Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic

Chapter 44 Orochimaru! ! !

Speaking of ideals.

Young people always have endless topics to talk about.

After laughing, Hongdou also began to look forward to the future.

"I want to gain my teacher's approval!"

"I want to become a powerful ninja like my teacher."

"I want to become Hokage and end this chaotic world like the First Hokage."

Qingwu listened to the girl's dream with a smile on her lips.

Most children born during World War III probably harbored the ideal of ending the chaos...

"Red Bean, I think there's something wrong with your ideals," Iruka said with a serious face.

"Huh?" Hongdou asked, confused.

"After becoming Hokage, shouldn't the first thing you do be to make everyone in the village happy?" Iruka said seriously, "Don't always think about fighting and killing, otherwise the war will never end."

Hongdou spat out the bamboo skewer from her mouth and said speechlessly:

"Iruka, you're really naive. No war? Unless you turn the Daimyo and Kage of the Five Great Nations into idiots."

"Red Bean! You're too realistic!"

"Be realistic, or you'll live longer, you immature brat."

"..."

Qingwu walked between the two, listening to their bickering, and couldn't help but slow down her pace.

The moment of tranquility allowed him to forget the bloodshed that had just occurred.

After a while, Iruka, unable to win the argument, changed the subject, "Red Bean, who exactly is that teacher you're always bragging about?"

"It's a secret!" Red Bean said smugly, "You'll find out someday."

With the tower in sight, Hongdou said lazily, "I want to finish the exam quickly so I can go take a hot shower. I've been sweating a lot these past two days..."

Before the words were finished—

Time seemed to stand still.

No, it's not that everything is still, it's that everything seems to have stopped.

Birdsong, insect chirping, rustling leaves... all sounds were instantly erased by some invisible force, the light became viscous, and the air felt heavy as lead.

Iruka's smile froze on his face. He found himself unable to breathe, unable to blink, and even his heartbeat seemed to be frozen.

A look of horror flashed in Hongdou's eyes. She tried to break free, but all the muscles in her body were tense, and her fingers felt as if they were welded shut.

But at the same time, Red Bean sensed a familiar presence...

Of the three, only Qingwu could still move, and his natural energy flowed freely within him; he was not suppressed by the powerful chakra.

However, he had a very bad feeling.

A figure slowly "rose" from the shadows cast by the trees in the sunlight ahead.

It's as if it comes with its own eerie background music.

The figure seemed to emerge from the water, elegant and composed, yet with an inhuman eeriness.

He wore a loose white robe, his long black hair was loose, and his skin was so pale it was almost transparent.

What's most striking are those eyes—golden vertical pupils, like those of a cold-blooded animal, devoid of any emotion, only pure... scrutiny.

"T-Teacher!" Hongdou finally managed to squeeze out a sound.

"Orochimaru!" Qingwu took a step back warily, countless thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.

Why is Orochimaru here?

Judging from the Konoha headband in this guy's long hair, he hasn't defected yet, and he's coming for me?

Danzo?

Do you know about the Third Hokage?

Human experimentation?

container?

Wait, has Orochimaru already developed the Reanimation Jutsu?

"Hehehe..."

Orochimaru spoke, his voice hoarse and soft, carrying a chilling quality:

"My good disciple, you have brought me a great gift, and your teacher will reward you."

"Red Bean...you, your...teacher?" Iruka stammered, having regained some control.

"No..." Hongdou's face turned ashen instantly.

She wanted to explain, to say that she hadn't deliberately lured Qingwu here, to say that she didn't know the teacher would intervene, to say...

I have so much to say.

But Orochimaru's gaze swept over Iruka, over Anko, and finally settled on Seigo.

He seemed to have lost interest in everyone except Qingwu, not even glancing at his own disciples.

"Hey! Thousand-Armed Azure Willow, let me see your wondrous power."

Orochimaru stretched out a hand.

That hand was pale and long, like the fangs of a snake.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!"

The same ninjutsu, when used by different people, can have vastly different effects.

"Teacher—" Hongdou screamed with her eyes closed.

However, her scream got stuck in her throat.

Qingwu, his face grave, leaped onto a tree branch to dodge the giant python's attack, shouting at the same time, "Super Spirit Summoning Technique!"

"boom--!!!"

Centered on the green wutong tree, a beam of emerald green light shot into the sky!

"What?!" Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly.

next second.

A total of 60 dwarf warriors appeared under the tree.

The dwarf swung his heavy warhammer and slammed the giant serpent into the ground.

That's not all; 76 centaurs were lined up in four columns, their fur gleaming metallic in the sunlight.

Spears stood like a forest, and iron hooves trampled the earth, spreading out in all directions, as if ready to charge at any moment.

On the branches of several large trees beside Qingwu, 45 wood spirits leaped and flew among the treetops, longbows in hand, arrows nocked.

Faced with an enemy like Orochimaru, Qingwu summoned all his troops.

"This, this is..." Iruka had seen Qingwu's summoned creatures before, but... he never thought there would be so many. Are you sure it's not a legion?

"Teacher!" The moment Anko regained control of her body, she ran towards Orochimaru, wanting to question her teacher about why he had attacked her companion.

However, Orochimaru seemed not to hear her cries.

Orochimaru's pupils also contracted at this moment, but he wasn't afraid; instead, he was... excited.

Orochimaru was deeply interested in everything unknown.

"I see!"

Orochimaru's vertical pupils revealed intense greed: "No wonder Danzo's men suffered losses at your hands, an army of summoned beasts? Heh heh heh..."

"old--"

Anko tried to speak, but Orochimaru, as if disgusted, sealed her mouth with a snake and sent her underground.

Orochimaru's gaze returned to Qingwu, and he walked over step by step.

His steps were light, but with each step he took, the sky seemed to darken a little more. Although it was almost noon, Iruka felt a chill run through his body.

"Let me see... where your wonderful power comes from."

At this moment, Orochimaru only wanted to capture Qingwu, cut open his stomach, and study the principles behind this Wood Release technique, which was different from that of the First Hokage.

"Iruka, get out of here!"

Qingwu's expression was solemn.

He certainly wasn't confident he could defeat Orochimaru.

But this is Konoha territory after all. If the Third Hokage is monitoring it, he should be able to find out and come to the rescue very quickly.

Even if all units are wiped out, we must buy time!

Iruka's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints. He tried to move, but only his mouth could move. "I... I won't retreat. I'll stay and fight together."

"Walk!"

Without wasting words, Qingwu manipulated the two centaurs to lead Iruka to the rear.

Orochimaru did not make a move; he didn't care at all about Iruka's fate.

He simply approached step by step.

It was as if they wanted to study these "wonderful" creatures up close...