Orochimaru's Experiment Base in the Hidden Sound Otogakure
"Ah!" A hoarse and shrill scream echoed from deep within the experimental base.
Orochimaru lay in the bedroom, shirtless. The right side of his body was blackened as if scorched by flames, emitting a burnt smell.
Kabuto Yakushi applied some unknown medicine to the wound. " Lord Orochimaru, what happened to this injury? Even your Substitution Technique couldn't transfer the damage?"
After Orochimaru escaped from Konoha, he discovered that the wound he had been struck by the Hongshi's Nuclear Heavy Fist could not heal. No matter what method he used, even if it recovered, it would return to its original state in a short time.
The wound burned like fire every moment. Orochimaru endured the pain, asking, "What on earth is this Hongshi using with his Nuclear Release? Did it damage his soul?"
Kabuto Yakushi has been analyzing this injury for the past few days, but he still can't figure out the cause. " Lord Orochimaru, I'm powerless to help with this kind of injury."
"Boom!"
Orochimaru slammed his fist on the table where the medicine was kept, exclaiming, "This Konoha Crush Plan has been a complete failure! What happened?!"
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Back in Kikyo Castle, I was being followed by a Jonin from Konoha. Baki from Sunagakure failed to kill that Jonin, leading to the leak of information. Konoha ninja actively prepared for battle, which was the root cause of our defeat."
Orochimaru: "Did the body part fail too?"
As Kabuto Yakushi cleaned up the scattered herbs, he said, "Although the plan to retrieve Sasuke and the others wasn't completed in one go, Sasuke has tasted defeat and will likely take the bait soon."
Orochimaru: "Hahaha, if I could get Uchiha Itachi's body, that would be perfect!"
Orochimaru's mind flashed with the graceful figure of Uchiha Itachi, and his own captivating eyes. "(•͈ᴗ•͈ૢૢ) I like it."
Kabuto Yakushi: "(°ー°)..."
Orochimaru snapped out of his reverie, "Ahem, if I could get his body, everything would be fine, but that's obviously impossible. He's stronger than me! That man is far stronger than me. That's why I left Akatsuki. Now, getting the body of any one of these four would be perfect."
Kabuto Yakushi asked, "What exactly is the Akatsuki?"
Orochimaru: "They're all a bunch of lunatics who destroy the world under the guise of protecting it."
Kabuto Yakushi cleaned up the scattered medicine on the floor and prepared to leave the room. As he left, he glanced at Orochimaru's hand, which Itachi had severed years ago. "I see. That was truly terrifying."
Orochimaru watched Kabuto's departing figure. "Kabuto, get ready. We're going to find someone who can heal my wounds."
Konoha Training Ground
Kai, cradling the severely injured and unconscious Rock Lee, wailed, "Li! Who beat you up like this! That monster!"
Hongshi used his Strength of a Hundred Technique to heal Rock Lee, Rock Lee slowly regained consciousness. "(꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ) Teacher Guy! Me! Me!"
Kai: "Li, stop talking! I've already defeated that monster. By the time I caught up, he had already spat you out."
Rock Lee: "(°ー°)??? Huh?"
Hongshi pinched Rock Lee's chest. " Lee-kun, Teacher Guy is right. After you were attacked by the monster, it appeared in your form and tried to invade Konoha, but it was defeated, which saved you."
Li: "Ouch, ouch, ouch... really?"
Hongshi nodded solemnly. "That's right, exactly."
Kai: "Could it be that your memories were also absorbed?! Rock Lee Li, to prevent this from happening again, I have to take you for special training."
Sitting cross-legged to the side watching Hongshi use the Strength of a Hundred Technique, Sakura asked, " Hongshi-kun, can you teach me this technique?"
Hongshi: "This technique... someone will teach you later, a very, very big person."
Sakura: "Oh? Older than you?"
Hongshi nodded vigorously. "Of course, of course, much bigger than me, and much fairer."
Sakura: "That's good, at least I won't throw up."
Hongshi cancels the treatment. "Alright, Rock Lee, you're completely healed."
Kai stood up. "Li! Now that you've already opened the Seventh Gate, I'll pass it on to you, Morning Peacock. If you can learn it, I'll even pass it on to Daytime Tiger."
Rock Lee: "✧٩(ˊωˋ)و✧Yosh! Let's get training started!"
Kai: "Alright! Let's start by running twenty laps around Konoha. If you can keep up with me, you'll pass!"
"Yoshi! Let's curse them to death together!"
"One search!"
"Boom..."
Kai and Lee ignored Hongshi and Sakura standing to the side and ran off on their own, as if nothing had happened.
When no one was around, Hashirama's spirit slowly floated up. "These two are the ones who learned the Eight Gates Released Formation?"
Sakura: " Lord Hashirama! Although I hate getting my eyebrows done, Rock Lee is a genius who works incredibly hard! He has an extremely strong will!"
Hashirama nodded. "Only those with unwavering willpower can successfully master this technique."
Hongshi: "Alright, when do we set off?"
Sakura: "We're still waiting for someone."
Hongshi was startled. "Who else is going with them!"
Sakura: "We don't know Lady Tsunade, so of course we'll have Jiraiya Lord Jiraiya one of the Sannin, go with us. He keeps reciting your opening poem."
Hongshi: "ﾞ━͟͟͞͞(Ŏ◊Ŏ‧̣̥̇), Jiraiya?! Jiraiya! Um, can I skip this?"
