Chapter 18: New Mission

Hashirama's forward movement suddenly stalled, almost causing him to fall from the tree branch.

He adjusted himself and continued following Orochimaru and Kabuto.

This scene was keenly sensed by both Orochimaru and Kabuto, who had been closely monitoring Hashirama.

They were both puzzled, with strange question marks in their minds.

Hashirama almost fell from the tree?

They had no idea what was happening.

Certainly, they didn't dare to ask and pretended not to notice.

Meanwhile, Hashirama was visibly annoyed.

"What do you mean by 'not a cute girl'...? Why does that sound so awkward? Your communication skills need improvement. You lack intelligence!"

Hashirama kept grumbling about the annoying system.

"Well, I bound the wrong person. You're a man host, and you don't get the benefits like storage space!"

Puck immediately looked very aggrieved, feeling quite distressed!

She was supposed to be a system exclusively for a cute young lady, and she would have been so good if she had used it!

Puck could take the form of a cute little spirit, be adorable, and guide the young lady in progressing in the anime world.

However, Puck could only blame all of this herself. 

She originally wanted to find a cute young lady to travel into Hinata's body and start a livestream.

What a pity.

It was bound to the wrong person and got struck by lightning. The system's functions were lost with the wrong binding…

"I've embarrassed the system!"

She was almost crying at this thought, but she managed to hold back.

Hashirama's mouth twitched slightly.

She was still sulking over it…

"Ugh!"

At this moment, Kabuto finally vomited.

A mouthful of black blood was spat onto the ground. He immediately felt that his breathing became much smoother.

Orochimaru immediately stopped and helped Kabuto lean against the tree branch.

He quickly took out a Hyōrōgan and put it into Kabuto's mouth, but then he remembered that the First Hokage was still with them.

"Ugh!"

Kabuto vomited again with black blood mixed with food residue, which was all vomited onto the ground, causing the surrounding grass to wilt.

"Lord First Hokage, can I give him a Hyōrōgan?"

Orochimaru, holding the pill, asked Hashirama for permission. He had learned his lesson.

"Mm."

Hashirama nodded, not caring about it—these were minor issues.

"Alright!"

Orochimaru immediately took out the Hyōrōgan and shoved it into Kabuto's mouth.

"Mmmph…"

Kabuto's eyes widened, and his whole body was in pain, but the Hyōrōgan got stuck in his throat.

"I'll help you!"

Orochimaru quickly extended two fingers and pushed them into Kabuto's throat, forcing the pill down.

"This scene is too beautiful…"

Hashirama's mouth twitched as he quickly looked away. He had seen Orochimaru's fingerprints on Kabuto's cheeks.

With Orochimaru's fingers repeatedly moving, Kabuto successfully swallowed the Hyōrōgan. 

After the Hyōrōgan entered his body, Kabuto's chakra began to recover, and his physical strength improved significantly. 

He started using Healing Jutsu again.

"You can continue now!"

Orochimaru immediately grabbed Kabuto's left hand, helped him up, and then continued on their way.

Hashirama immediately followed closely behind.

He glanced at the side, where Puck was already distracted by the blood Kabuto had vomited earlier.

"Puck, release the task!"

Hashirama thought quickly and called her, hoping to change the topic from earlier.

"What task?"

Puck took out her phone, completely unaware of the complexities of human nature.

"Reach Orochimaru's northern base!"

Hashirama came up with a random task. Given his current situation, he couldn't think of any S-rank tasks for the moment.

Puck quickly typed the task into the phone.

She swayed her body left and right and unlocked more positions while inputting the task.

"Mission Issued: Host reaches Orochimaru's northern base!"

"Mission Rating: F-rank."

"Mission Reward: A rusty shuriken."

After finishing, Puck smiled at Hashirama, making a victory sign with her chubby little hand.

"Host, you're amazing! The rewards for both tasks are the same!"

She looked at Hashirama with a sense of inexplicable admiration.

"…"

Hashirama was left speechless and didn't need to apologize for his earlier assumptions.

The system isn't entirely useless.

It can still occasionally throw rusty shurikens from hundreds of miles away!

…

The following time was spent traveling toward the northern base. Orochimaru continued to support Kabuto with the same posture.

Suddenly, Kabuto felt an additional presence between himself and Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama…"

Kabuto couldn't hold it in any longer and spoke in a low voice.

"Hmm?"

Orochimaru, staring ahead, didn't notice Kabuto's discomfort.

"You… um… are pressing against me…"

Kabuto's voice was very soft. He hadn't wanted to say anything but found it unbearable.

"What did you say?"

Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't expect Kabuto to say something like this.

"Your elbow…"

Kabuto couldn't move due to his severe injuries. 

Orochimaru's lowered right arm was pressing directly against his waist.

"…"

He was momentarily speechless. He immediately raised his arm and returned to his original supporting posture.

"I feel much better now!"

Kabuto sighed with relief.

The space had been too cramped and tight earlier, but now it was no problem.

…

Hashirama clearly heard their private conversation, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

"What the hell?!"

Hashirama's gaze at the two changed subtly as if he had understood some unspeakable secret.