"What do you mean by that?" Neji stared at Orochimaru, puzzled.
"Recently, a group of wandering shinobi has risen to fame. They're attracting quite a bit of attention, with many willing to pay a high price to hire them," Orochimaru said, ignoring Neji's question and continuing at his own pace.
"And what does that have to do with you?" Neji scoffed. "Don't tell me you've fallen so low you need bodyguards now."
"Heh. Of course not. But one of them possesses a rather... unique ability, and I find myself very curious. I can't resist the urge to study it," Orochimaru said, a glint of anticipation flashing across his face as he licked the side of his cheek with his long tongue.
"What kind of ability?"
Before Neji could ask further, Sasuke jumped in. "What kind of ability would interest you that much?" he asked, clearly intrigued. Anything that caught Orochimaru's attention had to be formidable and that was exactly what Sasuke needed right now.
"Sasuke, you're always so impatient," Orochimaru said mockingly, though he didn't withhold the information. He replied calmly, "He can turn people to stone."
"Turn people to stone? That's it? You're actually interested in something that useless?" Neji laughed, unable to hide his disdain. "Orochimaru, you're really starting to show your age."
Orochimaru didn't take the insult to heart. He strolled casually over to a nearby table, picked up a wine glass, swirled it lightly, and chuckled. "Be that as it may, I want you to bring him back for me."
"Wandering shinobi, huh? Do you have any intel on him?" Sasuke asked.
Orochimaru took a small sip of wine before replying, "His name is Ishiri. According to our sources, he's currently in the Land of the Moon. His overall combat level is only around jōnin, but his right hand holds the power to petrify others. That ability alone makes him extremely troublesome."
"Ishiri... the Land of the Moon?" A glint flashed through Neji's eyes and a smile curved on his lips. "So it's him."
Ishiri he was the villain in the third Naruto movie, hired by the Moon Kingdom's corrupt minister Shabadaba to attack the royal family that Naruto and his team were protecting. His personal strength wasn't remarkable, but his right arm housed a petrifying eye, which had once even injured both Kakashi and Naruto.
Still, Neji thought little of such a power. Against someone like him, it posed no real threat. That Orochimaru found such a gimmick fascinating made Neji reconsider his opinion of the man perhaps the old snake was easier to please than he'd thought.
"That's all? I can handle this on my own," Sasuke said coolly, hands in his pockets.
But Orochimaru's face turned unusually serious. "No. You can't go alone. This mission is important. There must not be any mistakes."
He then looked at Neji. He was the only one Orochimaru could truly count on.
"This doesn't really concern me," Neji said, reclining lazily in his chair with no intention of getting involved. A task this mundane held no appeal for him.
"Neji, I told you. This mission will interest you," Orochimaru said with confidence. Suddenly, his arm transformed into a large serpent, slithering toward Neji and offering him a scroll with a flick of its forked tongue.
...
In the depths of a dense forest, leaves rustled with the whisper of wind. Neji, Sasuke, and Tayuya sprinted through the trees, soon arriving at the border of the Land of Rice Fields.
"Just ahead is the Land of Hot Springs. Cross through, and we'll reach the Land of the Moon," Tayuya explained. "That's where the target Orochimaru-sama wants is located."
"Hmm." Sasuke responded flatly. "This time, neither of you interfere. The target is mine."
"Oh? Feeling confident again?" Neji said calmly, repeating the exact words he'd used before Sasuke got thoroughly beaten on their last mission. The memory was clearly a sore spot.
"Tch. Then why did you agree to go along with Orochimaru's plan?" Sasuke snapped, irritation surfacing.
"That's none of your concern."
As they crossed into the Land of Hot Springs, the scenery shifted. This land had clearly avoided the scars of war. Nature thrived here, untouched, and human development was sparse. The entire region radiated a raw, primal beauty.
They entered a town, where the people were polite and harmonious. Every gesture was steeped in proper manners. No arguments, no fights not even the occasional bar brawl common in other lands.
"What a peaceful nation," someone remarked.
"Hmph. That's exactly why they're so weak," Tayuya sneered in contempt, her voice deliberately loud enough for everyone to hear.
At once, all eyes turned toward them, sharp and unfriendly. But no one made a move. No one said a word.
Seeing this, Tayuya scoffed even harder. "Look at them! I just insulted them to their faces and they still don't react. Only in a place like this. Anywhere else and they'd already be corpses."
"To have such abundant resources yet forget the reality of war... this country is pitiful," Sasuke added coldly.
"Enough. Don't forget why we're here," Neji cut in, his voice firm. He wasn't about to let these two stir up a riot just for their own amusement. He had the power to stop anything, but that didn't mean he wanted to hurt innocent people.
This brief episode didn't delay their journey, but as the trio left the town behind, a figure in blood-red robes silently appeared atop a distant rooftop.
"New power," the figure murmured. His oversized cloak concealed his face, but there was an undeniable excitement in his voice.
"I must guide them toward the right path."
With that, his robes billowed in the breeze and he slowly faded from view. What he didn't realize, however, was that a small snake had already observed his every move in silence.
As night crept in, Neji and the others moved through a thick forest. The trees towered above them, dense and tightly packed. Moonlight streamed through the canopy, casting dappled light across the forest floor.
Suddenly, Neji came to a halt. Using the cover of the trees, he quietly summoned a Wood Clone. His real body sank into the ground while the clone continued walking beside Sasuke and Tayuya as if nothing had changed.
"Where are they going? They've already wandered far from their base..."
In the shadows of the underbrush, the crimson-robed figure emerged once more. He had been following them the entire time without their knowledge.
That Sasuke and the others had been tailed for so long without noticing was shocking it was a fatal mistake for any shinobi. But this time, the cloaked man wasn't so lucky.
Neji had noticed him long ago.
And now, behind the red-robed man, a silent swirling vortex began to form...
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