While Orochimaru was quietly waiting at the entrance of Rain Village for Uchiha Feng to return, outside Kumogakure at this very moment, several figures were standing silently.
One of them tightly gripped a sharp kunai.
At the end of the kunai was a space-time marking.
This person was none other than Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
Behind Minato stood Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui, both silently putting away the weapons in their hands.
In truth, they had already guessed that with Uchiha Feng's personality, he would certainly strike first and give Kumogakure a heavy warning before the village could even make a move.
However, considering that Uchiha Feng had ventured alone into danger and might be surrounded by Kumogakure's elite ninjas, Minato—as his teacher—had hurried here with the others to observe Kumogakure's movements.
If Uchiha Feng had fallen into a trap, they would immediately activate Susanoo and rush in to save him.
Of course, although they were worried about Uchiha Feng's safety, they also knew very well that his strength was extraordinary. Kumogakure was unlikely to be his match.
Even so, they still came.
"I told you, Feng is perfectly fine. It's all because you're such a brother-con, Shisui, always worrying!"
Uchiha Itachi suddenly spoke.
The heart that had been stuck in his throat finally relaxed.
"Hmph. You were the one who dragged me here!"
"And Minato-sensei, why were you holding onto my clothes the whole time? Feng is clearly fine!"
Shisui shrugged and turned as if ready to leave.
"I just came with you two to enjoy the scenery."
Minato laughed casually, then used Flying Thunder God Technique, disappearing in an instant.
If someone had been able to keep up with Minato's speed at that moment, they would have noticed something surprising—
From beginning to end, Minato's smile was full of pride and joy.
It was as if Uchiha Feng was the pride of his entire life.
And in truth, when Minato saw Feng single-handedly intimidate countless Kumogakure elite ninjas, his heart had surged with excitement.
There was a time when Minato himself had dreamed of doing the same—
standing above Kumogakure and intimidating thousands of its elite shinobi.
It was the dream of every Konoha ninja who had once been harassed by Kumogakure.
Minato had once pursued that dream himself.
But he hadn't expected that Uchiha Feng would accomplish it first.
Seeing the student he personally trained achieve such a feat—one could imagine how proud Minato felt.
Not long after Minato left, Itachi and Shisui also vanished without a trace, as if they had never been there.
Completely unaware of this—or more accurately, not paying attention to it—Ning Feng had already returned to the entrance of Rain Village.
Just as he expected, Nagato and Konan were anxiously waiting for him there.
However, to his surprise, two additional figures were among those waiting.
One was the legendary Sannin—Orochimaru.
The other was the young man standing quietly behind him—Yakushi Kabuto.
At this time, Kabuto was still very young, even younger than during Naruto's era, with a faint trace of childish innocence still on his face.
It was hard to imagine that this seemingly harmless young man would later help Uchiha Obito trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War and even create a massive Edo Tensei army.
Compared to Kabuto's youthful appearance, Orochimaru looked much more mature.
His snake-like eyes gave people an uncomfortable feeling.
"So this is the true ruler of Rain Village, the Third Amekage, Uchiha Feng?"
Orochimaru spoke slowly.
There seemed to be a hint of respect in his eyes—but hidden beneath it was unmistakable greed.
"And you must be Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin praised by the 'Demigod' Hanzo."
Ning Feng smiled slightly.
"I wonder what brings Lord Orochimaru here today?"
If Ning Feng had encountered Orochimaru before, he would have been extremely cautious.
But with his current strength, a mere snake was no longer worth fearing.
Still, Orochimaru had great value in certain areas.
"Hahaha, 'Legendary Sannin' is just a flattering title."
Orochimaru stuck out his long, sticky tongue, making an unsettling gesture.
"I simply heard that Rain Village has been developing rapidly lately."
"Especially since it seems to be showing signs of replacing the Five Great Ninja Villages."
"So I was wondering whether Lord Uchiha Feng would mind if I established a few ninjutsu laboratories here in Rain Village to conduct some research."
"Don't worry, Lord Uchiha Feng. I won't interfere with your rule."
"At most, I would just borrow some of your resources."
"In return, I can provide you with many powerful ninjutsu."
"And of course… certain forbidden techniques."
As he spoke, Orochimaru spat out several scrolls covered in sticky saliva and attempted to hand them to Ning Feng.
Ning Feng frowned.
Konan immediately covered her mouth in disgust and carefully collected the slime-covered scrolls.
At that moment, Ning Feng understood.
Orochimaru wanted to join him.
Back in Konoha, Orochimaru had been expelled for conducting human experiments and researching forbidden jutsu.
Of course, there was also the political reason that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted Minato to succeed him.
In any case, Orochimaru's motives for joining Rain Village were far from pure.
In fact, as Ning Feng guessed, Orochimaru's purpose was simple—
His Reincarnation Technique was approaching its limit again.
He needed a suitable new body in order to continue living.
Among all the potential hosts, Ning Feng's body was the most perfect.
After all—
Ning Feng possessed Hashirama Cells, the Mangekyō Sharingan, and other powerful bloodline abilities.
To Orochimaru, it was simply the perfect vessel.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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