Chapter 193: The Desert of Illusions
Naruto started a conversation that sparked a heated discussion.
Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura began discussing how to name the children.
Even though one of them was a girl over fifty years old, the occasions for naming children were few and far between, making this practically a first for them.
All three were in high spirits.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru, looking frail, watched the three of them with a smile.
He didn't seem to care about the naming rights.
Naruto really couldn't get a word in, so he left the ward with Sasuke.
"Are women always this much trouble?"
Sasuke leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Naruto glanced at the ward and remembered that he hadn't drawn any cards in a long time; he had accumulated three draws.
He had originally intended to use Tenten's good luck during the Chunin Exams.
But because the ruins had diverted his attention, he had accidentally forgotten about it.
[Drawing cards... Congratulations to the host for obtaining one item card.]
[item card: Astral Infusion]
[Description: A permanent item from Soraka in "league of legends." As long as I live, no one shall suffer. Consumes 10% of your own health to restore 30% of the target's health.]
[Note: Cannot be used on oneself.]
Naruto smiled slightly; his luck was pretty good.
According to the system's standards, health was a comprehensive indicator.
Even missing limbs or broken legs were factored into health.
Simply put, like in a game, if a person is set to 100% health and a broken leg results in a 30% loss, using Astral Infusion could heal it.
Although it would sacrifice his own health, Narutohad Merlin's Noble Phantasm to restore it.
All in all, it was a skill that could be used to save lives at critical moments.
The only pity was that it couldn't be used on himself.
Otherwise, it would be a game-breaking bug skill.
The four people in the ward finally agreed on names.
The boy was named Ki.
The girl was named Haru.
Naruto instinctively looked at Tsunade and Orochimaru.
The name 'Ki' held a special meaning for them.
Tsunade's younger brother and Orochimaru's disciple.
Nawaki.
He had died unexpectedly during the war.
As for Haru, Naruto immediately thought of Seiten-suke.
The names were quite good.
Sasuke, however, didn't know what Naruto was thinking.
He was calm on the surface, but deep down he felt a long-lost trace of joy.
Uchiha Ki and Uchiha Haru?
He looked forward to the day they grew up.
Tsunade didn't know what the two children's last name was.
Because in the story Orochimaru fabricated, that scumbag had no surname.
This was quite normal in the Ninja World.
Most commoners and slaves had no surnames, or they would just make one up as they went along.
Usually, only nobles had both a first and last name.
Tsunade was in a good mood.
She had witnessed the birth of two new lives.
But since the Hokage was so busy, she didn't stay long.
Naruto escorted the three of them back to Konohaand then returned to the ward.
He still had to send Orochimaru and Sasuke back.
Well, he was now practically becoming the Ninja World's coachman.
The Flying Thunder God Technique was being used less and less for its proper purpose.
Orochimaru held the two little ones.
Sasuke followed behind, but his eyes frequently drifted forward from the corner of his vision.
"Do you want to hold one?"
Orochimaru suddenly smiled and asked.
"..."
Sasuke was stunned for a moment.
Orochimaru handed Uchiha Haru to him.
A few seconds later, Sasuke hurriedly took her.
The little one was sleeping.
She was very quiet.
Sasuke secretly breathed a sigh of relief, holding her with both hands, not daring to make any other movement.
Naruto couldn't help but take a few extra looks.
The scene was both harmonious and bizarre.
He couldn't quite describe the feeling.
They soon reached the large manor.
Yakushi Kabuto, who was hiding in the shadows, appeared by the moonlight. His eyes fell on the two little ones as he said, "Lord Orochimaru, please allow me to perform an inspection."
Orochimaru nodded.
Yakushi Kabuto stepped forward, his hands glowing with a pale green light as he pressed them against the foreheads of Uchiha Ki and Uchiha Haru.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and said, "There are no problems."
"I still trust Tsunade's skills,"
Orochimaru said with a faint smile, "And even if she knew my identity, she wouldn't do anything to two children."
Yakushi Kabuto pushed his glasses up, indifferent.
That was just his personality.
He didn't trust others.
He took Uchiha Ki and said, "I have already hired the best nanny in the Land of Rice Fields."
"Make sure her background is thoroughly checked."
Orochimaru added an extra word of caution.
Normally, he certainly wouldn't question it.
After all, Yakushi Kabuto's efficiency was top-notch; he had never made a mistake.
"Of course."
Yakushi Kabuto looked startled for a moment and said, "She won't know any of our information."
"Pack up, we're going back to Otogakure."
Orochimaru waved his hand and said.
Normally, a woman who had just given birth would be very weak.
But a Ninja's constitution was much better.
