Naruto: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Otsutsuki.

But there was nothing he could do; he was a Konoha ninja.

No matter how troublesome this matter may seem, one's stance can only be to stand on the side of Konoha.

As for what Orochimaru, the commander-in-chief, was really planning, he didn't want to think about it too much.

He, as the strategist, just needs to follow his instructions.

Dealing with these Sunagakure people doesn't seem too difficult on the surface. It's simply a matter of delaying, appeasing, changing the subject, and using a appropriately firm attitude to make them feel dissatisfied without completely turning against you.

Having dealt with Sunagakure for a long time, Suzaku Nara naturally figured out what they really wanted.

Moreover, considering Orochimaru's continued refusal to meet with anyone and the events that occurred on the battlefield in Iwagakure some time ago, he could almost guess without much thought that Orochimaru had probably made some kind of deal with Rasa.

Moreover, this deal is mostly not honorable.

Nara Suzaku shook his head, suppressing those thoughts that he shouldn't have continued to ponder.

Just then, he suddenly felt a gaze fall on him. He looked up and met Hyuga Seiran's eyes in the distance.

"Qinglan? You've arrived..."

Suzaku Nara was taken aback at first, then seemed to remember something, quickly composed himself, and walked towards him.

"Lord Orochimaru left you a letter."

He handed the letter to Hyuga Seiran and said in a low voice:

He said he would give you this letter when you arrived.

Is Chapter 72 a coincidence?

dark.

An endless expanse of darkness.

Countless stalactites hang from the dome, like inverted sharp teeth, jaggedly embedded in this deep space.

The ground was rugged and damp, and the rock walls were covered with intricately carved snake reliefs. Tiny white and gray snakes constantly wriggled in and out between the cave entrance and the rock crevices.

Some raised their heads, others hesitated, but all turned their gazes toward the figure in the center of the cave.

"here it is……?"

Orochimaru looked down at himself, then scanned his surroundings. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and a rare look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Ryuji Cave?!"

Shikkotsu Forest, Ryongji Cave, and Myobokusan.

The three sacred lands of the ninja world each inherit a completely different system of sage techniques.

The contract Orochimaru signed was with one of these places, Ryuchi Cave.

However, Ryuchi-dong has never been a place that easily welcomes outsiders.

Even a contractor should not be directly and unexpectedly sent to the depths of the holy land through reverse spiritual communication.

unless……

Something significant has happened that is enough to alarm Ryuji-dong itself.

"who is it?"

Manda wouldn't communicate with him unless there was something wrong.

So, he communicated with the spirits...

Are they three Boa Hancocks?

But why would they suddenly summon me at this time?

Orochimaru did not act rashly, but instead cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

From the moment he first found Ryuchi Cave and successfully signed the spirit contract, he understood that this was not a place where one could linger.

As a cold-blooded creature, a snake doesn't care what your identity is.

Here, a moment's carelessness could cost you your life.

Even the cultivation of immortal arts in Ryuchi Cave is a gamble with life as the stake.

The practitioner must directly absorb the natural energy bestowed by the White Snake Sage. If the body cannot withstand it and cannot complete the conversion of Sage Chakra, then there is only one outcome...

It was swallowed whole by the White Snake Immortal.

This is why Orochimaru, who always cherishes his life, although he craves the power of Sage Mode, has always maintained an almost harsh level of caution in his actual training.

At the same time, Jiraiya had already begun his Sage Mode training at Mount Myōboku, but he remained in the same place, hesitant to take that step.

However, he is no longer as uncertain as he used to be.

"The benefits brought by interstitial cells are not just limited to vitality..."

Orochimaru murmured softly, a deep light flashing in his eyes.

His vigorous vitality and physical activity that subtly resonate with natural energy may be the key that he lacked before.

If one were to use their current physical body as a foundation to try and withstand the natural energy of Ryuchi Cave, the success rate would undoubtedly be much higher than in the past.

Maybe……

He is not far from truly mastering immortal arts.

Just as he was pondering to himself, a strong, nauseating stench silently wafted from behind him.

"!"

He reacted almost instantly and leaped forward, trying to create distance.

Even so, when he looked back, his gaze was immediately drawn to that enormous creature.

A massive white phosphorus serpent, defying conventional standards, covered in thick scales and brimming with rich natural energy, stared intently at him.

"The White Snake Immortal?!"

Orochimaru's expression changed slightly, and his voice lowered a few decibels.

This was different from the kind-looking old woman he had seen before, who had taken human form, was smoking a pipe.

At this moment, the White Snake Immortal did not appear in human form, but descended directly in his true form.

Orochimaru...

The white phosphorus serpent's head stared intently at Orochimaru, its expression unusually solemn, unlike its usual composed demeanor.

Do you know about the Otsutsuki clan?

At the same time, in Konoha Village.

The Hokage Meeting Room.

A huge map of the ninja world was spread out in the center of the long table, with numerous place names, routes, and intelligence nodes marked on it.

The Third Hokage sat in the main seat, and the heads of all the major clans who were direct descendants of the Hokage were present.

Excluding the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.

Nara Shikaku stood by the table, his expression unusually serious.

He held a slender finger stick in his hand, moving it slowly across the map until it finally stopped at a certain spot.

"All the intelligence from Ryuzaki's side has been compiled."

He paused, his fingertip landing on a spot on the map.

"And the place where Madara Uchiha is suspected to have first appeared was here."

All eyes turned to that direction.

Kaminavi Bridge.

"And here too."

Immediately afterwards, Nara Shikaku slowly moved his finger stick northward, crossing the border of the Land of Fire, and finally drew a bright red "X" heavily on a large area in the north.

"All of this information comes from Ryuzaki's mind, from the clues collected and preserved by the Evil God Cult."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of several high-ranking Konoha officials visibly changed.

Tsunade crossed her arms, her brows slightly furrowed, and spoke first, asking, "Hasn't the Jashin Cult always been active near Yugakure?"

"How could a cult located in Yugakure possess such a large amount of intelligence? Even down to the exact whereabouts of someone suspected to be Madara Uchiha?"

Her doubts were actually the same doubts in the minds of most people present.

Logically speaking, although the evil god cult is evil, it is ultimately just a shady organization entrenched in the border area.

Even if they possessed some strange technique that allowed them to leak information, it wouldn't be enough to know the movements of a legendary figure so clearly.

This goes beyond the scope of "well-informed".

more like...

Someone deliberately allowed these clues to somehow fall into the hands of the evil cult.

"The information in Ryuzaki's mind is indeed insufficient to serve as a basis on its own."