It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

On the southern path of Konoha, Zhixue took out several ropes and tied the leader to the wooden cart. The horses had been frightened and run away, and this mess was difficult to deal with.

After Zhixue tied the remaining people up with the hemp ropes used for binding goods, she took out a water bottle to wash the blood off her hands, then walked to the carriage and lifted the lid of the box.

"It doesn't seem like anything special." Zhi Xue took out an iron shovel from the box, shook it, and it seemed quite ordinary.

Ding, metal object detected.

Stop Snow: ...

Are there shovels that aren't made of metal? Do you mean stone shovels? And if that's the case, are there also wooden shovels, gold shovels, and diamond shovels?

Just as Zhixue was wondering if the system was broken, a small snake slithered out from the leader of the caravan and bit the rope.

"You wretched brat...you'll pay for what you've done." The caravan leader wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then ran into the wagon, took out a sickle, broke it in half, and used the light blue syringe inside to inject himself into his arm.

The others, having broken free of the ropes, quickly retrieved syringes from among the farm tools and injected themselves, just like the leader. A burst of black light instantly rose from the cursed seal on the back of their necks.

Hmph hmph hmph ahhhh, ahhhhh!

Zhixue: Hmm? What's that noise?

Just as Zhixue picked up the Kusanagi Sword beside her, she suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from behind her.

call out!

Using her teleportation technique, Zhixue arrived ten meters away, looking at the carriage torn apart by claws and a dozen or so enormous black-striped orcs, each two or three meters tall. She frowned slightly.

"You brat, I'll kill you! Hahahaha!"

How did these guys turn into monsters?

Ding, system task triggered.

Mission Name: Orochimaru's Ambiguous Subordinates.

Mission Description: You have stumbled upon Orochimaru's attempt to transport important experimental materials and some funds and equipment. As a Konoha genin, will you choose to avoid his advance and return to report, or will you choose to stay and keep the assets for yourself?

Avoid their sharp edge: Utilize Professor Shisui's Body Flicker Technique to run incredibly fast, completely out of their reach. After returning to Konoha, uncovering the truth, and recovering the funds, you will receive praise from Konoha's higher-ups. Reward: A small red flower.

Stay and keep the assets for yourself: The enemies are easy prey, even with the temporary power boost from the potion, they're still no match for you. So you decide to chop them all down again and then divide up Orochimaru's fortune. Reward: A large sum of money received.

Zhixue: What? Funds!?

The mention of money seemed to trigger something in Zhixue's nerves, and her eyes seemed to have turned to symbols of money.

Since it's Orochimaru's research funding, there must be a lot of it, right? As a Konoha Police Force ninja, it's perfectly normal for me to confiscate it, isn't it?

Zhi Xue looked at the orc legion in the distance, her expression seemingly becoming more excited.

The mutated Orochimaru subordinate: !??

Something feels off.

Chapter 20 The Taste of Blood.

"Damn Third Hokage..." In the towering bushes, Orochimaru clutched his bleeding side and his body merged into the soil.

At this point, fleeing directly north is no longer feasible. In his current injured state, he would never escape the tight blockade of the Konoha ninjas. Now, he has no choice but to send out several snake clones to attract Konoha's firepower, and then go to the "Ibri" clan to use his smoke transformation ability to escape Konoha's blockade.

Furthermore, there are small outposts where Orochimaru has gathered in the market near the Ibri clan's settlement. His smuggling caravans often pass by there, carrying medicines that can temporarily alleviate injuries. Judging by the time, they should be arriving soon.

Orochimaru, who was rapidly moving underground using the Earth Dragon Concealment Technique, curled up a smile.

Third Hokage, you can't stop me!

……

"That should be about right, right?" Zhi Xue tied the dozen or so unconscious half-cursed beastmen to a big tree, tied them with a pretty pink bow that was very girlish, and then cleaned the blood-stained Flying Thunder God Kunai.

Although she managed to take down a group of weaklings, Zhi Xue herself paid a price, but it didn't seriously damage her. Fortunately, these people weren't very fast after transforming into beasts, and the Flying Thunder God Kunai was able to successfully defend and counterattack multiple times. This strange ability caught them off guard.

Zhi Xue cleaned the scratches and wounds on her body, and with the help of the system's helpful identification, found the medicine in the pile of supplies. She applied it evenly to the wounds, and with one hand holding the bandage, she tied it up little by little.

"Hiss~" Zhi Xue felt the medicine fully integrate with her wounds, as if she were about to fly. She admitted she never wanted to experience that intense, tingling sensation again. But it was strange that she didn't feel any pain at all when fighting with her Sharingan activated.

