Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

In short, you can be summoned again after the cooldown is over if you die!

In other words, Orochimaru will forever lose the possibility of ambushing him! And he can always find Orochimaru if he needs anything!

Thinking this through, Qingwu pretended to ponder for a moment, then gritted her teeth and agreed, "Okay!"

After saying that, he pressed on, "But I need to confirm the value of the information first, and when is the 'right time' for you to take me to Ryūchi-dong?"

“The information I provide is naturally valuable. The entrance to Ryūchi-dong is hidden, and without specific guidance, outsiders would not be able to find it.”

Qingwu believed Orochimaru's words!

He had been to Shikkotsu Forest and understood that the three great holy lands might exist in another dimension, or even outside the ninja world!

"As for the right time..."

Orochimaru looked at Qingwu, then stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth—

……

Chapter 213 Shisui-kun, Protect Your Eyes

"Qingwu-jun, I need to take care of some personal matters and cannot take you with me for the time being."

"Then you still dare to ask me for a complete withered wood guardian?" Qingwu feigned anger.

"Don't rush, hehe. Ryūchi Cave has a special environment and can only be entered at specific times. The right time I'm talking about will be in the height of summer six months from now."

"???" Qingwu looked incredulous.

Orochimaru suddenly shivered as if from the cold, and said with a playful tone, "Qingwu-kun, haven't you heard that snakes hibernate?"

"Huh?" Qingwu's eyes widened. What kind of nonsense was this? Shouldn't there be immortals there too? What were they called again? The White Snake Immortal!?

You're telling me the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave is going into hibernation?

That's a holy site!

"Heh heh..." Orochimaru chuckled, "Whether you believe it or not, I didn't lie this time, and... I don't have much say in Ryuchi Cave."

He told the truth: "Qingwu Jun, I did not pass all the tests of Longdi Cave, nor did I obtain the immortal techniques of the Holy Land."

Qingwu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Orochimaru does indeed only possess some snake-based ninjutsu and the Manda summoning contract.

"I've never even seen the White Snake Sage," Orochimaru readily admitted, then added:

"However, I do have the qualifications to enter Ryuchi Cave. I promised to take you there, and I will definitely do so!"

Orochimaru also had his own ulterior motives—judging from the fact that he obtained the Slug and Shikkotsu Forest Sage Techniques from Qingwu, he must have gained the approval of Tsunade and the Slug Sage.

But he also knew that the White Snake Immortal's temperament was completely different from that of the Slug Immortal.

Putting aside the fact that the three holy lands are inherently mutually restraining and hostile, I myself almost died in Dragon Land Cave back then, and this kid went there... perhaps... heh heh...

Qingwu frowned. Half a year was a long time, and he wanted to upgrade the Tree of Life as soon as possible.

However, apart from Orochimaru, he currently has no way to enter Ryuchi Cave.

Moreover, judging from Orochimaru's appearance, he doesn't seem to be faking it.

Of course, it's also possible that he simply lacked the necessary authority, and Ryūji-dō was just giving him the runaround, which led to that absurd "hibernation" excuse.

Regardless of the reason, there are currently no means to counter Orochimaru's coercion of him.

...Never mind, let's just treat this as a side move for now. Anyway...I can continue to grow stronger and find Orochimaru anytime.

"Six months? Sure!"

Qingwu finally nodded, "Don't try to play tricks on me!"

Orochimaru merely chuckled, glanced at Shisui again, and then looked away. "So, the deal is done?"

"Deal made!"

Qingwu nodded, and then with a thought, a withered wooden guard slowly stepped out of the formation and stood still in front of Orochimaru.

He then told Orochimaru how to establish a summoning contract with the Dryad Guardian.

Orochimaru listened intently, his hand gently stroking the dry, thick bark of the tree, as if caressing the skin of a beloved.

Seeing the green wutong tree made my teeth ache.

“An interesting creation… somewhere between life and a puppet, based on natural energy…perfect.”

Orochimaru hadn't originally planned to sign the contract immediately; being naturally suspicious, he was always wary and cautious of others.

But when the withered tree guardian stood "obediently" in front of him, he could no longer resist his thirst for "new things and new knowledge"!

"It's like a pure energy configuration? That's amazing."

Orochimaru sensed the energy contained within the withered tree guard, his eyes gleaming with an irrepressible passion for research.

The contract method offered by Qingwu is also unique. It is not a traditional blood pact or spiritual imprint, but a gentler, more "invitation-like" natural resonance ritual.

