Traveling through Nagato, from conquering Konan to dominating the ninja world

Orochimaru thought: "Teacher has retired from the position of Hokage, and something happened in Konoha not long ago. I don't think that at this critical juncture, as one of the pillars of the village's fighting power, he will easily leave the village..."

"So, there must be a reason for him to leave the village." Nagato paused and said, "If his son Asuma Sarutobi was in danger, would he go to rescue him?"

Without even thinking about it, Orochimaru shook his head and said, "No, Sensei is a person who can clearly distinguish between public and private matters. In his heart, the safety and long-term development of Konoha always comes first."

Nagato looked at him intriguingly: "Maybe not... When you defected from Konoha, weren't you also stopped by the Third Hokage? At that time, he had the ability to kill you, but in the end he couldn't bear it and let you go."

Orochimaru flicked his long hair and said meaningfully: "I never thought that Nagato-kun even knew such a private matter. Is this also the power of Ayahashi?"

"No, Kabuto let it slip and told me before." Nagato acted as if nothing had happened and let Kabuto take the blame.

"A-choo!!!" In the base's bathroom, Dou, who was taking a shower after getting up, sneezed.

"Hmm... Has my immunity been weakened by the excessive rain recently?"

Nagato and Orochimaru entered the experimental base and sat on the sofa in the lounge.

Nagato brewed tea skillfully.

Orochimaru said seriously: "The teacher will be soft on me, but that doesn't mean he will be soft on everyone. It is precisely because Asuma is the teacher's son that the teacher will choose to avoid suspicion. That's just the kind of person he is."

"On the other hand, putting aside Asuma's identity as the teacher's son, his current strength as a ninja can barely be considered a passing jonin."

"Teacher knows very well that even if Asuma is lost, it is not a major loss to Konoha. At least he will not choose to rescue him personally. At most, he will negotiate with the Fourth Hokage and send the elite of the Anbu to rescue him."

"In short, Asuma is not a safe choice, and his purpose of forcing the teacher to submit is too obvious."

Nagato slowly made the tea and took out three cups.

"Nagato-kun, if you want to choose Asuma to lure out the teacher, you might as well choose me~" Orochimaru's eyes showed a hint of amusement: "Just tell the teacher that I'm conducting dangerous experiments that could threaten the Fire Country Daimyo, and even let the teacher know where I am. I think he will come over with a stick in hand without saying a word~."

Nagato placed the cup of hot tea in front of Orochimaru and said with a smile, "Forget it. I have spent so much effort to make you disappear from the public eye. To lure out a mere Hiruzen, I am using you as bait. Isn't that picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons?"

"Oh, thank you again for your recognition of my value." Orochimaru clapped his hands and smiled.

Nagato made tea for his own cup, and then made a separate cup of tea and placed it in the empty space in Kabuto's cup.

Putting down the teapot, he said seriously: "Actually, I agree with your point of view. Asuma is not suitable as a bargaining chip to lure out Hiruzen."

"But think about it the other way around. Only if Hiruzen is convinced that Konoha will suffer a great loss, will he be willing to take the risk, right?"

"That's the case, but there aren't many people like this."

Orochimaru raised his hand and picked up the teacup.

Nagato smiled and said, "Isn't there one?"

He put the cup to his lips, paused, and his eyes flickered: "What Nagato-kun said, could it be..."

Nagato said, "Yes, if Princess Tsunade, who is one of the three legendary ninjas like you and Jiraiya, and a disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Konoha's strongest medical ninja in service, and the granddaughter of the first Hokage, is suspected of having her life threatened, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have to consider whether Konoha can bear this loss, right?"

"..." Orochimaru took a sip of tea. The refreshing aroma made his eyebrows twitch.

"Not bad~, Nagato-kun, your tea art has improved~."

"Thank you for the compliment." Nagato smiled a rare, genuine smile.

Putting down the teacup, Orochimaru said in a slightly complicated tone: "Tsunade, I need to let Nagato know about her. Maybe Kabuto has told you again..."

Nagato said, "No, tell me."

Orochimaru said: "During the Second Shinobi World War, her brother Nawaki and her lover Kato Dan died one after another."

