Remnant bones

——A mountain gorge in the country of rocks——

"Ah, what kind of mission is this..." In a desolate valley where no one is seen up, and the sky is filled with yellow sand, a man with a blue face sits cross-legged on a raised rock, with his chin resting on one hand, he couldn't help complaining. : "What is the bandit extermination base, this kind of ghostly place, and there are actually people who have taken root here... Speaking of which, the base is quite interesting, but the location is really not good. There is no shade from the sun~”

Although it is true that there are no trees, there are many crows nearby... Not far away, groups of black scavengers fight and neigh for a bite of food from time to time, which is extremely lively.

A unilateral massacre three days ago destroyed the thieves group composed of many ronin with knives and ronin with ronin in an instant.And the creator of that living hell, the blue-faced man in front of him is one of them.

In terms of scale alone, although this bandit organization is located in a remote area, because the leader has a good mind and knows how to make full use of geographical advantages, he never hunts and robs near the base, which provides good protection for the base's secrecy.As a result, although the strength is not high, the number of people is located in the upper middle of the major underground groups, and it is a rare gathering place for large-scale evils.

Since he never commits crimes near his old den, the leader spent a lot of money on building the base's secrecy. The task of strangling this gang of thieves was not difficult, but it was classified as an S-level task due to lack of intelligence.

This kind of dark flower, which has high benefits but is extremely unpopular due to special reasons, has always been the first choice of the "Xiao" organization that is trying to hoard funds.As a result, the tasks in the hands of almost every group are such a bunch of "exquisite products" that neither parents nor mothers love, and it's just a matter of their luck to spread this out.

Fortunately, "Xiao"'s intelligence network was not in vain for them to run around all day to provide funding for its activities. As long as the correct address of the den of thieves was found out, the only slight problem would be solved in an instant.

There was no opponent stronger than Jonin, and it took the two of them less than an hour from finding the main entrance of the base to finishing the work.Within a few hundred meters of the blue-faced man, except for the ten-meter-diameter open space near him, there are dead bodies everywhere.Before the group of uninvited "uninvited guests" arrived, it was easy to identify who did it by the appearance of death alone.

On one side is a neat and simple method of death, none of the corpses has a piece of intact skin, as if they were torn apart by rows of sharp iron hooks, it is said to be man-made, but more like the leftovers of ferocious beasts. tragedy.From the beginning to the end, Kisame, a man with a "shark muscle" sword who looks more like a ronin than a ninja, is useless even if he is a good water escape.

On the other hand, the death method of the corpse is much more complicated, with different death states.Most of them were burnt to death or hit by a hidden weapon, and the rest died at the hands of their own brothers.Those who attacked did not give them a chance to get close to these gangsters.

Originally, according to their progress in completing the mission, as early as three days ago, they should have gone to the next mission location in the Kingdom of Wind instead of wasting their time here.

"I don't know what was written in that sudden news~" After reminiscing about the delicacy of the carrier pigeon that ruined its belly, Kisame sighed with boredom as if he had only realized it afterward.It's a pity that the letter was personal, and even though he was curious, he didn't have the courage to ask his partner to take a look... What's more, Itachi's face was not good at that time.

Recalling that just after finishing the mission, the man with black hair and red eyes decided to leave by "possession" as soon as he got the information.Looking at it like that, things don't seem to be going well~ Uh, it can't be something wrong with Kaguya, right?

"...Improbable." Guixie tilted his head, no matter how he thought it was unreliable.

What could go wrong with that Kaguya?Although his position is a doctor in "Xiao", but in terms of strength, the other party is a real force to kill God! The saying of "the strongest melee blood follower" of "Shigumai" is not a lie. The single strength is not much worse than Itachi's. It is estimated that even he may not be able to beat it.

"Sure enough, it's because it's too boring~" He lifted up such a bamboo hat, but the glare of the sun made Kisame drowsy: "Come back soon, Itachi-san~ It's boring to be alone! There is no place to hang out~”

Even if he wasn't here, he couldn't go far to protect his companion's body.

