Chapter 17: Jūgo

The next day, at the temporary camp set up in the Land of Earth, we were all holding a post-battle meeting.

Shikaku Nara held a scroll in front of everyone and read aloud, "In the battle against Kumogakure we suffered 500 allied casualties and 2,800 wounded, most of them Genin and Chunin" he paused before continuing.

"We also captured 1,200 prisoners, as for the enemy, 2,000 enemy casualties were confirmed, there should have been more, but Orochimaru-sama ensured that was impossible" said Shikaku with a smile, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

Everyone laughed, and an unforgettable memory returned to them, the illusion of the Eight-Tails appeared behind me as they watched, sending a shiver down their spines.

"As for the battle against the Earth country, we suffered approximately 1000 casualties and 1,500 wounded, the enemy suffered approximately 2,400 casualties and we captured 700 prisoners," Shikaku said while putting away the scroll, in this battle the situation was more difficult but it was not bad if you compare it with the enemy army.

Danzo, who was among the crowd, had a bitter expression as if he had accidentally eaten dog poop.

Seeing him didn't make me happy, one of my clones had seen him giving information to the Iwa ninjas during the battle, at that moment, a murderous impulse overtook me, and I wanted to kill him right then and there.

But I decided not to, at least not yet, that would only cause me more unnecessary problems.

"Thank you, Shikaku, everyone, I hereby declare this operation a resounding success!" I said, looking at everyone with a smile on my lips.

A thunderous round of applause and cheers filled the tent, some even whistled and shouted at the top of their lungs to celebrate the victory, after a while, I raised my hand to signal them to stop.

"This is not just a tactical victory, it's a warning!" I said, raising my voice.

"A warning to show our enemies that we are strong, much stronger than they can imagine, and that if they try to destroy us, we will crush them mercilessly, we will become their worst nightmares!" I continued, making everyone smile with pride for being part of Konoha.

"All of this is due to our unity, the fire that burns fiercely in each of our hearts, a clear example of this is Danzo-sama" I said, pointing at Danzo.

Everyone showed confused expressions, occasionally glancing at Danzo, but said nothing.

"I received information that Danzo-sama decided to act in secret to support my plan, he leaked information to Kumo and Iwa that Kushina and Minato had not actually escaped and that it was all a lie, he even said that Kushina was carrying a forbidden Uzumaki scroll, the Raikage himself confirmed this to me in our last battle".

"In addition to leaking Minato's exact location during the battle against Iwagakure, of course" I said, explaining what I meant.

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned, and their expressions darkened, no one here is stupid, they instantly understood what I was really saying.

"But although it may seem that Danzo-sama was committing an act of treason, I am sure that was not his intention, he used his experience to deceive our enemies with a psychological trick, isn't that right, Danzo-sama?" I asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

Danzo trembled with rage, but he realized he had no escape, he nodded and said, "That's right, everything I do is for Konoha, you already know that"

Crack!

Tsunade, standing next to me, stomped on the ground and clenched her teeth with a terrifying aura around her, Jiraiya also had a similar look in his eyes and seemed ready to tear him apart.

"In any case, now we must return home to reinforce the border, we have mobilized many troops, and other villages might have dangerous ideas" I said and made a pause before continuing, "Prepare to depart!"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!" everyone said in unison and began leaving the room.

After everyone left, Jiraiya and Tsunade approached me, Jiraiya took a scroll from his back and handed it to me.

"This is what you asked for, I took three samples of each just in case," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Orochimaru, is it true what you said earlier, that Danzo leaked secret information to our enemy villages?"

I simply nodded, "Of course, you heard it yourself, Danzo admitted it with a big smile on his face," I said, thinking about his bitter expression.

"Yes, it's just hard to believe, I've always disliked that man, but for him to betray the village.." Tsunade murmured.

"Don't try to understand how people like him think, just anticipate their moves and outsmart them," I said and tapped her on the forehead.

"Ouch!" Tsunade groaned, pouting and nodding, Jiraiya beside her felt uncomfortable for some reason.

