Naruto: Starting from Eating the Gold Fruit

Chapter 202 Who is this blond kid?

When the four members of Fugaku's team—one adult and three children—arrived in the Land of Grass, they immediately recognized the distinctive features of Konoha.

The former Grass Ninja Village has now been replaced by rows of buildings.

Moreover, these houses look like they were copied and pasted together without any difference; you can tell at a glance that they are mass-produced stairwell buildings.

The four arrived at the entrance to Kusagakure and were stopped by two ninjas guarding the gate.

After confirming their identities, the two ninjas quickly made way for them and even bowed.

While in the village, the feelings weren't strong, but once they arrived outside the village, whether it was the journey there or now that they were inside the territory of Kusagakure, the envious looks they received from the other four, who were leaving the village for the first time on a mission, made Kushina and the other two children quite happy.

It's a kind of vanity that comes from feeling proud.

As I walked through the streets of Kusagakure, the villagers were all busy with their own things. Some were picking mulberry leaves, some had a winnowing basket filled with silkworm excrement, and some were pounding something in their jars...

When Kushina and her companions passed by, the villagers on both sides of the road quickly stopped what they were doing, moved aside, and made way for them.

It's clear that these villagers feel more fear than anything else towards the Konoha ninjas.

However, it's understandable, considering that their village was once completely razed to the ground by a round of artillery fire, so it's impossible not to be afraid.

Well... of course, strictly speaking, that happened more than ten years ago, which is almost a generation ago. Even if there is fear, it shouldn't last that long.

But unfortunately, Orochimaru arrived a few years ago.

Orochimaru is a ninja from Konoha.

Although Orochimaru was nominally expelled from the country, you can see that after he arrived in Kusagakure, no one pursued him. In fact, he stayed outside Kusagakure, and the Konoha ninjas on the border of the Land of Fire got along very well with Orochimaru.

Nobody would believe you if you said there wasn't something fishy going on here.

Then Orochimaru brazenly set up a laboratory in the Land of Grass.

Not those underground, cave-like laboratories that can't see the light of day.

Instead, it is a biological laboratory at the very center of the Grass Country, surrounded by five buildings, with a high wall and a domed roof at the very center, and roads radiating outwards like spider legs to the four high-rise buildings surrounding this building.

Each building has twenty floors, which is quite remarkable in the context of Kusagakure, where the average building is only five or six floors.

Therefore, the people of the Grass Country often see many...

Yes, the materials were transported into this laboratory.

Thanks to Konoha's aid to the Land of Grass, there is a hospital here as well.

Of course, the conditions won't be very good, and every year there will always be about a hundred people who die because we can't save them all.

For Orochimaru, every dead individual is a rare and valuable resource, and he would naturally not waste it.

Therefore, the general attitude of the common people of Kusagakure towards Konoha is that they bombed our village a few years ago and then sent a pervert to settle here for a long time.

Orochimaru didn't need to avoid the people of Kusagakure, so naturally, people with severed limbs or legs would occasionally go into his laboratory and never come out again.

This place has practically become an urban legend in Kusagakure.

Some people might ask, why didn't the people of Kusagakure run away if they were so terrifying?

It can only be said that everything is relative.

The central laboratory in Kusagakure is terrifying, but it mainly uses people who can't be saved by hospitals for experiments.

In other words, there is a hospital in this village.

However, given You Ya's long-held belief, it was impossible for him to simply build a hospital in a bare-bones manner.

The necessary supporting facilities are definitely required.

Orochimaru strongly supported the idea that some medical equipment factories should simply be set up and put into operation, thus avoiding the need for suppliers to travel around to different places.

Once the factory is up and running, there's not much else to say. And since hospitals need highly skilled personnel, schools are also essential.

Therefore, various supporting facilities are also necessary.

Compared to Konoha Village, it is of course far inferior.

But everything is afraid of comparison.

It's not as good as Konoha, but Kusagakure is, strictly speaking, even better than Iwagakure in the neighboring Land of Earth.

Of course, Iwagakure is large because a change in one part affects the whole. If Iwagakure were to develop, it would be far superior to Kusagakure.

But since it hasn't been developed yet, the people from Kusagakure won't leave because of the facilities in the village.

Urban legends, huh...

Then just close the doors and windows at night and don't let the kids go out.

……

Of course, Kushina and her group of four knew absolutely nothing about these things.

When they arrived at the Kusagakure Central Experiment Park with the guide, she gave them a gentle smile: "Lord Orochimaru is inside. He's been waiting for you for a long time. Please follow me."

The four followed the guide into the park, where a pleasant fragrance greeted them.

Strangely, while the rest of the Grass Village is covered in grass, the area where this biological laboratory is located has many large trees.

Moreover, it is very thick and strong.