After sitting for almost a day, Kisame jumped off the rock with stiff bones, pulled out his favorite knife "Same Muscle" and decided to move his rusty body.And just as he took a deep breath and was about to start his routine exercise for the past two days, the black-haired man who had been sleeping in the shadows behind him for three days made a movement.

"Ah! Itachi-san~ you're finally awake!" Guixie put down the knife, turned around and greeted his companion who had just woken up.

"...Mmm." He hesitated for a while before responding. After using the bird body for several days, he was a little uncomfortable with his original body.

"Has the matter been resolved? Where shall we go next?" After more than four years of partnering with this man who is actually a little younger than him, he is still a forceful Kisame despite his good brains. The opponent formulates an action plan and commands.

"Something happened, 'Kong Chen'..." Itachi was about to speak when another carrier pigeon landed on his shoulder.Taking out the note on his paw and looking at it, he couldn't help frowning, but secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Just in time!

"Mission change." Burning the note in his palm, Itachi waved away the messenger on his shoulder, and said seriously: "Pain's instruction, skip the next two tasks, and go to Konoha to grasp the movement of Jinchuriki 'Nine Tails' , and...rescue the owner of the 'Kong Chen' ring and return to the base."

"Rescue?" Could it be that there was something wrong with Kaguya?Guixier looked away from the delicious food that flew away in vain, but didn't think any deeper, and responded as usual: "Understood, then let's go."

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With 32 minutes before the end of the exam, Konoha Class [-] under the guidance of Kakashi successfully passed the second "survival exercise" of the Chunin exam and advanced to the "preliminary selection" before the start of the third round.

Due to the large number of passers, the "preselection" came right after the second exam.Yueguang Gaifeng, who was in charge of this part, was very busy, but at this moment, he found that Kaguya, who was supposed to be invigilating the exam with the chief examiner, was not there, and even Sandai and Hongdou's expressions were slightly wrong.

What happened... Sensing the strange moonlight blast, he frowned, and subconsciously squeezed the empty medicine box in his pocket before going on the court as a referee.

Kaguya has always been a person who keeps his promises, but this time... there was no time to think deeply, as the third generation's speech drew to a close, after realizing that he was talking too much, under the signal of the old Hokage, he stepped forward to take over the siege tactfully and said: "Excuse me for being rude. , Hokage-sama. Please leave the next thing to me, Moonlight Hayate, who will take over the work of [Judgement]..."

In the rule explanation of Moonlight Gale, the work of "pre-selection" is gradually on the right track.

The voluntary abstention statement before the official election is just a routine. Candidates who have made it to this point after going through untold hardships basically will not choose to abstain.Therefore, when Dou announced his withdrawal, Naruto and the others could not believe it, but the three generations became suspicious, especially after reading his historical materials.

It's just that Pou, who has been a perfect undercover agent for many years, doesn't care about this small flaw... His work ends here.

In the stands, the man who was the instructor of Otonin narrowed his eyes slowly.In the long and narrow pupils that are difficult for ordinary people to detect, there is an intriguing coldness shining.

After noticing Sasuke's curse seal under the reminder of Hongdou, many insiders, including Hongdou, persuaded the third generation to disqualify Sasuke from the competition.With Kakashi's intervention, this decision was not implemented in the end.The third generation didn't know what they were planning, but they agreed to Kakashi's request...but at the same time, they also demanded that once Sasuke's curse spread, he must give up the game.

However, I don't know if it's a deliberate embarrassment. The first game of the game is "Uchiha Sasuke VS Akaken Armor".

"Ahh~ I'm really unlucky~" I couldn't help but sigh with emotion for the "excellent" luck of my subordinates, Kakashi scratched his head, but he didn't intend to take back his decision at all.

However, even if he expresses support for Sasuke to continue the game, it is not without limit to let him do whatever he wants.Kakashi set up an offline for Sasuke, if he can do it, then... as a teacher, he should help.

