Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 126 Loulan

"Huh? What's this?"

It is semi-elliptical with a cylindrical protrusion at the top, giving it the appearance of a fossil that has been unearthed, and it has a strong sense of antiquity.

If you look closely, there is a large circle on top, inside which is a square, and inside the square are nine circles of the same size, arranged in a 3x3 grid, giving it a rather mysterious feel.

Aokiji paused for a moment, feeling like he'd seen this thing somewhere before.

But he just can't remember. Generally speaking, things that he has an impression of are probably not simple.

Two-dimensional things will definitely look very different when they are transformed into three-dimensional things.

Tsunade picked it up and looked at it, then smirked, "It looks like some kind of broken rock. Let's throw it away."

She wasn't just saying it; she really lost it.

Fortunately, Aokiji was quick-witted and agile, otherwise she would have thrown him away.

"Hey, don't throw my things around."

"It's just a broken rock, what are you so worried about?"

"You don't know anything. This thing looks so old, it might be some kind of antique. It could probably fetch a lot of money."

"cut……"

"snort."

Neither of them could stand the other, so they turned their heads away from each other and left.

Sato looked at the two of them and shook his head helplessly.

These two have been arguing a lot on the ship these past few days, as if they feel uncomfortable if they don't argue for a day.

Sato saw all of this.

The Senju and Uchiha clans have a long-standing and deep-rooted relationship.

One can't help but sigh that the two of them truly deserve to have inherited the bloodlines of the Senju and Uchiha clans.

On the other side, Aokiji thoroughly washed the antique-looking thing with water to remove the fishy smell. Since it wasn't big, he put it in his backpack and carried it with him.

………………

Late March.

The Land of Winds, a desert region.

The sandstorm raged, with sand and stones flying everywhere. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but sand.

The desert was already hot enough in the morning, but by noon it was even hotter than an oven, distorting the space itself.

"It's so hot..."

Aokiji drank the last drop of water from the kettle and began to complain.

He felt like he was just one layer of cumin left to sprinkle on the grilled meat.

It's late December, but the weather is hotter than midsummer.

It's truly remarkable that Sunagakure has to survive in such harsh conditions.

He didn't quite understand why they wouldn't move their nest if the environment was so harsh.

The other four great nations are not easy to usurp, but with the power of Sunagakure, can't they just do it whenever they want to with the other smaller nations?

Could it be that there's some kind of humanistic sentiment involved?

Just as he was complaining about it, Tsunade, who was wearing a hooded trench coat, spoke up: "It's so hot, Aokiji, use your Ice Release to cool me down."

"No, I'm not your portable refrigerator."

Although Aokiji said he refused, his hands didn't stop. He summoned some ice blocks and distributed them to his companions.

White Fang accepted the ice and thanked him. The hot weather hadn't affected him too much, but since it was a kind gesture, he accepted it.

He glanced at Aokiji and thought to himself that he was a really interesting Uchiha. He didn't have the Sharingan's bloodline limit, but he did have the Ice Release bloodline limit.

Tsunade smirked: "That's more like it."

Then, when it was her turn, she was disappointed to find that she didn't seem to have any say in the matter.

￣へ￣

Where's the ice?

Where is her ice?

Aokiji said irritably, "No, figure it out yourself."

Tsunade was displeased upon hearing this and gave him a cold look.

"What's wrong with that? Beg me, and maybe I'll take pity on you and make you some ice."

Tsunade gave a forced smile: "You're asking for a beating, aren't you?"

"Ugh, here we go again." Sato shook his head. "Sakumo, you're about the same age as these two. Why don't you try to persuade them?"

"Forget it, I don't want to get involved in this kind of thing. Anyway, those two will make up in a little while."

White Tooth gave a bitter smile.

Aokiji and Tsunade had just finished their verbal sparring when they noticed something appearing in front of them and stopped arguing back.

Tsunade, seizing the advantage, pressed her advantage: "Why aren't you saying anything now? Are you scared?"

"Idiot, look at that!"

Aokiji put away his playful attitude and pointed to the distance, where a huge building stood.

Following the gaze, Tsunade also noticed: "Could this be the Loulan?"

"I'm afraid so..."

Looking at the desert surrounding the building, Aokiji couldn't help but wonder how this building could have been built, and even if it was, how would they manage their daily diet?

The surrounding area is all desert. Putting aside food, the water consumption alone would probably make it difficult to support the city's residents.

With this question in mind, Aokiji and his team entered Loulan. Only after entering did he understand how Loulan had managed to establish itself in this desert.

It's actually quite simple. Loulan is a completely different world from the desert outside. The buildings here are tall, slender, and densely packed, mainly white, with a modern European style. Compared to Sunagakure, it looks like a slum, let alone the relatively wealthy Hidden Leaf Village.

Just by looking at the buildings, you can tell how prosperous this place is, not to mention that it has abundant water resources, plentiful supplies, and even a different climate. It's hard to believe that the outside world is a desert.

If there were a barrier around Loulan, that would make sense, but Loulan doesn't seem to have a barrier at all.

He didn't see a single ninja along the way, so what was the point of setting up a barrier? Ordinary people wouldn't react to a barrier at all, so there was no need for him to add anything unnecessary.

With this question in mind, Aokiji followed the team members into a hotel. Instead of booking a room, he went straight to a room number and politely knocked on the door.

Not long after, a middle-aged man came out. He had a gloomy face and scrutinized the group with a critical look.

Sato gave him the secret signal, and the man's expression immediately softened. He invited them into the room and then closed the door.

He was a Sand Village ninja responsible for receiving Aokiji and the others, mainly responsible for collecting the bodies of Viper and Sasori, and ensuring that the Konoha ninja could kill the target as agreed.

The Sand Village ninja noticed Aokiji and his group, frowned, and said in a blaming tone, "Why are you all children? What's wrong with you Konoha ninjas?"

Sato laughed and said, "Judging a ninja's strength simply by his appearance is not the behavior of a qualified ninja."

The Sand Village ninja kept a straight face and fell silent.

Out of curiosity, Aokiji asked about Loulan and why it was so different from other places.

The Sand Village ninja had a sour face, as if to say, "Don't bother asking about unnecessary things."

Aokiji made a fool of himself.

Sato smoothed things over, saying, "In any case, let's first make a plan and achieve our goal."

The Sand Village ninja nodded.

(End of this chapter)