'Such amazing skill.'
"Where did you learn all this? It's amazing!"
Kurotsuchi was very curious.
"Is this something you need to learn?"
Takumi raised an eyebrow, as if saying, 'Isn't this something everyone knows?'
Of course, he wouldn't say that he learned all this from Kurenai.
In terms of serving, Kurenai was very thorough.
Even Takumi, who had traveled from modern society, had learned a lot from Kurenai.
"Fine, don't tell me then."
Kurotsuchi stuck out her tongue, then looked at the wide bed. "Um, should we get in bed?"
"It's too early."
Takumi looked at the sunset that hadn't yet set. "You sit here for now. I want to read for a while."
With that, he went directly to the bookshelf and took down a book recording Ninjutsu Insights.
"You're clearly a genius, yet you still work so hard."
Kurotsuchi flattered him as she quietly approached.
Her words were basically nonsense.
Geniuses aren't born with power.
Genius only represents talent; to have power still requires hard work.
She knew this well herself.
Mastering Lava Release, she was also considered a genius in others' eyes.
And as the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, she had considerable strength at her current age.
Besides her talent, it was also inseparable from her hard work.
She said this just to strike up a conversation with Takumi.
But Takumi ignored her.
Today's situation was different from usual, very different.
The arrival of Konan and Kurotsuchi made him deeply feel that today would definitely not end like this.
Next, something else was definitely waiting for him.
This was his intuition telling him.
After mastering Observation Haki, his intuition had become very sharp.
So, he planned to do a fixed-point simulation first to see the situation.
'System, start fixed-point simulation, from tonight until tomorrow.'
…
Land of Rice Fields, one of Orochimaru's secret bases.
"Waaah—"
"Aaaaaah—"
"Kill me! Kill me!"
"Hehehehe..."
Various spine-chilling sounds came from the deep darkness.
"I feel uncomfortable every time I hear this."
Jirobo shuddered. "It's too miserable."
"You should be glad you're not one of them."
Sakon said calmly.
"Huh?"
Jirobo frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Can't you even understand that?"
Ukon looked up at him with a mocking expression. "My brother means your strength only qualifies you to be a test subject."
"You bastard!"
Jirobo couldn't sit still anymore and immediately jumped up. "You want to fight? Think I'm afraid of you!"
"With your strength, it's like bullying a child."
Sakon sneered. "Save it. I wouldn't want to kill you and have trouble explaining it to Orochimaru-sama."
"What's there to explain."
Ukon said coldly. "Just a fly died. Orochimaru won't grieve over a fly."
"You!"
Jirobo couldn't argue with two people. His face flushed bright red as he grabbed various weapons with his six hands. "Come out! I want to fight you one-on-one!"
"Hah! Foolish."
Sakon said coldly. "We are naturally two people, and you say one-on-one? Are you out of your mind?"
"Stop arguing."
Jirobo said in a low voice. "If Orochimaru-sama hears..."
His words made them pause for a moment.
Jirobo put away his weapons, still stubbornly muttering, "I'm only letting it go out of respect for Orochimaru-sama, not because I'm afraid of you useless guys."
"Hmph."
Sakon and Ukon snorted together, looking at him with dangerous eyes.
Only Tayuya in the room remained silent.
Her gaze fixed on the darkness, but somewhat distant, no one knew what she was thinking.
As for Kimimaro, he was usually by Orochimaru's side now.
Since his health improved, he no longer needed to lie on a medical bed with a bunch of tubes inserted to maintain his body.
This gave him a lot of free time.
It also restored him to his original role as Orochimaru's personal bodyguard.
And Orochimaru approved of Kimimaro's strength, feeling a sense of security having him around.
Taking only Kimimaro to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage was because he valued Kimimaro's strength.
Although it was also partly due to Rasa's overconfidence.
To suppress the rising overall strength of the Land of Fire, he didn't hesitate to contact Orochimaru and plan a surprise attack on Konoha.
The result was that he was assassinated by Orochimaru, who then replaced him and gave orders to Sunagakure's Shinobi.
