Motomu struggled to understand the meaning behind Orochimaru's words.
According to what he had said.
The reason the Dragon Vein possessed so much chakra was that it was actually a remnant of the God Tree's roots.
But Motomu knew better.
A mere root of the God Tree definitely shouldn't be capable of allowing someone to travel through time.
Otherwise, wouldn't the abilities of the Ten-Tails, the incarnation of the entire God Tree, be even more world-shattering?
Regarding this.
Two conjectures formed in Motomu's mind.
Assuming the Dragon Vein really was a remnant of the roots.
One possibility was that the roots were compressed under subterranean pressure, causing the chakra density to become so extreme that it underwent a qualitative change.
The second was that the roots, soaked in natural energy, had transformed into Sage Chakra.
Since Motomu hadn't seen the actual thing yet, he couldn't make a definitive judgment.
But if it was the second possibility.
Then the Dragon Vein might be of great use to him.
Motomu's curiosity toward the Dragon Vein intensified.
"Time is of the essence. The Sand Ninja have been making frequent moves lately."
"My disciple, you shall set out tomorrow."
Orochimaru's voice pulled Motomu back to reality.
Sand Ninja movements?
It was highly likely the Third Kazekage was actually dead.
If the Third Kazekage had been assassinated, wouldn't he be able to take advantage of the chaos and perhaps harvest some gains from the One-Tail?
After nodding to show he understood, he turned and left the Anbu.
On the way home.
Motomu began to plan his general strategy for this mission.
Due to his connection with Orochimaru, he had joined the Anbu and was heading to the border of the Land of Wind ahead of schedule.
He didn't have much time left.
First, he had to figure out Senjutsu to increase his strength.
Since he could feel natural energy during his very first training session, he had to be extremely talented.
With a bit more contemplation, he should be able to learn it.
Second, he had to make another trip to Ryuchi Cave to try and defeat the two Snake Himes.
By defeating the Himes and gaining experience, he could push Big Eyeball to level 40 and unlock a new passive.
Tight schedule, heavy tasks.
He had a lot to do today.
Motomu quickened his pace.
He returned to the wooden house just as Anko and the other were finishing the dishes.
Seeing Motomu in such a hurry, Anko asked with concern.
"Did something happen?"
"It's fine. There's a village mission, and I'll be leaving for a while."
Motomu waved her off, grabbed the Cobra, who had transformed into her human form, and walked out.
"I'm using the Snake Sage today."
"Anko, remember to summon her later just like we discussed."
"Got it, Motomu."
Reappearing in Ryuchi Cave.
To save time, Motomu acted immediately.
He mounted Big Eyeball.
The two massive flying eyeballs quickly searched the surroundings for any traces of the Snake Himes.
Time flew by. By Motomu's estimate, two and a half hours had passed.
He finally found a slight clue in the core area of Ryuchi Cave.
A waterfall connecting heaven and earth surged down from a cliff of the underground river.
Thousands of tons of water crashed into an ink-colored deep pool, kicking up several meters of spray.
Looking at a stone stele left behind from an unknown era, Motomu rubbed his chin in thought.
Logically, given the Snake Himes' speed, they should have found him long ago.
Yet two and a half hours had passed without a single sound.
The entire Ryuchi Cave was empty.
When things are this strange, there's bound to be a catch.
Could it be that these Snake Himes had banded together and fled?
That didn't make sense either!
He had almost been trapped by these snakes last time; they would definitely try to swarm a lone target.
Perhaps, just as the stone stele suggested.
Had they gone to find reinforcements?
Motomu didn't quite understand. Ryuchi Cave had always been at odds with the other two Great Sage Regions.
How could they possibly ask them for help?
According to the stele, this pool could lead to other holy lands.
Ruling out the other holy lands.
Could they have gone to the Ninja World?
As soon as he thought of this, Motomu's expression darkened.
Just like in the Sage of Six Paths' memories from the anime, where he dove into a pool to go to Mount Myoboku.
This might truly be connected to the Ninja World.
Then the disappearance of the Snake Himes and the White Snake Sage made sense.
"They went to the Ninja World to find me!"
In Ryuchi Cave, he could run whenever he wanted, but once the White Snake Sage reached the Ninja World, he might not be able to escape.
These snakes were truly malicious; they clearly didn't intend to give him a way out.
Motomu's mind raced.
Since they had gone to the Ninja World.
The White Snake Sage's power would likely be significantly reduced.
This undoubtedly also gave him a chance to take them out.
Originally, they were in the dark while he was in the light.
Now that he had obtained the intel.
Their positions were reversed.
The information the Snake Sage had about him was nothing more than his Uchiha identity and his summoning snake, the Cobra.
Finding Motomu himself was hard.
But finding the Cobra was much simpler.
Currently, the scale pulled from the Cobra was still in their hands.
By following the scent, the White Snake Sage could find the cottage where he and Anko lived near Konoha.
If they were to come knocking while he wasn't there.
It was hard to imagine how the girl and the snake would survive the White Snake Sage.
However, having learned the intel ahead of time.
This potential danger could be resolved simply by taking the Cobra away quickly.
The faster he acted, the lower the chance of an accident.
As for how to kill the White Snake Sage, that would have to wait.
He didn't have time to explore the pool for other holy lands.
After marking the location on his map, Motomu performed hand seals to summon the Cobra.
Receiving the summoning signal in the Ninja World, the Cobra ended the reverse summoning.
Motomu reappeared.
He scanned the surroundings warily, and after confirming there were no traces of the White Snake Sage.
He moved quickly.
After briefly explaining the situation to Anko, Motomu took the Cobra to the Anbu base.
Information regarding Motomu's identity had already been entered into the Anbu database.
After verifying that the Cobra was a summoning beast, Motomu successfully reached the base where he had met Orochimaru earlier.
The staff sized up the Cobra, who pushed up her glasses with an innocent look.
"Besides the Inuzuka clan, this is the first time I've seen someone bring a ninja beast along."
With that, the Anbu staff member handed over two masks.
Motomu chose a cat face, and the Cobra chose a mouse.
"There are other free ninja tools provided here. See if you need anything else?"
A row of shelves opened up.
Standard ninja tools like ordinary katanas and shuriken appeared before them.
Motomu asked about Explosive Tags and, learning he had to buy them himself, decisively spent three thousand ryo for ten.
These things were just too useful.
He had used three when he killed Tagitsu Hime, and the effect was quite good.
He could only say that Explosive Tags were the most successful invention in the Ninja World.
With his combat gear ready.
Motomu and the Cobra waited for the remaining two teammates.
In the early hours of the morning.
Motomu, who had taken a short nap, finally met his teammates.
The two looked at the Cobra with surprise.
Before briefing Motomu on the mission objective and team coordination.
One was from the Yamanaka clan, and the other was from the Hyuga clan.
For an A-rank mission that was ostensibly for intelligence gathering, this lineup was about what Motomu expected.
According to them.
Once they reached their destination, the three would begin gathering intel.
Motomu would use his Sharingan Genjutsu, the Yamanaka teammate would use the Mind Transfer Jutsu, and the Hyuga ninja would use the Byakugan for lookout while searching for possible traces of the Sand Ninja.
It was a three-day journey to the Land of Wind. Including the return trip, they could complete this ordinary A-rank mission in at most half a month.
The Yamanaka teammate was quite optimistic. In half a month, his wife's child would be nearly due.
He even invited Motomu to the celebration upon their return.