Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

"He ran away?" Qingwu was stunned. So decisive? Who exactly called this guy a reckless fool?!

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief; the Raikage's threat was temporarily averted.

There's no intention to pursue them!

If killing an elite Jonin like Gari was so difficult back then, someone of Raikage's caliber must still have some trump cards up their sleeve.

“Mongoose, you…” Qingwu looked at Zhishui, her eyes still filled with shock.

"Captain, I'm fine." Shisui's voice was a little hoarse. The four-cornered windmill pattern in his eyes slowly stopped spinning, but did not immediately turn back into a three-tomoe pattern.

The emerald green Susanoo surrounding him gradually faded and dissipated, turning into specks of light that disappeared.

His face was pale, and blood was flowing from the corner of his eyes—using the Mangekyou Sharingan and Susanoo for the first time had put a considerable strain on him.

He looked at Qingwu, shook his head slightly, indicating that he was alright.

Their gazes then simultaneously turned to the only remaining "spectator" on the battlefield—Orochimaru.

Orochimaru remained silent, his body trembling slightly with excitement, his long tongue unconsciously sticking out of his mouth, constantly licking his lips.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan...it really is the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan...and Susanoo...although it seems unstable...but that power...that perfect chakra form..."

Orochimaru muttered to himself, his voice becoming even hoarser with excitement:

“Unbelievable… Absolutely unbelievable! Uchiha Shisui… You are even more perfect than I imagined! These eyes… This body…”

His gaze was so intense it seemed to melt and devour still water.

Qingwu understood immediately; this guy was indeed planning to undergo "reincarnation."

Yes, abandoning current formidable combat power, even at the cost of a damaged soul, all for—immortality!!

Orochimaru.

Qingwu stepped forward, blocking the exhausted Zhishui.

His gaze turned icy as he looked at Orochimaru, who was caught up in a frenzy: "The Raikage has left, your plans have failed. Now, it's time to talk about what's between us."

Orochimaru seemed to snap out of his daze, reluctantly shifting his gaze from Shisui to Qingwu.

That unsettling, hoarse smile returned to his face.

But the greed in his eyes was even more obvious.

"Hehehe... Qingwu-jun, you're right, it's time to talk."

Orochimaru said slowly, "However, my interests have changed slightly... a little bit. I seem to be even more interested in Shisui now."

This guy makes no attempt to hide his covetousness for Shisui's eyes!

"Orochimaru, your ideas are dangerous."

Qingwu's voice turned cold: "Shisui is my teammate. His eyes belong to himself, to the Uchiha clan, to Konoha. They are not something you can covet."

Orochimaru didn't care about Qingwu's attitude at all, and laughed, "Hehe, Qingwu-kun, I believe everything has its value, don't you think?"

Qingwu frowned.

Orochimaru continued, "It was Qingwu-kun who said we could talk, hmm... I believe Qingwu-kun must have something to ask of me, right?"

Orochimaru was never a fool. After he showed up and witnessed Qingwu's strength, he guessed that the kid had deliberately lured him out.

Qingwu's heart sank. Sure enough, the rascal snake was not an easy opponent.

He bluntly stated, "Everything has its value? I agree with that statement, but I can only trade what I have."

"Oh?" Orochimaru looked at Qingwu with great interest.

"If you can offer a sufficiently sincere incentive, such as... detailed information about 'Ryuchi Cave,' I can share some insights about natural energy, and you can study any psychic creature except for unicorns!"

Qingwu didn't try to beat around the bush with Orochimaru and directly stated his conditions.

He believed that someone like Orochimaru would sell anything for profit.

"Ryuchi Cave!?" Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He looked at the slug not far away, a thoughtful expression on his face:

"Hmph, it seems that Lord Qingwu's pursuit of the power of nature is even more profound than I imagined, but..."

He changed the subject, his gaze drifting to Shisui: "Compared to these eyes, the secret of Ryuchi Cave doesn't seem so hard to trade."

Qingwu frowned and said, "I've already said that my deal with you only represents my personal opinion, and I can only use what I have."

Orochimaru remained unmoved. "I have what you want, but I need a little... 'sincerity'."

For example, could I get a closer look at these eyes, or... take a tiny, insignificant tissue sample?

"Delusion!" Shisui forced himself to stand up straight and couldn't help but speak.

Although he looked exhausted, the will in his eyes was unbreakable: "My eyes will not become research material for a traitor like you."

