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

Has it come to this? It seems Lord Orochimaru is truly badly injured.

While Wutai was still discussing how to welcome Orochimaru, another person suddenly ran over and said, "Boss, a member of Root who claims to be Lord Danzo has come to help us meet Lord Orochimaru."

"Danzo? Let him in and take a look." Gota hesitated for a moment before giving the order.

Although I've never met Danzo, I've heard about him from Orochimaru. That old man is different from the people of Konoha. He might actually send someone to help Lord Orochimaru leave.

Sky Burial was welcomed into the cave by the people of Ibri, and as Sky Burial's figure was gradually illuminated by the surrounding lights, the little girl with brown curly hair suddenly lit up.

"Tianzang, is Tianzang back?"

"Hello, leader of the Ibri clan. I am Danzo's subordinate. I am here to help Orochimaru, who may be passing through here, escape Konoha's pursuit."

"Let me see the thing."

Tenzang took out a secret scroll from his ninja tool pouch and tossed it to Gota.

After carefully inspecting it, Wu Tai returned it.

"It's Danzo's stuff, it seems there's no mistake."

Just as Wu Tai was about to say something more, a pink wisp of smoke flew over from a distance, circled around Tianzang several times, and then suddenly condensed in front of Tianzang, turning into a little brown-haired loli dressed in cloth.

"Tianzang!? Is that you, Tianzang?"

"Tian Zang... are you talking about me?" Tian Zang, wearing a Root demon mask, pointed at himself with some confusion. He seemed to have this name, but he couldn't remember it clearly. Most of the time, people would call him by his code name, which was—A.

……

"Hmm, this should be it." Zhi Xue walked into the dim jungle, holding a map in one hand and the compass she had just bought in the other.

The leaves here are so dense that it's hard to see the sun and it's difficult to find your way. Luckily, Zhixue isn't bad at directions.

After arriving at the location using the map, Zhixue stopped and looked at the bottomless cave entrance in front of her, then put away the compass.

"Is Orochimaru's treasure here?"

Chapter 22, Xuejian

Inside the dark, winding tree hollow, a faint light illuminated the surrounding darkness. Looking back, the light shining from the cave entrance behind them had gradually disappeared as they traveled further down the path.

Zhi Xue held a torch in one hand and gripped the Kusanagi sword tightly in the other, carefully watching out for any sudden changes that might occur around her.

Call ~

It was as if a gentle breeze had caressed Zhixue, and the cool air made her sneeze a few times.

"Achoo! Isn't this inside a cave? How could there be wind?"

While Zhixue was still wondering, a figure appeared behind her in the dim firelight and shadows, with a long rope already hanging high in his hand.

"Outsider, you've come to the wrong place!" The Ibri tribesman guarding the place tried to put the rope around Zhixue's petite and delicate body, but only for a moment, he was fiercely nailed to the surrounding wooden wall by the Kusanagi Sword, and the rope in his hand was cut in two and scattered on the ground.

The guard, Ibri, gritted his teeth, watching the streams of blood flowing from his arm and the constant, agonizing pain emanating from his body. He looked at Zhixue's blood-red eyes, which shone brighter than torches, and his expression changed in shock. Then, he turned into a wisp of smoke, broke free from the control of the Kusanagi Sword, and flew rapidly forward.

"What...what's the principle behind this? It doesn't seem to be a transformation technique." Zhi Xue drew her Kusanagi sword, watching the receding smoke without giving chase. She wasn't familiar with this area, and rashly following the enemy might lead to an unexpected disaster. However, she hadn't expected Orochimaru to be guarding this place; alerting him would be disastrous.

After experiencing this incident, Zhi Xue sent two clones ahead to scout the way, while she herself quickened her pace and continued running downwards.

Just minutes after the guards fled, they found the chief of the Ibri clan, Wutai.

“Asabu, your arm…” Gota asked, puzzled, looking at the guard’s arm where blood was flowing continuously.

"Chieftain, someone has invaded our territory! They've already reached us through the supply route above!"

"What!?" Wu Tai picked up a machete from the side and ran towards the supply passage, while the other tribesmen around him looked at each other in confusion and followed.

