Chapter 151: Searching for the Hidden Mist Village
Seven Treasures Town was officially renamed Xuanlord Town. Its population had fallen from nearly ten thousand to just over three thousand. Yet this upheaval attracted no attention whatsoever.
To the Daimyō of the Land of Water, Seven Treasures Town had always just been a pirate town. A few deaths in a pirate war weren't worth caring about. As long as the Hidden Mist Village existed, those pirates could never stir up any real trouble.
What the Daimyō of the Land of Water didn't realize was that all three thousand of those people had undergone the baptism of the Snake Curse Mark, gaining the Sage power of Ryūchi Cave!
Under the combined assault of five Snake-Cursed, even an ordinary genin would stand no chance!
On the newly transformed shoreline of Xuanlord Town, waves crashed violently as two small figures stood before the surging sea…
"Genjutsu—Darkness Technique!"
A curtain of darkness spread like the gaping maw of a demon swallowing heaven and earth, devouring every living being it touched and dragging them into a pitch-black illusion. It was absolute darkness—like being blind, completely stripped of sight…
As the test subject, Orochimaru knelt respectfully on the ground. "Lord Jiexuan, your Darkness Technique has already reached mastery!"
Li Jiexuan nodded in satisfaction. After obtaining Kurama Yakumo's kekkei genkai, his mastery over genjutsu had risen several levels out of thin air. However, the A-rank forbidden technique, Darkness Technique, was ultimately Senju Tobirama's proud illusion…
Even for Li Jiexuan, it had taken a full three days to fully grasp it!
In those three days, Li Jiexuan had completely conquered Seven Treasures Town. Next, by leveraging these three thousand Snake-Cursed, he would soon unify all the pirates across the Land of Water!
Should he consider changing his name to: Jiexuan–Luffy?
"On second thought, forget it." Becoming the Pirate King in the world of Naruto didn't really fit this story's style.
"Orochimaru, I'll leave Xuanlord Town to you." Li Jiexuan smiled as he packed his belongings. "After I return to Konoha, I'll report that you died in action."
"Lord Jiexuan, won't you stay?"
Orochimaru knelt excitedly. "I want to remain by your side and serve you forever!"
Hearing that, Li Jiexuan chuckled and shook his head. Blind worship was not a good thing.
"Orochimaru, if you always stay behind me, you'll never be able to stand on your own." That Orochimaru who would one day shake the world couldn't turn into some useless good-for-nothing. Li Jiexuan smiled and shook his head. "If you truly want to help me, then hurry up and research the true secret of immortality!"
With that, Li Jiexuan left Xuanlord Town without hesitation. To him, Orochimaru was merely a hidden piece on his chessboard…
And as the player, he couldn't be influenced by his pieces!
Besides, that Second Hokage had given him quite the troublesome problem this time.
"Konoha's peace negotiation document."
The fiery-red document bore Konoha's gilded emblem, gleaming brightly. Even now, Li Jiexuan hadn't forgotten what Senju Tobirama had told him before departure.
"Jiexuan, to attack the Hidden Sand, we must give it our all. I'm sending you to the Land of Water to negotiate peace. Remember—you must complete the mission, but you must not disgrace Konoha's name!"
Mission triggered: Peace Negotiation.
Mission content: Complete the negotiation without damaging Konoha's reputation.
Mission reward: One Kage-level treasure chest, five thousand points.
Negotiating peace while preserving prestige—wanting to play both sides and still keep a spotless image—this was no easy task!
What was worse, after following Konoha's map to the vicinity of the Hidden Mist Village, Li Jiexuan discovered that towering mountains stretched endlessly in every direction. After crossing more than a dozen peaks and finding nothing, he realized that without a guide, it would be impossible to locate the Hidden Mist Village!
After searching for a full five days, Li Jiexuan finally found a small civilian village hidden deep within the forested mountains…
The village truly lived up to the word "small." To be precise, it consisted of no more than twenty households. The first few homes appeared to belong to farmers. The moment Li Jiexuan stepped inside, the villagers screamed, "Ninja! Ninja!" and fled in panic without looking back…
In the middle of the village was what seemed to be a small shop. The young man inside was also terrified, but ultimately didn't run, trembling as he guarded his store.
"Hey, sir, do you know where the Hidden Mist Village is?"
Before Li Jiexuan could finish speaking—
"Ahhh!!!"
The young man shrieked and bolted out of the shop, fleeing into the forest.
"…"
Li Jiexuan rubbed his face and scratched his head helplessly. "Am I really that ugly?"