Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 457 Escape to the Land of Vegetables

The border of the land of vegetables.

The moonlight was dim, with dark clouds obscuring most of it, leaving only a few pale rays that pierced through gaps in the clouds and spilled onto the muddy path.

Two figures sped through the darkness, one in front of the other, one large and one small.

Running ahead was a boy in his early teens, his silver-gray hair disheveled by the wind, and behind his round-framed glasses were a pair of frightened and uneasy eyes.

His breathing was rapid, his steps unsteady, and he nearly tripped over tree roots several times. Running behind him was a female pharmacist, Nonou. She was once an elite member of Konoha's medical department and a top-notch spy for Root.

At this moment, she looked exhausted, her white medical gown stained with dirt and blood, some of which belonged to others and some to herself.

"Kabuto, run!" Nono pushed the boy in front of her, her voice hoarse.

The boy turned around and saw several dark figures hot on his heels. "Yakushi Nonou, you've defected from Konoha and taken away an orphan of Konoha without permission! Your crimes are unforgivable! Surrender and come back with us to face trial!"

Nonou didn't answer, but simply quickened her pace. She knew Konoha too well. Going back to face trial? It was just another way to die.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower!"

Several small fireballs came from behind. Nono dodged to the side and casually threw out a few senbon needles, which accurately shot towards the pursuer's face.

The pursuers dodged the senbon needles, but their speed slowed down for a moment. In that instant, Nono and Kabuto increased the distance between themselves and the pursuers by several meters.

"That wretched woman, she's so cunning!"

"Don't let her get away! The captain said she'd rather die!"

"Dead is fine too!" Upon hearing this, Nono's heart sank. Konoha was determined to get rid of her.

She gritted her teeth, pulled a smoke bomb from her pocket, and smashed it hard on the ground.

"boom--"

Thick white smoke instantly billowed out, enveloping the entire path.

"She's using a smokescreen! Don't scatter, keep formation!"

"Sensory-type ninja, quickly locate her position!"

Taking advantage of the chaos, Nono grabbed Kabuto's hand, turned into a side road, and ran into the depths of the dense forest.

Behind them, the shouts of the pursuers grew fainter and fainter.

But she knew it was only temporary.

She knew Konoha's ANBU tracking capabilities all too well; the smoke bombs could only buy them three minutes at most.

How far can she run in three minutes?

She looked up and saw the outline of the distant mountains through the gaps in the dense forest.

If we run any further, we'll enter the border of the Land of Vegetables. That's Orochimaru's territory; the Konoha Anbu probably wouldn't dare to enter rashly.

She had to hold on until there. Nono gritted her teeth and squeezed out the last of her chakra, channeling it into her legs.

"Mother..." Kabuto's voice sounded from behind, choked with sobs.

"Don't speak, don't look back, run as fast as you can!"

A kunai shot from behind, grazing Nono's temple, severing a few strands of hair, and embedding itself deeply into the tree trunk in front of her.

Immediately afterwards, more kunai and shuriken rained down from behind.

Nono turned around and formed a hand seal.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A pale blue light shield unfolded in front of the two. Kunai and shuriken struck the shield, creating ripples, but they could not penetrate it.

But Nono's face also paled at a visible speed; her chakra was almost depleted.

"Mother, you're injured!" Dou saw the deep, bone-revealing wound on her arm, and tears finally streamed down his face.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury." Nono said it was nothing, but her legs were already starting to feel weak.

Ahead, light appeared at the edge of the dense forest; that was the boundary marker of the Land of Vegetables. Once they crossed that line…

The pursuers caught up again from behind. "She's almost done for! Give it your all!"

"Medical ninjas are masters at pushing their bodies to the limit; she's risking her life, she can't keep this up for long!"

Nono knew they were right; she really couldn't hold on much longer.

With less than fifty meters to the boundary marker, she used her last bit of strength to push the bag forward and turn to face the pursuers.

"Dou, run inside! Don't look back!"

"Mother!" Kabuto fell to the ground, turned around and looked at Nono, his glasses shattered and his vision blurred.

"I told you, don't look back!" Nonou formed hand seals, and the chakra within her body surged wildly.

Alas, she is ultimately not good at martial arts. I should have practiced more ninjutsu before the New Year.

She mocked him, but she knew his talent had reached its limit; a Special Jonin was his ultimate strength. His current power was only due to physical enhancements from taking some traditional Chinese medicine.

Just then, the pursuers suddenly stopped. Not because they wanted to stop, but because someone appeared in front of them.

A man dressed in a black kimono, with skin as pale as paper and long, ink-black hair.

Orochimaru.

He appeared out of nowhere on the path in the dense forest, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his snake-like golden vertical pupils scrutinizing the Konoha Anbu members before him with great interest.

Golden moonlight filtered through the tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on his face and making his smile look particularly eerie.

"Oh dear..." Orochimaru's voice was low and hoarse, as if he were savoring something delicious, uttering each word slowly and deliberately, "Isn't this a Konoha ANBU ninja?"

The leader of the ANBU's expression changed drastically, "Orochimaru... Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru tilted his head, his vertical pupils reflecting the tense faces of the Anbu members: "You come to my territory to kill people, shouldn't you at least give me a heads-up?"

The leader of the ANBU gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down. "Orochimaru, this is an internal matter of Konoha, it has nothing to do with you. Please step aside."

"None of my business? But this land is mine. You killed people on my land, how can it be none of my business?"

The leader of the ANBU was ashen-faced. After a moment of silence, he finally made up his mind, "Kill him!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than several members of the secret service attacked simultaneously.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Three ninjutsu attacks were launched at Orochimaru from different directions, with flames, water waves, and strong winds intertwining and creating a powerful force that covered the entire forest.

Orochimaru stood motionless, a half-smile playing on his lips. "What a warm welcome."

His body became supple and boneless the instant the ninjutsu struck him, twisting and gliding like a snake, passing through the gaps between the three ninjutsu.

Unharmed.

The secret agents stared wide-eyed.

Orochimaru appeared behind an ANBU member, his Kusanagi sword flashing coldly as he drew it from its sheath.

A thin line appeared on the neck of the operative, and blood slowly seeped out.

He didn't even have time to make a sound before his body went limp and he collapsed.

"So weak, so weak it's not interesting at all." Orochimaru held his sword without any interest.