In capital of the Land of Water. At the site of the previous battle, a snake emerged, then opened its great mouth and spat out a person. Orochimaru crawled out from the snake's mouth. Glancing around, his gaze narrowed slightly, landing on a patch of destroyed forest ahead.
Tailed Beast Bomb.
This was the first time a ninja village had used a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki against one of its own ninja clans, and a great Kekkei Genkai clan famous throughout the shinobi world at that. Before them was a huge ravine created by the destructive power of a highly condensed Tailed Beast Bomb. To this day, no weeds had grown, leaving only a desolate emptiness. He walked on it, his mind seemingly replaying the scene of that moment. A group of people, facing the ninjas of Kirigakure, were united in their will to resist, but two Tailed Beast Bombs cut through them.
A scheme? Not needed. With the Kaguya clan present, the Yuki and Kaguya clans would surely have charged over. Karatachi Yagura.
"How ruthless!"
Orochimaru lowered his head, then looked into the distance. To be able to swing the butcher's knife without hesitation against former comrades and partners, directly using the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki to severely wound the Kaguya and Yuki clans, and then simply reaping the rest.
However. "This was also the best choice." Orochimaru marveled at the other's ruthlessness, but also had to admire Karatachi Yagura's rationality. To not act was one thing, but once he acted, it was with the force of a thunderbolt, directly eliminating the opponent, not allowing the battle to escalate any further. For the entire village, this was the best result.
Just like Kyohiko. Once he acted, he would surely ensure Danzo's death, absolutely not letting the other party have any chance to escape. This was one of the things Orochimaru admired about Kyohiko—in this aspect, Kyohiko was vastly different from his teacher and his adoptive sister, indeed more like Senju Tobirama back then.
Orochimaru bit his finger, then formed hand seals. In an instant, a large number of snakes were summoned and slithered in all directions. They would become Orochimaru's eyes, helping to check the surrounding situation. He himself further examined the traces here. Such a dense Tailed Beast chakra would not dissipate quickly in a short time. He could still vaguely find some residual presence of the Tailed Beast Bomb.
"If the two great clans have no legacy left, I'll have to go to their clan grounds to see…" Orochimaru thought deeply. Just then, snakes suddenly crawled back from one direction. "A clue so quickly?" He was a little surprised, then walked in that direction.
---
In a remote mountain village, a man wiped away his sweat and unloaded the firewood he had managed to carry back. Around him, pairs of eyes stared at him. He was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile, "Everyone, are your homes still lacking? Didn't I already…"
Before he could finish, the owners of those pairs of eyes quickly rushed over, taking some of the firewood. A few said thank you, but most were righteously indignant. The man was bewildered. He looked around, at a loss for words for a moment. Just then, an old woman walked over. She walked slowly.
"I'll take a small bundle! Just a small bundle!"
"Alright, I'll give you a small one…"
"I want a big one, the big ones burn longer!" she said, and began to pick for herself, taking a few of the larger pieces from the already scarce firewood, then slowly left with satisfaction. The man swallowed, but still silently cleaned up the mess. This was not the first time. He had never expected… that a moment of kindness would be rewarded like this.
"Shinken, what happened?"
"Shino, it's nothing. Just that the firewood was taken by everyone. I'll go get some more another day," Shinken replied, tidying up the remaining pieces and entering the house.
The woman sighed. "Although we are not afraid, if this happens too often, they will find out we are not ordinary people, and who knows…" In the current Land of Water, due to the long-unsettled wars and chaos between the island nations, Kekkei Genkai were met with great hostility. If those villagers found out…
"Then we'll just find another place to live," Shinken said with a smile.
The woman was stunned for a moment, then nodded lightly. "Alright, I'll listen to you." She smiled. "Do more good deeds, and maybe our future child will be a kind and blessed person."
The man was about to speak when a hoarse voice came from outside. "As a ninja, why don't you defend your own things?"
"Who's there?" An ice sword instantly appeared in Shinken's hand. The next moment, a snake opened its great mouth in front of them. The woman gasped in fright, her face pale, and ice cones appeared around her. The two of them were survivors of the Yuki clan!
