Slurp, slurp...
Pop!
The Cobra let go, satisfied, and smacked its lips a few times.
"No, I feel like you're still a bit lacking."
"But you're definitely much better than Motomu."
"You might succeed if you try a couple more times, you understand?"
Anko's small face was blank. After hearing the Snake Sage's words, she couldn't quite comprehend it.
However, she understood the general meaning.
Senjutsu is difficult; you failed, but you can try more.
"Alright, let's go eat first. We'll take our time this afternoon after finishing."
"Motomu made it. I wonder if it's edible."
"Even if it tastes terrible, it should still be better than a dead rat."
As the Cobra spoke, it nearly drooled. It used its head to nudge Anko, who was still in a paralyzed state, onto its back and swam rapidly toward the wooden house.
When the two returned home,
Motomu had already finished eating and left.
On the table sat stir-fried eggs with leeks, squirrel-shaped saury, and a large slab of pork ribs.
Anko didn't see Motomu, only finding a note on the table.
...
Ten minutes ago.
Motomu was marveling that his culinary skills hadn't diminished from his prime.
A ninja wearing white rigid leather armor and an animal mask found this place based on the address he had left in the village.
"Chunin Uchiha Motomu, by orders from above, report to the Anbu headquarters immediately."
After the man finished speaking, he vanished with a Body Flicker.
He didn't give Motomu any time to react, leaving him unable to ask the questions in his heart.
Watching the flickering shadow disappear, Motomu hurriedly cleaned his rice bowl, put on his ninja tool pouch, left a note, and headed out.
Regarding being sought out out of the blue,
Motomu felt both somewhat annoyed and a bit delighted.
The annoyance was that he had just wanted to rest for a while when he was suddenly interrupted.
Even his Senjutsu cultivation and the Big Eyeball upgrade plan had to be postponed.
The delight was that this person mentioned reporting to the Anbu.
Unlike the Root, which operated in the shadows and took orders only from Danzo,
compared to Danzo, Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was sufficiently conciliatory and less extreme in his use of people.
As an assassination and intelligence organization directly under the Hokage, the Anbu was clearly more moderate.
Going to the Anbu, he wouldn't have to worry about being controlled.
Moreover, the Anbu often entered other hidden villages to cause trouble.
There were many opportunities.
Under the supply of intelligence resources from the massive war machine that was the Hidden Leaf,
bypassing the heavy guards of enemy villages,
Anbu ninja leaving the village legitimately and meeting Tailed Beasts legitimately provided far more chances than waiting around the frontline borders for them.
If he wasn't mistaken, he had been selected.
Being able to enter the Anbu at this age was practically the same treatment as Uchiha Itachi!
Those who could enter the Anbu were either the Hokage's true core supporters or those with outstanding strength.
'Was it because I exerted too much effort during the Chunin Exams and performed too realistically?'
'Is that why the Hokage recruited someone from the Uchiha clan?'
'Or rather, is Sarutobi Hiruzen getting senile?'
He didn't know who was pulling strings behind the scenes to actually stand up to Danzo and shove him into the Anbu.
All sorts of doubts accumulated in Motomu's heart.
Motomu decided to go check the situation immediately.
Anbu Base.
Motomu had come here once with Orochimaru and returned to the site based on his memory.
There hadn't been much change here.
Following the ninja leading the way, Motomu arrived at an Anbu squad gathering point.
Inside the circular, empty basement, it was so quiet that only Motomu's footsteps and the crackling of burning torches could be heard.
Stepping out from the stone passage, Motomu saw three figures within.
Two Anbu wearing animal masks, and his teacher, Orochimaru.
The moment he saw Orochimaru,
Motomu recalled something he had almost forgotten.
Previously in the Forest of Death,
Orochimaru had told him to find him after the exam ended.
Lately, because of Ryuchi Cave, Senjutsu, the heart, and many other matters, he had pushed this to the back of his mind.
Thinking about it made him feel a bit embarrassed.
Now,
Motomu was clear on it.
His entry into the Anbu most likely had everything to do with Orochimaru.
'Does Orochimaru have some mysterious little mission for me to complete again?'
Weren't those many Mist ninja vessels enough for him to mess with?
Seeing Motomu's arrival, Orochimaru immediately nodded to the two Anbu.
"Dismissed."
The two Anbu vanished from the spot with a Body Flicker.
Motomu withdrew his gaze from the two disappearing figures and looked back at Orochimaru.
"Master, what is this about?"
"Disciple, I have some matters here that I need you to complete."
"I shall obey your decree, Master."
With a clack, Motomu caught the scroll thrown by Orochimaru with one hand.
He opened it and began to read.
The contents of the scroll were beyond Motomu's expectations.
The general meaning was this.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had received intelligence from Orochimaru.
In the sparsely populated, desolate godforsaken wilderness of the Land of Wind,
there was a regime called the Loulan Kingdom.
The puppet power of this Loulan Kingdom was mysteriously powerful, and it was highly likely to help the neighboring Hidden Sand Village in the upcoming war.
As a result, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to issue an A-rank intelligence investigation mission to the Anbu.
To thoroughly investigate the attitude of this so-called Loulan Kingdom.
Of course!
This was merely the surface of the mission.
Motomu stole a glance at Orochimaru's expression and understood instantly.
Orochimaru definitely wanted to stir up trouble.
Motomu vaguely remembered that in a certain movie, something called the Dragon Vein appeared.
It seemed to be something like infinite chakra, and it could even travel through time.
But only something as mysterious as that could attract Orochimaru's attention.
Motomu calculated the time.
At this point in time, Minato didn't know the Rasengan yet.
Yet the Namikaze Minato at the beginning of the movie had already taught the Rasengan to Jiraiya.
Most likely, the appearance of himself and the cultivation-obsessed Orochimaru had disrupted the timeline, leading to this mission.
By setting up this mission, Orochimaru's intent was definitely not just to ascertain the Loulan Kingdom's attitude.
"Master, from what I can see, this matter is definitely not that simple."
Hearing this, Orochimaru was quite satisfied with Motomu's perceptiveness.
"You are truly a student worth teaching. My dear disciple, your primary mission for this trip to the enemy territory is not that matter."
Seeing that Orochimaru didn't care about him not showing up for a long time after the exam,
while Motomu's heart settled, he continued to listen to the other speak.
"In ancient records, while I was searching for historical clues about various Sages, I discovered..."
"I discovered that the ninja world originally had a Chakra Tree, which brought chakra to the ninja."
"Aside from that,"
"the subsequent clues I know are few and far between."
"However, after this investigation, I have also reached a conclusion."
"The ninja world originally only had the cultivation of Senjutsu and Natural Energy."
"Chakra did not exist. I do not know which predecessor preached here and pioneered the lineage of chakra."
"Originally, those who could master the power of Sages were one in ten thousand, quite similar to the world of immortal cultivation."
"But since the path of chakra was created, the world's great power has become something everyone can learn."
"Perhaps I can learn from the path of a great being who preached and opened up a cultivation lineage."
"I am seeking for you to go this time to investigate whether that Dragon Vein is a remnant of the ancient Chakra Tree."
Motomu stared blankly at the sparkle in Orochimaru's eyes, desperately suppressing the word 'impressive' deep in his heart.
'Has the world already turned out like this?'
If he wasn't a traverser who knew the plot, no one could have followed Orochimaru's train of thought.
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