Naruto: The Primal Hyuga Pierces the Shinobi World

Shisui was about to say that Jiraiya had nothing to do with what they were investigating, but in just a few breaths, Shisui thought of many things and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

"Lord Orochimaru is a rogue ninja of Konoha, you mean..."

Shisui suddenly realized, and Kakashi's eyes also flashed with a divine light, but reason still told him that such a coincidence was unlikely to happen.

"That shouldn't be the case, right?"

"Do you think Lord Orochimaru will join that organization after becoming a rogue ninja?"

Kakashi shared his thoughts, but Shisui, standing to the side, stroked his chin, offering no definitive conclusion.

Shinichi glanced at Kakashi and asked in confusion:

Why not?

"So far, the information we have been able to obtain about that organization suggests that its members are most likely rogue ninja from various ninja villages."

"Moreover, judging from their group-based approach, this organization is following an elitist path."

“The Sasori and Kakuzu I have fought are both top-tier powerhouses. Sasori even successfully assassinated the Kazekage.”

"Why wouldn't an organization like this recruit Orochimaru?"

"He is one of the legendary Sannin, meaning he is both an extremely powerful individual and a rogue ninja with hidden ambitions."

"From any perspective, Orochimaru is a perfect fit for that organization, isn't he?"

Shinichi's words made Kakashi wisely shut up. Although he didn't think things were such a coincidence, Shinichi's words made Kakashi realize that such an absurd possibility really existed.

Just as Shinichi said, Orochimaru was really a good fit for that organization.

"Lord Jiraiya has been tracking Orochimaru all these years. As long as we can find Lord Jiraiya, we will know where Orochimaru is."

"Maybe if we find Orochimaru, we can find Akatsuki. But I never knew."

Was Zhenyi's analysis based on existing intelligence? He has supernatural abilities; he had a preconceived answer before making such an analysis.

While his analytical logic was somewhat flawed, it was still plausible, and releasing such information wouldn't arouse suspicion.

"Leave it to me, I'll find Lord Jiraiya soon!"

Shisui reacted quickly and was very proactive, but it's not that Shisui had much faith in Shinichi's identity as the captain.

Out of a sense of responsibility as an "older brother" to take care of his "younger brother," Shisui consistently upheld Shinichi's authority as captain in various situations, thus demonstrating a very proactive attitude.

Shisui's approach was also very effective for the team. For so many days after leaving the village, no matter how much Shinichi slowed down the team's march, the team remained firmly centered around Shinichi and no conflicts or contradictions broke out.

Shisui, who was in charge of the intelligence investigation, returned quickly, and the information he brought boosted the morale of everyone present.

That "freeloader" was indeed Jiraiya. For some unknown reason, the man who had carried out countless S-rank missions, Jiraiya, was out of money.

Although "getting something for free" is a "trivial" matter, the fact that the person involved is Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, meant that this information circulated on the black market...

Jiraiya's last known location was the Land of Hot Springs. Others might simply assume he was there to gather resources and enjoy life, but Shinichi knew that the Land of Hot Springs bordered the Land of Grass, and that the Land of Water lay on the other side of the sea...

Orochimaru's secret base was located near the Land of Water.

Orochimaru has probably already returned to his headquarters from the Land of Water.

Speaking of which... Orochimaru should have successfully taken in that boy named Kimimaro by now.

"Let's change direction and head to the Land of Hot Springs."

"Let's also help the village deal with the rogue ninja."

Having received intelligence, Shinichi changed the course of the march, a decision that drew criticism from Kakashi.

"We are already in Rock Town, which is only two days away from the Land of Rain."

"Orochimaru joining Akatsuki is just speculation and has not been confirmed. We can investigate the Land of Rain first, then meet up with Jiraiya-sama, and then look for Orochimaru."

Upon hearing this, Shinichi shook his head and objected:

"The Land of Rain is different from the Land of Hot Water. It is the land ruled by the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander, not a place where we Konoha ninjas can come and go as we please."

"The Land of Hot Water is a neutral country, so its safety level is higher."

"If we don't find anything by confirming Orochimaru's information, we can still head to the more dangerous Land of Rain."

"It's all just speculation. Let's go to places with lower risk first."

Shinichi's excuse wasn't very convincing, but Kakashi didn't bother to refute it after hearing it.

After all, in this era, Hanzo the Salamander was indeed a very famous figure, and no one knew that Hanzo the Salamander had been killed by Pain.

People's understanding of this closed country is still based on the Ninja World War era, and even the title of the Three Legendary Sannin was bestowed upon them by a "demigod".

The title of such a loser has now become a "label of honor" for the Three Legendary Sannin, which shows how great Hanzo of the Salamander's reputation is.

Even a young prodigy like Kakashi was wary of him.

The team spent another night in Rock Town, and the next morning, they turned around and headed towards the Land of Hot Springs.

While traveling, they did not neglect either gathering intelligence or cultivating their true essence. The group traveled at a leisurely pace, taking about half a month to traverse the entire Land of Fire and approach the border of the Land of Hot Water.

