Changing Situations

"Are you really all right? After taking that attack, your meridians are…"

Chu Xin gazed at him with deep concern, her Byakugan constantly examining Gu Sheng’s condition.

"Just some minor injuries. That old hag Chiyo is in worse shape than I am. Azure Spirit’s venom isn’t something you can casually withstand. It was diluted, too. Otherwise, there’s no way she’d still be alive."

Gu Sheng curled his lips. Chiyo had looked fine when she left, but the instant she was caught in the poisonous storm, she was infected by the Jade Azure Serpent’s venom. In The Nine Cauldrons World, that venom was reputed to be capable of killing a Golden Core expert within a quarter of an hour.

Even though Chiyo had only been hit by diluted venom, its power was still not to be underestimated. An ordinary Kage Level expert might have dropped on the spot. Chiyo had survived only because she was an exceptionally capable Medical Ninja who was skilled with poisons. Even so, she would need at least a year to purge the remaining toxins. She would pose no threat for the time being.

"Lord Sheng! Are you all right?"

A gust of wind swept past, and Orochimaru and Lady Tsunade arrived on the high ground. After greeting Gu Sheng, Orochimaru’s gaze was drawn to Azure Spirit wrapped around him, his eyes fixed on the small dragon horns.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! You little brat, I never imagined you had such a powerful summoned beast hidden away!"

After looking Gu Sheng over and slightly relaxing, Lady Tsunade immediately turned venomous. "I doubt even Demigod Hanzō’s Ibuse is as poisonous as your little snake. Chiyo really got what was coming to her this time. She even used the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets and still lost to you.

"The residual poison left behind by this little snake nearly caused Konoha casualties. Chiyo is going to suffer for a while."

"This is Azure Spirit, my companion. Lord Orochimaru, I’d like to learn Sage Mode from the scroll of Ryūchi Cave…"

Gu Sheng made his request to Orochimaru. Sage Mode from Ryūchi Cave had been one of his targets from the start. Only there could Azure Spirit’s strength rise rapidly.

As a Demon Beast with an extremely long lifespan, Azure Spirit’s strength was extraordinarily difficult to improve. It had not changed for a long time. After following Gu Sheng in The Nine Cauldrons and becoming a Jade Azure Serpent, its strength had basically remained unchanged.

On this journey through the world of Naruto, Gu Sheng not only wanted to improve his own strength but also Azure Spirit’s. If it learned ninjutsu—especially Wind Release—then its strength…

"Fine!"

Orochimaru pondered for a long while before nodding and agreeing to Gu Sheng’s request. At this point in time, Uncle Snake was still quite easygoing with his allies, and he still harbored dreams of becoming Hokage.

It was only toward the end of the Second Shinobi World War, after the deaths of his close friends and disciples and the unending warfare left him traumatized, that he transformed into a sinister, venomous snake.

At noon the next day, Konoha’s forces ultimately abandoned the pursuit for various reasons and returned to camp, while the Sunagakure Shinobi had regrouped several hundred miles away and begun making camp again.

After a night of pursuit, Konoha had achieved an unprecedented victory in the battle. Conservative estimates put Sunagakure’s losses at more than a quarter of its shinobi. Among them, the Chunin, who formed the backbone of the force, suffered the heaviest casualties because they had been fighting near Gu Sheng’s battlefield. At least half of them had died.

The high-end combat power represented by the Jonin had also suffered heavy losses. Chiyo was gravely injured, most of the Chunin had been lost, and the Genin were of little use. The Jonin could only stay behind to cover the retreat, where Konoha’s superior numbers overwhelmed them and left many bodies behind. Sunagakure was temporarily powerless to contend with Konoha again.

What troubled Sunagakure most was that Chiyo, the overall commander and head of the Medical Ninja Division, had been poisoned. The spreading toxins had left her severely injured, and she currently had little combat strength remaining.

After retreating with the surviving shinobi to a safe location, Sunagakure’s power structure underwent a reshuffle. The Third Kazekage personally arrived, and the trump card of Sunagakure came with him.

As the overall commander of this war, Chiyo had to take responsibility for the defeat. On top of that, she was too badly injured to fight again. Thus, once the Kazekage arrived, she immediately surrendered most of her authority, retaining only the position of elder and adviser.

Because Chiyo was injured, her son and daughter-in-law also returned with her to the rear at her request to hold down the fort. Without the Kazekage and the Jinchuriki in Sunagakure, it would be easy for the village to be infiltrated and attacked if no Kage Level expert remained to guard it.

Chiyo had already seen that the Land of Wind was bound to lose this battle. Even deploying the Jinchuriki would not change that. The arrival of the Third Kazekage would certainly draw the Third Hokage.

Although the Jinchuriki possessed terrifying destructive power, Sunagakure’s Jinchuriki had always been kept under surveillance in prison and had never fought before. How much combat power could an old monk possibly have to turn the tide? Even if he underwent Tailed Beast Transformation, Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was still there!

When immortals clashed, even Kage Level experts might be caught up in it. She did not want anything to happen to her son and daughter-in-law, so she took them back with her. The reason was perfectly sound: the rear needed manpower.

Chiyo did not know that her unintentional decision allowed her son and daughter-in-law to escape disaster—and changed the fate of her grandson.

Gu Sheng knew nothing about Sunagakure’s situation, and those matters had nothing to do with him. However, Konoha had indeed undergone a change.

After winning the crucial battle, Konoha’s higher-ups had discussed completely destroying Sunagakure in one decisive strike. But when news arrived that the Third Kazekage had brought the Jinchuriki, Konoha grew tense again. This time, the Hokage was mobilized.

Inside a tent in the Chunin camp, Gu Sheng sat cross-legged on a blanket with his eyes closed, sensing the restless movement of his right eye.

During the early stages, the Sharingan was actually relatively easy to evolve. After enduring the slaughter of the battlefield, he discovered that his Sharingan had already begun showing signs of evolution.

However, truly evolving into the Three Tomoe would probably take time. If he wanted to accelerate the process, he would likely have to undergo even more brutal trials of life and death.

Although his battle with Chiyo had placed him in a desperate situation, he had still possessed Azure Spirit as a trump card. It could not be considered a true brush with death.

"Lord Sheng, Lady Tsunade would like to see you."

A shinobi suddenly entered and spoke to Gu Sheng inside the tent. After his battle with Chiyo, Gu Sheng had gained considerable fame in Konoha’s camp and had also been jointly recommended for promotion to Jonin by Orochimaru and Lady Tsunade.

"Got it!"

Gu Sheng opened his eyes. His red-glowing Sharingan swept over the shinobi, causing the man’s steps to tremble and his body to sway as he nearly fell.

Gu Sheng had not yet had time to learn any genjutsu, but the oppressive force of his aura was already immense, amounting to a kind of spiritual skill. The Sharingan provided considerable enhancement to spiritual skills. Unless he deliberately restrained himself, ordinary shinobi simply could not withstand it.

"Lord Sheng!"

"Lord Sheng!"

When Gu Sheng stepped outside the tent, Nawaki and Chu Xin were already waiting for him. It seemed that Lady Tsunade had not summoned him alone this time.

This left him somewhat puzzled. When a messenger was sent to summon someone, it was usually not for a private matter. But if it was official business, then Orochimaru should have been the one to call them.