Unable to use ninjutsu, blood succession, and dragging his scarred body to continue fighting, this is hard work for Sasuke who is constantly suffering from the curse.But he never thought of giving up... Since the ninjutsu Xueji can't be used, he still has Taijutsu!Relying on the copy of Xiao Li's physical skills before the exam started, even though it was only half of it, he still defeated his enemy with it!

He is Uchiha Sasuke, the orthodox heir of the Uchiha clan!He will use his "strength" to prove to others that his title of "genius" is not in vain!

What's more... the man he was going to kill was a real genius who graduated from a ninja school at the age of seven, became a Chunin at the age of eight, possessed the Sangouyu Sharingan at the age of ten, and was promoted to a businessman at the age of 13!

If he wants to kill him, if he is stronger than him, then he can't fall behind the opponent's footsteps in all aspects!

Seeing Sasuke clutching his wound but stubbornly refusing to end, Kakashi couldn't help but sigh.With a tougher tone, he just lifted the opponent out of the arena.

The matter of the seal of the curse cannot be delayed... It was originally delayed for so long because of the rules of the second exam.If this continues to be allowed to continue, the burden brought by the invasion of that force will definitely not be a good thing for Sasuke.What's more, he didn't want to call Dashewan's favor.

It's just... Facing the black three-god jade mark, Kakashi frowned with some headaches.Sealing technique~ He is really not good at it!

"It would be great if Kaguya was here..." Kakashi, who had seen the opponent's level of sealing skills when he was Anbu, couldn't help muttering.The small voice was heard clearly by Sasuke.

"By the way, Big Brother Kaguya!" He fell into a coma for a while due to the side effects of the curse seal. The high fever not only exhausted Sasuke's physical strength but also made him forget some important things.Hearing Kakashi's occasional murmur, he suddenly thought of it, and couldn't help but forget the pain. He anxiously grabbed Kakashi's clothes and said, "Ms. Kakashi! Brother Kaguya, he was... taken into captivity." Let's go! Send someone to find him quickly!"

"Huh!? What did you say!?" True or false! ?That Kaguya will be kidnapped by someone... Kakashi opened his eyes wide in surprise, seeing that Sasuke didn't seem to be lying, he couldn't help asking seriously: "What's going on? Let me be clear, who kidnapped Kaguya?" Night? When and where, everything should be as detailed as possible..."

When it came to that man, Sasuke hesitated for some reason.

But once he opened his mouth, Kakashi, an old fritter who has been in Anbu for more than ten years, and Sasuke, a fledgling rookie with a little strength, can fight, but after a few efforts, he was caught. .However, realizing that personal paranoia accounted for the vast majority of it, Kakashi thought about it for a while, and decided to settle the matter of the curse seal before asking Sakura for proof.

Although I always felt that Itachi had no reason to hijack Kaguya, it looked like a scene for Sasuke... Kakashi still didn't tell Sasuke his speculation out of caution and didn't understand the reason. Let the paranoid little black cat prick its hair.However, without Kaguya's helper, in the final analysis, as a half-baked guy, he can only make one move that he can barely pull off.

This was what Kaguya taught him... After carefully recalling the steps of sealing, Kakashi got ready.

Supplemented by blood, the drawing technique seal is all over Sasuke's body.The black-haired boy with a bare upper body sat cross-legged. When the violent CKL was transmitted to his body along with the seal, the severe pain caused him to be exhausted. After the short sealing ceremony ended, he passed out in a short time. land.

"Huh..." Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.He has said all the warnings that should be done, whether it is useful or not depends on Sasuke himself...

"I didn't expect you to know the sealing technique." Before he could finish his breath, a piercing cold breath rushed into his back along with the hoarse words.

"... Orochimaru." Cold sweat suddenly slid down his forehead, and Kakashi smiled wryly in his heart.Now, the situation is not so good...

"It's been a long time, Kakashi." He no longer concealed his identity as a Konoha, wearing an Otonin forehead protector, Orochimaru was wearing standard ninja equipment, and stepped out of the dark place of his hidden figure with a leisurely demeanor.