……

"Tianzang, it's so great to see you again! Let me see how much you've grown!" Xuejian (the little loli with zongzi hair) excitedly pulled Tianzang to a tree stump with many marks clearly visible on it, carved by stones.

"Ah... I'm not Tianzang." Jia shook his head regretfully as he looked at the excited little girl in front of him. But Xuejian's enthusiasm for him did not diminish in the slightest.

"No, how could that be? You are Tenzo, I can't mistake you. You were taken away by Lord Orochimaru a few years ago. I never thought I would see you again after all these years. It's wonderful, Tenzo!"

First:……

A looked at the stubborn brown-haired girl in front of him but still did not choose to hurt her with words. Instead, he seemed to have really become the Tenzo in Xuejian's words, and took her to listen to the lively market sounds outside the crack, recall all kinds of interesting things in the past, including the origin of Orochimaru and their Ibri clan.

"Isn't this underground? Why are there so many trees planted here? And your people seem a bit strange too." After walking to a clearing, flat area, Tianzang touched the tender green leaves of a sapling. Upon closer inspection, he saw a wooden plaque hidden beneath the sapling, bearing a series of unfamiliar names.

"This is... the cemetery where our Ibri people hold their funerals. We use saplings instead of tombstones. It is said that after the Ibri people die, the smoke they turn into carries their souls into the trees, protecting their descendants for generations. When you first came here, you should have seen that there are no elderly people in our tribe. That's because our tribe's physical structure is very special. We often switch between smoke and flesh. Because we can't control it, many tribesmen disappear from this world forever after turning into smoke for too long. So basically, no tribesmen can live to a very old age."

Xuejian straightened a slightly crooked sapling, her eyes seemingly carrying a lingering sadness.

"Is this so..."

"We've tried to find a solution, but due to the instability of our physical structure, if we were to turn into smoke in the outside world and then be blown away by the wind, our bodies would also disintegrate and die along with the smoke. However..."

Xuejian turned her back, pulled open the collar of her cloth robe, and pointed to a black magatama on her neck.

"However, Lord Orochimaru later found us and used something called a cursed seal to temporarily suppress our problem of potentially turning into smoke at any time. But this is only a temporary solution. To perfectly solve the problem of turning into smoke, the children of the Ibri clan need to cooperate with Lord Orochimaru to conduct experiments."

"Tenzo was one of those children at that time, but fortunately, he has returned from Orochimaru's side."

At this point, Xuejian looked at Tianzang, her melancholy expression seemingly softened by a hint of relief.

She thought she would never see him again, but unexpectedly, fate gave her another chance, a chance to reunite with Tianzang.

Tianzang was momentarily stunned as he looked at the girl's clear eyes and the tears in the corners of her eyes.

This feeling...it's such a wonderful sensation, something I've never experienced before at its core.

"Warning! Intruders have broken in!"

While Xuejian was still talking to Tianzang, Wutai's loud voice came from the distant cave entrance, attracting the attention of both of them.

"what happened?"

Xuejian and Tianzang exchanged a glance, nodded, and ran towards the direction from which the sound came.

……

The dark road gradually widened, and light gradually appeared ahead. After Zhi Xue's two shadow clones finished scouting the way, they turned into smoke and disappeared. Zhi Xue also slowly walked out of the exit, threw the torch on the ground, stomped it out with her small leather boots, and then crushed it.

Zhi Xue glanced around at the vast cave and took out the map. Unfortunately, the exact location wasn't marked on it, but it should be placed here.

"You're the intruder?" A wisp of white smoke gradually condensed in front of Zhi Xue, who looked at the petite figure in a maid outfit before her in astonishment.

How could such a weak brat possibly injure Azabu, who has Chunin-level strength? But now that he's found this place, he can forget about leaving alive.

Chapter 23, Wood Release Ninja

"Uncle, maybe we can have a proper talk? I just accidentally walked in here, there's no need to resort to swords, is there?" Zhi Xue looked at the machete in Wu Tai's hand and the crowd gradually approaching from the vicinity, and couldn't help but take a step back.

These guys looked like ordinary civilians based on their clothes, but Zhi Xue didn't believe that a group of harmless ordinary people would leave the nearby villages and markets and live in such a dilapidated cave.