'What's with them, since when are they this close?' Jiraiya wondered.

"Anyway, get ready to return, we need to head back as soon as possible," I said, looking at both of them seriously.

They nodded and left the tent, when they opened the curtain covering the exit, for a brief moment, I saw a boy with white hair wearing a medical uniform running across to the other side.

'Kabuto Yakushi..' I thought, recognizing him.

...

The next day, we set off for the Land of Fire, and along the way, I decided we would rest for a day in the Land of Grass, as I had some unfinished business to attend to.

In a random village in the Land of Grass, a man wearing a straw hat with an X-shaped scar on his chest was speaking to a common villager.

"Hello, my name is Monkey D. Luffy, I'm looking for a boy named Juugo, I heard he moved to the nearest village, could you remind me of the way to get there?" said the straw hat man.

"Yes, you just need to follow that path, take the left turn at the first intersection, and keep going straight, after thirty minutes you'll reach it, although.." the villager said, but then his eyes wandered toward my body.

"What's wrong, is there a problem?" asked the straw hat man.

"You seem like a strong person, but I don't recommend taking that path, it's best to turn back and never come here again," the villager warned.

"Oh, and why should I do that?" asked the straw hat man with a mischievous smile.

"They say there are bandits, bandits everywhere, but these are hundreds in number, no offense, but it's not something one person can handle," the villager said with a resigned sigh.

"Hm, I see, thank you for the warning, I'll tell them that stealing is bad if I run into them, thanks," said the straw hat man as he walked away.

"Sigh, youngsters, so stubborn and impulsive.." said the villager, turning to leave, but suddenly felt a weight in his pocket, reaching in, he pulled out an object, glanced at it out of curiosity, and his face turned pale with horror.

Without hesitation, he put the object back into his pocket, 'Does he want me to die.. something like this..' the villager thought as he took another look, a beautiful golden trinket appeared in his hand.

...

Meanwhile, the straw hat man was walking through the forest, whistling a tune from his old world.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the straw hat man was actually me cosplaying as Luffy, ta-da!

Jokes aside, I came here to find Juugo, last night I received information from a clone that had transformed into a crow about a village that had been wiped out in an instant by a boy with a monstrous appearance, so I decided to come and take a look.

"Haaa!" Suddenly, a group of villagers armed with shovels and machetes emerged from the forest, no, wait, they're bandits, how scary.

"Stay still, if you dare move a single muscle, we'll chop you into pieces like the last fool who dared to disobey!" said the terrifying bandit, waving his machete.

"And you are..?" I asked with a blank expression.

"Hehehe.. we are the Wandering Demons, the most feared bandits in the entire Land of Grass, now hand over everything of value you have, and we'll let you go, otherwise.. hehe.." said the bandit leader, covering his face with one hand.

"Otherwise what?" I asked, cleaning my ear and then blowing the dirt into his face, which somehow ended up in his mouth as he spoke.

"Damned fool, you're dead.. huh? Where did he go?" the bandit asked, confused, looking at the empty spot where I had just been.

Boom!

The next second, he found himself eating dirt, his teeth buried in the ground, while I rested my foot on his head.

"Aniki! You bastard, let go of our aniki!" said a guy with large teeth.

"Oh, and what will you do if I don't?" I asked, amused.

"I'll make you kiss my aniki's feet for seven days, clean his room for seven days, and bathe aniki for seven days!" the bandit shouted angrily.

"Wait.. aren't those the things they make you do? Poor guy.." I said, almost shedding crocodile tears, almost.

The bandit was about to continue when he found himself in a situation similar to his aniki, the other bandits tensed up, raised their machetes, and attacked me.

Three seconds later, all the bandits were on the ground with smoke rising from their heads, I approached the bandit leader and grabbed him by the neck.

"I promised someone, so I have to do this, I want you to know that stealing is bad and will only lead to death, now, Predator!" I said, using Predator on him but not devouring him, then I continued on my way calmly.

...

After a long walk, I reached the village that had been reduced to ashes, some areas were still burning, and I even saw some charred corpses.

