Konan stared urgently at the yellowish-brown book, hoping to find some kind of "inspiration" within its pages.
However, the book, bound in parchment, lay quietly on the altar just as it had in the past, showing no reaction at all.
"Lord Adam, who am I supposed to believe?"
Konan's eyelids drooped, her expression helpless like that of a lost child.
Ever since Mr. Adam announced he would fall into a deep sleep, the once stable Twilight Hermit Order seemed to have quietly changed.
No one knew that the "vessel" holding Mr. Adam's slumber had been entrusted to her for safekeeping all along.
The "Groselle's Travels" had been hidden by Konan deep within the high tower of the Rain Ninja Village, guarded by countless barriers, ever since Adam entered his sleep.
She hoped that one day, when Mr. Adam awoke again, he would lead the Twilight Hermit Order back to its former glory.
But over more than a decade, Adam had shown no sign of waking up.
Konan kept the secret alone, pretending to be just an observer, carefully watching the changes in every member of the Twilight Hermit Order.
She suspected that the reason for Adam's slumber was not only the traitor and Uchiha Obito, but very likely another person hidden within the society itself. That was why she didn't trust anyone else.
Yet during the last battle to eliminate the traitor, she caught a faint clue.
Konan narrowed her eyes and clenched her silver teeth tightly.
That old bastard, Onoki, had deliberately delayed the battle, causing the final siege to fail. He was naturally her top suspect.
In the past decade, the biggest changes happened in the Iwa Village, which had gained many astonishing technological powers, even developing devices that could seal ninjutsu within machinery and release it later.
And Onoki's changes were even more significant. Although influenced by the "Black Emperor" path, he seemed increasingly dissatisfied with the status quo.
Since the last faint hints about the awakening of "Adam," to the increasing number of "Beyonders" in the village, it was clear that the ambitions of Onoki were growing.
"Lord Adam, I hope you will not blame me," Konan took a deep breath and stared at the book on the altar, making up her mind.
The premonitions of the Beyonders often foretold some future event; they were never sudden whims, nor baseless guesses.
In recent days, Konan had been wrapped in unease, as if something big was about to happen. She was certain it had to do with "Adam."
Carefully, she took out a bronze lamp and lit the green flame.
As the fragrant smoke spread, Konan's consciousness was gradually enveloped by darkness, pulled into a mysterious space.
At this moment,
Far away in the Sound Village, inside a secret experimental base—
On the training field, two figures darted at incredible speed, colliding repeatedly. Their fierce battle tore up the ground beneath them.
Suddenly, Orochimaru stopped and raised a hand to halt Naruto.
"I have some matters to attend to. From now on, you train by yourself. Remember, don't exceed your limits, or your spiritual energy will be drained, and you'll fall into madness. Understand?"
Though he didn't know why Orochimaru stopped, Naruto nodded.
"I understand."
Then, Orochimaru hurriedly left Naruto behind, forming a few hand seals.
The wall cracked open in the middle, revealing a passageway.
Orochimaru entered, and the wall closed behind him.
In the secret chamber, Orochimaru suppressed his excitement, lit a bronze lamp, then sat down quietly and closed his eyes.
The familiar gray mist appeared again.
In a haze, as Orochimaru regained consciousness, a towering and magnificent cathedral of bones stood clearly before him.
With a surge of excitement, he stepped directly into the cathedral.
"Why is it you?"
However, after stepping inside, Orochimaru's excitement immediately cooled halfway.
He widened his eyes and looked at Konan inside the cathedral, frowning deeply. "No, this isn't 'Adam's' divine kingdom. Although it looks similar, it's crude. Are you the one calling me?"
"It's me calling you, Orochimaru."
Konan sat calmly on a chair, raising her hand to gesture, "I know you have many questions. Sit down, let's talk."
Orochimaru's mind was filled with doubts, but he still obeyed, sitting in the familiar spot. He spoke in a low voice, "What exactly is going on? I need an explanation!"
"It's simple. This is a dream."
Konan's eyes shifted as she stared at Orochimaru across from her. She repeated firmly, "It's a 'dream' granted to me alone by Lord 'Adam.'"
In an instant, many guesses flashed through Orochimaru's mind. "You know where Lord 'Adam' sleeps?"
Only this could explain why Konan was given the 'dream' alone, and why she had been hiding it from the rest of us!
Konan didn't answer the question, but the answer was already obvious.
Suddenly, all the previous doubts seemed to find their answers.
Lord Adam's presence in the Twilight Hermits wasn't without backup — it was just that no one expected that backup to be the silent and ambiguous Konan!
At this moment, Orochimaru felt a rare sense of relief. Thankfully, he truly had no other intentions.
Otherwise, when Lord Adam returned, wouldn't he—someone with a "record"—be walking straight into a death trap?
"Heh, I didn't expect you to be the one hiding the deepest," Orochimaru said, licking his lips. His narrow snake-like eyes narrowed into a thin line.
"So, you summoned me alone because you don't trust anyone else, but you've run into a problem. And it's about Lord Adam, right? Am I correct?"
"Yes. I need your help with divination," Konan replied.
She could only turn to Orochimaru. As a Beyonder of the White Tower Pathway, he was well-versed in ritualistic magic.
When it came to mysterious powers like divination, only Orochimaru could handle it.
"Alright. What's the question?"
Orochimaru agreed without hesitation.
"Is there anyone in the Rain Village coveting the Groselle's Travels?" Konan did not hide the key information.
To her, Orochimaru was trustworthy. Besides, even if things went wrong, she had backup plans to keep the book safe.
"Divining matters involving high-level 'artifacts' has a high chance of failure," Orochimaru said, frowning as he looked at her. "At my current level, forcing divination might cause backlash."
Konan simply stared quietly. "You can refuse."
"And the consequence of refusal… would it be death here?" Orochimaru asked with interest.
"No, I won't kill you," Konan shook her head, her gaze still cold. "But I will imprison you forever in a 'dream' until Lord Adam awakens."
"Alright, I'll do the divination for you," Orochimaru smiled indifferently, saying meaningfully, "But it's not because I'm afraid of you. My loyalty to Lord Adam has never changed."
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