"It's sad that Rope Tree died right in front of my eyes,"

"When Dan was killed, Tsunade was there and used medical ninjutsu to treat him, but she still couldn't stop her lover from losing his life. Since then, she has developed a deep fear of 'blood', a psychological disease called 'hemophobia'. Now she can no longer act as a ninja."

Nagato gently swung his teacup: "However, psychological disorders such as hemophobia can be overcome in theory. No matter how miserable Tsunade is, she still has extraordinary strategic significance for Konoha."

Orochimaru smiled and said, "That is undeniable, but even so, I cannot guarantee that the teacher will take action..."

Nagato said: "It's useless to just talk about it on paper. Some things need to be done before we know whether they will work or not."

Orochimaru took another sip of tea, "Let me make it clear in advance, Nagato-kun, Tsunade is not a woman who can be forced into submission by force. If she realizes that she is no match for you and there is no possibility of escape, she will definitely choose to end her life in order to prevent you from achieving your goal!"

"In other words, she is not the kind of person who could fall into someone else's hands and become a captive."

"Although you are very powerful now, I don't think you are strong enough to make Tsunade unable to end her life."

"so……"

Nagato said the 'reason' on behalf of Orochimaru: "We must use means other than force to make Tsunade 'submit'."

You really tried your best to persuade me not to use force against Tsunami, Orochimaru...

Nagato thought: It seems that Orochimaru in this period is far more humane than in the original work, more than ten years later, when he destroyed Konoha... Human hearts are indeed sinking step by step.

Orochimaru finished drinking the tea in the cup and said hoarsely, "That's right, Tsunade's biggest weakness is her love of gambling, and she always loses when she gambles."

Chapter 100 Quiet Rainy Night

In the evening, Nagato returned to the tower and hung up his rain-soaked coat. He smelled the fragrance floating in the air.

"What a nice smell, this smell."

Following the aroma, he came to the door of the small kitchen. With the help of the light, he saw Xiaonan, wearing a frog-shaped apron, standing in front of the stove, cooking porridge with great concentration.

For a moment, he was distracted.

I have never seen the back view of Xiaonan cooking...it is so beautiful.

He couldn't help but walk over and stand behind Xiaonan.

"Gudong." After swallowing his saliva, he reached out his hand to... Xiaonan's slender waist.

What would happen if... I put my arms around Xiaonan's waist and whispered my true feelings into her ear?

The moment he was about to touch the edge of her clothes, Nagato withdrew his hand.

Reason has regained the high ground.

Konan faced forward, smiled slightly, and said in a calm voice: "Nagato, what are you doing standing quietly behind me?"

It turned out that she had already noticed Nagato's return, but as for whether she noticed Nagato's little action just now, that was unknown.

Nagato said, "I want to see what kind of porridge you are making."

Xiaonan said: "Meat porridge."

Nagato was overjoyed. He thought that being able to eat the sandwiches made by Konan during the day was already happiness enough, but he didn't expect... that he could also drink the meat porridge cooked by Konan in the evening.

"Do you need my help?" Nagato asked.

Xiaonan said: "No, you don't know how to cook."

Nagato smiled but said nothing.

In the three-dimensional world, he is a very independent person with superb cooking skills.

However, during the time that Nagato and Konan were in contact, he had no time to study cooking.

Then let's not show off in this kind of matter for now.

Moreover, he could see that Xiaonan was a little nervous...it would be uncomfortable for a beginner to be stared at while cooking.

At this time, it is better to consider Xiaonan's mood first rather than showing off your cooking skills.

"Then I'll go to the table and wait."

"Well, let's go."

After Nagato turned and left, Konan was visibly relieved.

She pulled aside the sleeves that were covering the stove, and there lay a book called "The Porridge of the Virtuous Wife".

Half an hour later, the porridge was ready.

She scooped some with a long spoon, tasted it, and frowned slightly.

"The taste... is still quite different from the ones sold in the store. I clearly followed the steps in the book. Could it be... a problem with the heat?"

Putting down the ladle, she bent down and opened the cabinet door under the stove. Inside was a large vat filled with... full of discarded porridge!

