I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Could it be that the puppeteer is hiding inside this Scarlet Amber?

But the fire jutsu just now was several hundred degrees Celsius, which is something that ordinary ninjas cannot withstand. Could it be that this puppeteer's strength is no less than Orochimaru's?

Shisui had a bold guess in his mind, but he quickly focused his energy on the battle.

Compared to the intense battle between Sasori and Shisui, the battle between Orochimaru and the Uchiha team was much less intense. Although the team had many Jonin, ordinary Jonin were not a threat to him.

He was more curious about the combination of Uzumaki and Uchiha, and why the Uchiha would build a village in the Land of Whirlpools.

Obtaining the Sharingan was secondary; his laboratory had no shortage of Sharingan materials, so he didn't even bother with them and had no intention of imitating Danzo by transplanting Sharingan.

After all, even Shin, who is born with an immune system to rejection, can only unleash half the power of the Sharingan.

Even more critically, the Sharingan obtained through transplantation cannot evolve further, which also prevents him from obtaining the Mangekyou Sharingan through trickery.

In comparison, he was more interested in taking action against the descendants of the Whirlpool in the village, as he had not yet collected Whirlpool bloodlines as material.

While Orochimaru was stunned, the Uchiha members, led by Izumi, did not let the opportunity pass. They used Sharingan Genjutsu on Orochimaru, then created distance and jointly used Fire Release Ninjutsu.

Faced with fire-style attacks from all directions, Orochimaru had nowhere to escape. With a sigh, he reached out and crawled his hand towards the ground.

After the white smoke dissipated, the giant snake from Ryuchi Cave appeared on the ground in response to the summoning, blocking the oncoming fire jutsu for Orochimaru, and then pounced towards the Uchiha.

Seeing that the Uchiha clan and the Ryuchi Cave Orochi were locked in a fierce battle, Orochi became quite relaxed.

Shisui is more valuable than this group of Uchiha, but he has no experience fighting against the Mangekyou Sharingan. In order to ensure that he can obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan, he decided to hold back for the time being.

……

Meanwhile, Naruto and the others, along with Jiraiya, arrived near Uzushio Village.

Before even seeing the buildings of Wochao Village, they, who were in the forest, had already heard the sounds of battle. They all frowned and their faces turned grim.

Was Wochao Village attacked?

Zabuza glanced at Naruto beside him. He would be spending the next six months or even several years in the Land of Whirlpools, and of course he didn't want Whirlpool Village to be in danger, otherwise his work would become very troublesome.

But after considering Naruto's strength, he felt that his worries were unnecessary and that the enemy was the one he should be worried about.

Naruto didn't give any orders. Instead, he looked at Jiraiya, who was shamelessly following behind him, and said with a light laugh, "You ninja uncle are really lucky. You've only just arrived in the inland area of ​​the Land of Whirlpools and you already have a quest to take on."

"Looks like I'm really lucky today..."

Jiraiya wore an expression of long-awaited anticipation, but his gaze toward Uzushio Village was filled with solemnity.

He was almost certain that the battle ahead was related to Orochimaru, which proved that there was no alliance between the Uchiha and Orochimaru. This was not bad news for the village, but not good news for him personally.

Orochimaru was indeed after the Uchiha clan. I wonder if he'll go astray again this time.

Chapter 119 For the Village's Reputation

"You guys continue your tour, I'll go ahead and see if there are any jobs I can take."

After leaving those words, Jiraiya disappeared into the dense forest, his movement faster than his voice could carry.

After the outsiders left, Zabuza, still with a stern face, asked Naruto, "Menma-sama, what should we do now? Should we rush over to provide support immediately?"

Naruto glanced deeply in the direction of Uzushio Village and nodded.

Before long, the group arrived at the edge of the battlefield and discovered the Ryuchi Cave Orochi wreaking havoc on the road, as well as the Uchiha ninjas who were fighting wits and courage against the Orochi.

He raised his decapitation sword and leaped high into the air, then with a single stroke, he severed a giant serpent from the Dragon Cave.