Not long after, a person crawled out from inside. The two of them held their breath. This person… although they had never met him, they had more or less heard of his name and characteristics. One of the Sannin, Orochimaru! For them, this was a name that existed in stories and intelligence reports. They had never thought they would one day see him in person, and in their home, at such a special time.
Shinken gritted his teeth. "Orochimaru! If you have guts, come at me!"
"Hehehe, if it were the old me, you should indeed fight me with all you have upon meeting me. But now… I have no ill intentions towards you." Orochimaru licked his lips. If it were the old him, this family would only have two values in his eyes—the capable one would become a subordinate. The incapable one would become his merit or a test subject. But now, he had already promised Tsunade and Kyohiko not to use humans as test subjects anymore. So these two were safe!
Orochimaru chuckled lowly. "You should be members of the Yuki clan. To think you actually survived!"
"You… what is your purpose!" Shinken gripped the sword made of ice, but his palm was covered in cold sweat. As a former ninja and a member of the Yuki clan, he knew very well what kind of strength Orochimaru possessed. Even if he fought with all his might, he might not be able to save his wife.
"First, answer my question. As a ninja, a Kekkei Genkai user, you have plenty of opportunities to kill them and defend your property. Why do you let them plunder it?" Orochimaru asked with great interest.
"Because I am a ninja. The original meaning of a ninja is to protect the weak and defend the country, not to slaughter civilians and fight for power and profit. The current Kirigakure has already gone astray," Shinken said firmly.
Orochimaru was slightly stunned, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Shinken swallowed, afraid but mustering his courage. "What are you laughing at?"
"Kindness can sometimes become a weapon for others to harm you, and also an accomplice in the death of your loved ones." A slight smile touched Orochimaru's lips. "Also, you are kind and compassionate to outsiders, yet you did not die in the war to save your family. Isn't that a contradiction?"
"I… because, I had just married my wife and had a child. I…" Shinken stammered, then said in a low voice, "I am a deserter, but I just wanted to protect my own family. No clan can fight against the five great ninja villages!"
"But—" Orochimaru looked at the man's wife and smiled. "Your wife should have only been pregnant for the last three months. At that time, your war had already begun."
"Huh? But…" the man looked at his wife.
"As you said, following the clan to fight against the village, it's impossible to survive…" the wife looked away, not daring to meet his eyes.
Shinken understood. To make him leave with her, his wife had deliberately said she was pregnant, tricking him into leaving together. He was speechless for a moment. "You've said so much. What are you trying to say!"
A slight smile touched Orochimaru's lips. "I wonder if you've heard of the Will of Fire?"
"The Will of Fire?" Shinken obviously didn't know. He remained vigilant.
Orochimaru sat down anywhere, very casually, but the hissing snakes around them told the two that if they tried to run, the situation might not be so peaceful.
"The Will of Fire was conceived by the Shodaime-sama, and then summarized and refined by generations of people. Its core is what you said: the meaning of a ninja is to protect the village and the people, not bullying, slaughter, and war," Orochimaru said calmly.
The two looked at each other. The name of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was known throughout the shinobi world, and his stories were more or less known to every ninja. If that person had wanted to start a war… the current shinobi world might not be in its current state. So, Orochimaru's statement was quite persuasive. But what was the meaning of him saying these words? They looked at each other in confusion.
Orochimaru continued to talk eloquently. "Some people say that a person's birth is determined by which country they live in, but what determines a person's sense of belonging after they grow up should be their thoughts, will, and ideals. You and we have more like-minded goals and thoughts. Why be bound by nationality?" Thoughts, will, and aspirations, these are the ultimate weapons for unifying people's understanding! On this point, he very much agreed with Kyohiko's statement!
For the two of them—especially for Shinken, Orochimaru's words were undoubtedly very shocking. What determines a person's sense of belonging should be their thoughts, will, and ideals… A strong sense of identification arose in his heart. Because the brutal and bloodthirsty Kirigakure was not worthy of their loyalty at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left with his clan, without any attachment to Kirigakure. If Konoha were really like this… a thought sprouted in his heart.