Not to mention Orochimaru.
He had long since stopped being human.
Naruto suddenly remembered that Orochimaru's true form was the White Phosphorescent Great Snake.
Would these two little ones be affected?
He didn't know.
However, watching Sasuke try to soothe a baby was quite amusing.
Because when Uchiha Haru woke up and saw a strange face, she started crying.
This threw Sasuke into a panic.
He looked more disheveled than when he sparred with Naruto.
"Whew."
After Sasuke handed Uchiha Haru back to Orochimaru, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He was truly at a loss.
"Looks like you could learn how to get along with children," Naruto teased.
"I don't need you to remind me."
Sasuke glanced at him and said, "You should head back to Konoha."
"You've changed."
Naruto said wistfully, "You've actually learned how to kick people out."
"..."
Sasuke didn't want to talk and gave him a look that said 'figure it out yourself'.
"Alright then, goodbye."
Naruto left the room, then remembered he still had one more thing to do.
He found Orochimaru resting on the bed.
Yakushi Kabuto, who was guarding the door, also appeared.
"When did you place a Flying Thunder God Markhere too?"
He looked around and asked.
Orochimaru opened his eyes, took a look, and said, "It's on you, Kabuto."
Yakushi Kabuto's face stiffened.
"Haha, isn't this to make it easier to contact Senior Kabuto?"
Naruto laughed it off and removed the Flying Thunder God Mark from him.
Well, in fact, he had placed more than one.
It remained to be seen if Yakushi Kabuto could find them all.
While researching his Flying Thunder God portal technique, he had also improved the marks.
"Lord Orochimaru, I have a gift for you."
Naruto skipped past Yakushi Kabuto, who was checking himself, and took out the Frying Pan.
Orochimaru was truly Orochimaru; even when faced with such a bizarre gift, his expression didn't change.
"Who told you to give this? Jiraiya?"
"It has nothing to do with him; I wanted to give it myself."
Naruto waved his hand and said.
Orochimaru fiddled with the Frying Pan, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
What material is this?
Why haven't I seen it before?
Yakushi Kabuto was speechless.
He felt that Orochimaru had become very strange.
In the past, he would have killed Naruto long ago, let alone accept such a gift.
Yakushi Kabuto was stifled.
He had a feeling like 'I am no longer your favorite child'.
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the 'Best Third Person' achievement, obtaining one normal card draw.]
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the 'Red Wolf' achievement, obtaining three attribute points.]
The system's notification sounded in Naruto's ear.
He was a bit dazed.
What kind of bizarre achievements were these?
Is 'Red Wolf' because I gave the Frying Pan to Orochimaru?
And 'Best Third Person'?
Does it refer to The Fool?
After all, it's 'third person', not 'third party'; it should represent the meaning of 'best support', right?
Naruto combined it with Orochimaru giving birth, analyzed it, and probably understood the system's logic—or rather, its twisted sense of humor.
He added his attribute points to defense.
Naruto returned home.
After resting for a night, he was summoned by Tsunade again.
But he wasn't alone.
There were also Hinata, Neji, Ino, and others—all Genin who had participated in the Chunin Exams.
Tsunade cleared her throat and began the main topic, saying, "I have been informed of all your performances. Although they don't compare to my generation, overall, they were quite good."
Probably because of yesterday.
Today, Tsunade was actually a bit sentimental, reminiscing about the past.
But didn't your generation just produce the three of you Sannin?
Naruto complained inwardly.
Tsunade picked up a piece of paper and said, "I announce that the following personnel have become Chunin: Hyuga Neji, Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto..."
So that's how it is.
Hearing his name, Naruto felt it was a bit of a pity.
He had lost his status as a Genin.
The only change was that Neji didn't get promoted directly to Jonin like in the original work.
Perhaps it was because Naruto had stolen his thunder.
Of the Konoha 12, except for Sasuke and Sakura, everyone was promoted to Chunin.
Naruto stroked his chin.
This is fate.
Now only Sasuke and Sakura could achieve the feat of becoming Hokage while being a Genin.
"So many people are here."
Jiraiya pushed open the office door boisterously, meeting a large number of inquiring gazes.
He didn't seem to care at all.
Tsunade curled her lip and said, "You all may leave. Those who weren't promoted to Chunin shouldn't be discouraged; there will be many more opportunities."
"Naruto, you stay,"
"Alright." Naruto was a bit reluctant, but he could only throw a wink at his wife, Hinata.
"..."
Jiraiya was immediately a bit angry upon seeing this scene.
This wicked disciple!
The Konoha Rectification Plan he had come up with had completely ruined Jiraiya's reputation.