After treating her wounds, Zhixue used the system to find all the supplies Orochimaru had hidden in the car. This was probably a backup plan Orochimaru had made to avoid being discovered, but it ended up benefiting Zhixue.

After a thorough search, Zhixue found nearly 300 million yen in cash among the vehicles and buried some unused supplies under the largest tree nearby. "We don't need them now, but who knows, they might come in handy later. This is a precious treasure Orochimaru left us when he left Konoha!" (Orochimaru: So what?)

Then Zhixue found a map among the leaders of the orc legion. It didn't look like a treasure map; it was very clear, but it marked several important locations, probably snake dens prepared by Orochimaru outside.

Scratching her smooth, black hair, Zhixue looked at the blueprint containing the treasure trove of snakes and began to struggle.

If she follows this blueprint, there's a chance she'll encounter Orochimaru. But if she doesn't, then it'll probably be a great reward, and the wealth she gains will likely be very helpful to her strength.

Ding, a task selection has been triggered.

Option 1: Know when to stop. We've already reaped a good harvest today; we can head back to the village to continue fishing. Reward: Fishing Medal (Using the Instantaneous Movement Technique will increase your escape speed.)

Option Two: Quit while you're ahead? How could that be? If I intercepted these snake nests multiple times, I'd be rich! Wouldn't it be great to save up for an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, drive a Gundam in Konoha for a few years, make the Konoha leadership suffer, and become someone the entire ninja world trembles over? Success Reward: 2 chakra cards, skill—Old Ma's Consecutive Slashes, and the funds from the snake nests acquired. Failure Penalty: If caught by an excited Orochimaru, you'll be used as a reincarnation vessel by him, and you'll receive the title: Loli's Defeat. (Permanent Charm +3, but only Orochimaru or your reanimated self will likely benefit from this.)

Looking at the options presented by the system, Zhi Xue tapped her head in distress. This was truly a troublesome choice. Being violated by Snake was certainly terrifying, but the reward was also quite tempting—two chakra! That was more than enough to solve her chakra shortage problem.

While Zhixue was still troubled, the system pushed a message to her retina.

Kage-level Trial Card (5 minutes): This is a magical card that instantly boosts your chakra to the level of a regular Tailed Beast, and greatly enhances the power of your five senses, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. However, you will enter a period of weakness after using it. Limited-time flash sale price: 299 million ryo, expiration time: 1 hour 59 minutes 54 seconds.

Stop Snow: ...

Zhi Xue wasn't surprised when she saw the first part of the product, but when she saw the price, a strange look seemed to flash across her cute and pretty face.

"299 million taels? You're really kind, Master. You even left me 1 taels to replenish my supplies."

After sensing Zhi Xue's disdainful tone, the system quickly jumped out to clarify.

"Ding, the selection of this system is random. Please do not slander the system. Besides, the system's random flash sale store is a very generous event. Please do not miss it easily, dear."

Looking at the nearly two hours remaining in the flash sale, Zhi Xue finally made her decision: she'd choose option two for now. If she encountered Orochimaru, she could always buy the Kage-level trial card later. As long as she acted quickly, she might even be able to complete the mission smoothly.

With this thought in mind, Zhi Xue put away the map, then pulled out the Bloodstained Pheasant Sword stuck in the ground and walked towards the dozen or so orcs tied to the big tree.

Despite the excellent education she received in the 21st century telling her not to kill people indiscriminately, her intuition told her that if she didn't kill these people, she would face great trouble in the future, and might even be targeted by Orochimaru.

While things are safe in Konoha for now, things might be different in two years. No one knows what will happen then. After all, with Shiki there, she would never allow Danzo to gouge out Shisui's eyes. Without Shisui's death, the massacre of the Uchiha clan will likely come sooner, inevitably leading to a bloodbath. As for leading the Uchiha in a defection from Konoha, that's unlikely.

The timeline is too late, and she doesn't believe her laid-back personality can lead to success.

Ding, host, killing is an essential skill for ninjas. It's impossible to be soft-hearted. Moreover, these people are not kind. If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring. Even if these people don't pose a threat to you in the future, they may indirectly cause trouble. It's better to kill them.

Upon hearing the system's words, Zhi Xue sighed, her eyes seeming to have made up her mind, and raised the Kusanagi Sword.

