It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

"Hmm, there are already shadow clones there, so it shouldn't count as skipping work, right? Besides, it's so boring inside, wouldn't it be better to come out and do some missions? Hehe." Zhi Xue shook the sign in her hand, seemingly quite happy.

The reward for this mission is quite substantial, a full 5 taels, almost reaching the level of a C-grade mission.

"A mission?" Zhishui took the plaque from Zhixue's hand, read the mission description, and then hung it on his waist.

"Hey? Wait, this is my mission! I still need to get the Jonin guarding the gate to sign and file it!" Zhixue stepped forward to take down the mission card, but Shisui blocked her with one hand.

"Orochimaru has defected, and it's not safe outside the village anymore. Let's do the mission another day," Shisui said with a smile and a shake of his head.

"Captain, let's go quickly."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Zhishui stroked Zhixue's soft hair, then created a shadow clone carrying the mission token and ran towards the mission meeting place.

Watching Shisui leave using the Body Flicker Technique, Shiyuki's sullen face suddenly turned into a smile, and then she took out a mission card from her ninja tool bag.

Hehehe, she knew this scene would happen.

Chapter 18, What?! The intelligence was fake?

Within the vast, dark base, filled with reinforced concrete structures, numerous connecting pipes and ladders, the immense space is a testament to this.

Danzo Shimura, leaning on a cane, stood in the center of a cross bridge, and in front of him was a child wearing a Root mask.

"A, you should know about Orochimaru's defection, right?"

"Yes, Lord Danzo." A lowered his head, not looking at Danzo's old face, but he had a vague feeling that finding him at this critical juncture would probably be a difficult task.

As expected, Danzo placed his hand on Kaname's shoulder and said quietly, "You've been with me for a while now, and this time I'm giving you a special mission..."

"Special mission?..."

……

In the mountains and forests of Gaosong, beneath an abandoned underground palace, Orochimaru pushed open the moss-covered door and put a sealed scroll into his robes.

"Luckily, the backup data is still here, hehe..."

"stop!"

Just as Orochimaru was about to leave, masked ANBU members jumped down from the trees and surrounded him.

"Orochimaru, you can't escape now. Surrender." Kakashi, with his signature silver hair, walked up to Orochimaru, holding his Lightning Blade, and said.

Orochimaru looked at the numerous Anbu members around him and smiled sinisterly.

"If it's just the few of you, it might be a bit difficult to keep me here." Orochimaru pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch.

"superior!"

At Kakashi's command, a dazzling array of hidden weapons and ninja tools, including shuriken and explosive tags, were hurled at Orochimaru.

"Wind Release." Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals, and a fierce gust of wind deflected the attack.

However, unlike the confined space last time, Team 6 had the advantage of the open terrain, leaving them with almost no room to utilize their Wind Release techniques. But this was just an appetizer.

"Spiritual communication!"

Several brightly colored snakes burst forth from the spiritual patterns, their enormous bodies, nearly a hundred meters long, moving through the forest, snapping trees in half, causing the earth to tremble and crack, and their gaping maws could swallow an adult whole.

Such a troublesome summoning beast has caused considerable trouble for the Dark Guard.

"Heh." Orochimaru looked at the Anbu squad, who were struggling to deal with the summoned beasts, and licked his lips in a sickly manner before running towards the forest behind him.

"Stop!" Kakashi cleaved the giant snake in two with his Lightning Blade, picked up a kunai, and chased after Orochimaru.

"team leader!"

……

The gate to Konoha Village…

Zhi Xue received a brief entrustment from Shen Yue Chu Yun regarding the procedures for leaving the village. Since the goods were being transported to a market not far from Konoha, there were not many obstacles.

After all, Orochimaru had defected, and Konoha's commission system couldn't just stop there. However, before leaving, Gangzi Tie cautiously reminded the cute little girl to be careful.

