The Uchiha's Path to the Top, Starting from Konoha

Chapter 123 The Journey of Five

In the Sand Village, on a desert landscape, five short figures sat on camels, curiously observing their surroundings.

But soon, the unchanging desert and the sand blowing in from time to time made Tsunade, one of the five, get tired of it.

"Orochimaru, how much longer until we reach Sunagakure? Pshaw!"

Tsunade spat out the sand that had flown into her mouth, quickly put on her veiled hat, and looked at Orochimaru leading the way with a worried expression on her small face.

"We'll reach the next oasis town in half a day."

Orochimaru also put on a straw hat, glanced around with his narrow snake eyes, compared their route with the map in his mind, and answered Tsunade's question.

"Hey, Tsunade, you can't even handle this much? You're supposed to be a soon-to-be graduate of the high school, don't embarrass us!"

Jiraiya, who always seizes every opportunity to banter with Tsunade, didn't hesitate to scoff from the camel, "Outside, don't you dare say you're Master Wu'an's disciple; that would bring shame to the title of 'Ninja World Leader'!"

"Jiraiya, I think you're asking for a beating again!"

Tsunade immediately clenched her small fists, her gaze somewhat reminiscent of Mito Uzumaki's angry and stern expression. She glared at Jiraiya, who shuddered, and quickly led the camel to the very edge.

"Jiraiya, stop arguing with Tsunade so much. You get beaten up every day. Is there something wrong with you?"

Kato Dan, who had received many love letters in Konoha and even been confessed to by girls, was also a little confused about Jiraiya's actions.

It's said that Jiraiya likes Tsunade, yet he keeps making her angry; it's said that he dislikes her, yet he always hits her lightest during sparring matches, which only makes Tsunade angrier.

After a series of actions, even Kato Dan, who seemed the most mature and composed in the group, began to believe that Jiraiya had become addicted to being beaten by Tsunade and had developed some strange quirks.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Upon hearing others suspect that he had a problem, Jiraiya immediately became furious. He pulled out several adult photo books from his pocket, pointed at the large-breasted women posing provocatively on the covers, and started arguing with Kato Dan.

"I like this!"

(I like this too, but don't tell me!)

Jiraiya's eloquent words left Kato Dan speechless. The boy, who had been hesitant to speak, looked at Jiraiya with an expression of admiration.

"Duan, I know you like it too."

Jiraiya chuckled softly, "No man in the world can resist big breasts. How about we admire them together tonight? This is a rare masterpiece!"

Kato Dan's face lit up with excitement, but watching something like this with Jiraiya would be a lifelong black mark if someone found out, so he politely declined, saying, "We're only nine years old!"

"Hehe, I have another one, it's the latest masterpiece from that big TV star!"

Jiraiya keenly sensed Kato Dan's reluctance and quietly increased the stakes, causing a dilemma to appear on Kato Dan's face.

Hiruko glanced at the two men with disdain and led his camel closer to Orochimaru.

The scorching sun on the horizon prompted Tsunade to open her water bottle again. Finding it empty, she took a new bottle from the camel's back, took a sip, and then complained.

"How do the people of Sunagakure survive in such a horrible place? No wonder they were defeated by Amegakure and couldn't even protect the name of the Kage of a great ninja village."

After three days of fermentation, the news from the Black Corner Region has spread throughout the entire ninja world.

As long as they weren't cut off from the outside world, the ninjas could find out everything from televisions on the streets and from newspapers with extra editions.

The five people who had rented five camels after seeing the scenery of Loulan were naturally aware of this.

"Tsunade, don't underestimate people's resilience and potential. The fact that Sunagakure can exist and continuously produce Kage-level powerhouses shows its strength and tenacity."

Orochimaru, feeling bored in the desert, also wanted to say a few more words to relieve his fatigue.

"From the first to the second Hokage of Sunagakure, the development in between was unremarkable, but the second Hokage, Shamon, was much more capable."

"First, they studied Magnet Release from the One-Tailed Beast, and then they developed the Puppet Technique. If they hadn't overestimated themselves and tried to invade Konoha, which led to their execution by Master Wu'an, their subsequent developments would have been enough to maintain the great reputation of the great ninja village."

"Unfortunately, after the Second Shinobi World War, Sunagakure lacked successors and actually appointed a woman as the village leader. Although she was also Kage-level, she was not as good as Hanzo of the Salamander in Amegakure."

Orochimaru's eloquent speech initially captivated Tsunade, but she became somewhat displeased with the idea of ​​a "mere woman" becoming the leader of a ninja village, and raised her voice in protest.

"Orochimaru, do you have a problem with women becoming leaders?"

Orochimaru paused for a moment, finding it difficult to respond—because he sensed that if the argument continued on this topic, he would be the one to suffer.

Hiruko, who was beside Orochimaru, came to his rescue, saying, "Tsunade, Orochimaru didn't mean that. He was probably just lamenting that the Sand Village has no successors."

"Isn't there another Jinchuriki named Bunpuku?"

The change of topic relieved Orochimaru, and upon hearing Tsunade's words, he explained.

