Otogakure

It was well known.

Orochimaru, a rogue ninja of Kage-level, was responsible for orchestrating a plan that aimed to bring about the downfall of Konoha.

In the past, Orochimaru was loved by the villagers.

Now, he was disregarded by everyone.

As the saying goes, the more you love, the more you hate.

Under Orochimaru's plan, the terrifying Hollow and the Sand Ninjas caused irreparable damage to Konoha.

Countless Ninjas were injured.

Countless houses collapsed.

No one would have thought that the once-prosperous Konoha would be so miserable.

Even after Konoha's collapse plan ended, the other villages started political pressure on Konoha.

In their opinion, being oppressed by the Sand was not as powerful as they knew.

In such a situation, Konoha did not have a good time.

It was only when Tsunade, with her iron-fisted leadership, took office that the situation began to improve, albeit slightly.

However, during this period, Konoha's Ninja was also in a very busy state.

From time to time, he would go out of the village to carry out a top-secret commission.

Most of the content of the commission was related to the other villages.

Tsunade is not the kind of Hokage who passively acquiesces externally and uses a heavy hand internally. Whenever the interests of Konoha are threatened, she orders decisive action to be taken.

In a place that Konoha Village did not know, many iron-blooded incidents had been happening.

It was Konoha who was more radical than before, which made the other villages think twice.

After all, Konoha Village had Tsunade and Jiraiya, the two strong Kage-rank.

The Sand had allied with Konoha not long ago.

Konoha was temporarily in a peaceful state of development.

However, the hatred left behind by Orochimaru would not be forgotten.

The villagers who had lost their loved ones could not wait to carve Orochimaru on the pillar of shame.

Because of this, this commission was particularly outrageous.

Root wanted to trade with Orochimaru, who was trying to destroy Konoha?

This was simply the biggest joke in the world.

As an informed person, Naruto naturally knows that Danzo and Orochimaru have been colluding with each other.

While laughing in his heart, he also showed an ignorant, confused, and indignant look.

"Sensei, Orochimaru is a traitor who carried out Konoha's collapse plan. Are we going to trade with them?"

Looking at Naruto's performance, Danzo sighed, showed a sad expression, and said in a low and sad voice:

"How can I not know this? I hate Orochimaru as much as you do!"

"However, other than him, who else can tell us about Hollow? Can you guarantee that in the future, Hollow will not appear in Konoha?"

"If he does appear, we won't understand. Next time, we will suffer even more damage."

Danzo's voice was getting lower and lower, and even his eyes were shedding tears.

"I want to kill Orochimaru more than anyone else, but I understand that Konoha cannot afford to lose Orochimaru's intelligence at the moment. We need information on Hollow, even if it means manipulating Orochimaru."

"Being in the darkness, enduring the pain, and leaving the light to others. This is Root's mission and realization!"

"Sensei!!" After listening to Danzo's words, Naruto was deeply impressed. He said with great emotion, "Please hand the commission to me. I will master Hollow's core technology!!"

"It's good that you have this kind of heart. Go back and prepare. We will set off tonight." Danzo nodded with satisfaction.

After Naruto left, Danzo was in the darkness and muttered to himself,

"What is there to be happy about? It's just that someone is carrying a load and moving forward."

In the night, three figures were moving quickly through the forest.

It was Naruto, Neri, and Rock Lee.

"This commission needs to go to Otogakure, communicate with the leader, Orochimaru, and get information about the monster Hollow, and bring a controlled Hollow back to Konoha." Naruto expressionlessly told the content of the commission.

"Orochimaru? The Orochimaru who destroyed Konoha?" Rock Lee was stunned for a moment.

"Well said. Indeed, Orochimaru, the former one of the Sannin ninjas of Konoha. The one who executed the plan to destroy Konoha. It was Orochimaru who created the creature known as "Hollow."

Naruto looked at Rock Lee meaningfully.

Rock Lee suddenly had a strange look on his face.

Through his previous communication with Naruto, he knew that Orochimaru was taking the blame for Naruto.

But now, he was conducting Hollow's experiment.

Previously, Naruto had also expressed that he needed to find a chance to go to Otogakure again. Now, he did not expect that this opportunity would come to him.

Apart from Neri, they were all "one of their own"!

"Orochimaru? How could he have a deal with Orochimaru?" Neri frowned and did not speak. Her brain was spinning rapidly.

As an old fox, Root knew very well that Root had done everything he could not do.

She had done research with Orochimaru before, so she naturally knew that his research style was extremely realistic and cruel.

It was normal for Root to rely on him.

But how could he make a deal with Hollow?

Could it be that the Hollow that Konoha had appeared also had Root involved?

Upon seeing Neri's confusion, Naruto began explaining slowly, "Let me start by explaining about the creature known as Hollow. Hollow is a non-human, non-spiritual beast with immense potential. They are impervious to pain, and in fact, pain even stimulates them. When the power within them reaches a critical point, they can release a small-scale Bijuudama with tremendous destructive power, capable of even killing a Jonin-level ninja."

"This time, our mission is to get the information of Hollow's body, and observe and understand Hollow at close range."

"We have reached an agreement with Orochimaru to transport some experimental materials. In the end, we will take a Hollow."

"This commission has a certain level of danger, so we have to be vigilant at all times."

Neri's eyes shone, her mind filled with Hollow's graceful body.

She swallowed hard, her face full of desire.

The night was silent.

After a night of traveling, they soon caught sight of the emerging silhouette of the Otogakure.

After passing through the forest, their eyes lit up and the smoke of the village appeared.

There were countless little villages in the Shinobi world, and Otogakure was one of them.

It was built several years ago, and the leader was ominous.

However, no one cared about the leader of a small village.

It should be noted that even the leader of a relatively moderate-sized village like the Kusagakure is only of Jonin-level strength.

No one would associate the leader of Otogakure with Orochimaru.

The atmosphere in Kusagakure was quite peaceful. The villagers were doing their daily cultivation, and occasionally a few ninjas passed by.

In the Kusagakure, ninjas are indeed quite rare.

The moment Naruto's team entered Otogakure's group, they were noticed by others, and several rays of light locked onto them.

"As expected of the Ninja Village established by Orochimaru. It isn't simple." Rock Lee, who had a keen intuition, noticed the gaze and secretly praised it in his heart.

Although Neri looked calm on the side, the insects in her body were in a state of readiness.

As long as something was wrong, she would make a move.

"It's Lord Naruto." Those eyes fell on Naruto, and they were quite surprised, and their hostility suddenly disappeared.

Naruto was on equal footing with Orochimaru, an existence that could communicate with each other equally.