"Don't worry, Uncle. Orochimaru escaped from the back mountain, while I went through the front gate. How could he be so stupid as to circle around Konoha and run into me? Hehe."

Gangzi Tie scratched his head in confusion upon hearing Zhi Xue's remarks.

"That seems to make sense, but even without Orochimaru, you still need to ensure your safety. Most of the village's ninjas have been transferred away, so there won't be any Konoha ninja patrolling your route."

"OK!"

After happily obtaining a temporary travel permit from the Konoha gatekeeper, Zhixue checked the information on the sign and found the transport caravan. It was a small team of only a few horse-drawn carriages, mainly engaged in ironware trade between Konoha and nearby villages. The leader was a young man, but he didn't seem very willing to talk.

Until the mission was carried out, Zhixue didn't see him say much. The servants took care of the mission details. Gradually, Zhixue seemed to sense that something was wrong.

The outskirts of Konoha are surrounded by a vast forest, and the only sound on the quiet paths is the rolling of wheels. Zhi Xue sat on the chest of the middle carriage. The bumpy road seemed to be going in a different direction than the mission description. Feeling the carriage gradually slowing down, Zhi Xue reached into her ninja tool pouch.

The main client, sitting in the carriage in front, looked at Zhi Xue, who had become alert behind him, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"He's the bottom of the Uchiha clan. What a blessing! Even if he doesn't have the eye of enlightenment, he would be very happy if he were given to Lord Orochimaru."

Zhi Xue, her expression unchanged as she looked at the stopped carriage, asked the people around her, "Hey, what happened?"

The people around didn't say anything, but instead took out their kunai and threw them at Zhixue.

"Damn it, what bad luck! Even on a mission, I run into some shady stuff." Zhi Xue pulled out a shuriken and threw away the flying kunai, then drew the Kusanagi sword hanging behind her.

"Try to capture them alive; Lord Orochimaru needs live Uchiha test subjects."

"clear!"

Swish! A katana slashed down on the box at Zhixue's feet. Zhixue jumped out of the carriage, looked at the surging crowd around her, and formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball, 2 meters in size, flew out in front of Zhixue. However, it was stopped by a raised earthen wall.

Two explosive tags were planted at Zhixue's feet, and a blinding light shone from the runes.

boom!

The leader raised his arm to shield himself from the blowing dust and roared at the people around him, "I told you, we're taking him alive! Didn't you hear me?! If this loser dies, you can all throw him into the lab as material for your cursed seals!"

Those present who heard the curse mark shuddered. This was definitely not a good thing.

Amidst the smoke and dust of the detonating tags, a clearly visible scratch appeared, and a blinding flash of light slashed through the chests of several people.

Three figures with bloodshot eyes instantly passed through the group, their Kusanagi swords flashing as blood splattered onto the grass.

A gentle breeze swept by, and all of the dozen or so people collapsed into pools of blood.

"What?! Was the intelligence false?" The leader was shocked, staring at his annihilated men. Wasn't this supposed to be the worst performer? And weren't only genin allowed to take on D-rank missions? This guy was even considered a genin!?

Although it was the first time she had ever seen blood, Zhi Xue did not feel any discomfort. On the contrary, after activating her Sharingan, seeing the blood on the blade gave her a pleasant sense of excitement.

However, due to the moral education she received in her previous life, Zhi Xue did not kill them, but only rendered them all incapacitated.

puff~

The extra shadow clones turned into smoke and dissipated. Zhi Xue planted the Kusanagi sword in the ground, stretched her wrists, then turned to look in the direction of the leader, a dangerous smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

"Next, it's your turn..."

Chapter 19, Orochimaru

Swish!

A bolt of lightning neatly cleaved a large tree in two. Orochimaru turned to look at Kakashi, who was relentlessly pursuing him, placed an explosive tag at his feet, and then used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the spot.

boom!