Sakura: "Sure, you can go with Ibiki Morino to interrogate the prisoners who were captured this time."
Hongshi shuddered at the thought of Ibiki Morino's appearance, "When do we set off?"
Sakura: "But I haven't seen Lord Jiraiya all morning! Where did he go?!"
Hongshi: "I know, but I need to go eat a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen first! Then I'll help you find him."
Jiraiya? Besides gathering materials, where else can you think of where he went?
Hashirama: "Oh! That's a great idea! Let's go eat at the legendary Ichiraku Ramen first!"
Ichiraku Ramen
It was nearly noon, and the noodle shop was packed with people. In an inconspicuous corner, two people were quietly eating ramen.
The two men, wearing straw hats and red cloaks adorned with auspicious cloud patterns, were none other than Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
After Kisame Hoshigaki underwent repeated brainwashing in the Mental World, he was finally implanted with the two beliefs of " Hongshi is the boss and will always protect Uchiha Itachi " by Hongshi. Then, his soul was put back into his body and he was resurrected. However, because Samehada's body shape changed too much and he was unwilling to leave Hongshi, it was temporarily kept by Hongshi.
Lord God: "Isn't it at the dumpling shop...?"
"It doesn't have to be."
Kisame Hoshigaki: "Seriously, Itachi-san... looks like I need to find a new sword. The boss said he's going to use it to make a back scratcher, what am I going to do?"
Uchiha Itachi took a sip of tea. "I heard that the Nuclear Ninja Village in the Land of Spring will be selling Chakra ninja tools next month. Are you interested in having Kakuzu bring you some?"
" Chakra ninja tools?" Kisame Hoshigaki said with a hint of disdain, "They sound like children's toys. I'd better go look for them in Kirigakure."
" Teuchi! Two bowls of ramen, please!"
"Oh! Hongshi-kun! You're here to buy on credit again today?"
"Pfft!" Itachi spat the tea onto Kisame's face. "What's he doing here!"
Kisame Hoshigaki: " Itachi-san, please don't spray me in the face, okay?"
Uchiha Itachi glanced at the door. "A troublesome person has arrived."
The one who spoke just now was Hongshi, followed by a reluctant Sakura: "Ugh, why do we always have to eat this!"
Just then, Kakashi arrived at the entrance of Ichiraku Ramen, seemingly waiting for someone. He saw Hongshi chatting inside and said, "Yo! Hongshi, Sakura, where are you two going?"
Sakura countered, " Kakashi-sensei, are you waiting for someone?"
Kakashi: "Oh! I'm waiting for Sasuke."
Sakura was a little unhappy. " Sasuke again, teacher, you're so biased."
Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Don't say that. You have a teacher who's even better than me." He then pointed at Hongshi. The story of Hongshi defeating Orochimaru with a single punch spread quickly throughout the village. Only a few people knew that Tobirama was trying to use the "hero" title to blackmail Hongshi.
Hongshi: "Not at all, it's because the Lord Third is so powerful. I just replenished his Chakra."
Uchiha Itachi overheard Kakashi's conversation. "Hmm? Sasuke?"
Kisame Hoshigaki: " Itachi-san, this person seems very important to you. Shall we take him with us?"
Just then, a cocky-sounding voice rang out. "Yo! Kakashi, it's rare to have you here early!"
"Snap!" Uchiha Itachi put down his teacup in the shop, nodded to Kisame Hoshigaki, and the two of them disappeared in a flash.
"Hmm?" Kakashi sensed something and glanced into the shop, only to see the tea still steaming. Uchiha Itachi and the other person had already left.
Sasuke tossed his freshly washed hair. " Kakashi, what's wrong?"
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke: " Sasuke, wait here for me. Hongshi, come with me."
"Waaaah! Ugh, ramen!!!" With that, he pulled the Hongshi, whose mouth was full of ramen, into the shop and then used the Body Flicker Technique to disappear from the spot.
Sakura also came out of Ichiraku Ramen and looked at Sasuke: " Sasuke-kun, you're eating ramen too?"
Sasuke: "(•́ω•̀٥) Sakura, why are you here too?! Kakashi told me to wait here."
Sakura grabbed Sasuke's hand, her face flushed, and said, "Then come in and have a bowl of noodles!"
Ever since Sasuke was punched by Sakura, he's had a lingering fear. "Fine... okay!"
Sakura smiled triumphantly, "Long live Kakashi-sensei!"
"Hey! Sakura-chan, you're eating noodles here too!"
Just then, an even more obnoxious voice rang out—it was Naruto, who had come looking for food...
Sakura: "Why do you always suddenly appear whenever I'm with Sasuke?!"
Sasuke: "Tch, idiot!"
Naruto: "(꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ) Sakura, please stop insulting me every time you see me, okay? I'm so tired! By the way Sasuke! What do you mean by calling me an idiot?! Didn't you get beaten half to death by Sakura too?!"
Just as the three were about to start arguing further, they suddenly felt something dangerous staring at them. Turning around, they saw Teuchi holding a strainer and long bamboo chopsticks. "(≖_≖) You guys... don't make a scene in my shop... otherwise, you'll never get to eat my soulful ramen again!"
Naruto and his friends seemed to see a ghostly image appear behind Ichiraku, and immediately fell silent while eating their noodles. " Teuchi is so scary!"