Chapter 72

Su Zhong wasted no time, taking a brief rest in Qian Valley before hurrying on his way. This time, due to his urgency to enter seclusion, Su Zhong abandoned his previous leisurely pace. He traveled entirely through the wilderness, never entering any towns or villages. Su Zhong headed straight for Tian's Country, passing through areas with few people.

Because of this, the ninja world suddenly lost track of Su Zhong's whereabouts. Bounty hunters, coveting the high bounty on Su Zhong, could not find him.

Rain Village

This is a country that rains year-round. The sky over Rain Village is always sprinkled with fine raindrops. The gray sky makes the entire world seem somber.

Inside the tall tower in the village, the top floor is a spacious room. A semi-circular arch faces the direction of Rain Village. A platform slightly protrudes from the tower, like a pier extending from the riverbank.

A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky.

A black shadow abruptly appeared on the empty platform.

This person walked steadily but silently, like a ghost, gliding into the room.

"Kakuzu is dead, and Hidan is missing. We have found the two rings." The voice was hoarse and sinister, like the call of a strange bird at midnight.

Footsteps slowly approached from the darkness, and two people emerged from the depths of the room.

One had orange hair and wore a black robe with red clouds. Strangely, three black iron pillars pierced his nose, and dozens of iron rings encircled the edges of his ears.

The entire person exuded an eerie and sinister aura. Especially his gray eyes with circles, which seemed to have the power to pierce the heart.

The other was a purple-haired woman, quite beautiful, also wearing the same black robe.

"Who did it? Madara." The orange-haired person asked.

"It should be Uchiha Akira." The person who entered raised his head, his face covered by a spiral mask, revealing only one eye, the Sharingan.

"Your clansman?" The orange-haired person's voice was calm and emotionless, more like a statement than a question.

The masked man nodded in acknowledgment. "What do you plan to do? Pain."

"Two are dead, so let him fill in. If he doesn't submit, he will die." Pain said coldly.

"Who will go?"

"I think Uchiha Itachi would be perfect. It's your family's business, so it's better not to involve others."

The masked man remained silent for a long time.

"Alright. I'll inform Uchiha Itachi."

After saying this, the space around him suddenly warped into a spiral, and he was sucked into it in an instant.

Pain stared at the rain falling outside the terrace without speaking.

"Pain, are we really going to let this go?" The purple-haired woman suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Let it go. Regardless of whether he is from the Uchiha clan, Madara will deal with anyone who might affect our plans. Konan, there's no need to worry about this. Besides, he's just a powerful ninja, nothing to pay much attention to."

Konan was not as optimistic as Pain, her face showing concern. "What is he really up to?"

"Whatever he's up to, as long as it helps us achieve our dreams, it's fine."

Konan wanted to say something but held back, ultimately saying nothing. Is it really that simple?

...

Once free from other distractions, Su Zhong's speed was incredibly fast, and he quickly entered Tian's Country.

Entering a town, after half a month of wandering in the wild, seeing humans again gave Bai a sense of excitement.

It took a while for him to calm down, and Bai was very curious about Su Zhong's calm demeanor. Why isn't the master affected at all?

He didn't know that in his previous life, Su Zhong had spent almost ten years practicing in the wild. He was long accustomed to a life away from people. Seeing humans again didn't have the same impact on him.

"Master, how do we find Orochimaru?" Bai asked, puzzled.

After entering Tian's Country, Su Zhong actually slowed down.

It seemed he had no intention of searching.

"We don't need to find him; he will come to us."

Su Zhong observed the customs and culture of Tian's Country.

Bai was full of confusion but didn't ask more.

In the evening, the two found the largest hot spring inn and enjoyed a hot spring bath.

The warm water covered their bodies, and Bai closed his eyes in comfort, his face tinged with red.

They had been rushing for days, but now that they had arrived, they were no longer in a hurry. Looking at Su Zhong, who was also enjoying the hot spring with his eyes closed, Bai was puzzled.

Suddenly, Su Zhong opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

"He's here."

Bai was taken aback. What's here?

Before he could figure it out, he saw Su Zhong grab the water and lift his hand as if to hold it.

The water, which should have been formless, was actually held by Su Zhong, forming a gel-like ball in his palm.

He casually threw it forward.

Boom!

The wall was instantly shattered, creating a large hole several meters wide.

A muffled groan came from the other side.

Bai was startled, realizing that someone had been hiding just a few meters away from them.

Su Zhong wrapped himself in a bath towel and walked out through the hole.

Bai quickly put on a bathrobe and followed Su Zhong out.

Behind the wall was a small artificial hill, surrounded by a stream, and not far away was a bamboo grove.

Under the moonlight, the bamboo grove looked somewhat eerie.

On the hill, a man in black was trapped, struggling to free himself.

