Naruto: The Tavern Speech Begins to Make the Land of Rain Great

This is Orochimaru's second time setting foot on this land.

The same dampness, the same rain, but a different feeling.

The last time was when he was on a mission with his teammates, Jiraiya and Tsunade.

This time, however, they came to redeem his teammates.

This contrast struck Orochimaru as somewhat absurd.

He looked at Hyuga Hizashi and Uchiha Fugaku behind him and asked.

"Are you still keeping up?"

"Senior, no problem."

The one who answered Orochimaru was Fugaku Uchiha.

After spending some time with Fugaku Uchiha, a genius from the Uchiha clan, Orochimaru sensed a strong sense of seriousness from him.

Unlike Jiraiya, who was always joking around, Fugaku Uchiha was more serious and meticulous in handling everything.

In contrast, Hyuga Hyuga is more closed and introverted.

Perhaps it's a tradition of the Hyuga family.

"Then keep up, we're almost there."

Orochimaru, Hyuga Hizashi, and Uchiha Fugaku formed the team to rescue Jiraiya and his companion.

Orochimaru, considering both strength and ability, ultimately chose Hyuga Hizashi and Uchiha Fugaku, two geniuses.

Hyuga Hizashi possessed excellent reconnaissance abilities, and relying on the enemy's Byakugan, his squad repeatedly evaded the combat zone.

Fugaku Uchiha possesses the Sharingan with three tomoe, which perfectly fills the team's gap in genjutsu.

It's fair to say that this team is quite impressive.

They gathered together the young geniuses of the two major clans of Konoha.

All three possessed the strength of Jonin, and they did not rest for long after departing from Konoha to the Land of Rain.

Twenty minutes later, the three stopped in front of a tavern.

The tavern's signboard hung neatly on the wall, with four large characters written on it.

Yujin Tavern.

"Let's go, we're here."

Orochimaru's pale yellow eyes swept over the line of text, and then he spoke to Hyuga Hizashi and Uchiha Fugaku behind him.

The three of them went inside.

Just then, a figure behind the corner of the tavern's outer wall quietly took out a walkie-talkie from his pocket.

The tavern was noisy, and the pale yellow lights shone on the tables, making the glass bottles of liquor sparkle.

Orochimaru walked straight to a corner of the tavern and found a seat.

Hyuga Hizashi and Uchiha Fugaku followed suit and sat opposite Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-senpai, what brings us to the tavern?"

Hyuga Hizashi sounded puzzled; he couldn't understand why they had come to the tavern.

"Are you investigating Bian Che?"

Orochimaru's lips curled up slightly; he seemed quite willing to explain the matter.

"What's his connection to the tavern?"

"You may not know this, but he gives speeches at various taverns in the eastern part of the Rain Country every week, and this weekend's speech is scheduled here."

Hyuga Hizashi's face showed a look of sudden realization, and he confirmed it.

"So, we're here to stake out the location beforehand."

"That's right."

"Then why not just go find him directly?"

Hyuga Hizashi's question made Orochimaru's face darken.

"He didn't tell me the address for the meeting."

If Watanabe Tetsu hadn't failed to tell him the address for the meeting, he wouldn't have had to search for the other person everywhere.

Just then, a guest next to him spoke to another companion at his table.

"Did you hear? Lord Watanabe is hiring."

"Hiring? What kind of jobs? I was rejected when I applied to be a member of the Akatsuki last time. I don't think this kind of recruitment has anything to do with us genin."

The first guest to speak shook his head.

"This time it's different. I heard that Lord Watanabe is going to build a large agricultural park and specifically needs to hire some people to help with farming!"

"Even genin can go?"

"Of course, they'll give us a lot of money too. This is real money, enough to exchange for food with Xiaoguang!"

"And also..."

The guest lowered his voice, but Orochimaru could still hear it.

"It's said that if you work in the agricultural park for a full year, you'll be given a C-rank ninjutsu."

"What?!"

The genin suddenly cried out, and when he realized that everyone around him was staring at him with strange looks, he shrank back and hurriedly apologized.

He found it hard to imagine that he could obtain a stable supply of food and precious ninjutsu through farming, a job that was completely safe.

You should know that under Hanzo's rule, they had to complete a dangerous C-rank mission in order to receive a day's worth of rations.