Neutral countries have no military power, the standoff between Konoha and Kumogakure has long ended, and the Land of Hot Springs has long since begun to restore people's livelihoods.

This is a country whose main industry is hot spring tourism. Even in the chaotic ninja world, the Land of Hot Springs can be considered a pure land.

While the tourism industry is thriving, the sex industry is also exceptionally developed, making it one of Jiraiya's favorite "sources".

However, Jiraiya's stay in the Land of Hot Springs during this time was not for research, but to recuperate from his injuries.

...

In a hot spring inn, Jiraiya lay half-reclined in the hot spring bath, comfortably closing his eyes.

Completely unaware that several other tourists had entered the hot spring pool at that moment.

A wooden tray floated beside Jiraiya. With his eyes closed, Jiraiya casually picked up a wine glass from it, took a sip of wine, and let out a contented howl.

Not far away, Shinichi Hyuga, who had just entered the hot spring, stretched and glanced at the wounds on Jiraiya's upper body before suddenly speaking:

"Wow, that's a deep sword wound!"

"It seems that Jiraiya-sama suffered a great loss!"

................

Chapter 138 Snake Shadow! (Please Subscribe)

In the hot spring, Shinichi Hyuga, Shisui Uchiha, and others entered the water one after another.

Shinichi scanned Jiraiya's body and found several sword wounds on his shoulder and chest. The wounds were deep, but they had already scabbed over, indicating that they had been there for quite some time.

Shinichi's voice made Jiraiya, who was enjoying the hot spring with his eyes closed, suddenly open them. When he saw Shinichi, Shisui, and the others not far away, Jiraiya's face showed surprise.

However, Jiraiya quickly regained his composure, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel as he asked:

"Why are you here?"

"Did Minato send you to find me? Or is there some other mission that requires Jiraiya-sama's help?"

Jiraiya didn't believe it was a coincidence that Shinichi and his group were here. Shinichi, as a member of the main branch of the family, rarely went on missions, let alone left the Land of Fire to come to the Land of Hot Springs. If there wasn't something going on, he would never appear in a place like this.

"Lord Jiraiya, before I answer your question, could you please tell me how you got these injuries?"

"Have you fought Orochimaru?"

Shinichi Hyuga and Jiraiya were indeed close, but this closeness was nowhere near as strong as the bond between Minato and Jiraiya. There was always a barrier between them.

Even so, from Kushina's perspective, Shinichi Hyuga can be considered Jiraiya's "grand-disciple," so Shinichi, as Jiraiya's grand-disciple, doesn't need to hide anything from him when speaking to him.

Orochimaru... Jiraiya couldn't help but show a hint of sadness when he mentioned that name.

Just as Shinichi had guessed, the injuries on his body were caused by Orochimaru.

He successfully located Orochimaru and wanted to bring him back to Konoha, which led to a battle between the two.

The result was obvious: Jiraiya had no time to enter Sage Mode when fighting a powerhouse like Orochimaru, and Orochimaru, who couldn't use Sage Mode, was no match for Orochimaru, who was proficient in forbidden techniques.

Although Orochimaru defeated Jiraiya, this Konoha rogue ninja was not yet ruthless. Facing his former closest comrade-in-arms, Orochimaru only defeated him and ultimately could not bring himself to kill him.

Therefore, although Jiraiya had some injuries, he was ultimately out of danger.

Jiraiya became somewhat depressed and lost because he couldn't stop Orochimaru. Going to the brothel was partly to "gather material" and partly to soothe his "wounded" heart.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya seemed to have forgotten that he had lent all the cash he had on hand to Tsunade to gamble a few days ago, and he made quite a fool of himself by not having money to pay for the "prostitute".

However, it was precisely through Jiraiya's "loss of composure" that Shinichi and the others had a clue to locate Jiraiya. After traveling for a while, they finally found Jiraiya in this town.

When Jiraiya heard Shinichi mention Orochimaru, he was briefly saddened, then chuckled self-deprecatingly and asked Shinichi:

"What, you came all the way to the Land of Hot Springs just to see me make a fool of myself?"

"Or... does the village think I'm too embarrassing as one of the three legendary ninja, so they sent you kids to help me capture Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya spoke with a hint of resentment. Orochimaru had been gone for so long, and the village had remained indifferent. The Third Hokage, Orochimaru's teacher, not only failed to stop him in the first place, but also made no attempt to intervene after Orochimaru's defection.

Konoha's actions seemed to completely abandon Orochimaru. Even though Jiraiya knew the village's decision was correct, he still felt that the village's actions were "unethical."

Regardless, Orochimaru was one of the legendary Sannin who had rendered great service to the village. For such a ninja to defect, and for the village to not even try to bring him back, is utterly disheartening.

In Jiraiya's subconscious, the Konoha ninjas killed by Orochimaru were not as valuable as Orochimaru himself.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have insisted on bringing Orochimaru back to Konoha.