Now the ladies at the Izakaya would get weak in the knees when they saw him—not because he was handsome, but because they were terrified.
They refused to host him no matter what.
Fearing he was conducting a sting operation.
"I didn't expect such a thing to happen during this Chunin Exam."
Tsunade had already received the intelligence given by Gaara.
Fuyi's rebellion, and then his mysterious death.
The Akatsuki Organization had taken Fujiwara Tokai.
"I wonder what treasure is actually under those ruins? It's a bit unsettling for the Akatsuki Organization to have obtained it."
Tsunade gripped the documents in her hand.
If she had gotten it, maybe she could have paid off her debts.
Speaking of which, she remembered that since becoming Hokage, her gambling luck had been ridiculously strong.
She had been holding back for a long time.
She felt that if she didn't vent soon, she would ruin her health.
"Although it's a bit of a pity, no casualties occurred."
Jiraiya scratched his head and said.
"You have the nerve to say that! You were supposed to be the supervisor, yet you got dead drunk during the exam!"
Tsunade slammed the table with a crack.
Naruto felt like he could see 'HP-1' constantly popping up.
"..."
Jiraiya laughed awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
He didn't know it would be such a coincidence.
The second exam was originally supposed to last for several days.
It just so happened that something went wrong during the two hours he was slacking off.
By the time he woke up, the matter had already ended.
"But there were still some gains!"
Jiraiya tried to mend the situation, saying, "Shiyohana from the Hidden Rain Village—according to my observations, she seems to have been constantly in contact with Jinchuriki. First with Naruto, and then she approached Fu."
Tsunade's expression immediately became serious.
Approaching Jinchuriki meant that the Akatsuki Organization's goal was very likely the Tailed Beasts.
She couldn't remember how long it had been since anyone besides the Five Great Villages dared to target the Tailed Beasts.
But considering the strength of the Akatsuki Organization's known members, it was indeed possible.
"This is truly troublesome."
Tsunade sighed.
"Yeah."
Jiraiya also felt it was a problem.
If the Akatsuki Organization was really after the Tailed Beasts, then Konoha was likely the place they valued most.
After all, they had the Nine-Tailed.
But fortunately, Naruto had the Flying Thunder God Technique.
It wouldn't be easy to catch him.
"The matter of the Akatsuki Organization is temporarily shelved."
Tsunade showed a smiling expression, "They are currently acting stealthily, so there must be a reason they have to hide. I'm afraid we won't find them in the short term. And for you, Jiraiya, your mission is very important. To deal with such an organization, our internal affairs must be stable."
"..."
Jiraiya's expression was stiff.
Remodeling the Anbu and Root was physically exhausting.
Cleaning up the irregular entertainment venues was mentally exhausting.
Combined, it was a double critical hit.
"What about me?"
Naruto pointed at himself.
He had thought Tsunade kept him back to ask about the barrier.
But after talking for so long, he hadn't been mentioned.
"You have a mission."
Tsunade took out a scroll. "The Fujiwara Clan has sent a request to Konoha, hoping to arrange for a few Ninjas to be sent there to follow their orders in order to find Fujiwara Tokai."
"Since the Akatsuki Organization took action, Fujiwara Tokai is probably gone."
Naruto shook his head and said, "Why waste time?"
"But the Fujiwara Clan doesn't know that, and it's not good if we don't go. Fujiwara Tokai went missing in the Desert of Illusions, which is more or less related to us."
Tsunade paused and said, "He hired us, perhaps for another purpose. Because Fujiwara Tokaicollaborated with Fuyi, the Fujiwara Clan's situation is very bad."
Naruto fell into deep thought.
Saving the son was a pretext; finding bodyguards was the real goal.
It wasn't that they didn't care about the son, but for a colossus like the Fujiwara Clan, the most important thing was always the fate of the family.
"This mission is quite tricky, and I think you are quite suitable."
Tsunade smiled and said, "Anyway, you aren't very obedient, so you must understand what I mean. Give up when it's time to give up."
"Heaven and earth as my witness, I am very obedient."
Naruto couldn't help but defend himself.
"Then just listen to the second half of my sentence."
Tsunade tilted her head and said, "And don't say I'm mistreating you; you can pick any two people to be your teammates."
"Neji and Hinata."
Naruto answered without even thinking.
Tsunade wasn't surprised at all.
"Even though the three of you are Chunin, your strength has already surpassed that of ordinary Jonin, and with the Flying Thunder God Technique, even if you encounter the Akatsuki Organization..."
"Wait."
Naruto interrupted her chant in time; don't raise any flags for me before I set out!
"What's wrong?" Tsunade was puzzled.
"Nothing, just give me the mission request."