Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

"Continue the investigation! Also, send a message to 'those people' in the village. The Mizukage's recent orders have been increasingly unusual. Tell them to be vigilant, but not to act rashly."

"Yes!" Qing bowed, his figure disappearing back into the shadows.

Mei Terumi stood alone by the window, gazing at the tranquil street scene of the Land of Hot Springs, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

Senju...Uchiha...

The rise of Konoha seems unstoppable.

The future of Wuyin remains shrouded in the shadows of blood mist and the unknown.

"Hey……"

A long sigh echoed in the private room.

……

Steam rises from the open-air hot spring pool, blending into the cool night air.

Red Bean soaks in the spring water at a suitable temperature, with only its head sticking out, its face flushed with a relaxed blush.

The captain said he needed to talk to her later, which... made her, who was soaking in the hot spring, start to have all sorts of thoughts.

Fortunately, the other three members of the Shadow Guard were all boys, and they were soaking on the other side of the wall, so no one could see her shyness at that moment.

On the other side, the men's bath.

Qingwu and Tianzang were chatting and laughing in the hot spring, while Zhishui did not come down, his eyes occasionally scanning the entrance to the courtyard, remaining vigilant.

"Zhishui, we came here to relax," Qingwu said helplessly.

On the way here, Zhishui said he felt someone was watching him, so he insisted on maintaining vigilance.

Qingwu was well aware of this; his natural senses had long since detected Qing hiding in the shadows, and the chakra fluctuations of his Byakugan were not concealed.

Even so, Shisui still insisted on taking turns soaking.

Persuasion was useless, and Qingwu was too lazy to say more. After soaking for a while, he said to Zhishui, "It's your turn. I'm going out for a bit. I'll keep an eye on things outside."

Shisui then removed his short sword and stepped into the hot spring.

……

Inside the private room, Qingwu sat cross-legged behind Hongdou: "Are you ready? It might hurt a little."

Red Bean's body trembled slightly. "I-I'm ready. I-I'm not afraid of pain."

Qingwu nodded, placing his hands lightly on the back of Hongdou's smooth neck, and emerald green natural energy shone from his hands.

Having learned from his previous experience using [Purification], he planned to use a gentler method this time to remove the Heavenly Curse Mark from Red Bean.

After all, unlike the cursed seal that Orochimaru casually placed on him last time,

Anko's Heavenly Curse Seal is even more perfected; she even activated the Curse Seal mode during the Chunin Exams.

"Intermediate Water Magic - Purification!"

Gentle and pure natural energy, like a living stream, slowly seeped into the red bean's body, flowing precisely to the location of the "Heavenly Curse Seal".

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Hongdou's forehead, mingling with the steam from the hot spring.

As the "evil-sealing seal" planted by the Third Hokage was released, she felt a sharp pain, and a cold, evil, and corrosive chakra surged forth.

"Relax, don't resist," Qingwu's voice rang out calmly.

"The process may take a while, please bear with it."

Once he confirmed that he could locate Orochimaru's position through the natural contract of the withered tree guardian, he planned to remove the curse mark from Anko.

I've been so busy that I haven't had much time, but this trip to the Land of Hot Springs is a good opportunity to relax and take care of this matter.

Also... let Hongdou say goodbye to the past completely.

"Mmm..." Hongdou gritted her teeth and nodded, closing her eyes and cooperating fully.

She is very strong, and Qingwu keeps the frequency and pain of the extractions within a certain range.

The essence of the cursed seal is a mixture of unstable natural energy extracted by Orochimaru from Jugo and his spiritual imprint, which resides in Anko's chakra system and nerve nodes.

The natural energy of Qingwu is above Chongwu's level, so it is not difficult to remove.

However, peeling away and dissolving the traces of the curse seal bit by bit requires some delicate operations.

Of course, they have plenty of time now.

Time passed second by second.

Qingwu was completely focused, manipulating the natural energy like the most precise scalpel. Little by little, the energy of the curse seal was carried out of Hongdou's body by the natural energy.

The process lasted for nearly two hours.

When the last trace of the curse mark was completely removed, Hongdou felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and she collapsed by the hot spring pool.

She was panting heavily, but a bright, relieved smile appeared on her face.

Hongdou could feel that the binding sensation that had been lurking in her body, like a cold, venomous snake, had completely disappeared!

"Captain... thank you..." Hongdou's voice was choked with emotion.