As for ninjutsu, it's something you can only hope to encounter by chance.

If he could obtain C-rank ninjutsu, he wouldn't have been stuck as a genin for so long.

Thinking of this, the genin's eyes became eager, and he hurriedly asked for confirmation.

"Are you sure? The benefits are that good?"

"Of course, job postings are plastered all over the streets of Amatsu Town."

The guest rolled his eyes.

"Lord Watanabe is truly benevolent. Perhaps only a leader like him can lead the Land of Rain to its peak."

Orochimaru and his two companions overheard the entire conversation.

"Agricultural park".

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, pondering the four words repeatedly, as if they contained boundless magic.

As a highly intelligent man, Orochimaru was very clear about Watanabe Tetsu's purpose.

To fill the food shortage in the Land of Rain, and thus control its lifeline.

Once Hanzo has control of the food supply, his forces will be unable to continue fighting, and even his own supporters may turn against him.

However, Orochimaru was surprised that Watanabe Tetsu had actually thought of building an agricultural park.

After all, for traditional ninjas...

Orochimaru glanced at the two people behind him who were stunned and had no reaction at all.

They are most likely preoccupied with fighting and killing, and rarely think about management and strategy.

Orochimaru felt that Watanabe Tetsu was similar to him in some ways.

They all possess a mindset unconventional towards ninjas.

If he weren't a Konoha ninja, he probably would have had a very good conversation with the other person.

"Orochimaru-senpai, is that you?"

Orochimaru snapped out of his daze, looked at the bewildered Hyuga Hizashi, and sighed.

"It's nothing."

Orochimaru paused for two seconds, then added a sentence.

"I just have a feeling that Watanabe Toru will get Konoha into trouble sooner or later."

Just then, Orochimaru keenly looked towards the doorway.

A voice followed.

"I'm very happy to hear such praise from Orochimaru-san."

A familiar, smiling face, wearing a black cashmere coat with the Xiaoguang Association logo printed on the chest, and a tone that made people feel like a gentle breeze.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the guests stood up and looked at the figure with a sense of admiration and respect.

The first to react was a man in his fifties who rushed to Watanabe Tetsuya and knelt down abruptly.

"Lord Watanabe! You saved our family! You provided my son with a job, allowing our entire family to have enough to eat!"

"No, sir, he earned this through his own labor, there's no need to thank me."

Watanabe Tetsu hurriedly tried to help the other person up, but he couldn't stop the other person from sticking tightly to the floor and he couldn't pull him up no matter what he did.

The next second, another ninja rushed forward, knelt on one knee, and tightly gripped Watanabe Tetsu's right hand.

"Lord Watanabe! I was hunting in the forest when I was attacked and injured by a tiger. I was only able to survive because one of your ninjas from the Akatsuki-kai saved me."

Before he could finish speaking, another man in his thirties tightly grasped Watanabe Toru's left hand.

"Lord Watanabe, it is you who made Amatsu Town so peaceful, it is you who gave everyone faith."

A moment later, Watanabe Tetsuya was surrounded by tavern customers.

Seeing everyone expressing their gratitude, Watanabe Tetsu quickly helped them all up.

He looked somewhat embarrassed, gestured with both hands for everyone to calm down, and then said...

"Gentlemen, my goal is to make my fellow countrymen of the Land of Rain stand up, not to have someone else kneel down."

Watanabe paused for half a second before continuing.

"Xiaoguang Association has come this far thanks to everyone's support, and on behalf of Xiaoguang Association, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone!"

Watanabe Toru's words were like a spring breeze, touching the hearts of the already moved guests even more.

Ask yourself, what kind of leader would provide you with food and clothing when you have nothing, and then thank you in the end?

Who doesn't like it?

At least in this doomed ninja world, this is a breath of fresh air.

The crowd looked on with admiration, a testament to their absolute loyalty.

Perhaps if Watanabe Tetsu asked them to go through fire and water, they would agree.

Orochimaru, who witnessed all of this, curled his lip in disapproval.

He glanced furtively at Hyuga Hizashi beside him...

He thought he was very good at bewitching people, but he never expected to meet a master this time.

Then I recalled the vague feeling of being watched at the door...

Watanabe Toru's influence in the eastern part of the Land of Rain is quite strong.