Chapter 290: Orochimaru: I Am the Justice, You Are the Evil Konoha Ninja!

This public duel between top-tier players,

could be considered as pouring boiling hot oil onto a pot lid that countless players were already feeling heated to the point of boiling over.

Some players were so terrified by that horrific combat power that they gave up their combat professions, intending to switch to support professions to retire, but the majority of players were instead ignited with soaring fighting spirit, beginning to frantically hunt monsters in the Dangerous Regions near the Grand Forest, the Ten Thousand Year Snow Mountain, and the Dark Elf Graveyard, searching for traces of Lord-level monsters.

And after the fighting, the Sky Tower continued to be ambushed, whether by ninja or the Navy; even knowing the mastermind behind the scenes was Orochimaru, both sides were completely helpless.

With his weird Necromancy and powerful combat strength, even if they blocked Orochimaru, the opponent could still retreat unscathed, never engaging in a direct confrontation with them.

Two days later, the gritting-teeth Navy and Konoha decided to join forces to drive Orochimaru out of the Sea of the Sky.

"Orochimaru, do you still want to keep running?"

The blonde Tsunade was full of rage,

as the opponent's Necromancer Robe could conceal his own aura and status, evading the detection of the Byakugan.

It was only by relying on the massive forces of the Marine Headquarters deployed in various locations, and wasting a precious Magic Teleportation Device, that they managed to corner Orochimaru, who had been ambushing everywhere.

"So it's Tsunade, it really has been a long time."

Orochimaru, in full Necromancer attire, held a staff in his hand, watching the figures gradually closing in.

The three Navy Admirals, the high-level combatants of the Konoha players, Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, as well as Tsunade.

A full six top-tier players; this lineup was indeed enough to keep him here.

Tsunade said with a face full of disgust: "Betraying and destroying the village, torturing our teacher—you have truly fallen into complete evil, Orochimaru."

As fellow members of the Legendary Sannin,

they were once partners who fought side by side, but now they stood on opposite sides, and were enemies who would not rest until one died.

Hearing this, Orochimaru licked his chin and teased: "Speaking of betrayal, you are the ones who are rogue ninja, actually colluding with the Pig-Deer-Butterfly Clan to rescue the crime-ridden Hiruzen Sarutobi. Isn't this a betrayal of the village?"

Tsunade was speechless.

If one followed normal logic, what Orochimaru said was flawless.

The ninja village was a force that had submitted to the Land of Fire; at the time, Orochimaru had become the Acting Hokage in accordance with the Daimyo's intentions, and there were no flaws in the procedure.

It was they who had gathered ninja to attack the prison and rescue Hiruzen Sarutobi, whom the Daimyo had judged to be a criminal, which was the true betrayal of Konoha.

Jiraiya jumped out, looking at his close friend with heartbreak, and said: "The Daimyo is just a poor wretch bewitched by you; everything you have done is stained with the blood of your comrades."

His relationship with Orochimaru,

was much like the relationship between Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke—bonds from childhood, comrades in their youth.

The difference was that Sasuke was not as extreme as Orochimaru, and because of the appearance of the Samsara Game, Sasuke was given hope to become stronger, and Uzumaki Naruto also had enough will to bring Sasuke back.

But as for himself, Jiraiya's eyes dimmed, he had not brought back his former close friend.

He had even let the other party commit unforgivable crimes; since that was the case, he could only bury his close friend with his own hands and not let him continue to wreak havoc on the world.

On the side, Akainu, who had a prejudice against ninja, swept across both sides as if watching a show, sneering in his heart: "Ninja, they really are a group of rats in the gutter. Betrayal and slaughter—one day I will sit on a warship and wipe out these ninja."

"Blood?"

Orochimaru spread his hands in confusion, seemingly not understanding Jiraiya's rhetoric.

Jiraiya said coldly: "To seize Reward Points, you conducted human experiments on a massive scale, causing the constant death of civilians in the Land of Fire, and you also spread Ninjutsu widely, standing in opposition to all the ninja clans. Do you still deny it?"