"In the afternoon, I went to Yuyin's most upscale food store and bought a lot of ingredients and condiments for making meat porridge. Almost all of them were wasted. It seems too late to buy more now..."

Tips: Freezers are not widely available in Yuyin, a relatively backward village, so the food sold in the store is all freshly prepared that day, and they are basically sold out by the evening.

"It seems that in order to ensure the fault tolerance rate, we should consider applying for funds to build a large cold storage in Yuyin."

Then she shook her head and rejected her previous idea: Forget it... I am indeed a bit extravagant in spending money, so I'd better let Kakuzu manage it first. As Nagato said, it's not too late to harvest the leeks once they have sprouted.

Xiaonan silently closed the cabinet door, took off her apron, turned off the fire, and could only serve the delicious but not perfect porridge in a bowl on the table.

"It's ready, eat it."

She put two bowls of porridge on a tray and placed them on the table, feeling uneasy: I don't know if this porridge will suit Nagato's taste...

She was obviously worrying too much. To Nagato, a Konan chef with a little quirk, everything from Konan was delicious and could be eaten directly, not to mention... it was porridge that he made by himself.

If necessary... he could learn from He Liansheng's Feiji Ge and crush the spoon before eating it.

"Mm, delicious... Xiaonan's porridge is so delicious."

Gradually, Nagato began to be dissatisfied with using the spoon. He put down the spoon, picked up the bowl, and drank with his head tilted back.

Xiaonan was embarrassed: "Nagato, don't worry, there is still some in the pot, and it's too hot, it's not good for your stomach..."

Nagato put the empty bowl down, wiped his mouth, and smiled, "Nothing, I'm just hungry."

"Really?" Xiaonan blushed and asked, "Would you like another bowl?"

Nagato held up three fingers: "I can drink three more bowls!"

"Okay, I'll go!" Konan went there happily, thinking: As expected... the cold storage plan still needs to be implemented. In Nagato's words, Kakuzu will have to suffer a little more.

After the meal, Nagato took the initiative to go to the small kitchen to wash the dishes.

Back in the outer room, Konan sat on the edge of the sofa, patted her thigh and gestured to Nagato.

Nagato smiled slightly, walked over, sat beside her, and then rested his head on Konan's legs.

Ever since I drank that night... I've gotten used to this kind of thing, with my knees resting on my head.

Nagato was also very curious about the change in Konan's mood.

But after thinking about it, he only got an answer that he thought was reliable.

I have been practicing "Night Flower" for nearly five months. My body and mind have been exhausted from the extreme pressure and need some special care.

Nagato wanted Konan to rest her head on his legs, but... Konan was worried that it would be too comfortable and she would fall asleep.

Nagato looked at Konan, who had put on eye makeup to conceal her tired face, and said, "Orochimaru's special medicine is ready."

"Really..." Konan stroked Nagato's long hair and said, "Did you say anything when you went to see him today?"

Nagato said truthfully: "I told him that the target of my Earth Grudge Technique was his teacher, the Third Hokage."

Xiaonan said, "Really? How did he express his opinion?"

Nagato also wanted to change Konan's stereotype of Orochimaru, so he told her the truth about their conversation.

After a long silence, Xiaonan said, "Really... I can't believe you two are starting to open up to each other now."

"Eh? Xiaonan, are you a little unhappy?"

"No..." Xiaonan turned his eyes to the rain outside the tower, "For me, as long as he behaves himself and doesn't do anything out of line for us, that's enough."

"As for his moral standards, I never had any expectations, but... from what he said to you, it seems that he is more trustworthy than I imagined. Give me the medicine, and I will choose to take it according to the actual situation."

"it is good."

Xiaonan took the medicine bottle and put it in his arms.

"By the way, Nagato. When I went to Yuyin Bookstore today, I found a strange book..."

Nagato was surprised: "A strange book?"

"I'll get it and show it to you."

Xiaonan went to the room and took out a book with an orange cover from the pile of cooking books she had bought.

"Here, this is the book. The cover and title are a bit suspicious. I haven't had time to read the contents yet. But it doesn't look like a book published by our Hidden Rain Village..."

Nagato took the book from Konan, and when he saw the title, his expression instantly brightened.

"This……"