The team that departed from Konoha to deliver supplies to Hibari in the Land of Hot Water was moving at a fast pace. With a full crew and the fact that the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water were neighboring countries whose borders were connected, the Land of Hot Water was basically 'taken over' by the Land of Fire, with a large number of professionals carrying out post-war reconstruction and aid work.
As a result, the entire supply convoy didn't encounter any trouble along the way. They worked in alternating shifts, traveling day and night. It only took them three or four days to reach the vicinity of the Undercity.
Unlike the large group that set off, when the supply convoy was about to arrive at the Undercity, the number of people and carriages had decreased significantly. After all, this kind of supply transport was not just for Hibari's side. It was put together by many places with needs within the Land of Hot Water, and they had been continuously splitting up along the way.
At this moment, in the back of a cargo carriage, Orochimaru was sitting on a flat wooden box, holding the scroll that Hitenn had given him before they departed, studying something.
Just then, the voice of the carriage captain came from the front. He shouted, "We're almost there! The Undercity is just ahead! The Big Boss is waiting for us inside, so everyone get your spirits up!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the people in the team immediately responded. Each of them showed a spirited and energetic face, as if they wanted to leave a good impression on Hibari.
After Orochimaru noticed this commotion, he rolled up the scroll in his hand again, put it inside his clothes, and then turned his head to look in the direction of the Undercity.
The Undercity was still under construction. The city gates and the nearby city walls had been built, and they were stacked with giant stones, which gave a very thick and heavy feeling. The overall style was on the darker side, which made Orochimaru's eyes light up. This kid seemed to have liked 'unconventional' things since he was a child. The darker and more mysterious something was, the more interested he became.
So, with just one look, he fell in love with this architectural style.
The carriages got closer and closer, and the Undercity he was looking at became clearer and clearer. Just as Orochimaru was observing the architectural style of the Undercity, he suddenly heard a clear and familiar voice.
"Orochimaru?? What are you doing here? Did you come to find me? Did the Third Hokage finally realize his mistake of always targeting me? Did he send you to get me to go back?" The little girl Tsunade was near the city gates at this time. After she saw Orochimaru in the convoy, she asked in surprise.
When Orochimaru saw Tsunade, his expression was one of not knowing what to say, because Tsunade was wearing a slightly oversized pair of overalls and a light blue short-sleeved shirt with a big character for 'labor' printed on it. There was a lot of dust and mud on her, and she was also wearing a bright orange safety helmet. A somewhat dusty white towel was hanging around her neck.
Not only that, but she was also wearing work gloves, and she was holding a shovel in one hand. She looked completely like a construction worker digging a hole on a construction site, not like the little princess of the Senju clan.
When you also remember that Tsunade was a legitimate 'Hime' of the Land of Fire, which was considered to be one of the Five Great Nations, it made it even more confusing. A princess of the Land of Fire was working as a construction worker in a small, rundown country like the Land of Hot Water???
Even someone as calm as Orochimaru wanted to make fun of this girl, but he ultimately suppressed that thought. He still maintained his cold and aloof demeanor, jumped off the carriage, looked at Tsunade, and said, "No, Third Hokage-sensei did not send me to find you. I came here specifically to find Hibari-aniki. There are two things I need to report to him, and I also have a personal matter that I want to ask him to help with..."
"You didn't come to find me?" Tsunade's face stiffened a bit, and she said with some displeasure.
Then she stuck the shovel she was holding into the ground and grumbled, "So what if you didn't come to find me? Even if he did send someone to find me, I wouldn't go back..."
"What are you doing here, by the way? Why... are you digging a hole here? Did you switch from being a shinobi to a construction worker?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and asked softly.
Tsunade's temper came and went quickly. After hearing Orochimaru's question, she immediately threw away her small feelings and said with a proud look on her face, "You wouldn't understand. This is also a form of training for me. While I'm training my physical fitness, I can also experience the charm of labor..."
When she said this, Tsunade even reached out and patted the 'labor' character on her short-sleeved shirt, and then said again, "I've been training here for a few days, and I've even learned a powerful taijutsu. It's really beneficial!"
Orochimaru wasn't interested in the other things she said, but when he heard Tsunade say 'powerful taijutsu,' he became a little interested and asked softly, "What kind of taijutsu?"
That little girl Tsunade reached out and stroked her chin, not caring if the dust on her gloves was going to dirty her chin. She thought for a moment, then said, "You're a trustworthy person, so it's okay to tell you. Look carefully, this is the Lightning Release Armor Jutsu!"
As soon as Tsunade finished speaking, her chakra moved, and a large amount of lightning quickly covered the surface of her body, making her long, light-golden hair flutter a bit. Seeing this, Orochimaru's face showed a look of surprise.
"Isn't that from the Kumogakure's..." Orochimaru asked with great confusion.
The Lightning Release Armor Jutsu was also very famous in the shinobi world. A guy like Orochimaru, who liked to study ninjutsu, naturally knew about it. When he first heard Tsunade say the name 'Lightning Release Armor Jutsu,' he was a bit suspicious. After seeing Tsunade use the jutsu, he immediately confirmed it. This was the legendary 'secret jutsu of the Raikage' from the Kumogakure!
"Hahahaha, that's right, it's that one. Now I can do it too. I just haven't mastered it yet..." Tsunade said with great pride.