The contractor needs to actively open up a part of their mind and establish a slight connection with the "tree spirit" in front of them.

"Qingwu-jun, this kind of contract... is quite unique. It doesn't seem to have any binding force, and it's more like... a license?"

“You can understand it that way,” Qingwu said calmly, without explaining the existence of the system.

"Wow...interesting, so interesting!"

Orochimaru looked at Qingwu and said in a hoarse voice, "Then, I'll take this 'tree spirit'. How about we meet here in six months?"

Seeing that Orochimaru had finally reached a natural contract with the Dryad Guardian, Qingwu smiled and said, "I hope you won't disappoint me then."

"Hehehe... Same here!"

Orochimaru smiled meaningfully, glanced greedily at Shisui one last time, and began to slowly sink into the snow.

"Shisui-kun, protect your eyes... These legendary kaleidoscopes will attract countless covetous eyes, heh..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru's figure vanished completely, along with the withered wooden guard who had just formed a contract with him.

Qingwu knew Orochimaru was wary, but that guy seemed incredibly confident in his ability to survive.

Moreover, the allure of the withered tree guardian was strong enough that he did not refuse the natural covenant.

very good!

call--

A cold wind swept by, carrying snowflakes and dispelling the last trace of tension in the air.

On the icy plains, only Qingwu, Zhishui, and the troops standing silently around them remained.

"call……"

Shisui exhaled a long breath of white air, and his Sharingan finally regained its black pupils.

His tense body and mind completely relaxed, and a strong sense of fatigue and weakness overwhelmed him like a tide.

He swayed, almost unable to stand.

"Mongoose!" Qingwu hurriedly helped him up. He himself was also exhausted; the Sage Mode consumed too much natural energy.

"I'm fine, Captain." Shisui nodded his chin, indicating that he could still hold on.

Qingwu glanced at the chaotic battlefield around them. "We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's go and meet up with Tianzang and the others."

After saying this, Qingwu recalled all his troops and summoned two silver winged horses for transportation.

A moment later, they arrived at the ice cave where Tianzang and the other person were hiding.

"Captain! Mongoose! Are you alright?" Red Bean asked anxiously.

A little blood seeped through the bandage on her shoulder, clearly indicating that the fight had aggravated the wound.

Tianzang's face turned even paler, but his eyes remained clear.

"We're fine, we just need to go back and rest."

Seeing the injuries on the two, Qingwu frowned. He didn't have much natural energy left, and the consumption of the max-level water magic [Healing] was also quite high.

After thinking for a moment, he used a small amount of natural energy to summon two small slug clones to continue treating the two.

"Thank you, Captain." Hongdou felt the warmth on her shoulder, her eyes sparkling.

"..." Qingwu hesitated, then ultimately said nothing.

In this incident, he actually took advantage of Hongdou!

Just like when Orochimaru used the cursed seal to find him, except this time he took the initiative to turn the tables!

Red Bean... perhaps it understands, perhaps it doesn't.

After all, who would willingly seek out someone as dangerous as Orochimaru...?

After thinking it over, Qingwu decided not to say it. Hongdou had already suffered from being deceived, and saying it might not be a good thing.

"Captain, you guys don't understand, those two people just now..."

"..."

Listening to Hongdou's chattering, Qingwu immediately guessed who one of the people was.

Crystal Release: Crimson Lotus!

To be fair, Orochimaru's subordinates are all very loyal, and that guy has a lot of charisma in some ways.

However, Qingwu had no interest in bloodline limits like Crystal Release.

If it were Jugo—that uncontrollable natural energy—or Kimimaro of the Shikotsumyaku, perhaps he would be somewhat interested.

"Luckily, Captain, you had a backup plan, otherwise Tianzang and I would have been in danger. That woman is ruthless; she killed several bounty hunters who were just watching the show with a single move."

With Anko being such a chatterbox, the atmosphere in the Shadow Guard is much more lively than when they teamed up with Kakashi and Yugao before.

Qingwu smiled and said, "It's good that you're all alright. Alright, rest for a while, then we'll go back."

Tianzang suddenly said with regret, "We won't be able to spend the New Year at home."

Qingwu paused for a moment before realizing that there were only three days left until the New Year. Tiancang must be reminiscing about last year's New Year when everyone was together in the territory.

Shisui remained silent, his expression suggesting he was deep in thought.