Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

"It's Takishinobu."

Iruka ran over, briefly learned what was going on, and then returned to tell Qingwu and Hongdou what had happened.

"So that's how it is."

Qingwu glanced at the two Takigakure ninja lying in a pool of blood on the ground. "You Iwagakure people are pretty tough."

"Six against four, the advantage is in my hands!"

The bearded Iwa ninja shouted, but his actions were very clever.

"Earth Escape·Yellow Spring Marsh!"

He resorted to the same old trick, his real purpose being to draw the attention of the Konoha ninjas before rescuing his trapped comrades.

"Wood Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

Qingwu shouted something incoherently.

As the bearded Iwa ninja paused for a moment, the [Slow Technique] formed by vine-like patterns was instantly activated, taking effect on his location first.

"This is……"

The bearded Iwa ninja felt that not only had his physical speed slowed down, but even the flow of his chakra had become sluggish.

Most importantly, Qingwu's magic is a "hand-free skill".

No need for a continuous input of natural energy.

Without wasting any more energy on unnecessary skills, Qingwu drew his short blade and instantly pierced the bearded Iwa ninja's chest.

"what--"

Amidst screams of agony, "Earth Escape: Swamp of the Underworld" was interrupted.

Since the Iwa ninja had committed murder first, and that murder was against one of their own allies, Qingwu no longer held back.

The remaining five Iwa ninjas were firmly controlled by Anko's powerful attack.

"what--"

"Ah—" "Ah..."

Qingwu quickly and efficiently killed them all with his short sword.

Blood splattered everywhere, and Shibuki and Iruka stood there, pale-faced and stunned.

"Qingwu..."

Iruka still couldn't get used to seeing his peers die one by one in front of him.

He then recalled the last time he went out of the village on a mission, those "traitorous ninjas" were also swiftly killed by Qingwu.

At this moment, the once familiar Qingwu seemed somewhat unfamiliar to Iruka.

Takigakure was in even worse shape. He was already on the verge of collapse, and the bloody scene before him made his body tremble like a leaf.

Red Bean didn't feel anything; following Orochimaru, she had seen many more bloody scenes.

“20, 21, 22…” Hongdou counted on her fingers.

"Captain Qingwu, we've seen 22 teams eliminated already."

Upon hearing this, Shibuki from Takigakure Village looked up at the three of them in horror and asked, "Are you devils?"

There are 36 squads in total. How many people did your squad take down?

Iruka snapped out of his daze and, as if guessing what Shibuki was thinking, explained, "We didn't kill anyone before these two Iwagakure squads."

"Huff..." Shemu gasped for breath.

Just now, he thought he had "escaped from the jaws of a wolf only to fall into the jaws of a tiger."

"Leave the scroll behind, you can leave now."

Although Aoko saved her ally, she didn't give Shibuki a friendly look.

"It's...it's on the Iwa ninja." Shibuki turned his head away, not daring to look at the corpses scattered on the ground.

Hongdou scoffed and stepped forward to search all the scrolls.

She seemed to have developed a special "collecting obsession": "I want to collect all the scrolls."

Qingwu stroked his chin and thought for a moment, "Someone should be coming to clean up the mess soon, let's leave first."

The three continued their ascent towards the tower.

Iruka remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "Qingwu, actually... there's no need to kill them all; just enough to have a deterrent effect."

"Baka!" Anko raised her thin eyebrows. "Iruka, those Iwa ninja killed people first, so they should be prepared to die."

Iruka: "..."

"He who kills will be killed in return!" Qingwu suddenly said, quoting a phrase his teammate barely understood.

"Iruka, what are your ideals? Is it to become a powerful ninja? Or would you just like to have a stable job?"

Red Bean also looked at Iruka curiously.

In the past, Hongdou thought Qingwu and Iruka were the same kind of people, but in the past two days, Qingwu has made Hongdou look at him in a new light.

"..." Iruka seemed to be thinking seriously.

"An ideal..." he pondered, "I don't actually like fighting and killing. I became a ninja because of my parents' wishes, and then..."

Iruka scratched his head and forced a silly smile. "I actually like being a teacher, or any other clerical job."

"Hahaha!" Hongdou burst into laughter.

Coming from that "bloody scene," hearing such words really made her laugh.

Qingwu did not make fun of Iruka.

He simply patted the latter on the shoulder and said, "Iruka, you will achieve your dream."

Chapter 44 Orochimaru! ! !

Speaking of ideals.

Young people always have endless topics to talk about.

After laughing, Hongdou also began to look forward to the future.

"I want to gain my teacher's approval!"

"I want to become a powerful ninja like my teacher."

"I also want to become Hokage and end this chaotic world like the First Hokage."

Qingwu listened to the girl's dream with a smile on her lips.

Most children born during World War III probably harbored the ideal of ending the chaos...

“Red Bean, I think there’s something wrong with your ideals.” Iruka said with a serious face.

"Huh?" Red Bean asked, confused.

"After becoming Hokage, shouldn't the first thing you do be to make everyone in the village happy?" Iruka said seriously, "Don't always think about fighting and killing, otherwise the war will never end."

Hongdou spat out the bamboo skewer from her mouth and said speechlessly:

"Iruka, you're really naive. No war? Unless you turn the Daimyo and Kage of the Five Great Nations into idiots."

"Red Bean! You're too realistic!"

"Be realistic, or you'll live longer, you immature brat."

"..."

Qingwu walked between the two, listening to their bickering, and couldn't help but slow down her pace.

The moment of tranquility allowed him to forget the bloodshed that had just occurred.

After a while, Iruka, unable to win the argument, changed the subject, "Red Bean, who exactly is that teacher you're always bragging about?"

"It's a secret!" Red Bean said smugly, "You'll find out someday."

With the tower in sight, Hongdou said lazily, "I want to finish the exam quickly so I can go take a hot shower. I've been sweating a lot these past two days..."

Before the words were finished—

Time seemed to stand still.

No, it's not that everything is still, it's that everything seems to have stopped.

Birdsong, insect chirping, rustling leaves... all sounds were instantly erased by some invisible force, the light became viscous, and the air felt heavy as lead.

Iruka's smile froze on his face. He found himself unable to breathe, unable to blink, and even his heartbeat seemed to be frozen.

A look of horror flashed in Hongdou's eyes. She tried to break free, but all the muscles in her body were tense, and her fingers felt as if they were welded shut.

But at the same time, Red Bean sensed a familiar presence...

Of the three, only Qingwu could still move, and his natural energy flowed freely within him; he was not suppressed by the powerful chakra.

However, he had a very bad feeling.

A figure slowly "rose" from the shadows cast by the trees in the sunlight ahead.

It's as if it comes with its own eerie background music.

The figure seemed to emerge from the water, elegant and composed, yet with an inhuman eeriness.

He wore a loose white robe, his long black hair was loose, and his skin was so pale it was almost transparent.

What's most striking are those eyes—golden vertical pupils, like those of a cold-blooded animal, devoid of any emotion, only pure... scrutiny.

"Teacher...!" Hongdou finally managed to squeeze out a sound.

"Orochimaru!" Qingwu took a step back warily, countless thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.

Why is Orochimaru here?

Judging from the Konoha headband in this guy's long hair, he hasn't defected yet. Is he coming for me?

Danzo?