I Just Wanted to Slack Off, But I Was Forced to Become Hokage

Chapter 74: [A-Rank Mission: Orochimaru]!

The fame of the Sannin was as loud as thunder among the ninja of Konoha. Although Orochimaru had not appeared in person, merely sending a small snake to deliver a letter, neither Nara Keisuke nor Yakushi Nono'o would ignore the existence of this scroll. Not to mention the message on it was specifically written in Root's encrypted text!

Keisuke could figure out with his toes that Orochimaru's sudden visit was absolutely inseparable from Root.

Nono'o took the scroll and very skillfully translated the text on it, relaying the message at the same time. "This scroll says that Lord Orochimaru invites me and you, Keisuke, to meet him in the forest just outside Kikyo Castle."

Just a meeting? Keisuke was somewhat surprised. He seized on the key point and asked, "Does the scroll mention the existence of 'Root'?"

"No." Nono'o read the scroll again and replied with great certainty.

Keisuke's brow furrowed slightly. For Orochimaru to specifically use Root's encrypted text to contact the Kikyo Orphanage, the meaning behind it was self-evident—he was acting under orders from Root, which was the reason for his actions today. Keisuke was aware that there was some "unclear" relationship between Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō. He just hadn't expected them to have hooked up even before the start of the Third Great Ninja War...

But the problem was, given the hostile relationship between Keisuke, Nono'o, and Root, if it were really Danzō who had dispatched Orochimaru, the other party's tone of contact would certainly not have been so polite—

No, wait!

Keisuke suddenly remembered the fat nun who had disappeared without a reason and asked again, "Sister Nono'o, do you think the nun's disappearance has anything to do with Orochimaru?"

"The nun is just an ordinary person. Lord Orochimaru probably wouldn't..." Nono'o was originally inclined to believe that one of the esteemed Sannin would not resort to threatening others with the life of an ordinary person. But just then, the image of Danzō's bandaged face flashed through her mind, along with his previous threatening words. Nono'o's brow furrowed, and she changed her tune, "I can't be certain."

After some discussion, Keisuke and Nono'o decided to go to the suburban forest together to keep the appointment. However, considering the potential risks of meeting Orochimaru, the two still made some preparations in advance.

When Keisuke and Nono'o arrived at the appointed location in the forest, Orochimaru, wearing a green Jonin vest and a Konoha forehead protector, was waiting there alone.

"As expected, you came to the appointment," Orochimaru's signature hoarse voice echoed through the forest, causing the birds to flap their wings and fly away in alarm. "Yakushi-san, Nara-kun."

"Lord Orochimaru." Nono'o took a step forward, returning the greeting according to social etiquette.

Keisuke followed suit, but while paying his respects, he was constantly using his [Lacquer Eye] to observe the surroundings. Somewhat unexpectedly, there was no sign of any other unusual chakra flowing in the surrounding woods. There was truly only Orochimaru here.

"Lord Orochimaru, you invited the two of us here..." Nono'o was about to make some more polite conversation, but Orochimaru clearly didn't have the patience for it.

"The reason and purpose for my presence here, I'm sure you two are well aware, are you not?" Orochimaru extended his long, slender, blood-red snake tongue and lightly licked the corner of his mouth.

As his voice fell, an icy and murderous aura erupted from where he stood, rushing towards Keisuke and Nono'o. Nono'o's pupils contracted slightly. She felt as if a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood had suddenly flashed before her eyes. The thick, bloody smell was so overwhelming it almost made her want to vomit, and her delicate body hidden under the nun's habit trembled slightly.

Keisuke also felt the approach of this astonishing killing intent, but with his spiritual power having already crossed the A-rank threshold, his on-the-spot performance was much more stable than Nono'o's beside him.

"It is merely killing intent, but no actual intent to kill," Keisuke said, looking at Orochimaru from afar with perfect composure. "Are Shimura Danzō's orders merely to intimidate us?"

"Hehehe..." Orochimaru retracted his aura and let out a light laugh, observing Keisuke with great interest. "Nara-kun, you are indeed just as I've heard, a boy who is a little overconfident. In any case, Shimura Danzō is a village elder with great power and authority. We need to respect him, don't we?"

Keisuke smiled noncommittally. Everyone here was calling Danzō by his full name; when it came to looking down on the man, no one was in a position to laugh at anyone else. "Of course, there are Jonin in the village worthy of respect. For example, the matron of the Kikyo Orphanage, or the two generations of the Jonin squad leaders." Keisuke made no effort to hide his disdain and hostility. "But Shimura Danzō, is he worthy?"

"I'm getting more and more interested in you, Nara-kun." The curious light in Orochimaru's eyes grew even more intense. "Elder Shimura Danzō did indeed give me a mission order. The kind of mission you both should be well aware of. After all, you have experienced it once before."

