Chapter - 17

Only Kuroto noticed the instantaneous joy that flashed on Shinno's face as only the Tenseigan has such insight to be able to capture such micro and nano expressions, others including Itachi who hasn't yet awakened Sharingan didn't notice this change.

Kuroto who noticed this, pondered in his heart.

'Why is Shinnō so happy upon noticing Orochimaru and Jiraya's presence? The fact that Orochimaru defected from Konoha is already well known in the world. He and Jiraiya also appeared here at almost the same time, as their group arrived here, but this doesn't affect their current situation. There is no real help coming….

Unless… unless..., unless Shinnō is sure that Orochimaru and Jiraya will join forces to help us deal with Cloud Ninjas...?

But if that's the case, how can he be sure that Orochimaru, a defected ninja, will help?

Obviously, he knows that Cloud Village is hunting him at this time, so why does he insist on coming to the country of Lightening?

Hiring Konoha ninja to escort him, without even hiding his true name. Does it mean that he wants to provoke a conflict between Konoha and Cloud? And if that's his purpose is he assured that he can escape unscathed out of all this?

Could it be...?

Orochimaru appearing here at this convenient time isn't just some simple coincidence? Does that mean Orochimaru hiding in Ta-no-Kuni is the Trump Card?

Is he working for Orochimaru!? No, at best Shinnō is a chunin level; and at this time Orochimaru won't be taking subordinates that would be a burden on him. So the best explanation is that there must be some kind of cooperative relationship between the two!'

Combining the observable information with his vague memory, Kuroto quickly had an answer.

But anyway, the coincidental appearance of Orochimaru and Jiraiya is a turning point for Kuroto. If Orochimaru really cooperating with Shinnō, then he will not ignore Shinnō, and neither will Jiraya let Konoha Ninja get Killed by Cloud Ninja in his presence.

As soon as his thoughts turned, Kuroto immediately put his hand behind him and made a gesture to Itachi.

Upon seeing it, Itachi quickly took out a Konoha signal flare for help and fired it high into the sky.

Whiiiiiistle......Bang bang bang...

Accompanied by a blast, the signal flare exploded three red smoke clouds in the air.

In fact, firing signal flare was kind of unnecessary. When Kuroto and others found Orochimaru and Jiraiya, they also found Kuroto and others, and tacitly stopped fighting and rushed in Kuroto and other's direction.

Soon, one after the other, Orochimaru and Jiraiya appeared in front of Kuroto and others.

Looking at the group of people in front of him, Orochimaru spoke with a hoarse voice and smiled gloomily: "I didn't expect to meet Cloud Village's Jinchuriki here. It seems that I have gained something today!"

Jiraya also said in anxiousness, "Don't be foolish, Orochimaru, it will cause war!"

Orochimaru ignored Jiraiya, and moved his gaze away from Cloud's Matatabi Jinchuriki, and glanced at Kuroto and his group, stopped at Kuroto and Itachi respectively, and finally fell on Shinnō's body, revealing a playful smile.

On Cloud's side, as Orochimaru and Jiraiya appeared one after another, Cloud ninja no longer had their previous composure, and the three Cloud Ninjas who were traveling with Jinchuriki were even restless now.

Unlike Hyuga Kuroto, which was barely trying to survive in the war, and the kid Itachi who hasn't yet gained his reputation, the fame of Orochimaru and Jiraiya was achieved through countless battles the trials of life and death. Even if cloud shinobi were arrogant earlier, but now upon seeing these two arrive at the same time obviously, they dare not be so arrogant anymore.

"This isn't over yet!"

Seeing that nothing could be done, the Jinchuriki left some empty words and decisively led the team to retreat.

Orochimaru had no intention of pursuing them at all, obviously, the threat from Jinchuriki was completely ignored.

Seeing Cloud Ninja take the initiative to retreat, Jiraya on the side also let out a long sigh of relief.

Kuroto moved the object of the guard from Cloud Ninja to Orochimaru, and asked tentatively, "Master Jiraiya, do you need our help?"

Officially, Orochimaru is Konoha's defected ninja. On the surface, Kuroto who is Konoha ninja naturally has to make a clear stand.

However, Jiraya only waved his hand: "Orochimaru is not something you can deal with. There is nothing for you here. Go and perform your own tasks."

Kuroto was also just asking for formality's sake, and he stopped talking after hearing this, and immediately left with Itachi and Shinnō.

After experiencing this storm, the three became more careful. They bypassed all the towns and did not deal with anyone. When encountering flat, open, unobstructed terrain, they even changed to traveling during both daylight and night.

So cautiously, the three Kuroto finally reached their destination safely a week later.

This village is indeed suffering from a plague, and the sight is full of depression, and there is indeed a villager who claims to have written a letter asking Shinnō to come to the village to heal the plague.

As for Shinnō's identity, Kuroto already knew, so he pretended not to notice anything, and completed the B-level escort mission.

On the return trip, Itachi looked back at the village behind him, and whispered: "Captain, there is a problem with this Shinnō."

"I know, but it's not our business."

After hesitating a little, Itachi said, "I don't know if it is my illusion. I always feel that he is hostile to us Konoha."

Kuroto looked at Itachi with some surprise, and said, "Maybe that is indeed the case."

Sky Village was destroyed by Konoha, so it is normal for Shinnō to be hostile to Konoha.

Kuroto can judge Shinnō's identity because of the memory of his previous life, but Itachi has such a keen intuition at such a young age, which really surprised Kuroto.

When camping at night, Kuroto noticed that there was a signal left by Orochimaru on a big tree not far away, and he knew that Orochimaru was summoning him, so he casually made an excuse and quietly came to the indicated place.

As soon as Kuroto arrived, Orochimaru's figure walked out of the shadow.

As always, Kuroto greeted respectfully, "Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru looked at Kuroto with interest, and then said after some pause: "Kuroto-kun, the feeling you gave me this time seems to be different from before."

Kuroto replied calmly: "Thanks to your help, I almost died at the hands of the village. Therefore, I appear to be a little different."

The corner of Orochimaru's lips curved: "A blessing in disguise, yes? Then you have to thank Shimura Danzo."

"Does that mean Shimura Danzo was responsible for the cleansing?"

"Well, I overestimated his skills and underestimated his methods." Orochimaru looked casual as if talking about something completely unrelated to him.

Kuroto tentatively said: "It seems that you must have snatched something he really wanted for himself."

Orochimaru did not deny it, but smiled: "Yes, it is indeed a very good baby."

After confirming his guess, Kuroto did not continue to probe, but took the initiative to change the subject, and asked softly: "That… Shinnō is also…? Dealing with you, right?"

Orochimaru glanced at Kuroto because of his question, "I can't even hide this from you, you really seem to have made some progress from before."

Kuroto shook his head staying humble: "He has exposed too many flaws, let alone me, even Uchiha's little guy has noticed that something is wrong with Shinno."

With a noncommittal smile, Orochimaru said, "He stole some secrets about physical regeneration from the Cloud, which is very helpful for my current field of research."

"So, no wonder Cloud sent such a strong pursuit team!"

Seeing Kuroto seemed very interested in Physical Regeneration, Orochimaru said with a hoarse voice, "Kuroto-Kun , if you are interested, I can also consider giving you a copy of the research results."