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"Clah la la la——" A bucket of cold water fell from his shoulders, the bone-piercing chill cleared his drowsy brain.Slowly opened his eyes, his bright white pupils were a little anxious, but against the thin drops of water on the eyelashes, they were like a pair of transparent glass eyeballs of delicate puppets.

Pale and bloodless skin, pearly eyes, snow-like pure white single clothes, a cold and impersonal indifferent expression... If coupled with a head of flawless white hair, that pure "white", coldly detached out of the human category.However, the hair tips and shoulders smeared by black ink, and the black thorns that spread to the left eye, are like a stain on white paper, which is particularly eye-catching.

He just poured buckets of cold well water on his body until the already hypothermic, cold undead.

The two little snakes, who always like to rely on their masters for warmth, are entangled and lying by the well, but the instinct of cold-blooded animals keeps them from getting close to the human-shaped "iceberg".Although they are smarter than ordinary snakes, they are aliens who do not understand humans, so it is difficult for them to understand what their masters are doing.He just held his head high and looked at it quite entertainingly.

"Bang Dang!" Not long after, the hands that were stiff due to hypothermia could no longer hold the wooden basin of water, and let it fall to the ground, splashing water in the basin.

Staring at the hands that were purple from the cold, I didn't continue, but after a while, I slowly said: "You are late."

"No wonder, you are too early~" A tall man in a navy blue monochrome men's kimono with a light red cherry petal-shaped vermilion seal at the corner of his eyes walked into the courtyard, twitched his lips and said dissatisfiedly, "It's still far from the agreed time." It's been more than half a month, but you are now temporarily notifying people to change the time~ But forget it, for the sake of the "beautiful scenery" to see, I don't care about you this time~" Said, couldn't help but glance at the naked The upper body a few glances.

"Something happened." He didn't deny what he said, but as for the reason for the temporary change, I just briefly mentioned it and went directly to the topic: "The 'key' is here, and the key inside will be released within two weeks. Things were transferred to that address in the Land of Waves."

"So urgent?" Realizing that the situation might be really not good, he took off Yae's favorite women's clothing, took the iron plate that was not unfamiliar and put it away, and said solemnly: "Although I am not a ninja, I am a ninja with strong attributes. Next, there are still a few...do you need help?"

Those beings who are his "dark servants" are stationed around him all year round.As soon as he got the signal, there were eight auras that were easily overlooked in the induction, and they suddenly became clear.

"No need." Standing up, I went into the Japanese room to return the drenched clothes, and replied through the paper screen: "I can handle it myself."

"Really?" Yae repeatedly asked, refusing to give up the sale: "My little Hachi is famous for her looks and talent all over the world... Well, the top elite who has beaten all the invincible opponents in the Yae Sakura Hall! Are you really No? Sure? Sure? No regrets?"

"No." This guy's nonsense was still the same as before.

"...that's fine~" He shrugged his head with regret, and Yae turned his head a little angrily: "I really need it at that time, so don't come to me crying... well, I know it's impossible That's it."

A kind of dark waiter who is speechless, completely helpless towards his master's capricious and beating character.

I've been used to it for a long time, and I sent it indifferently: "The 'key' is given to you, you can go back...don't see you again until I go to the Kingdom of Waves to find you."

"Oh~ I just came here, so you chased him away~" muttered, but Yae also received a notification from his subordinates that someone was approaching here.Knowing that he couldn't stay for long, he still didn't forget to tease before leaving: "Hey, you can't empathize with others during the time when he is away~ Before I catch up with you, you have to guard yourself like a jade!"

"..." I couldn't help raising my brows slightly, and I was hesitating whether to tell him 'I've already got a master'.

"Also, we made an agreement, you must come to me!" With half of his body still hanging on the wall, someone who climbed over the wall and came in couldn't get a response, so he added it unwillingly: "If you don't come, I'll take that big The younger ones are sent to pick up guests, and the younger ones are raised to be child brides-in-law!"