Haku also used Ice Release, and ice spikes appeared out of thin air, falling like raindrops and piercing into the swarm of poisonous snakes. He also used Naruto's Water Release to freeze all the human puppets hiding in a secret corner.

"Lord Menma's Water Release technique is truly amazing!"

Bai Youzhong remarked that his combat power had increased by an order of magnitude in the presence of water.

"Your Ice Release is also quite good. You might become famous for it in the future, at least more promising than Zabuza."

Zabuza, as the teacher, was naturally very happy that his apprentice was praised, but why use him as a reference?

However, after spending so many days together, he realized that Naruto meant no harm. On the contrary, it was proof of their close relationship, and he no longer had to worry about being killed on some pretext.

After dealing with the nearby enemies, Zabuza's gaze locked onto Orochimaru on the tree trunk, and his expression turned strange.

He originally thought that the attack on the Land of Whirlpools was a minor incident, and that he could finally show off his strength. However, the attacker was actually Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, another powerful figure who could command an army all by himself.

He can handle Jonin, but he'd better not mess with someone this strong.

Besides Zabuza, Jiraiya, who discovered Orochimaru's hidden identity, sighed softly after seeing Orochimaru approach an Uchiha ninja, and instantly appeared between the two.

"I am a wandering ninja who travels to various countries and helps those in need. Do you need to hire me to fight the powerful enemy in front of you? I'm a good deal, only 100,000 taels."

"One hundred thousand taels..."

Quan looked at the mysterious middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared in front of him. Although he felt strange, he still nodded.

One hundred thousand taels is not a small amount, but the village is currently facing a major crisis. If the other party can restrain Orochimaru for a period of time, it would be extremely worthwhile.

After the deal was completed, Jiraiya signaled to Izumi Uchiha to leave.

Then, Jiraiya stared intently at Orochimaru before him, sighed softly, and said, "Orochimaru, it's been many years since we last met."

"Jiraiya?"

Orochimaru put away his disdain and chuckled, saying, "It has been quite a few years. Did you come here specifically to see me, or did you receive a mission from the old man to find this group of Uchiha rogue ninja?"

"None of that matters... What matters is why you're here?"

Orochimaru frowned: "Why can't I be here? The Land of Whirlpools is not Konoha's territory, and these Uchiha are no longer Konoha ninjas. Do you want to meddle in other people's business?"

“Since they are rogue ninjas, they are also rogue ninjas from the village. I cannot stand idly by and do nothing about your actions.”

After a pause, Jiraiya continued, "Besides, they didn't defect voluntarily. They were forced to defect by Itachi Uchiha's massacre of their clan. They might be able to return to the village in the future."

"What foolish naiveté!"

Orochimaru said bluntly, "You know better than I do about the old man's attitude towards the Uchiha, and you should know that they will never go back. You might as well hand them over to me to make use of, which will also save Konoha trouble."

"It's better to have the Uchiha clan wiped out by the rogue ninja Orochimaru than to die at the hands of the Anbu."

Jiraiya was speechless after being confronted. Based on his understanding of Danzo, Danzo might actually do it, and the Third Hokage would most likely choose to condone it.

At that moment, Jiraiya caught a glimpse of Sasori fighting Shisui out of the corner of his eye and changed the subject, asking, "How do you explain that person? Who is he, and why did you team up with him? I remember that only Sunagakure has puppeteers, right?"

"Just a temporary collaborator. Don't let your curiosity get too out of control."

"A collaborator?" Jiraiya frowned. "Why can't we cooperate with the village? Why do we have to cooperate with ninjas of unknown identity?"

"Human experimentation...you know, the old man has always been against it."

Human experimentation...!

Jiraiya fell silent. He knew this was the reason for Orochimaru's defection. In his pursuit of science and the limits of ninjutsu, Orochimaru had lost his humanity and was turning against the village's ninjas, something Konoha could never tolerate.

