Being an otaku in the world of American comics

#381 - Iron Country

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Under the leadership of Jiraiya, and guided by Suigetsu Hozuki, a firsthand witness, Liang Yue and the other members of the Third Squad ultimately came up empty-handed.

During the process, although it couldn't be said that they found no clues at all, as something that had happened before Nagato Uzumaki's invasion of Konoha, Orochimaru, having become a captive, was now likely like money swindled by fraudsters, passed through several hands and tucked away in some unknown corner of the ninja world.

Or, he might simply be kept by Obito Uchiha for future battlefield arrangements and needs.

In this situation, trying to rescue Orochimaru through searching and tracking was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Bang~"

Beneath a tall, dense forest hill, accompanied by a muffled thud and a spreading white mist, an orange toad the size of a washbasin appeared before everyone's eyes.

"It's confirmed~ Jiraiya, according to the information from Ryuchi Cave, Orochimaru's summoning contract hasn't been canceled, the connection still exists, meaning he's not dead.

It's just that the contract channel between them has become very obscure, probably because he's been hidden in some secluded and secret area, or interfered with by some special ninjutsu."

After saying that, without waiting for a response, the toad transformed into a cloud of white mist and disappeared.

Leaving the surrounding people looking at each other in dismay.

"It's good he's not dead, but the problem is, where is he hidden..."

Jiraiya visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, crossing his arms and frowning.

Liang Yue, meanwhile, was sitting idly on a nearby rock, his expression calm, but his eyes occasionally flashed with a faint glimmer, clearly indicating that he was also thinking.

However, Liang Yue wasn't considering strategies or plans to rescue Orochimaru.

The ninja world, frankly speaking, is still a world where strength reigns supreme, and besides, Liang Yue didn't have any long-term management plans in his heart; once the mission time was up, he would leave directly.

Naturally, he wouldn't care too much about the interpersonal relationships here.

Orochimaru's character was indeed full of charm.

A scientific genius, a fanatic, with a firm will, resorting to any means to achieve his goals, and even able to redeem himself at the end, preserving himself.

Based on what he could do, out of respect for an allied figure, Liang Yue would naturally save him if he could.

Anyway, there was nothing to lose, and he might even gain some extra experience.

But conversely, it didn't matter, and in fact, Liang Yue didn't have any plans to bring Orochimaru out of the ninja world...

"Hmm... I didn't think about it before, but if I think about it, Orochimaru seems to be a very capable subordinate, and I seem to be lacking a group of researchers..."

Once this thought arose, it immediately sprouted in Liang Yue's mind.

Subsequently, this guy began to constantly weigh the pros and cons in his mind.

As for whether Orochimaru, the person involved, would agree, he didn't think too deeply about it.

After all, the answer was almost self-evident~

As someone who aspires to pursue immortality, if there is an opportunity to break free from the cage and soar to the heavens, if he doesn't seize it tightly, then he is not Orochimaru.

The ninja world is simply too small.

According to Liang Yue's understanding over the years, the Naruto world in front of him, although seemingly a planet from the perspective of the universe and planets, still has a considerable gap from Earth in terms of land area and living environment.

The countries belonging to the Five Great Ninja Villages, although known as the Five Great Nations of the ninja world, in terms of land area, add up to only one or two provinces of China.

Of course, according to the development of the Naruto plot, in the later stages, there will be aliens from the Otsutsuki clan continuing to descend upon the ninja world.

If the worldview here can be developed and broadened to the universe, then the so-called territory, land and other issues will no longer be problems.

However, that is no longer something that Liang Yue needs to consider, after all, his mission period this time is very long compared to the past, but if it is placed on the scale of the universe, a dozen years is really nothing.

Such a short period of time is not enough for him to develop alien spaceships...

"ChunQiu~"

"Hmm?"

Just as Liang Yue was sitting there lost in thought, Jiraiya suddenly interrupted his divergent thinking...

"I think the reason why the summoning contract between Orochimaru and Ryuchi Cave is being blocked is likely due to being isolated from the world.

Obito's closed space is highly suspected, why don't you go back and find Kakashi, and let your little monkey go in again."

"Okay."

Liang Yue didn't decline, and after getting up, he threw a specially made "Sage" kunai to Jiraiya, and then returned to the ninja village with a Flying Thunder God technique.

...

At the same time, under the threat of war and peace, survival and development, and the successive loss of the village's tailed beasts, the action efficiency of the Five Great Ninja Villages in the ninja world has begun to improve as never before.

Vaguely, the ninjas belonging to all parties also have a premonition that a moment of turbulence and crisis is getting closer and closer to them!

During these three days when Jiraiya, Liang Yue and others were clueless and running around, the leadership of each ninja village had also gathered in the territory of the neutral Iron Country outside the Five Great Ninja Villages, and began discussions and negotiations on this crisis.

Therefore, when Liang Yue returned to Konoha Village, to the teleportation point outside the Hokage office window, the person sitting behind the desk handling Konoha affairs had been replaced by the Third Hokage.

After a brief exchange, Liang Yue learned that Tsunade had arrived at the Five Kage Summit in the Iron Country, and Kakashi was also acting as the Hokage's guard, accompanying her.

So without further ado, after briefly sharing the experiences of his Third Squad over the past few days with the Third Hokage, Liang Yue also headed towards the Iron Country.

Hinata, as a ninja who had officially graduated from the Ninja Academy, was also heading to the Iron Country with her other two teammates under the leadership of her team teacher, Kurenai Yuhi.

Moreover, out of safety considerations, Little Kongou, as a powerful combat unit, was also given to Hinata by Liang Yue before the Third Squad set off, to ensure complete support.

"This makes things easier, everyone is running together."

Scratching the hair on his head, after a period of calculation, Liang Yue had just walked out of Konoha and figured out the best movement trajectory for the teleportation point.

As a space-time ninjutsu, Flying Thunder God Technique can greatly improve the mobility of the caster, ignoring most spatial distances, but this teleportation method is not without its limitations.

In addition to the considerable amount of energy required each time it is activated, the spatial movement distance of the ninjutsu itself also has considerable limitations.

So in order to solve this problem, in the past few years, in addition to occasionally sending a few specially made kunai engraved with the "Sage" formula to trusted partners.

When going out to perform tasks, he would also leave his Flying Thunder God formula in some secret locations.

And the Iron Country, as a plot scene with considerable status in the Naruto world plot, Liang Yue would naturally not let it go~