"..." Is this guy tired of working?I'm sweating, I dare to hit the idea of ​​his boss's son...

"Okay, you must remember! Must... Ouch! My ass~" Only halfway through the words, the familiar voice was silenced outside the wall.

I rubbed my forehead, dumbfounded but at the same time relaxed a lot.

Even though he knew he couldn't hear it, he still replied: "I remember..." As long as there is a chance, I will definitely, definitely go...

"Click, click——" As soon as the people on the front foot left, the official "guest" on the back foot arrived.

"Jun Mai..." Printed on the paper screen are the shadows of three generations standing in front of him holding a pipe.And behind him, Kakashi, Adzuki, Asma, Kai, Hong, Ibiki... Those acquaintances are really quite a few.

Dressed up leisurely, tied the last belt, I put on a pure black robe printed with silver and white tea patterns, and walked out of the room.

In the increasingly muddy eyes of the three generations, there is no accusation, suspicion, betrayal... only the helplessness when facing their children's mischief.In the same way, apart from worry and surprise in the eyes of Kakashi and the others at my gray hair and the imprint from my left arm to my cheek, they were more probing, but never harbored the slightest malice.

Eyes lowered, he took a deep breath slowly.

Now I seem to be able to understand where the pride and sense of belonging in the words of those who claim to be the successors of "Fire Consciousness" come from.And people like Orochimaru who have betrayed the village for a long time, why do they hate this, but at the same time, they still have a trace of hope and envy that they didn't realize...

The root system of this big tree, Konoha, may have been corrupted in the false "peace"... However, it is precisely because of the existence of this "peace" that the warm side of human nature can be preserved in the hearts of those who are born in Konoha. .

It's a pity that this place... doesn't belong to me after all.

"Kaguya." After the first low call, Sandai stopped talking.After being signaled, Ibixi took a step forward, with an indifference on his face only at work, but his every move was cautious that did not match his expression: "I, Ibixi Morino, captain of the Anbu Criminal Investigation Brigade, is suspected of collaborating with the enemy and plotting chaos." In the name of this, please assist in the investigation!"

I didn't say anything about it, I took the initiative to stretch out my hands, cooperated with his work to confirm that I was not wearing any weapons, and then put on the special shackles specially used to seal the blood succession limit.

When passing by Sandai with Anbu's escort, I just said: "Don't tell Junmaro."

The third generation was slightly startled, then nodded.And it is clear that this sentence is for everyone present, including Yibixi, they all silently nodded their assurances.

Pursing my lips, I whispered, "Thank you..."

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That night, because Sasuke was still recuperating in the hospital, Naruto went back to his residence excitedly despite being confused by Sakura's strange worried eyes.

"Brother Kaguya! Let me tell you, both Sasuke and I have passed the 'preliminaries' and entered the third match! My opponent is Ningji Hinata. As long as I defeat him, I will be one step closer to Hokage! In the end, the old man of the third generation will definitely Let me be the fifth generation of Hokage, hahahaha..." Naruto couldn't help shouting while still in the entrance after agreeing to come back tonight.

"Speaking of which, that guy Sasuke is really troublesome~ I will deliver food to him later! By the way, Big Brother Kaguya! Is the big meal ready? I'm starving to death..." Finally, he kicked his shoes and entered Naruto who entered the hall found no one in the front room: "Brother Kaguya?"

It was clearly agreed... The little fox, who was unwilling to give up, went around the backyard where the other party lived. After finding nothing, he searched the huge old Uchiha house, but found no one.

Looking at the empty house, Naruto's uneasiness in his heart became more and more intense, and anxiety was gradually written on his face.The stubborn little guy rummaged through the mansion that he had lived in for four years, the roof, the overhanging beams, the attic, the basement... In the end, he was exhausted and sweating profusely, sitting at the gate of the entrance, panting heavily, While recalling Sakura's inexplicable eyes, she couldn't help raising her head and shouting: "Brother Kaguya... what the hell is going on!!!"