and silently vowed to herself that she would never repeat the mistake she made at the doorway.
On the other side.
Minato's expression was also extremely solemn, even giving the impression that he was preoccupied.
When Jiraiya praised Araki, he didn't add that the poison was incurable; he wasn't that kind of blabbermouth.
However, Araki's actions in this matter kept replaying in his mind, and he couldn't quite agree with them.
But they were also companions.
This left Minato feeling conflicted. He kept trying to understand Araki's actions and putting himself in Araki's shoes, but no matter what he did, he couldn't understand Araki's methods and would never do what Araki did.
This led to many internal conflicts.
Gradually.
over time.
Most of the day has passed.
It's already afternoon.
The squad, which was running forward, remained silent, unlike when they had just come out, when they were chatting and laughing. Apart from Araki, Kushina and Minato both had very serious expressions.
"Stop!"
Jiraiya suddenly stopped on the tree branch, raised his left hand, and made a stop gesture. After he did this, Araki and the others also stopped.
"You must be tired from the long journey. Let's rest for an hour and have some Military Rations Pill to replenish our energy," Jiraiya said.
"Yes," the three answered in unison.
Immediately, the group jumped down from the tree and sat down on the ground, leaning against the trunk. Everyone except Araki was exhausted.
Araki's situation was rather unique. He was carrying a huge box, and under such heavy loads, his heart rate rose rapidly. Whenever he experienced a loss of stamina, green Chakra would replenish it, restoring him to his optimal condition.
He could have chosen not to rest if he wanted to, but he didn't. Instead, he sat down with everyone. After all, they had been running around for most of the day, and even Jiraiya-sensei was tired. It would be too incredible and strange for him not to rest.
After resting for about ten minutes...
Minato pursed his lips, mustered his courage, his eyes narrowed, as if he had made a decision, and walked to Araki's side.
" Araki, I'm sorry, my tone was harsh just now, I hope you don't mind." Minato was the first to bow his head and apologize.
"It was wrong of me." Araki shook his head, indicating that Minato didn't need to apologize. Actually, he hadn't expected Minato to bring this up himself. After all, according to the Konoha's textbooks, what he did did violated the village's rules. But he just wanted to do it that way. He then said, "I won't do it again."
When Araki finished saying that, he silently added a premise to his mind.
If we hadn't encountered ninjas from Kumogakure...
He harbored deep resentment towards the ninjas of Kumogakure, so within his power, he would make Kumogakure pay the highest price.
"This isn't entirely your fault. It was our first time on a mission, and we were caught in an ambush. It's understandable that we were nervous. I hope you won't take it to heart." Minato's face lit up with a bright smile. This incident had been weighing on his mind, making him very uncomfortable. Now that he had the chance, he was determined to have a frank talk with Araki so that the rest of the journey wouldn't be so stressful.
Araki nodded without saying anything more. He understood Minato's meaning; that was enough.
No matter what he says, if given another chance, he would still do it, but he would do it more discreetly, so that no one would find out and he wouldn't tell anyone. He realized that his mistake wasn't killing those few Kumogakure ninjas, but killing Kumogakure ninjas in front of Minato and the others, and telling Minato and the others about the poisoning.
After this little incident, the atmosphere at the scene became lively again.
Not far away.
Jiraiya silently watched this scene, a relieved smile on his face. He had noticed the subtle tension between the three disciples along the way, but he didn't point it out, waiting for them to resolve it themselves.
As a Jonin instructor, he understood that it wasn't about telling everything, but about enabling his students to make their own judgments.
He believed that his three disciples had enough ability to mediate and resolve this minor conflict. Moreover, he felt that this was not a problem at all; he had been through similar situations and had had many conflicts with Orochimaru in the past.
"I wonder what Orochimaru is up to lately!"
Jiraiya pondered this, he began to think of Orochimaru. After the Second Shinobi World War, he stayed in the Land of Rain to teach the three children and hadn't seen Orochimaru for a long time. After returning this time, they only met briefly a few times and didn't have any in-depth conversations.
For some reason, he had a strange feeling that Orochimaru had changed, that he was different from before. His whole demeanor was more mysterious than before, as if he were secretly up to something.
"We need to investigate this thoroughly when we get back."
Jiraiya muttered to himself. He didn't know what Orochimaru was secretly up to, but he had a bad feeling about it. He wouldn't feel at ease unless he investigated.
At this very moment.
Jiraiya looked at his three disciples as if he were seeing himself in his younger self.
Especially Araki.
Jiraiya vaguely saw Orochimaru's shadow in this child; he felt a similarity to him in certain aspects.
However, Araki is actually Tsunade's disciple.
This puzzled him greatly. He kept telling himself it was just his imagination, but the thought kept popping up, making him unable to resist thinking in that direction.
but...
If you were to say that Araki is particularly similar to Orochimaru...
Not really.
There was a moment when he would have a feeling of déjà vu, a feeling he had only ever experienced with Orochimaru before.
Chapter 28 Red Tail Green Bamboo Silk
"Hiss hiss hiss..."
Suddenly, Araki and the others heard a faint sound. The others were not very familiar with this sound, but he had heard it countless times.
snake!
That's the sound of a snake!
Araki's expression suddenly turned serious. Before resting here, he had carefully listened to the sounds around him and confirmed that apart from some small animals, there was no threat.
The main problem is that there are no other ninjas.
but...
Araki knew very well that his hearing was limited, mainly of moving living things, while he had no way to accurately identify static objects.
In other words...
Araki's ability doesn't allow him to draw maps in his mind; he can only determine the approximate location of living beings, especially moving ones, within a limited circular area.
Right now.
Right after that sound rang out.
Araki immediately sensed the snake's presence in the tree they were leaning against, but he hadn't been able to hear it earlier.
This incident made him realize that in the forest, a wild environment, any wild animal that can survive here has a certain ability to hide, especially cold-blooded animals like snakes that can remain completely still, making it very difficult for him to identify them by their hearing.
"Careful."
Araki lowered his voice, trying not to startle the snake that was crawling towards him. The friction between the snake's skin and the tree bark produced a very slight sound, which would be completely unnoticeable if one did not listen carefully. The hissing sound was the sound of the snake flicking its tongue.
at the same time.
Jiraiya was watching from a distance, immediately changed his expression. He saw a bright green Aoda approaching Araki and Minato.
The snake's serpentine body was hidden among the lush green leaves, its color perfectly matching the leaves. Unless you looked closely, it was difficult to spot the snake. On its triangular head were flashing red eyes, radiating a sharp, ferocious light.
" Araki, Minato, get out of there!"
Immediately, Jiraiya shouted to Araki and the others. As soon as he said this, the Aoda that was coiled on the tree branch suddenly moved, opened its mouth to reveal its sharp fangs, and pounced directly towards Minato with a foul smell.
" Minato, this way!"
Araki suddenly took a step back, leaving the area of Aoda. He then took out the Minato Flying Thunder God Kunai that Minato had given him and threw it behind him without hesitation.
"?"
A huge question mark popped into Minato's head. He was still holding Kunai, ready to deal with the Aoda in front of him, but seeing Araki's serious expression, he instantly remembered that Araki was medical-nin and quite skilled in poisons. So he chose to trust Araki and immediately Flying Thunder God Technique to quickly lock onto the space-time jutsu on the Flying Thunder God Kunai that Araki had thrown out. In a flash, he appeared behind Araki.
After the Minato disappeared, the Aoda immediately missed its target. Its body twitched violently, like a rubber band being launched, reaching its maximum length.
If the snake's tail hadn't been coiled around the branch, holding its body in place, it probably would have already darted out of the tree.