The raging flames engulfed Kakashi's body, and the massive explosion ignited the surrounding leaves, creating a sea of ​​fire in the forest, with thick smoke billowing into the sky. However, Orochimaru wasn't too worried about revealing his location.

The person who can catch him hasn't been born yet.

"Lightning Release: Chasing Fang!" A blue hound trailing arcs of electricity charged from behind Orochimaru. The blinding lightning struck Orochimaru's body, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into a thick pile of mud. The scorched smell made Kakashi's true form frown.

It turned out to be an earth clone.

hum!

A white light flashed towards Kakashi, but Kakashi blocked its path with his katana.

The crimson three-tomoe Sharingan slowly began to rotate in Kakashi's pupils. Orochimaru, who had failed in his sneak attack from behind Kakashi, was slightly taken aback, then realized what was happening when he saw the crimson glint in Kakashi's left eye.

"What a beautiful eye. Too bad I don't need a fake." Orochimaru kicked Kakashi away, then formed hand seals, and a wind blade followed closely behind.

The tree that the three of them could barely encircle was torn into pieces, and the force extended, tearing a huge gash in the ground behind them. The powerful force, like an air cannon, sent Kakashi flying a great distance before he crashed to the ground. His ANBU mask, mixed with crimson blood, shattered into several pieces, and Kakashi was temporarily unable to get up.

If he hadn't used the Lightning Blade to block it just now, he would probably be dead by now.

Orochimaru looked at Kakashi, who was no longer capable of fighting, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. Then, a brown python darted out of the forest and crawled to Orochimaru's side.

"Kawaii guy, do you also like to see his blood flowing?" Orochimaru morbidly licked the kunai in his hand, wanting to touch the smooth scales on the brown snake's body. However, when the python opened its mouth, Orochimaru saw the explosive tags that were already glowing white and felt a tremor in his heart.

"not good…"

In the nearby forest, Hiruzen Sarutobi, observing this scene through a crystal ball, watched Orochimaru, who was already engulfed in flames, his solemn expression showing no sign of waning.

The snake was naturally released by his teacher, who knew Orochimaru's temperament well. However, an explosive tag wouldn't kill the snake; as for the rest, it was up to him to see if he could escape his fate.

Sure enough, inside the crystal ball, Orochimaru slowly emerged from the smoke of the explosion that had hit his face. However, his side was covered in blood, and there was a faint smell of charred flesh on his body. Orochimaru's sinister, narrowed eyes looked up at the sky.

"Third Hokage, you actually caught up with us." Orochimaru gritted his teeth, ignoring the worsening of his injuries, and changed course, heading deeper into the forest.

Half an hour after Orochimaru left, members of the Anbu medical team rushed over and treated Kakashi.

The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi, who was lying on the ground grimacing in pain, and then gazed intently at the spot where Orochimaru had fled.

Kakashi is still too impulsive; he actually dared to fight Orochimaru alone. He's still just a young man.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard, remaining silent.

"What, Sarutobi, do you regret letting Orochimaru go?" Danzo appeared behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, glanced at the heavily injured Kakashi, and said softly.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand. Orochimaru is currently Konoha's top S-rank rogue ninja. How could I, as the Hokage, make such a fatal mistake? As for you, your support was so slow. Could it be that you have some kind of deal with Orochimaru behind the scenes?"

Faced with Danzo's blunt words, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't hesitate to accuse him of a serious crime. However, Danzo wasn't particularly angry and continued to look at the surrounding scenery while leaning on his cane.

"Even if Root is the embodiment of Konoha's darkness, they are absolutely on Konoha's side. How could they possibly have any secret dealings with Orochimaru?"

"That's good."

The two old foxes stood there, occasionally glancing at the scenery, but neither showed any sign of personally going out to hunt Orochimaru. After all, there was still a fierce Uchiha tiger in the village that had to be released, and the two of them couldn't stray too far from Konoha. On the other hand, members of the Anbu, fearless of death, ventured out to explore the surrounding area.