Information in the ninja world traveled quickly, especially since both the Konoha in the Land of Hot Water and the Fire Empire possessed the Byakugan clan, making their investigation of intelligence even more acute.

Neither side could hide what they were doing from the other.

"Sure enough, Jiraiya, you are still as stupid as before."

Orochimaru laughed contemptuously and said: "Those civilians who participated in the human experiments were all volunteers; I never forced them."

"That's impossible!" "There is nothing that is impossible. The destruction of Konoha, eternal life—do you still not understand even now, Jiraiya!"

Compared to the angry Jiraiya, Orochimaru wore a faint smile from beginning to end, his voice soft and feminine, yet possessing a special magic.

"Voluntarily participating in human experiments—what a ridiculous statement. Are you playing me for a fool?"

Jiraiya's anger stemmed from the fact that he had traveled the ninja world for many years and clearly understood the tragic lives of the common people at the bottom.

Squeezed by the Daimyo, beaten by the Nobles, plundered by bandits, and still caught in the crossfire of ninja battles—how could civilians who struggled to survive even under such conditions possibly volunteer to die?

Orochimaru laughed and said cruel words: "They volunteered for the human experiments all because of you."

"The ninja village?"

"A ridiculous and comical product. You are just like those Nobles who do not engage in production; you are all exploiting and squeezing the common people."

"Is it clean just because you don't see it? Don't you know how the food and assets that the Nobles and Daimyo give you are obtained?"

"And I, I just gave them a chance to survive and climb upward in the darkest Abyss!"

Just like what the game merchant did for those poor wretches like them struggling in the ninja world.

This was a form of salvation.

Orochimaru's laughter gradually turned cold, like a venomous snake bewitching people's hearts.

Jiraiya was silent.

He could not refute the other party, because the other party was not talking nonsense; even a Genin who was considered too weak to be cannon fodder required the support of several civilians behind him.

This was his experience from traveling the ninja world.

"And I wiped out all the ninja clans in the Land of Fire, taught Ninjutsu to the common people, and let everyone master powerful strength—is that wrong?"

Jiraiya glared: "Are you crazy? The more ninja there are, the greater the demand for support. Do you want to drag the common people down?"

Even the blonde Tsunade had an ugly expression; although she had long since collected information on Orochimaru's deviant behavior, hearing it with her own ears was even more shocking than the written documents.

"The stupid ones are you."

Orochimaru turned his head to look at the Navy and smiled: "I actually quite envy an alien world with abundant resources like yours; there is no need for the accumulation of time, just plunder without effort."

Two days ago, he had captured a Navy soldier, used Necromancy to imprison the opponent, and tortured him under the condition of ensuring he would not die, learning quite a bit of news about the Pirate World.

The vast ocean, countless islands, and innumerable kingdoms and forces.

If there was a chance, he must expand the reach of the Fire Empire to the alien world.

"It is right in the Land of Rain."

Orochimaru revealed the secret nonchalantly; this was intelligence he had gathered. He said, "Your former disciples long ago abandoned the profession of ninja and, just like me, have been teaching Ninjutsu to commoners—or rather, I actually learned it from them."

"Commoners who learn Ninjutsu and possess combat talent are drafted into the legions."

"Those pieces of trash who can at most reach the level of Genin are taken to various parts of the Land of Rain to farm land, till fields, clear mountains, and build roads."

"Turning trash Genin, who could be killed by a single Fireball Jutsu, into farming machines requires only the extraction of a faint amount of chakra to plow several times more land than an ordinary person."

"If I weren't occupying the most fertile soil in the Land of Fire, my net worth might really have been surpassed by them."

The Akatsuki, led by Yahiko and Konan, has completely transformed into a nation.

They were developing quietly, but now it has been exposed in public by Orochimaru; this was also Orochimaru's goal.

The Fire Empire's nonconformity has made it the target of the entire ninja world, so it must certainly drag out a scapegoat to share the damage for the Fire Empire.

(End of this chapter)