As soon as Orochimaru said this, Nono'o subconsciously reached for the weapon in her tool pouch. Keisuke's eyes also narrowed, and he mentally prepared for battle.

But Orochimaru suddenly changed the subject. "However, Shimura Danzō has his ideas, and I have mine."

As he said this, Orochimaru proactively extended his pale, almost sickly, hand towards Keisuke, his hoarse voice carrying a poppy-like temptation. "Nara-kun, I know you are an extraordinary child. For a genius like you, the Nara clan is like a tiny duckweed on a pond. Its power is too soft and weak, unable to support the vigorous growth of a great young tree, and it cannot even withstand too much wind and waves. So... how about coming under my command? To witness a grander landscape together, to taste the new winds that will shake the era?"

Nono'o looked at the Sannin opposite her in astonishment. She had never expected that Orochimaru's goal was actually to recruit Nara Keisuke!

However, faced with the recruitment offer from one of the Sannin, who was at the very pinnacle of Konoha's power pyramid, Keisuke just chuckled lightly. "Lord Orochimaru, did you know?" he suddenly brought up a seemingly unrelated topic. "After graduating from the Ninja Academy, due to physical problems, I was unable to become a qualified ninja. But thanks to the arrangements of my Academy teachers, I was able to smoothly enter the Medical Department's Beast Taming and Medical Treatment class."

"I have already learned of Nara-kun's life trajectory from Elder Shimura Danzō," Orochimaru said, showing no sign of displeasure and simply playing along. "But I believe that with your level, Nara-kun, you probably wouldn't stay in the Beast Taming and Medical Treatment class for too long, right?"

"It was indeed shorter than I imagined," Keisuke replied cheerfully, revealing a top-secret piece of information that probably only he, Tsunade, and Inuzuka Tsume knew. "I was fired before my first day of work."

"..."

Even with Orochimaru's mental fortitude, he almost showed a dazed expression upon hearing this. Are you messing with me?!

"Since Nara-kun has already left the Beast Taming and Medical Treatment class, then you can be considered to have regained your free status," Orochimaru said with great patience. "Or is it that... Nara-kun has joined another department?"

"To be precise, I don't know either," Keisuke said with a shrug. "The last superior to handle my ninja file should be the head of the Medical Department. In other words, if you have to say, I should be Princess Tsunade's subordinate now."

This kid is Tsunade's subordinate? Are you kidding me!? Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly. Why wasn't this mentioned at all in Root's intelligence network?

"So..." Keisuke deliberately put on a curious expression. "Lord Orochimaru, are you going to discuss recruiting me with Lady Tsunade?"

Looking at the smiling boy opposite him, the smile on Orochimaru's pale, sickly face gradually faded. "Nara-kun, do you think that with Tsunade standing behind you, I won't do anything to you?"

"How could I..." Keisuke waved his hand. He was still well aware of Auntie Snake's—no, it should be Uncle Snake now—ruthlessness. "I just wanted to say that we are two completely different types of ninja. You, Lord Orochimaru, aspire to become the new wind that shakes the era. But for me, life in the pond is already leisurely and comfortable enough."

Looking at Keisuke's attitude of coveting comfort and lacking ambition, a faint sense of jealousy and dissatisfaction arose in Orochimaru's heart for no reason. War is breaking out. People are dying every moment, turning into the cheapest dust. On what grounds can you, a little brat from the Nara clan, eat your fill all day and have nothing to do?!

"Hehe..." Orochimaru let out another long laugh, but this time his laughter was clearly much colder than before. "Regarding your thoughts, Nara-kun, I will relay them to Tsunade later. But for now... let me give you a small gift!"

It happened in a flash. Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched out like rubber. His head "flew" directly off his neck, his long black hair dancing wildly in the air like black snakes. Like a venomous serpent choosing its prey to devour, Orochimaru opened his bloody maw and bit viciously towards Keisuke's body.

"Keisuke!" Nono'o subconsciously cried out. She wanted to step forward and block his path. But unfortunately, her speed was still a step slower than Orochimaru's.

Orochimaru's snake-like neck wrapped tightly around Keisuke's body. In his bloody maw were two sharp fangs, the tips of which, Coagulation a few drops of "venom," glinted coldly under the sunlight.

[A-rank Ninja Combat Mission Detected!]

[A-rank Mission: Orochimaru]

[Mission Content: Defeat/Kill Orochimaru]

[Mission Reward: A-rank Shinobi Secret Scroll]

(End of Chapter)

☆☆☆

-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE

-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER

☆☆☆

-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!

-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper

(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)

If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you