Orochimaru smiled. "By the way, the note left before was from the owner of these words. You should have heard his name, Ryoho Kyohiko."
"Ryoho Kyohiko, Ryoho… the Child of God?" the two blurted out.
Orochimaru was stunned for a few seconds. "Child of God? What kind of title is that?"
"Uh…" The couple looked at each other. Then, Shinken gathered his courage. "Back then, Senju Hashirama was the God of Shinobi. We believe Ryoho Kyohiko may be the reincarnation of Senju Hashirama's power, so we privately call him the Child of God."
"Hmph hmph, hahaha!" Orochimaru finally couldn't help but laugh out loud. He could already imagine the dark expressions on Tsunade's and Kyohiko's faces when they heard this title. That scene… would surely be very spectacular!
"Alright, that's right, it was him. The words were carved on a piece of bark, reminding you that Kirigakure was going to take action against you. I wasn't wrong, was I?"
"Right, right!" Shinken nodded repeatedly. In fact, when Orochimaru mentioned Ryoho Kyohiko, he no longer had any doubts. Because… he had heard that the ninjas of Konoha had taken away a group of Kaguya clansmen! Before, it was just a rumor, not confirmed. But now, combined with Orochimaru's words, everything matched up. The Child of God of Konoha came here, took away the Kaguya clansmen, and left a warning by the way. This also led their clan to go north to Kyoto with the Kaguya clan. Unfortunately, the brutality of Kirigakure far exceeded their imagination. Hearing this, he believed it even more. Konoha, the Will of Fire! What a village that yearned for peace! Wasn't this the goal he had pursued all his life?
Yuki Shinken stood up. "Orochimaru-sama, how can we join Konoha? Can people like us?"
Orochimaru sighed. "Of course. Actually, I came here this time because Kyohiko-kun was worried, feeling that he hadn't done enough or well enough at the time to change the fate of your Yuki clan."
"How could that be! Kyohiko-sama, if it weren't for him, our Yuki clan would have died long ago in Kirigakure's sneak attack. And I… although I am ashamed to have been a deserter, I also benefited from Kyohiko-sama. Otherwise, I would definitely have died in the war…" Shinken lowered his head.
Orochimaru sighed softly. "It's not your fault. A single person's strength is very small in the face of a ninja village and a ninja beast. Even in our Konoha now, there are not many who can subdue a Tailed Beast." Not many… but there were definitely some. Not to mention Kyohiko, who mastered Wood Style and Sage Art and had talents similar to Senju Hashirama, the two from the Uzumaki clan could hold back a Tailed Beast. This was also the root of the Uzumaki clan's destruction.
The other person sobbed. Clearly, fleeing and the destruction of his clan were pains in his heart that could not be erased. If not for his wife and child, he would definitely have gone to Kirigakure for revenge. Orochimaru's tone was gentle, and he comforted him again and again. The two no longer had any doubts about Orochimaru. Instead, their hearts yearned for the peaceful land where the Will of Fire fluttered—Konoha Village!
Finally. "So, you are the only ones left of the Yuki clan?"
"It should be. The others, everyone…" Shinken couldn't help but cry.
Orochimaru was silent for a moment. "Then what about the Kaguya clan?"
"I heard that those in the Land of Water are also gone." Shinken clenched his fists. "Kirigakure's brutal and bloody rule will definitely not last long!"
"Yes, their rule… will not last long!" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "Today, I will take you back to Konoha. You should pack up."
"Really?"
"Mm." The two were apprehensive and hesitated for a long time. The woman said, "Why don't you give this firewood to them?"
"Alright…" Shinken stood up and was really about to go and deliver it.
Orochimaru sighed softly. These two were so kind they were almost naive. He quickly stopped them. "No need. When you leave and don't appear for a long time, they will naturally enter your home and take what they need. This is a very normal pattern."
"This… alright." The two looked at each other, understanding very well that what he said was true, their hearts saddened by the ugly reality.
In the middle of the night, on the boat back, Orochimaru smiled. "Have you thought of a name for the child?"
"Haku!" Shino smiled brilliantly, looking at her husband. "I hope he can be as white and flawless, as pure as snow!"