Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

"How long can they hold on?"

After a moment of silence, Kakashi asked.

Itachi shook his head, then nodded:

"Not too long, not too short, about two or three minutes."

He didn't use the Moonlight; he merely used the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan to enhance ordinary genjutsu.

—This time is far from enough.

Kakashi wasn't confident he could restrain Orochimaru, who wasn't under the influence of genjutsu.

Since Orochimaru cannot be taken back to the village, the best option is to end his life here.

Just as he was about to use Raikiri to pierce Orochimaru's chest, a giant python emerged from the ground.

It opened its blood-red maw, and a foul, stench assaulted the senses.

Kakashi, Itachi, and Tenzo retreated.

Although they escaped the bites of Manda, they also lost Orochimaru.

Manda swallowed Orochimaru and stared warily at Itachi.

It still doesn't know what happened to Orochimaru.

Even though Manda wanted nothing more than to tear Kakashi to pieces, it had no choice but to retreat temporarily because Itachi posed a strong threat to it.

With a thud.

The summoning spell was automatically dispelled by Manda.

The enormous snake body, along with Orochimaru, vanished instantly.

Seeing this, Kakashi frowned and clenched his fists.

—So he got away?!

……

The underground base of Otogakure Village in the Land of Fields.

A python crawled out of the ground and vomited a sticky substance as if it were retching.

Under the dim light, Orochimaru got up expressionlessly and stuck out his tongue to lick the sticky substance on his cheek.

Dou, who had been waiting nearby, quickly walked over and respectfully handed over a clean handkerchief.

"Sir, there are no signs of an enemy attack."

Orochimaru nodded silently, took the handkerchief to wipe the slime off his body, and gave the order:

"Go and fetch a few test samples."

This is an offering for the ten thousand serpents.

If it weren't for Manda risking his life to save him, he might have really been in trouble this time.

"Yes."

As Kabuto was about to leave, Orochimaru asked:

"By the way, how did Kimimaro's medical examination go?"

A hint of disappointment flashed in Kabuto's eyes:

"I'm sorry, sir, he has a terminal illness."

"Otherwise, with his abilities, he would definitely be the best choice for an adult's new body!"

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru lowered his head and nodded expressionlessly.

"Let's treat it first, just in case it comes in handy."

If it were him in the past, he would have been very disappointed upon hearing this news.

After all, Kimimaro was the most perfect seed he had found in all these years.

Orochimaru's scientific knowledge told him that Shikotsumyaku (Shikotsumyaku) must have considerable development potential.

But for Orochimaru now, there is something he desires even more than the Shikotsumyaku (Corpse Bone Pulse).

Wood Release!

And... the Sharingan!

Thinking of those cold, piercing crimson eyes, Orochimaru licked his lips, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Uchiha Itachi..."

Although he knew very early on that the Sharingan was an extremely precious bloodline limit.

Otherwise, the Uchiha clan would not have been subjected to the vigilance and hostility of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and Danzo would not have been constantly spying on that evil power in the shadows.

However, it wasn't until today that he realized his understanding of the Sharingan was still too superficial.

Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan is the true Sharingan!

Orochimaru was unconcerned about his crushing defeat; instead, it fueled his inner greed and desire.

His narrow eyes were shrouded in shadow, gleaming with a thoughtful look.

He needs to think of a way to cause some trouble for Konoha.

This was not an act of revenge by Orochimaru, but rather a prelude to hunting down Wood Release and Sharingan.

Only when Konoha is in chaos will he have a chance to fish in troubled waters.

"Kabuto, what are your plans for Konoha lately?"

Searching his memory, Dou replied:

"My lord, there is a failed attempt at Impure World Reincarnation. You intend to place it in Konoha for testing."

"Let's implement it now."

After giving instructions to Kabuto, Orochimaru didn't stop his mind from working.

Because that alone is far from enough.

He needs to bring even larger-scale, more unpredictable and uncontrollable chaos to Konoha!

……

"The hidden condition has finally been met."

Lu Ying sat on a boulder, her hair slightly damp with sweat.

He stared at the hidden quest reward, his eyes brimming with barely concealed excitement:

"Ten times the daily training load, hopefully the hidden rewards won't disappoint."

With a thought, the system panel appeared before his eyes.

[Daily task completed. Hidden task rewards have been issued due to triggering hidden conditions.]

[Reward 1: Restore 100% status]

[Reward 2: Ability Points +6]

[Reward 3: Cursed Random Box]

Rewards one and two were nothing new. After putting all his ability points into [Intelligence], Lu Ying looked at the Cursed Random Box with anticipation.

An ominous, crystalline purple aura clung to the ancient, pitch-black stone box, and a chill ran through my palm.

Suppressing the turbulent emotions in her heart, Lu Ying opened the Curse Random Box.

A ray of light burst forth from the box.

An email notification then popped up on the system panel.

[Obtain Item: Dungeon Key (Training Ground #0)]

Lu Ying's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at the words in front of him. He had thought it was some kind of dungeon or otherworldly instance.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be Konoha's Training Ground No. 0.

Although he had never personally entered Training Ground 0, as the eldest son of the Nara clan, he had some understanding of this area, which was now off-limits.

During the tenure of the First and Second Hokage, Training Ground No. 0 was generally set up as the examination venue for the Chunin Exams.

However, because too many rare and exotic beasts were slaughtered in Training Ground No. 0, ninja hunting was gradually banned.

Nowadays, what is called a training ground is more like a breeding farm for spirit beasts.

Although it was unexpected, Lu Ying felt more excited than anything else.

No matter where it is, its dungeon attributes remain unchanged.

"Finally, there's a proper place to level up."

Lu Ying's tone was full of emotion.

The previous guy with the same system lived in a world full of dungeons, and he never had to worry about leveling up or acquiring shadow soldiers.

In his hands, all he can do is kill ninjas.

Without much hesitation, Lu Ying was ready to witness the splendor of the dungeon.

As for baiting and fishing, he felt that was about enough.

He had traveled almost the entire mountain trade route surrounding Takigaku Village.

We caught quite a few fish, but few were big, or rather, almost none.

Small crucian carp are not necessarily unsafe to eat, but for him now, these small fish give very little experience points, while fishing takes an exceptionally long time.

In short, it offers extremely poor value for money.

After tidying up briefly, Lu Ying arrived at a deserted cave.

He then took out a dungeon key from the system inventory, pointed it at the air, and slowly said in an expectant tone:

"Start the dungeon."

"Exercise Area 0..."