How could he possibly let Orochimaru study him? Because... the moment the Mangekyou Sharingan activated, Shisui already knew about his own—eye technique ability!!

"Hehehe...what an energetic young man."

Orochimaru smiled dismissively, but his eyes gradually turned cold.

"In that case, it seems we will have a hard time reaching an agreement. It's a real shame, as I was really looking forward to having an in-depth exchange with these two brilliant young talents."

The atmosphere became tense again.

Qingwu was also on edge, unsure of what other hidden tricks and trump cards Orochimaru might have up his sleeve.

Even though he had already demonstrated combat power at the same level, not to mention Shisui who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, this guy remained as calm as ever!

On the icy plains, the cold wind howled, stirring up the stench of blood and lingering smoke of battle.

Orochimaru moved—

……

Chapter 212 Making a Deal with Orochimaru

At this tense moment, Orochimaru's action was not an attack.

He casually raised his left hand, extended a finger, and gently pressed it against his temple. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, as if receiving some information.

The next moment, he reopened his golden snake eyes.

A strange smile, tinged with understanding yet tinged with regret, appeared on his face.

"It seems my lovely subordinate has encountered a little... trouble."

Orochimaru said hoarsely, glancing meaningfully into the distance.

"!!" Qingwu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Orochimaru, that "old silver coin," had another plan?

"What did you do?" Shisui also realized what had happened.

"It's nothing, I just... sent two of my capable subordinates to 'invite' your other two team members to come over as guests."

Orochimaru said casually, as if discussing the weather, "After all, negotiations require leverage, don't they?"

Almost at the same moment Orochimaru finished speaking...

Dozens of miles away from the main battlefield, near the sheltered ice cave where Tianzang and Hongdou were hiding.

The entrance to the ice cave was simply disguised. The interior space was small, but large enough for two people to fit inside.

Hongdou's face was still a little pale, and her shoulder was wrapped in bandages.

Tianzang's injuries were even more severe. After treatment by the slug split body, the bleeding had stopped and the scabs had formed, but he was still very weak after just waking up.

Suddenly, Anko's expression changed. "Be careful, someone's approaching, two of them, and their chakra isn't weak!"

The summoned snakes that surrounded her sensed the hostile chakra.

Tenzo struggled to get up, but he was too weak from being injured by Raikage, so he could only form a hand seal for a summoning jutsu.

Bang!

The dwarf warriors appeared in the already cramped ice cave.

Red Bean gritted her teeth and summoned a great spirit that could draw a bow and nock an arrow.

Tianzang clutched his chest and said, "I'll handle this. Snake Princess, you leave here first and bring the information to the captain!"

As soon as Tianzang finished speaking, the snow in front of the ice cave suddenly exploded!

Two figures, a man and a woman, emerged from the snow.

The man, dressed in dark, close-fitting clothes and wearing a strange pair of glasses, with a sinister look in his eyes, was none other than Orochimaru's subordinate, Akakon Kai.

The woman was dressed in a green off-shoulder dress, with bright red long hair, and a beautiful face but cold and cruel eyes. She was none other than the Crystal Release Bloodline Limit user – Crimson Lotus!

"Found you, little mice of Konoha."

The man in the bronze armor pushed up his glasses, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Lord Orochimaru has ordered that we bring him back alive, but..."

Honglian's gaze swept over the weakened Tianzang and Hongdou at the cave entrance, then fell upon the lone dwarf and the great elf, a hint of disdain and cruelty flashing in her eyes:

"If the resistance is too fierce and one or two are accidentally killed, the adults probably won't blame us. After all... we only need to trade 'bargains,' not necessarily the whole thing."

Her gaze drifted further into the distance, where several furtive figures were peeking around—

He was a bounty hunter who was initially attracted by the "natural disaster" bounty, but was too frightened to approach because of the appearance of the Raikage and Orochimaru, and only dared to watch from afar.

Honglian frowned, seemingly annoyed that they were in her way.

"Annoying flies."

She snorted coldly and quickly formed hand seals, "Crystal Release: Emerald Hexagonal Pillar!"

Several enormous, sharp-edged pink crystal pillars suddenly shot out of the snow beneath the feet of the bounty hunters without warning!

Extremely fast and incredibly powerful!

"what!"

"Do not--!"

The few short screams abruptly stopped.

The unfortunate bounty hunters were instantly pierced and torn apart by the crystal pillar, their blood and severed limbs splattered on the pristine snow, a horrifying sight.