I don't know if it was out of emotion or reluctance to let go of my past self.

"Alright, the curse mark has been removed."

Qingwu withdrew his hand, a hint of fatigue flashing in his eyes. The long-term, high-precision manipulation of natural energy for such delicate operations was quite taxing.

"Yes!" Hongdou nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with gratitude.

Qingwu examined him again and said, "After a few days of rest, your chakra circulation will become smoother, and your strength should also improve."

He was telling the truth; the Cursed Seal Mode can enhance the strength of chakra to some extent, and can be considered a "bankrupt" version of Sage Mode.

However, the existence of the cursed seal, if abandoned, will also affect the circulation of one's chakra.

Anko actually has good talent, after all, she was someone Orochimaru took a liking to.

I believe that in this life, she will be free from the "binding" of the curse mark much earlier, and her potential for growth will be even greater.

……

Almost at the same moment that Qingwu completely removed the curse mark from Hongdou, somewhere in the Rain Country, in an underground base.

Orochimaru, who was standing in front of a complex instrument and observing the culture tank with Sasori of the Red Sand, suddenly paused, and then a look of surprise and amusement appeared on his face.

"Heh... Interesting!"

Orochimaru licked his lips and muttered to himself:

"Qingwu-jun, ... your use of natural energy is becoming more and more skillful, and... you really cherish your companions, hehe..."

"What's wrong, Orochimaru?"

Sasori's hoarse voice, hidden within Hiruko, rang out, carrying a hint of displeasure at being interrupted during his research.

"It's nothing, just a small, unexpected bonus."

Orochimaru withdrew his gaze and looked back at the culture tank.

He no longer cared about the curse mark on the red bean; he had already obtained some research results from the withered tree guardian.

Although it wasn't a major achievement, it could make Jugo's natural energy more gentle.

This makes the application of the curse seal to a wider range of people and in a broader scope.

“This material is interesting,” Sasori of the Red Sand rasped. “Orochimaru, my ‘art’ needs it. Name your price.”

"Heh..." Orochimaru's golden snake eyes revealed a hint of a smile. "No rush. I'd rather use it as a stepping stone to meet your leader."

"Oh?" Sasori turned to Orochimaru and let out a meaningful, hoarse laugh: "Ha... I can make an introduction."

"Is that so? Well then, thank you very much, hehe..."

"Crackling..."

The organization originally wanted to make contact with the rogue ninja Orochimaru.

Well, it can be considered a two-way journey...

……

Time passed, and in the summer of Konoha year 54...

On the western front, the border standoff between Konoha and Iwagakure continues.

The two armies faced each other across a buffer zone of tens of miles. Occasionally, small-scale skirmishes would occur between the reconnaissance teams, but these were kept within a certain range.

Onoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding: neither of them would take the initiative to provoke a large-scale conflict, but neither of them would easily back down.

This stalemate was consuming resources and patience on both sides, but it also gave the frontline soldiers a rare chance to catch their breath.

Konoha shifted its focus entirely to peace talks with Kumogakure.

Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Tou, and others were stationed on the western front to assist Sarutobi Hiruzen in stabilizing the situation, while also remotely monitoring the progress on the eastern front.

On the eastern front, formal peace talks between Konoha and Kumogakure began in the neutral country of "Iron Country".

Konoha's representative was Mitokado Homura, with Nara Suzaku serving as an advisor.

The cloud-hidden one represents an earthen platform.

At the negotiating table, they engaged in heated debates and haggling.

Konoha, leveraging its battlefield advantage, demanded that Kumogakure formally acknowledge its defeat, compensate for war losses, and guarantee against further aggression.

The Hidden Cloud Village insisted that the Leaf Village had provoked them first and refused to admit defeat.

They only agreed to a "temporary ceasefire" and "partial compensation," and strongly demanded that Konoha hand over Senju Seigo, the "culprit" who severely injured the Raikage.

Of course, this was met with scorn by Suzaku Nara.

Negotiations are progressing slowly, but both sides are keen to end the war, and their bottom lines are gradually becoming clearer through repeated probing.

At this delicate moment, Qingwu remained in the Land of Hot Springs.

No one expected that what was supposed to be a punishment would be treated like a "vacation" by him.

Yes, his reasons are quite valid.

The Land of Hot Water is very close to the Land of Iron; it only takes half an hour to fly there, and... it can be used as a "bridgehead" to jump into the Land of Lightning at any time.