"The level of communication in this era is ridiculous," I whispered, realizing that news of the village's destruction hadn't even spread.

"Hm, I found him," I said after receiving the memories of a shadow clone.

This clone had transformed into a wolf and devoured one on the way, it's a shame that what clones devour can only be maintained while they are active and doesn't return with them.

Without hesitation, I followed the route obtained from the clone, and in a few minutes, I reached the entrance of a cave with a sign that said «Do not enter if you don't want to die» at the entrance, I stepped forward when a crazy voice echoed.

"Don't come in, I'll kill you, if you enter, I'll kill you, hahaha!" Juugo shouted from inside the cave.

"Is him," I smiled when I heard him.

I kept going deeper into the cave until I reached an improvised cell within it, at the back, a boy with orange hair and black marks all over his body was watching me.

"Leave, or I'll kill you!" said the boy with a hoarse voice.

I let out an amused chuckle at his words, then wrapped my right arm in lightning chakra and destroyed the bars of the cell, this made the boy's eyes widen, but then his expression turned murderous.

"I warned you, now you're dead!" he shouted as he ran toward me, his body beginning to transform, and a monstrous arm lunged at me.

Slash!

I used my Murasame sword and, with a clean cut, severed his arm, then raised my foot and kicked him, sending him crashing into the wall at the back with a loud thud, I caught the monstrous arm in midair and devoured it.

[ Analyzing.. analysis complete ]

[ Racial Ability [Senjutsu Absorption] Acquired ]

"That's all, huh?" I murmured.

"Huh.. who.. who the hell are you?" the boy asked, standing up and breathing heavily.

"First of all, language, second, from now on, I'll be your sensei, third, tell me your name, kid," I said, staring at him intently.

"My sensei? Impossible, I can't live with people, I hurt them, I always do!" he said, losing it again.

"Silence, in this dojo, the word impossible does not exist!" I said, imitating a certain master of a certain dojo that I'm not going to say but it starts with Cobra Kai!

The boy tensed involuntarily, but then frowned, looking at me strangely.

"Tell me your name, I won't repeat myself," I said once more.

"My name is Jūgo, you say you want to be my sensei, but aren't you afraid I'll hurt you or those you love?" Jūgo asked, his gaze lowered.

"Your sensei is not that weak, besides, I have a way to seal your loss of control so you can activate your power whenever you want, so, are you willing to follow me?" I said, already having prepared a seal alongside Great Sage for this case, otherwise, I wouldn't have come personally.

"Is that true?" Jūgo asked, his eyes lighting up with hope as he shed tears when he saw me nod.

"Don't cry, kid, you're not a little girl, are you?" I said, well, maybe I got too into the role, although my cosplay isn't right.

"Sorry, sensei, it's just that.. I never thought anyone would want to be my sensei, so sensei, I.." Jūgo began, trying to hide his tears, which made me smile.

"You don't have to call me sensei all the time, now come closer, I'm going to place the seal on you," I said.

"Yes, sensei!" Jūgo said, stepping closer.

"Sigh, do what you want," I grumbled, placing the seal on his shoulder, it disappeared in a few seconds, then I took out the bandit I had grabbed earlier.

"Use him to regenerate your arm, or you'll die from excessive blood loss, you can do it, right?" I asked, throwing the bandit's body to the ground.

Jūgo nodded and inserted his arm into the bandit's corpse, his arm seemed to pump as the bandit's body turned into a mummy, Jūgo's arm regenerated and even increased in size, becoming more muscular.

"Done, sensei," Jūgo said without caring that he had just consumed a poor bastard until he became a mummy.

"Very well, now follow me, I still have two pending matters, then you'll follow me to the Land of Fire," I said, turning around.

"Yes, sensei!" Jūgo responded without questioning.

After leaving the cave, I began forming seals, "Ninjutsu: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Eliminate all the bandits in the area and report what happened in the village, but don't give details, and make sure you're not discovered," I said, as the ten clones in front of me disappeared.

"Let's go!" I said, walking toward my next destination.