The hard rock seemed to have turned into sand, forming a human-shaped depression. But it was like a gel, and no matter how he struggled, he couldn't pull himself out.

"Don't bother; you can't get out."

Su Zhong said calmly. His water ball, while not causing any harm, made it impossible for the man to exert any force.

"In a while, you will recover. Go back and tell Orochimaru that Uchiha Akira is here. He will know what to do." Su Zhong turned and returned to the hot spring inn.

"Master, are you just letting him go? Shouldn't we interrogate him for information?"

"He is the information I need."

Bai quickly understood Su Zhong's plan but was not as confident as Su Zhong. "Master, tracking him isn't a good idea. He can notify Orochimaru through others or through secret channels, which we can't control."

Su Zhong waved his hand, not responding.

Bai didn't know that Su Zhong's Insight Eye had greatly improved. From inside the hot spring inn, he could see the movements of anyone within a kilometer.

No matter how the person transmitted information, all his actions were as clear to Su Zhong as if they were happening right in front of him.

As Su Zhong expected, he soon confirmed the true direction of the information.

Late at night, Su Zhong and Bai quietly left the hot spring inn.

The next morning, as the sun rose, Su Zhong arrived at a hidden forest.

"It should be here."

Su Zhong said and punched the ground hard.

A faint tremor came from beneath his feet, but the surface of the ground remained unchanged, and Su Zhong's hand didn't even sink into the soil.

After a while, the ground suddenly sank, forming a large hole, with a staircase leading underground.

A cold wind blew out of the hole, and Bai shivered. The feeling was not good, like being watched by a fierce beast.

Three figures shot out of the hole.

The leader wore a light yellow robe, with long black hair, and his distinctive golden snake eyes fixed on Su Zhong.

Behind him were two others, one with silver hair and round glasses, Kabuto, and the other was Sasuke.

Su Zhong raised an eyebrow in surprise. He didn't expect Sasuke to join Orochimaru so quickly.

All three looked disheveled, even Orochimaru, who was covered in dust.

Su Zhong's punch had caused the ground to vibrate, and Orochimaru's base, built underground, had been shaken, causing many areas to collapse.

"Uchiha Akira, don't you think you're being too arrogant?"

Orochimaru stood straight, his face showing little anger.

Su Zhong snorted. "If I used my full strength, the base would have collapsed long ago. I was just knocking on the door."

Orochimaru ignored Su Zhong's argument. "It seems my subordinates are too lazy. You managed to find me directly?"

"Cut the crap. Where's what I want?" Su Zhong had no interest in arguing.

Orochimaru looked at Su Zhong with a half-smile. "I'm in perfect condition, and this is my territory. Aren't you afraid I'll renege on the deal and use all my forces to keep you here?"

Su Zhong stared coldly at Orochimaru, his face expressionless.

"My thing."

Orochimaru shook his head and smiled, no longer纠缠 (lingering).

He formed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

Bang!

A white mist rose, and a snake as thick as a forearm appeared on the ground.

Su Zhong frowned, sensing something was wrong.

Sure enough, the snake suddenly opened its mouth and vomited out a scroll over a meter wide, four times the thickness of its body. It was unclear how the snake had hidden it in its stomach.

Orochimaru reached out and threw the scroll to Su Zhong.

Su Zhong caught it and turned to look at Sasuke, who had a cold expression.

"Good, your aura is much stronger. Train hard, but don't touch certain things; they are very dangerous."

He was warning Sasuke that, without sufficient strength, he shouldn't approach Orochimaru.

Orochimaru watched Su Zhong with interest.

"Did you dare to touch the thing I gave you? Aren't you afraid of the danger?" Orochimaru asked.

Su Zhong snorted and extended the hand holding the scroll.

Orochimaru then noticed that there was a tiny gap between Su Zhong's hand and the scroll. His hand never actually touched the scroll.

Su Zhong, of course, wouldn't directly touch anything from Orochimaru. If there were any traps he didn't know about, he would be at a disadvantage.

In the meantime, Su Zhong had converted his energy to mental focus and thoroughly examined the scroll, ensuring there were no energy fluctuations before feeling reassured.

When he opened it, it was indeed about sealing techniques. Su Zhong nodded in satisfaction but felt a sense of unease.

This extortion seemed unusually cooperative from Orochimaru, and Su Zhong couldn't help but be cautious.

He threw the scroll to Bai to keep and turned to leave.

He felt something was off with Orochimaru, fearing he was planning something behind his back.

If he were forced into such an unequal transaction, he would want to find a way to get back.

"Please wait." Orochimaru suddenly said.

Su Zhong's steps quickened.

"You killed members of Akatsuki. Aren't you afraid of their retaliation?" Orochimaru suddenly said.

Su Zhong abruptly turned, staring coldly at Orochimaru.