If not for Takumi turning the tide, Orochimaru's goal would have been half achieved.
At the very least, Hiruzen would have died in front of everyone.
"What are you thinking about?"
Sakon stopped paying attention to Jirobo and turned to Tayuya. "You've been staring for a long time."
"Could it be that there's someone you care about among the test subjects?"
Tayuya didn't respond to Sakon, as if she hadn't heard him.
"Hey!"
Sakon frowned and called out softly.
He didn't dare be too loud, afraid of disturbing the experiments inside.
"I'm going."
Tayuya suddenly blurted out.
Sakon looked bewildered.
'Sister, where are you going?'
'I'm asking you, why won't you answer?'
"Where are you going?"
Jirobo directly asked for him.
"To Konoha."
Tayuya's gaze was full of determination. "For Orochimaru-sama, to bring Takumi back."
"Pfft!"
Jirobo let out a mocking laugh. "With just you? Even Orochimaru-sama and Kimimaro couldn't do it, how can you?"
"Why do you suddenly have this idea?"
Sakon frowned slightly. He felt things weren't simple.
Especially Tayuya's dazed state just now was completely different from her usual self.
"Orochimaru-sama doesn't have much time left."
Tayuya said seriously.
"Huh?"
Now everyone was stunned.
"What are you trying to say?"
Sakon frowned deeply.
He was sure, Tayuya had indeed become completely different from before.
He wondered when did this start.
He had been arguing with that guy Jirobo lately and hadn't noticed such a big change in Tayuya's state.
"Orochimaru-sama's body is getting weaker and weaker. If he can't bring Takumi back soon, he'll have no choice but to settle for a second-rate body."
Tayuya continued to stare into the deep darkness, the terrible screams coming from within. "I can feel Orochimaru-sama's urgency."
"That still doesn't justify your decision to go to Konoha."
Sakon stepped forward a few paces, staring intently at her face. "This is too sudden, and Orochimaru-sama won't agree."
"I don't plan on acting recklessly."
Tayuya appeared very calm. "I don't have Kimimaro's strength, so naturally I can't confront Takumi head-on."
"But I also have my strengths."
She took out her flute, twirling it in her hand. "I'll use Genjutsu to bring Takumi back."
"If I succeed, everyone will be happy."
"If I fail, no need to worry. Just a mysterious piece of music, no one will care."
"Even if someone notices, they won't catch me."
The more she spoke, the more determined her will became.
Speaking until the end, she directly turned and left, without a moment's hesitation.
"Wait!"
Sakon blocked her. "Why are you doing this? This isn't something you would normally do."
"How am I normally?"
Tayuya looked up, calmly gazing at him. "Like you, waiting for Orochimaru-sama to die weak, then fleeing from his side?"
Sakon's face froze for a moment, then a glint of danger flashed in his eyes.
Fortunately, besides the four of them, there was no one else nearby.
Perhaps that's why Tayuya felt free to say it.
"I've thought about it carefully."
Tayuya brushed past Sakon. "To Orochimaru-sama, we might not mean much."
"But regardless, Orochimaru-sama, to us, saved our lives."
"I will never forget the figure who saved me back then."
"If I can repay him, I won't hesitate."
Her figure was solitary yet determined.
Sakon gazed at her retreating back, lost in thought.
"What's she suddenly going crazy for?"
Jirobo said speechlessly. "First Kimimaro, he's understandable, after all Kimimaro is extremely loyal to Orochimaru-sama."
"But why her suddenly? It feels like she's been manipulated."
"Hey, do you think she's really been manipulated? Orochimaru-sama might actually be secretly watching our every move?"
Jirobo said, looking around suspiciously, but found nothing.
"Perhaps, she has indeed been manipulated."
Sakon said softly. "Manipulated by inner weakness."
He didn't stop Tayuya again, nor did he report inside.
Everything would be decided by Orochimaru after the dust settled.
Anyway, among the five, he wasn't the leader.
If Orochimaru pursued responsibility, everyone present would be implicated.
But he still wondered about the reason for Tayuya's actions.
He believed her reason because he saw the determination in her eyes.