Naruto: My version is ahead of the ninja world

"Is this... poisonous fog?"

Yu Xian asked uncertainly, "Besides poisonous fog, this color of fog could also be a smoke bomb."

"It's poisonous fog."

Orochimaru's tone was very certain: "You can see smoke billowing from the direction of Konoha from here. There's no way there's such a large-scale smoke bomb."

Furthermore, Sunagakure wouldn't travel all the way to Konoha to place smoke bombs; using poison would be much more reasonable in comparison.

Konoha not only has ninjas, but also a much larger number of ordinary people. There is no need to do anything to the ninjas; as long as enough civilians are killed, Konoha will also fall into a "shutdown" state.

"Is Sunagakure planning to cover the entire Hidden Leaf Village with poisonous fog...?"

"That's difficult to do. The number of ninjas that Sunagakure can send to the vicinity of Konoha is quite limited. It would be wishful thinking to think that they could defeat Konoha with that."

"Lord Orochimaru, are you very confident in the village's defenses?" Yugen didn't think Sunagakure's plan would succeed either; the enemy wasn't putting in enough effort, and this operation was even weaker than the last one.

Is it possible for the Kazekage of Sunagakure, the Chiyo siblings, or even the previous Kazekage to appear around Konoha? Almost impossible, as that would mean walking into a trap.

As it turned out, Yugen was right. In this operation, not only did the Sand Village send out all its high-ranking officials, but not a single important figure came.

To achieve big returns with a small investment, the most important thing is to control your investment.

Orochimaru shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm confident in the village's defenses, but rather in the medical ninjas within the village."

This idea coincided with Yu Gen's, as it seemed that in every Shinobi World War, the poisons of Sunagakure could not harm the medical ninjas of Konoha.

Under Orochimaru's watchful gaze, Hagen deactivated his Sage Mode, the black stripes on his body faded, and he returned to being an ordinary ninja covered in blood.

"How are you doing?"

Upon hearing Orochimaru's question, Yugen knew he was just making conversation. Although Yugen looked bloodied and pitiful, Orochimaru wasn't the type to care about such things.

"I'm fine, Lord Orochimaru, it's all superficial wounds." The injuries on Yugen's body were caused by Manda, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to perform the act of cutting snake meat with a knife.

Orochimaru didn't seem to be worried about Konoha at all; he didn't seem to be in a hurry to return.

"Shouldn't we go back to support the village immediately?" Yu Xian asked directly.

Orochimaru didn't directly answer Hagen's question; instead, he asked, "Why are you here?"

What does that mean? Yu Xian was secretly on guard. Did Orochimaru realize that he was following Nawaki, or did he suspect that he had some connection with the Sand Village ninja?

"I'm on vacation. I haven't been back to Konoha for a long time, so it feels a bit unfamiliar. I'm just taking a walk," Yu Xuan said after thinking for a moment.

At least he had nothing to do with the invasion of Sunagakure; this was just an isolated incident for him.

However, it was indeed a bit problematic that they happened to witness the Sand Village's operation. Although Hagen immediately disrupted the Sand Village's operation instead of assisting it.

"Understood." Orochimaru nodded, without expressing whether he believed or not.

"Lord Orochimaru, did you perhaps foresee what would happen today?" Yu Gen asked Orochimaru the same question, wondering why he was there. Shouldn't he be in the village, busy with his research?

A ninja like Orochimaru definitely has less vacation time than Hagen.

"No, I'm just going to check on how the young ninjas are doing on their mission."

Hmm? This young ninja must be specifically referring to Nawaki, so what Orochimaru and Hagen did today is actually the same thing... The more Hagen listened, the more he felt that Orochimaru's words were implied.

Orochimaru might have actually noticed that Hagen was following him, since they were doing the same thing.

Yu Gen secretly made up his mind that if Orochimaru pressed for more details, he would steer the conversation toward Tsunade... He had designs on Tsunade, which was why he was paying attention to Nawaki.

These aren't excuses, they're facts, even if Yu Xian's intentions might be misunderstood. Well, he just wants others to misunderstand.

This topic is too boring for Orochimaru, so he might just ask it once and that's it.

However, Orochimaru didn't ask that at all. He suddenly changed to a question that truly interested him: "Hagen, could you explain in detail what happened to you just now?"

"This is called Sage Transformation, which is a state in which a large amount of natural energy is mixed into the body. It is a simple and crude way of utilizing natural energy... It is effective, but it is not the right way, Lord Orochimaru." Yugen spoke the truth, there was nothing to hide about this.

"Lord Orochimaru, have you seen the sage of Ryuchi Cave?"

The question was so direct that Orochimaru's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and that expression said it all.

Sure enough, he slowly shook his head.

"So-called immortalization... this method of utilizing natural energy, are you an exception?"

By now, Orochimaru has at least fully understood what natural energy is all about.

"No, I've heard of a special village where a significant portion of the people are capable of becoming immortals. Their adaptability to natural energy and the degree of physical activation after absorbing it are far superior to mine." Yu Xian practically admitted that he was a defective product.

But his descriptions are all true; the village where Jugo was born is a very magical place.

Where is this village located?

"The exact location is unknown. It is said that the natural energy of that village comes from the overflow of the earth. They have a connection with Ryuchi Cave and are very likely to be located near Ryuchi Cave."

Yu Xian explained his source of information: since it was information related to Ryuchi Cave, it must have come from Ryuchi Cave.

Orochimaru decided to search for this village. He couldn't let Yugen take him directly to the sage of Ryuchi Cave. He couldn't find it on his own, and he couldn't find it with Yugen either, because their time hadn't come yet.

The reasoning is the same as why Orochimaru couldn't go with Jiraiya to see the Great Toad Sage.

Natural energy, Sage Techniques, and Sage Mode greatly broadened Orochimaru's understanding of the ninja world. He realized that the ninja world was not just a world of chakra, so he could not give up his pursuit in this area.

"Your intelligence was a great help."

Orochimaru expressed his gratitude to Hagen, which also meant that the topic would be put to rest for the time being.

"Everything's alright here, we should go."

"Where are you going, Lord Orochimaru?"

"First, let's make sure our medical ninjas can be put to use."

Yugen understood Orochimaru's plan, but was there still enough time?

In the time it takes to say just these two sentences, Rope Tree may have already formed an indissoluble bond with Rope Tree.

If everything proceeds according to the original timeline, things will certainly be in Yugen's favor. It's just a matter of whether Orochimaru will regret it later.

But Orochimaru is Orochimaru after all, and there are some questions he can't help but ask.