"Alright, what you said makes sense. I hope... I can adapt to this dark world soon!" Zhi Xue looked at the group, her heart hardened, and with a flash of light, her knife splattered with blood onto the grass. Feeling the hot blood on her face, Zhi Xue closed her eyes tightly at that moment, and the hilt of the knife in her hand seemed to tremble slightly.

Did it succeed?

Chapter 21 The Ibri Clan

"It should be right here."

A looked at the address on the map and nimbly leaped from branch to branch. The scenery behind him receded like a fleeting shadow.

After passing through the dense jungle, Jia gradually saw a glimmer of light—a bustling market town. Under the protection of Konoha Village, it was filled with the peaceful and lively atmosphere of ordinary people. Various snacks and daily necessities were sold in a constant stream.

However, before this bustling market, a girl with bloodstains on her body caught Jia's attention.

The girl walked along the path, the stench of blood and the ninja tool pouch hanging from her waist causing the civilians playing around her to keep their distance.

The girl was unarmed, with a delicate and adorable face, and a frail, seemingly weak figure. Her arms and legs appeared so fragile that they could topple over with a single push. If her blood-stained ninja outfit were replaced with a regular kimono, she would surely be very popular with strangers.

Although the girl was very beautiful, the lingering smell of blood and her ninja equipment still instilled a sense of dread in the surrounding civilians.

That is the fear that living beings have of supernatural forces.

Zhi Xue looked around at the eyes that were avoiding hers, and scratched her head awkwardly.

Oh dear, I forgot to change my clothes, but it's not a big deal, she still has a maid outfit and can summon her spirit at any time.

Zhi Xue found a secluded corner with three closed sides and stretched a long cloth in front of her to completely block out the light.

"Spiritual communication!"

Zhi Xue changed into a clean and tidy maid outfit in 30 seconds.

She looked no different from usual, except that her bare, slender arms and white thighs were wrapped with bandages stained with blood, and there was a Konoha iron headband hidden under her bangs.

Refreshed, Zhi Xue stepped out of the simple changing room and looked at the ninja a few meters away who was either from the Anbu or Root. Suddenly, she was startled.

Could it be that Shisui discovered this so quickly and led people after them? That shouldn't be the case.

While Zhixue was still intimidated by the person in front of her, little did she know that Tianzang (Root-A) under the mask was also blushing and somewhat at a loss for words when he saw Zhixue dressed in a maid outfit with bandages.

This girl is so cute...

After being rescued from the experimental pod, Tianzang had been staying in the Anbu, which was buried deep beneath Konoha. Every day, the information he received was filled with darkness and distortion, and the missions he carried out were anything but transparent. So when he saw Zhixue's angelic and adorable appearance, he was a little nervous.

"Well, Orochimaru has defected. You, you'd better go home quickly." Tenzang blurted out this out of the blue, then vanished using the Body Flicker Technique. Three question marks appeared above Zhixue's head.

Where did this ANBU come from? They look really strange, but judging from their clothes and equipment, they should definitely be from Konoha.

Zhi Xue didn't think too much about it, assuming it was just an ANBU member stationed there year-round. She hung the Kusanagi sword on her back, took out a map, and headed towards the location of "Snake Uncle's Treasure".

Meanwhile, Tianzang, who was still hiding on the rooftop and quietly watching Zhixue head towards her destination, also took out a map from his ninja tool bag. Seeing that the map was in the same direction as Zhixue's, Tianzang became a little suspicious.

Could this be a ninja sent by the Hokage to assist him? But it doesn't seem like it.

Tianzang glanced at the blazing sun overhead, then looked at Zhixue one last time with a hint of reluctance before vanishing from the spot in an instant.

Hopefully, nothing will go wrong with this operation.

……

In the woods surrounding the market, beneath a large tree that stretches across the land, warm sunlight streams in through tiny cracks.

Beneath this great tree lie numerous winding tunnels, as if the earth itself had been hollowed out, leading to a wide expanse of land. Though desolate, it contains many exquisitely carved structures, and a faint fire illuminates the surroundings.

A group of men and women dressed in plain clothes were sitting together nervously, their thoughts unknown.

Suddenly, a wisp of blue smoke flew in from outside and gradually transformed into a living person in front of everyone.

"How is it? Any news about Lord Orochimaru?"

"Reporting to the leader, Orochimaru's contact snake says he'll be here today to temporarily escape the Konoha ninja's pursuit, and he also wants to take away the supplies stored here for many years and... that child." The contact person whispered in Gota's ear.

Upon hearing "that child," Leader Gota seemed to glance, intentionally or unintentionally, at a little girl with brown curly hair in the crowd.