"As can be seen from the battle in the Black Corner region, Bunpuku's control over the One-Tailed Beast is far weaker than that of the Fifth Hokage of Iwagakure. Someone who could trigger a tailed beast crisis at any time is unlikely to become a leader."

"What's so difficult about controlling a tailed beast?"

Tsunade curled her lip and said with a disdainful expression, "It's simply because the Jinchuriki is too weak."

Orochimaru, seeing that his mother was the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki and his grandmother was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was speechless at the unexpected Versailles reference.

"Tsunade, not all ninja villages possess the powerful sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan, nor do all people have the strength of Lady Minako and Lady Mito."

Hiruko continued the conversation, bringing up recent events with intense curiosity in her voice.

"The Lava Release: Blood Seed that the Academy of Sciences recently announced was obtained from the Four-Tails. The Sand Village obtained Magnet Release from the One-Tails, and Master Wu An's family obtained Fire Release from the Two-Tails. I just don't know what kind of blood-related secret techniques the Seven-Tails and Nine-Tails can produce."

"I once heard my mother and grandmother mention that the Seven-Tails and the Nine-Tails can also produce corresponding blood-stained secret techniques."

"Really, Tsunade?"

"Of course it's true, would I lie to you?"

Under the expectant gazes of Orochimaru and Hiruko, Tsunade crossed her arms, tilted her head, and thought for a moment.

"The Seven-Tailed Fox is a large beetle with six wings and a tail. It flies extremely fast and spews out scale powder that can blind its opponents. Its development focuses on Swift Escape and Dark Escape."

"The Nine-Tailed Fox is a large, fiery red fox with nine tails. It has very comprehensive abilities, but I don't know its specific research direction yet."

Seeing the disappointment in their eyes, Tsunade was speechless. "You can just join the Academy of Sciences and do the research yourselves later."

"That's true."

Orochimaru nodded, a determined look in his eyes. "Not only do I need to study the power of the Tailed Beasts to make Konoha stronger, but I also need to study Wood Release and the Sharingan!"

"Then I'll be waiting for you, Orochimaru. Wood Release... wait, why haven't I awakened it yet? Is it only Grandpa Hashirama who has it?"

Tsunade swung her sword forward with tremendous force, shattering the air with a loud crack.

The photobook, which Jiraiya and Kato Dan were pulling and tugging at each other on the far side, was startled. Jiraiya almost stuffed it into Kato Dan's hand, but it slipped out of his grasp.

(My wife!)

Jiraiya quickly bent down and took the photobook in his hands. He glanced at the photobook, which was free of dust and grit, breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned his gaze to Tsunade.

"Tsunade, what are you doing? You've scared the camels!"

"I think you're just terrified!"

Tsunade glanced at the camel that was still moving slowly forward and sighed.

"I'm almost at the level of a Special Jonin, but I still can't awaken Wood Release. I guess there's not much hope left. Once I become a Battle Ninja and earn some merit, I'll exchange it for [Lava Release: Blood Seed]."

Hiruko was a little surprised. "Eh, didn't Lady Minako and Lady Mito prepare anything for you?"

Tsunade said dejectedly, "Didn't Master Wu'an say that we have to fight for what belongs to the public?"

"That's to hone our abilities, and the three techniques of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu in the advanced division are enough for us to learn. There are still many things we haven't learned yet."

After Orochimaru explained, an expectant expression appeared on his face. "However, people have different levels of closeness. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what kind of gift Teacher Wu'an will give us after we graduate."

"Hopefully, it won't just be a verbal reward."

Tsunade remarked that the desert was still vast and the so-called oasis had yet to appear.

"I really don't understand, what's the point of having land like this? I wouldn't take it even if it were given to me for free."

"That's how it is now, but isn't the Academy of Sciences developing a desert transformation project? Perhaps in the future, this vast and boundless desert and Gobi will become a magnificent forest that rivals Konoha."

Orochimaru took a sip of water from the kettle, smiled, and said, "The power of chakra is limitless, and the future development of chakra technology is also limitless."

As the group talked amongst themselves, time slowly passed, and as the sun was about to set, an oasis appeared before them.

The more dissatisfied they were with the desert, the more awe they felt upon seeing the oasis.

That was a miracle born of nature.

And this miracle is now being amplified by the ninjas.

The Flying Thunder God Formation, connected to the Yangtze River, was continuously spewing out water, while a group of Water Release ninjas were methodically performing combined ninjutsu on the side.

Not far away, a ninja skilled in Earth Release was controlling the desert land, planting trees transmitted through the Flying Thunder God Technique. The oasis was expanding outwards at a visible speed.

"This is perhaps what Teacher Wu'an meant by 'human determination can conquer nature'."

Orochimaru looked at the scene before him with longing in his eyes.

"I heard that Lord Hashirama once used Wood Release to create a vast forest. If someone in the village were to awaken Wood Release, the transformation of the desert would be much easier."

"Let's go. There should be a teleportation array in the oasis. We can use it to go directly to Sunagakure."

Orochimaru led his team to the oasis, when someone behind him said something.

"There's not much to see in the Ninja World anymore. How about we go check out another continent?"

(End of this chapter)