There were definitely no such trees in the Grass Ninja Village before, but considering that this was Orochimaru's territory, I felt relieved.

Perhaps the fertilizer used on these trees is better.

The female guide led the four of them through a long corridor to the laboratory at the very center.

Orochimaru, dressed in a white coat, turned to the four of them and gave them a sinister smile: "You've finally arrived."

He didn't actually have any malicious intent.

However, combined with his current attire and the corpse lying on the iron bed, it looked extremely sinister.

Nara Yoshino and Kushina huddled together, trembling. Namikaze Minato, on the other hand, didn't seem scared at all and was even examining the details of the laboratory.

Fugaku, looking speechless, stepped forward and shook hands with Orochimaru: "Hello, Mr. Orochimaru."

Orochimaru's title as one of the Legendary Sannin does not exist because he never fought Hanzo.

Among the higher-ups in Konoha, he was more often referred to as a "madman," a "pervert," or a "madman."

After all, Orochimaru was somewhat restrained when he was in Konoha, and his human experiments were only superficial. In fact, he initially experimented on himself.

What can you say if someone treats you like a guinea pig?

What can you do besides spitting at them and calling them a pervert or a madman? They haven't broken the law.

After being expelled from Konoha by Yua, Orochimaru completely let loose.

Especially with Youya providing financial support behind the scenes, they became even more unscrupulous.

Fortunately, this guy is no longer in Konoha, otherwise he would have really corrupted the minds of many people.

"We are the team sent by the Hokage to investigate the unusual spacetime fluctuations in the ancient Loulan that you collected."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, then looked at the three little ones behind Fugaku.

Kushina and Yoshino Nara even hugged each other.

Nara Yoshino, whose hair was styled in a ponytail, was trembling.

Because she noticed that the "corpse" that was originally on the iron plate had just moved...

It moved slightly!

"So you actually entrusted the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki to him with such confidence..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and looked at Kushina, only to find that her eyes were staring at him with great fear.

Orochimaru seemed to understand something, turned to look at the "corpse" lying on the iron plate, and chuckled softly: "So it still retains some nerves..."

This is truly great news.

Orochimaru then expelled the four from the laboratory.

He turned to the young woman who was leading the four people inside and said, "P-1, you can do the rest of the experiment. Remember not to break it."

The young woman smiled gently and said, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru, I won't let you down."

Kushina and Yoshino then realized that the young lady who brought them here was no pushover either!

This place is hell!

The two little girls were trembling. Fugaku was already exchanging information with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru briefly explained the situation to Fugaku.

Upon hearing about the special suppression of adults and the significant enhancement of children, Fugaku frowned: "What's the principle behind this?"

Orochimaru smiled and shook his head: "I don't know, and I don't plan to study it in depth. I'm not interested in spacetime. Of course, I can help prepare all the supplies you need."

I also have some positioning badges that I've made here.

As he spoke, Orochimaru took out two magnets.

"I'll leave one piece here with me, and you can take the other one. If you sense anything amiss in the other dimension, pour chakra into it, and the ninjutsu sealed inside will bring you back to me."

As he spoke, Orochimaru took out three more: "There's only one with no margin for error, and I'm sure you won't go all out, so here are three spares."

Of course, if you let them destroy everything, then you'll have to come back on your own.

Fugaku took it and was speechless. How could all four be destroyed?

They're not vandals.

Fugaku received the four magnets from Orochimaru and stored them separately using four scrolls.

Kushina's eyes lit up, and she immediately started acting cute and charming: "Fugaku-sensei, can I have one?"

Fugaku looked up at Kushina with a blank expression.

Kushina stuck out her tongue and said with a grin, "This thing will come in handy if we get separated inside."

Fugaku hesitated for a moment.

Indeed, they had no idea what was inside that alternate dimension. What if they were randomly teleported inside?

If all the magnets are on your side, it will be difficult to deal with them if they get scattered.

Although the people Orochimaru sent in said that the other dimension was an endless desert, it was precisely because of this that if they really got separated and lost, then it would be truly the end.

Seeing Fugaku hesitate, Kushina pressed her advantage, and Fugaku finally agreed to give each of the four of them a magnetic scroll.

After resting for a day and a night, on the third day after arriving in Kusagakure, each of them carried a backpack and followed Orochimaru onto an airship with the ability to fly.

"This thing is an airship from the Bird Country. It's not worth studying. It's just a board with a power system. The kind of metal flying machine that my brother is researching, which he calls an airplane, is much more advanced than this. This thing is okay for short-distance flight, but if it flies any higher or for any longer, it will probably disintegrate in mid-air."

However, it's quite good for short-distance transportation.

Orochimaru explained to Fugaku.

Fugaku nodded to indicate that he understood.

There's a divine artifact in the Land of Birds...

Well, only the Bird Country considers it a divine artifact; it's just a simple, large airship.