A moment later, Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru and said, "Orochimaru, I will not stand by and watch you attack innocent people. Prepare for battle, I will stop you."

As he spoke, Jiraiya assumed a hand seal stance, his gaze unwavering.

Orochimaru stared at Jiraiya for a while, then glanced at Sasori and Shisui in the distance, realizing that he would not be able to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan today no matter what.

"I'll give you face this time, and I hope you won't be so stubborn next time we meet."

Before he could finish speaking, Orochimaru vanished from the spot. Jiraiya was about to give chase, but all he found was snakeskin left on the tree trunk. Orochimaru had escaped using some kind of secret technique.

With Orochimaru's departure, the giant snakes active in the nearby Ryuchi Cave couldn't hold out for long, and they were all killed one by one.

The only remaining enemies outside Uzushio Village are Scorpion, who is fighting Shisui, and various human puppets active in the vicinity.

After driving Orochimaru away, Jiraiya's mood did not improve; instead, it became even more complicated.

He didn't know how to deal with this group of Uchiha. Should he reveal his identity and wipe them all out, or continue to conceal his identity and investigate this ninja village built on ruins?

Just then, Jiraiya noticed Naruto watching the battle from behind a big tree and teleported to Naruto's side.

Naruto's eyes lit up with admiration as he said, "Uncle Ninja, you're so amazing! You actually managed to drive Orochimaru away!"

“It’s not that we drove each other away, we’re just wary of each other…” Jiraiya corrected.

“That’s still amazing!” Naruto emerged from behind the tree and continued, “But, old man, you’re probably lying when you say you’re a Chunin. You’re definitely a Jonin.”

"I am indeed a Jonin, but your approach was too dangerous. Don't do that again..."

Jiraiya scratched his head and slowly approached Naruto, intending to use genjutsu to alter Naruto's memories.

Just as Jiraiya was about to cast his illusion, he noticed Zabuza and Haku walking towards him. In order not to reveal his identity, he had to abandon his plan to use the illusion.

Chapter 120 Who Controls the Weather?

The one who attacked Uzushio Village was Orochimaru, a powerful ninja whose fame and strength were comparable to the Five Kage.

Jiraiya, who was able to stop Orochimaru from continuing his attack and force Orochimaru to retreat, was at least a ninja of the same level. Zabuza felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it.

But under Naruto's pressure, Zabuza had no choice but to bite the bullet and say with a straight face, "Your identity doesn't seem like that of a Chunin from a small ninja village, given that you were able to force Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, to retreat."

After Zabuza saw through his act, Jiraiya smiled and said, "I don't think that one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist came to the Land of Whirlpools just for tourism. There aren't any special attractions here."

Zabuza glanced at Jiraiya and fell silent.

After a pause, Jiraiya said meaningfully, "Since we're all here with missions, let's not expose each other. Let's just keep our identities hidden and carry out our missions."

After saying that, Jiraiya headed towards Shisui's direction, wanting to find out the puppeteer's identity.

After Jiraiya left, Zabuza glanced at Naruto, who said expressionlessly, "The threat has been temporarily eliminated. Let's see what this uninvited guest is thinking."

Zabuza nodded. He regretted volunteering to come to the Land of Whirlpools; it looked like a battle of gods.

……

As time went on, the battle between Shisui and Sasori reached a fever pitch.

They each used their signature secret techniques, but neither could defeat the other. They could only search for each other's weaknesses in their battles, striving to defeat the other completely.

A clang!

Using his Sharingan's dynamic vision, Shisui successfully evaded the human puppet's attack.

Unlike ordinary metal puppets, human puppets are made from the corpses of ninjas and can use the ninjutsu of the ninjas in life. He had only heard of this type of puppet before, and he never expected to actually encounter one now.

After severing the chakra threads, Shisui stared intently at Hiruko before him, watching helplessly as the severed chakra threads regenerated.

For a speed- and illusion-based ninja like him, the puppet is not only immune to slashes but also to illusions, making him a perfect nemesis.