Chapter 256: Bear Country

"Thank you for your hard work! Dong Shilang..."

In the Hokage's office, a scroll was handed to the Third Hokage, and Dong Shilang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I was lucky; this mission had danger but no injury.

Otherwise, I would really have been screwed by that old geezer, the Third.

After visiting Sand Hidden Village with Ye Cang last time, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa summoned him and also gave him a reply letter to deliver to the Third Hokage.

Knowing that Sand Ninja Village was not a place to linger, Dong Shilang didn't even bother saying goodbye to Ye Cang; he immediately set off, drew a flying creature, and carried himself out of Sand Ninja Village.

"Tell me in detail about your mission's process and what you saw in Sand Ninja Village!"

Not rushing to look at the Kazekage's reply, Sarutobi Hiruzen instead asked Dong Shilang about his mission's details and what he had seen in Sand Ninja Village.

No matter how trivial.

Quietly listening to Dong Shilang's account below, the Third Hokage, as he heard about Dong Shilang's methods for completing the mission and his commentary on Sand Ninja Village along the way, took a deep puff of his pipe.

Regarding the arrangement of this outstanding Uchiha clan member, he again felt a headache.

If placed under Minato's command, given his usual strength and wisdom, he would surely become a beneficial aide to Minato, completely surpassing the members of other families.

But his way of thinking still made him hesitant; the contrast between him and another Uchiha he favored was stark.

As for assigning him elsewhere…

After looking at the photo hanging on the wall, the Third Hokage made up his mind.

Three days later, Bear Country.

"Heh heh heh! I never expected Dong Shilang to come under my command~"

In the large tent at the center of the Leaf Village camp, Orochimaru's eerie voice sounded.

"I also didn't expect to meet Senior Orochimaru again, and it's on the battlefield once more!"

"And at this crucial moment, Senior Orochimaru doesn't seem to be in a hurry!"

I never expected the Third Hokage to be so inhumane, actually assigning me under Orochimaru's command.

This really is a trap that could get you killed without compensation!

This old guy will defect from Leaf Village in a few years, bringing a whole heap of trouble.

"All tangible things will eventually wither; rather than worrying about the meaningless, it's better to..."

Saying this, Orochimaru stopped speaking, not voicing his thoughts.

However, Dong Shilang could still see a hint of resentment on his face; it seemed he wasn't completely happy about being abandoned by the Third Hokage.

"If there's anything I can do under Senior Orochimaru's command, as long as it's within my ability, I will cooperate with all my strength!"

Having come under Orochimaru's command, Dong Shilang didn't mince words, boldly promising to take on everything.

But how much effort he puts in will depend on Orochimaru's performance; he has decided that anything beyond a Jonin's capability, he will simply slack off.

He isn't exactly afraid of Orochimaru now; being able to clash with him openly would be ideal.

Uh! At his peak, Orochimaru might be unbeatable, but self-defense is still fine.

Orochimaru didn't care about this at all; instead, he directly had his subordinates arrange lodging for Dong Shilang.

He himself seemed to be lost in recollection~

"Senior Dong Shilang!"

Just as he was getting ready to familiarize himself with this camp, a voice called out to Dong Shilang; turning around, he saw it was his subordinate from the Grass Country camp.

"Shisui! Why are you here? I remember the clan members are all resting in the village; how did you end up on the Water Country battlefield?"

Since the war with Earth Country ended, the borders still occasionally see clashes, but Leaf Village has pacified both opponents and can finally catch its breath.

Likewise, the Uchiha clan, heavily drained in this war, is busy reorganizing its police force; how could this guy Shisui appear here?

"I applied to the Hokage to come to the front lines!"

"You bastard!"

Unlike Dong Shilang, who'd rather slack off, Uchiha Shisui excellently inherited the Will of Fire.

Truly a hot-blooded good youth!

"Only you?"

"No, Grandfather Eisho worried about my safety and sent a few clansmen along!"

Uchiha Eisho, the sole surviving member of the second branch, was born before the founding of Leaf Village.

Thanks to Dong Shilang's large summoning beasts, Uchiha Eisho managed to retreat unscathed from this war; otherwise, according to what he knows from the original story, the elderly Uchiha clan members able to go to battle would have nearly all died out.

At the clan conference, there was no one older than Fugaku.

"Is that so? Then you'd better take care of yourself!"

"What killing enemies? It's not even your turn, you little brat!"

After all, the other side is under nine years old; there's no need to be overly eager.

After saying goodbye to Shisui, Dong Shilang began to wander around the camp located in Bear Country.

Water Country took the peninsula extending from the mainland as its landing point, making this place a battlefield against Leaf Village.

Meanwhile, the local Bear Country ninjas, faced with Leaf Village and Water Country, chose the same approach as Grass Country.

They just lay down.

Dong Shilang felt moved; that soon-to-be-cool Salamander Hanzo, in his youth, truly lived up to being a demigod.

In the Second Ninja World War, facing the Wind, Fire, and Earth major powers that turned their own countries into battlefields, he directly declared his stance.

No matter which country's ninja, as long as they dare to set foot in his nation, he regards it as declaring war on them all as Rain Ninja.

At first, the major powers took it as a joke, thinking it was merely the Rain Ninja's helpless howling.

Until Salamander Hanzo simultaneously declared war on those major powers, they still didn't take it seriously.

But after Salamander Hanzo secured the geographical advantage and united the Rain Ninja who hated all the major countries' ninja...

Several major powers were defeated one after another.

The opponent's Sichuan pepper toxin is truly formidable; coupled with the environment of Rain Country, it is also highly conducive for the opponent to exert its power.

Although this consequence directly dragged the entire Rain Country into an endless war, leaving the whole country strewn with rubble.

But it also earned the respect of all major powers, including Leaf Village.

This is also the reason why, during the Third Ninja World War, although various countries occasionally sent teams infiltrating from Rain Country into other nations, they never regarded Rain Country as a battlefield.

Unlike the neighboring Grass Country, and also the present Bear Country.