Naruto: Starting With Three Tomoe Sharingan, Girlfriend Kushina

Land of Sound (Land of Rice Fields).

Since its establishment, this country has never built a truly reliable ninja village, resulting in national chaos, no security for the people, and countless bandits and thieves.

The daimyo of the Land of Sound, forced by necessity, often spends large sums of money to hire ninjas from major countries to eliminate bandits and thieves. Sometimes, they even borrow power from other countries to help suppress rebels and riots.

After Orochimaru entered the Land of Sound with two boys, he focused on only one thing: killing bandits.

The three of them started killing from the border. Uchiha Ryun didn't even know his real purpose...

Only after wiping out three bandit hideouts did Orochimaru roughly explain the mission.

"S-rank mission???"

Hearing Orochimaru announce the mission rank, Nawaki instantly became so excited he started dancing. This was his first S-rank mission since taking on missions.

Moreover, based on current information, S-rank missions were privately assigned by the Hokage. This level of mission was never shown to ordinary ninjas for viewing, nor could they be freely chosen. Each one was top secret.

"Is this S-rank mission just about eliminating bandits?" Ryun asked curiously.

At first, he was shocked by the rank. Asking an elementary school student to participate in an S-rank mission? Wasn't that just asking for death?

Fortunately, Orochimaru clarified that this mission had a low danger level. It was only classified as S-rank because the Land of Sound was paying a huge sum, the mission was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and there were some political factors mixed in.

In the original story, Orochimaru completed over 100 S-rank missions. If he thought he could handle it with two kids, then it must be fine.

"Eliminating bandits is the main objective. There are some secondary reasons I won't explain in detail..."

Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely, not planning to reveal the full mission.

"Uh..."

Two days later, one night.

The three of them appeared outside a rare large bandit hideout.

According to intelligence, this hideout had over a thousand people, making it one of the largest bandit strongholds in the Land of Rice Fields.

For safety, the three deliberately lingered nearby for half a day to gather specific intel on the Black Cloud Stronghold.

"You two, each guard one mountain pass. Make sure not a single bandit escapes."

Orochimaru pointed at a roughly drawn map and gave orders in a low voice.

"Just guard the passes? We don't need to kill anyone..." Ryun asked quietly.

He had killed so many people these past few days he was almost numb... Who knew how many he had killed? His heart had already darkened significantly. Now, whenever he saw someone, he instinctively looked at their neck and heart...

"No, and try not to kill anyone. Ryūchi Cave will handle it. We just need to block the exits..."

Orochimaru's tone was icy as he spoke.

"Ryūchi Cave?"

Ryun frowned subconsciously.

"You're sending those giant snakes in to eat people?"

"Heh... Ryun-kun is quite clever." Orochimaru smiled in praise.

Hearing this, Ryun's pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes narrowed.

To be honest, he resisted this mission. If Orochimaru asked him to kill bandits, he wouldn't hesitate—he'd wipe out this thousand-strong hideout without a second thought...

But if it was about letting Ryūchi Cave's snakes feast on people while he blocked their escape, the feeling was completely different.

No, it wasn't just the feeling. The nature of the mission had changed.

Orochimaru was pleasing those beasts, making Ryun feel like he wasn't even human anymore...

"What? You don't want to?"

Orochimaru also narrowed his eyes, frowning slightly.

"..."

In reality, Orochimaru was even colder than Ryun expected. In his eyes, ordinary people lived miserable lives. Sometimes, killing was a way to free them...

For example, in the original story, when he first met the trio of orphans—Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan—his first thought was to kill them to end their tragic lives. This mindset shocked Jiraiya and Tsunade at the time.

Here, Orochimaru's intention was to make use of waste. Bandits would die anyway, so they might as well serve as live sacrifices for Ryūchi Cave.

Ryun's belief was to kill but not torture. He could kill and was willing to kill, but using living people as sacrifices to please cold-blooded beasts, while being told only to block and not kill, was something he resisted...

To put it simply: "I'm just here to complete a mission, but you're telling me to stop being human. Even if you give me ten jutsu afterward, I don't want this job..."

Silence meant refusal. Orochimaru stared at him coldly for a moment, then turned to Nawaki.

"Nawaki, what about you?"

To Ryun's surprise, Nawaki's face turned red, his eyes shifting uncertainly. He didn't immediately agree either!

"Fine..."

Seeing both boys resist, Orochimaru sighed softly, not planning to force them.

After all, people's thoughts differed. He somewhat understood the boys' feelings.

In the past, he too had his own bottom line. But as time passed, that line no longer existed...

"Just watch from here..."

"Te... Teacher..."

Nawaki hesitated, wanting to speak, but Orochimaru waved his hand to cut him off.

Orochimaru formed hand seals, creating six shadow clones, which then scattered to block the exits.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A white snake was summoned.

From a high vantage point, Ryun and Nawaki saw Orochimaru seemingly discussing something with the snake.

Half an hour later.

A large group of colorful, ferocious giant snakes surged into the Black Cloud Stronghold.

Terrifying screams soon filled the entire stronghold.

In Ryun's eyes, the Ryūchi Cave snakes ate people one by one—sometimes several at once—with great relish.

This was a gluttonous feast. They enjoyed the feeling of living humans struggling inside their bodies.

Ordinary people and a few low-level ninjas were helpless against these giant snakes. Even explosive tags couldn't harm their thick hides. The entire Black Cloud Stronghold fell into despair.

Many bandits fled in all directions, but Orochimaru's shadow clones guarded every exit. Earth walls and floods forced them back into the stronghold.

With ninjas in front and giant snakes behind, the bandits' numbers dwindled at an alarming rate.

The screams and terror spread beyond the stronghold. Even Ryun and Nawaki, watching from outside, could feel the overwhelming despair.

Though they did nothing, their breathing grew rapid, eventually turning into heavy gasps.