Because of its slow speed and limited flight altitude, coupled with the need for constant recharging of its power system, Youya abandoned the airship route and switched to developing aircraft after learning what this airship was.

Although Fugaku was unaware of these things, he did indeed feel that the speed was not very fast.

However, what's convenient is that you can drive in a straight line without having to take a detour.

At noon that day, the sun shone on the group. Orochimaru pulled up his sleeves and took out a katana with scribbled symbols on the hilt—actually inscriptions—and cleaved the space in front of him with a single stroke.

Then the space in front of me shattered like a mirror.

Fugaku looked at Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru didn't actually mean anything by it, he smiled and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips, which made the children think he was a bit gloomy.

"The space here is inherently fragmented like this; some people from the Grass Country have fallen in before."

Those people never came back, and I later sent people in to investigate.

However, the desert inside was indeed too vast, and my men investigated for half a month without finding any useful clues.

But now that you're here, I'll leave the matter to you. Remember to take good care of the magnet that was implanted with the ninjutsu.

Without it, you might not have been able to come back.

With that, Orochimaru turned and left without stopping, giving the impression that he was impatient.

Well, Orochimaru was indeed impatient, after all, his experiment had just made a breakthrough. He wasn't interested in this broken space to begin with, but because Yua had asked him to investigate a few months ago and even threatened him with funding, he had no choice but to agree to the investigation.

And now...

By simply handing over the reins to Fugaku, Orochimaru could continue his experiments.

……

Meanwhile, looking at the passage in front of him where space had shattered and revealed a seven-colored light, Fugaku Uchiha glanced at the three students beside him, shook the backpack on his back, and said softly, "Let's go."

He then strode ahead and was the first to enter the passageway that radiated dazzling light.

Nara Yoshino, Minato Namikaze, hurry up and catch up.

The moment Kushina stepped into the passage, Kurama let out a soft "hmm" in her mind.

【What's wrong, Kurama?】

Um...you might not believe it, but...

I sensed something else...

My chakra.

[Huh? What do you mean? You have another you? Your brothers?]

Kushina followed the group out of the passage, the intense light so bright that she had to shield her eyes with her hands.

A few seconds later, Kushina finally adjusted to the light and looked around.

All around, yellow sand filled the sky, and the air seemed to be filled with the smell of sand.

"Bring a scarf," Fugaku instructed.

Thus, in a style reminiscent of Sunagakure, but with four people—one large and three small—wearing Konoha headbands, appeared in the vast desert high above...

"Teacher, is this spatial passage always this stable?"

Minato Namikaze looked at the seven-colored passage behind him and asked Fugaku.

Fugaku's lips twitched; he knew nothing about spatial passages.

but……

"That's what Orochimaru said, and we can go back through here, but..."

"That wouldn't be an investigation, would it!" Kushina raised her hand, grinned, and said rather boldly:

"This is my first B-rank mission! We have to do our best!"

Minato Namikaze had just nodded when a thought struck him, and he turned his head to look in a certain direction.

Fugaku Uchiha also turned his head to look to the side, his eyes quickly turning blood red. Under the influence of his Sharingan, over there...

Four figures were also rushing towards them...

"Hide where you are and disperse." Fugaku Uchiha looked in that direction without making any move, while Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Yoshino Nara disappeared into the yellow sand, undoubtedly hiding under the sand.

"Brush" X4

Four figures landed quickly, and the four people who had just landed were stunned.

Because they really didn't expect to see another figure here, also wearing a Konoha headband.

but……

The style seems a bit off?

……

As mentioned before, the original Konoha headbands did not have such detailed distinctions as beginner and advanced levels; they were only divided into rank 1, rank 2, and rank 3.

The original Konoha headbands were distinguished by color by the rank of 11, 12, and 13.

Fugaku Uchiha's Jonin headband was the headband of a junior Jonin, which was the headband after Yua's reform.

Therefore, although the patterns on the iron sheets are the same, there are subtle differences.

Fugaku frowned and asked, "Who are you people? Don't you know that Konoha passed a law five years ago to stop using old-style headbands? Or perhaps..."

Fugaku narrowed his eyes, looking at the four people in front of him: "You are remnants of the old era..."

Every village has its share of rogue ninja, and Fugaku naturally assumed that this was the headband worn by those who betrayed Konoha more than a decade ago.

In any case, now that they have left the village, they represent the village.

Leaving aside the internal conflicts within the Uchiha clan, between him and the village, and between him and Yua, now that he has left the village, he is now a member of Konoha.

If these people didn't look so young, and couldn't possibly be people who survived from the time of Tobirama Senju's war with Kumogaku, Fugaku would definitely have made the first move. Whatever, let's subdue these people first, and then talk about other things.