Although she hadn't mastered it yet, Orochimaru knew very well that with Tsunade's talent, as long as she learned this taijutsu, she would definitely be able to fully master it and make it even better in the future. He was also very clear about what kind of benefits the Lightning Release Armor Jutsu could bring, as it was no secret. It could greatly increase Tsunade's speed, strength, and even defense.
"It really is a taijutsu that suits you very well..." Orochimaru murmured softly.
Tsunade also nodded with satisfaction, then deactivated the lightning on her body, took off her gloves, stuffed them into her overalls, and clapped her hands. "Hibari-nii taught this to me! Of course, it suits me very well. Well, since you're here to find Hibari-nii, let's go. I'll take you there."
Orochimaru nodded, then didn't say much else. He just felt a little emotional. That Senju Hibari was truly amazing. He had even gotten his hands on the secret jutsu of the Kumogakure...
Led by Tsunade, Orochimaru followed her through the entire construction site, getting covered in a lot of dirt, before they finally took a shortcut to the entrance of the cathedral. Looking at the dark-style cathedral, Orochimaru's eyes were also filled with curiosity.
At this time, the symbol of the Jashin Cult on the cathedral had been completely removed. What was now engraved on the cathedral door was the emblem of Hibari's 'Necro Cult.'
The emblem of the Necro Cult was a bit like the yin-yang symbol, but there were also some differences. Two comma-like shapes, one black and one white, were combined together. The center part seemed to be fused into a chaotic, gray-white color, as if the two 'comma shapes' were continuously merging.
"Yin and Yang?" Orochimaru looked at the emblem, thought for a moment, and then suddenly asked.
Tsunade shook her head, then said, "This is the emblem of the Necro Cult. Although it looks a bit like yin and yang, it's actually not."
"The Necro Cult...?" Orochimaru murmured softly, then looked at Tsunade and asked, "Then what does this emblem represent?"
Tsunade grinned. She seemed very happy that she could finally lecture Orochimaru about something. She then reached out and patted the emblem engraved on the door and said proudly, "This emblem looks like it's dividing yin and yang, but it's not. What it truly represents is balance and chaos..."
"Balance and chaos?" Orochimaru looked at the emblem again, and then seemed to understand something. Black and white were symbols of opposition. In this emblem, they were equal and balanced. Perhaps this represented balance. And the gray-white center where the two merged represented chaos?
"I see... Balance and chaos. For this to be engraved on the emblem of the Necro Cult must mean that this philosophy is one of the core philosophies of the Necro Cult, right? It's very interesting and has a lot of research and discussion value. I never would have thought that there would be such an interesting cult in a small country like the Land of Hot Water." Orochimaru said softly.
Just by looking at this emblem with its unique philosophy, Orochimaru became very interested in the Necro Cult.
He then looked at Tsunade and asked, "Why is Hibari-aniki here? Is it because he also joined this 'Necro Cult'?"
Tsunade was stunned for a moment, then said, "You came all the way here without knowing anything?"
Orochimaru also looked at Tsunade with confusion and asked, "Knowing what?"
"The reason my Hibari-nii is still in the Land of Hot Water is because he is preparing to create this 'Necro Cult'! I heard Hibari-nii say that Shikajin-san should have already reported this to the Third Hokage!" The little girl Tsunade said.
Orochimaru was even more surprised and asked directly, "Hibari-aniki created this Necro Cult?"
"Of course! Many people here call Hibari-nii the 'High Priest'," Tsunade said proudly.
Hearing these words, Orochimaru became even more interested. All this time, he had a sense of gratitude and admiration for Hibari in his heart.
In his opinion, Hibari was indeed a very amazing person. At this time, he was not only very famous as a shinobi, but he also had great achievements in business. Now, he was even creating a cult, which made Orochimaru very interested in this cult.
The first two things couldn't represent Hibari's spiritual thoughts; they could only represent his strength and ability. But this cult, since it was founded by him, it was very likely that it contained the spiritual thoughts of Senju Hibari.
Orochimaru was also very interested in the spiritual world of Hibari. He looked at a small display stand at the entrance of the cathedral, which had several printed pamphlets on it.
Since the Necro Cult hadn't been established for long, there were no core scriptures or bibles. Hibari could only send people to find 'theology' experts to come back and edit them for him.
However, before the editing, there had to be a core philosophy. The things printed on these pamphlets were some of the core philosophies of Hibari's Necro Cult.
Orochimaru reached out, took a pamphlet, and began to read it...
"Balance. The world sways between two forms, good and evil, which the hearts of men have called light and darkness. Yet light and darkness are but fragments of the whole, for the tapestry of existence is not woven in black and white alone.
"Good is destined to rise over evil, yet when driven beyond its course, even justice may bear the fruit of ruin.
"So balance stands as the quiet law of all things. Neither darkness nor light shall reign unchallenged, for between them moves chaos, the unseen hand that keeps the scales in harmony....?" Orochimaru roughly read some of the words on the pamphlet and murmured softly.
This concept and philosophy made Orochimaru feel very moved in his heart. In essence, in the future, he would be a 'chaotic person' who walked on the edge of darkness.
"I'm really getting more and more interested in this cult..." Orochimaru put down the pamphlet in his hand, then smiled and said.
Tsunade seemed to have grown impatient at this time. She urged, "Hurry up and go inside. Hibari-nii is in there... I'm not going. I still have work to do."
After she finished speaking, Tsunade pointed in a direction for Orochimaru, turned around, and quickly ran off, looking like she had fallen in love with working on the construction site.
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