"Kid, what's your purpose in coming here? Tell us and we might spare your life. But now that you've gotten involved, don't even think about going back to your old life," Wu Tai threatened, wiping the machete in his hand.

Sensing the overwhelming malice around her, Zhixue slowly drew the Kusanagi sword from behind and held it horizontally in front of her.

"As expected, the people living here are not good people. But if you think I'm an easy target, you're sorely mistaken."

Wu Tai and the others, seeing Zhi Xue draw her sword, also cautiously assumed a defensive stance. Just as the two sides were about to clash, Tian Zang and Xue Jian ran over.

"How could it be her?" Zhi Xue was shocked to see a large group of Ibrahim people surrounding her in the distance during the sky burial.

This girl... she really came this way?

"Tianzang, do you know this guy?" Xuejian asked, pointing her little finger at Zhixue in the distance, noticing Tianzang's strange expression.

After hesitating for a moment, Tianzang shook his head and then nodded.

Tianzang felt that he had a good impression of Zhixue, a pretty and cute girl, even though they were strangers.

After glancing at the crowd around her, Zhi Xue threw a smoke bomb to cover her vision and used her Shadow Clone Technique to run in two directions to draw fire.

"stop!"

Two clansmen transformed into smoke and swirled around Zhixue, the dark gray smoke merging into the shadow clone's body like a wisp of green smoke.

The burning pain inside felt like a raging volcano, or like thunder in the sky, full of explosive energy.

However, a shadow clone is ultimately just a shadow clone; after some commotion, it turned into white smoke and disappeared. And after the smoke from the smoke bomb dissipated, Zhi Xue's figure also vanished from the spot.

Wu Tai's figure transformed back into human form from the smoke, and he looked at the passage behind him, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Shadow Clone Technique? Is it a Konoha ninja?" Gota asked Yamato, who was watching the scene unfold.

After thinking for a moment, Yamato nodded and said, "If it's a Konoha ninja, leave it to me."

Wu Tai nodded, looking at Tian Zang's cold gaze.

Let the people of Konoha handle the situation themselves. Their job is simply to block off the surrounding roads.

Next, Wu Tai assigned tasks to guard the various exits of the cave. Tian Zang and Xue Jian, on the other hand, ran towards Zhi Xue's direction.

Zhi Xue ran through the cave, dodging obstacle after obstacle. Her petite figure weaved through the various chaotic buildings. When she looked back at Fei, she was surprised to see a person wearing a Root mask chasing after her from behind.

Upon seeing the mask, Zhixue suddenly recalled the guy she had encountered after changing her clothes earlier that day.

"How could it be this guy? Could it be Danzo's Root? But would Root really be so shy as to say something like that?"

"Stop!" Tianzang glanced at the smoke-filled figures watching from behind and shouted at Zhixue, but instead, two shurikens came flying at him.

Tianzang took out a kunai from his ninja tool bag and deflected the flying shuriken. He quickly formed hand seals, and two wooden doors suddenly appeared in front of Zhixue.

"Wood Release!?" Upon observing the condition of the wooden door, Zhi Xue took out the Kusanagi Sword and cleaved the wooden door in two. Then, she stopped and spat out a two-meter-long crimson fireball towards Tian Zang.

"Heavenly Treasury!"

"Don't worry, it's alright!" Tianzang slapped the ground with both hands, and a thick wooden wall appeared in front of him, blocking the fireball. The scorching heat swept over from both sides of the wooden wall.

As Zhixue looked at the rising wooden wall, she already had a general idea in her mind.

Judging from his abilities and mask, the person standing in front of her now should be none other than the legendary landscaping expert, Yamato. She never expected to encounter him here.

Zhi Xue stopped, reached out her delicate, boneless hand to Tian Zang, and then used her chakra to dash away using the Body Flicker Technique.

"Tianzang! Are you alright?" Xuejian ran behind Mudingbi and patted Tianzang's slightly burnt hair, asking with some concern.

"Don't worry, I'm very capable too. Remember to wait for me here, I'll be right back." Tianzang shook his head, placed his hand on Xuejian's small hand, smiled, and then chased after Zhixue.

"Chase after them." The two Ibri tribesmen who were following behind Tianzang exchanged a glance and then turned into smoke, blowing past Xuejian like a gust of wind.