However, looking at the four people opposite him, there was a blond boy with three barbs on each side of his face like a fox's whiskers, a girl with short pink hair, a boy with a face as pale as paper and skin as pale as Orochimaru's, and...

The figure leading the group had a blank expression and wore a face shield similar to that of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju...

Fugaku was already on high alert.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that? We haven't heard of any other teams taking on this mission!"

The blond-haired boy from the squad opposite Fugaku raised his hand and stood up. He then muttered a harsh complaint through gritted teeth, but dared not let anyone hear: "Grandma Tsunade is so mean. She gave us a mission, and then sent someone else..."

The girl with short pink hair next to him turned her gaze over: "What are you muttering about?"

"Ah, no, it's nothing..." The blond boy quickly scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile, but inwardly he was even more annoyed:

Ever since Granny Tsunade said she wanted to take her as her apprentice, she has completely sided with her.

"Other squads?" Fugaku frowned, then looked at the middle-aged man leading the squad, who had a blank expression.

"Hello, let me introduce myself. I'm Yamato. Are you also sent by the Hokage to hunt down the rogue ninja, Hyakuza, from Sunagakure?"

Fugaku was taken aback, then looked at Yamato with a puzzled expression: "A rogue ninja from Sunagakure? Shouldn't that be Chiyo's jurisdiction? Why did you come to hunt him down?"

Furthermore... our mission is to investigate everything here, not to hunt down rogue ninja, and certainly not rogue ninja from Sunagakure.

As he spoke, Fugaku narrowed his eyes and looked at Yamato dangerously: "This is an internal matter of Sunagakure, not Konoha's style of doing things. The Hokage has never supported us interfering in the affairs of other villages."

Yamato stood there, stunned, and began to brainstorm.

However, because he always had a blank expression, no one noticed anything was wrong.

At this moment, Yamato was pondering the information revealed in the other person's words.

Then it suddenly occurred to him: Yes, the rogue ninja Hyakuzuki was a puppeteer from Sunagakure, and as everyone knows, the strongest puppeteer in Sunagakure was Granny Chiyo, and Hyakuzuki had indeed studied under Granny Chiyo.

As for the Hokage's opposition to interfering in other villages' affairs...

That's true. Lady Tsunade was extremely busy. If Sunagakure hadn't asked for help, she wouldn't have sent a single team over.

Yamato nodded in deep agreement and sighed, saying, "Who says otherwise? But there's nothing we can do. The Sand Village urgently needs the Hokage's help, so they had to send us here in a hurry to assist."

Fugaku looked up and glanced at the headband on the other person's face; it was the old style.

He narrowed his eyes, but Fugaku knew that if the other party had malicious intent, they would have already started fighting.

but……

Fugaku remained cautious, but waved his hand and said to the air, "Stop, retreat."

Before Yamato could finish wondering, three quick, swish-swish sounds rang out, and the three children emerged from the sand beside them.

Sweat immediately beaded on Yamato's forehead; it was clear he had considered the possibility that the children's attack had been a surprise attack.

Strictly speaking, the average age of the squad he led was only 15 years old.

If we get ambushed, we're really done for.

Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to have any malicious intent.

"Since we have all received missions from the Hokage... let's part ways here." Fugaku looked at Yamato in front of him, his expression very calm.

Strictly speaking, all his suspicions were just suspicions.

As is well known, the ninjas of Konoha Village do not cause trouble outside, but they are not afraid of trouble either.

Although the squad in front of him seemed suspicious, Fugaku couldn't possibly just kill them; there was no reason for that.

However, it's impossible for him to act together with the other party.

Since the other party claimed they were pursuing a fugitive, they certainly wouldn't waste their time.

After all, their investigation doesn't seem to need to be rushed.

As for dry food and water...

Each of them had a huge pile of things in their backpacks.

No rush at all.

Yamato nodded and prepared to leave with his squad.

He did indeed sense danger emanating from the person in front of him...

Just as the blond-haired figure in Yamato's group turned around, he met the eyes of Kushina Uzumaki in Fugaku's group.

This was certainly not an accident; it was obvious that something of a common nature within the two of them resonated with each other...

Just as the blond boy was about to take a closer look, Kushina Uzumaki raised her fist and roared, "What are you looking at?! Want to get beaten up?!"

The blond boy jumped up and ran, almost falling on the sand.

He himself didn't know why he was so frightened by just being yelled at...

Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails inside Kushina's body was laughing so hard it was almost falling over:

Hahaha! That's it! That's it! So the imposter's chosen ninja was such a weakling? Hahahaha!

Kushina, next time, next time, next time! I'll show that imposter that the Nine-Tails isn't something just anyone can impersonate!

Kushina snorted coldly, but she was somewhat puzzled.

That blond kid who wasn't much older than me...

Why does this look so familiar...?

(End of this chapter)