Zoro and Torao run far away from the battlefield through the shadow to avoid being detected by Zetsu.
Konan and Obito actually showed up at the best time because Zoro has gotten very tired. He could train using tons of weights for a few days if he forces it.
But his energy drains faster in battles because of the pressures, so even a few hours were already hard. Those 2's appearances actually gave him an excuse to leave without embarrassing himself.
"You really struggled against that one particular guy." Torao talks to Zoro while controlling his shadow movement skill.
"Yeah, the one with Pushing and Pulling power. His jutsu is much more powerful than I thought."
"Well, that power is strong enough to stop the Tailed Beasts. He catches Jinchuuriki using that power and Tailed Beasts are some of the strongest beings in this world."
"Right, those eyes are ridiculously powerful and Nagato has enough chakra to use them well even though they aren't originally his eyes. He would be even more dangerous if he doesn't need to use corpses as puppets to utilize his power."
Zoro still can remember the scenes when Nagato was revived using Edo Tensei. The way he uses Rinnegan's abilities is much better than when he uses them through Pain.
"Where should we go now, kid?"
"Can you stop calling me kid, Torao? I was an adult when I died in my past life and I am already an adult again now."
"No can do. Compared to me, a former Soul Reaper who has lived for millennia, you are but an infant, boy. Even though mine body is that of a simple cat now, my essence is still that of an immortal being."
"... Alright, alright, stop talking strangely like that. Just call me however you want. And let's go to Tsunagakure to claim some bounty rewards of their criminal we killed for the last few months."
"Hmm, I don't like that place, it's too hot, and dry. My paws hurt whenever I step on the street and rooftops because they are always exposed to the sun."
"Me too. Why do you think I waited for months before going there to claim the bounty rewards even though I've killed a few of them? If it's not for their tasty food, then I won't go there even if I find someone with a really high bounty."
"You're right, their lamb dish is the best in this world."
The man and cat go to the Land of Wind at a very high speed. But they can't go all the way to Tsuna through the shadows because well, it's a desert and there's almost no shadow for them to use.
This is also something they don't like whenever they go to Tsunagakure, the hot desert. Not only is it hard to find the correct way in the desert, it feels like they will get cooked by the heat before arriving in the village.
Luckily, there will always be caravans coming to and leaving Tsunagakure every day. There aren't many of them and they have very strict rules to follow because it involves a hidden village.
Also, there aren't many of them and they are slower than if Zoro rides on Torao's back. But they are convenient and comfortable because they just need to pay and sleep on the way.
No one follows them until they arrive in Tsuna, so they have succeeded in their escape. The procedures to enter Tsuna are quite strict, but Zoro is used to it.
As usual, the guards immediately send him to the office where he can get the bounty rewards. His name and face are already known in almost all hidden villages, even the small ones, so they don't ask him too many things.
But as usual too, they are still surprised whenever he shows them the corpses of the criminals he killed. Most of the criminals he killed are high level shinobi that need some teams to defeat, but he always does it alone.
All hidden villages that know him would always want him to join them. But Zoro always refuses their offers no matter how good they are because he values his freedom.
He only accepted the Land of Iron's job for him to be their informant because it doesn't restrict his movements. Besides, he doesn't join their ranks and can actually stop doing the job anytime. It's like he is just freelancing.
After receiving his rewards, Zoro quickly goes to his favorite lamb restaurant with Torao. There are some shinobi that tail him as usual, but he doesn't care about them and just enjoys his life.
"Who are the unfortunate souls?" The waitress suddenly asks while giving the menu book.
All workers in this restaurant and even the regulars already know about Zoro. They also know that whenever he comes, it means that some criminals have died by his hands and he comes here for rewards.
His identity scared them in the beginning, but now they are already used to it and even act like friends with him. He is basically helping their village by killing those criminals, after all, and he never harms them anyway, so there's no reason to be afraid.
"I don't remember their name, but they have good prices for their heads. 3 A-Rank and an S-Rank missing nins if I remember correctly, so I got quite good rewards."
"You never target those below A-Ranks, aren't you?"
"Unless they are together with the A or S-Ranks that I targeted. I mean they don't pose any challenge to me and their rewards aren't good enough, so it's a waste of time to hunt them. The villages can hunt those small fries themselves anyway. They're easy prey. Ah, the usual please, 5 portions for me and a portion for my cat, and I want to try your new menu, the gut sausage."
"Well, it would be nice if you also hunt the low rank ones because there are more of them than the high-rank ones, but alright. Are you sure about the gut sausage though? It's made of sheep's internal organs. They are edible, of course. But many people don't like the idea of eating internal organs."
"Babe, please, I was a hunter, a real animal hunter before hunting criminals. I never wasted any edible parts of the animals I eat and the internal organs are the first thing I eat because they spoil faster than the meat. I would even eat their skin and bones if I knew how to cook them. So I'm sure I will be okay."
"Fine then."
The waitress writes his orders and goes to the kitchen. It takes a while for the food to be prepared, but Zoro isn't bored because the regulars and other staff are talking to him.
They are always curious about his adventure and how he killed those criminals. He also enjoys telling them his stories, filtered obviously. So there will always be things to talk to while waiting for his food.
But everyone understands well that he doesn't like being disturbed while eating, so they stop talking to him as soon as his food comes. They learnt it the hard way a few years ago when a drunk guy kept talking to him even though Zoro has told them to not disturb him while eating.
"What do you think of the new menu?" The waitress asks while cleaning the table after Zoro and Torao finish their food.
"They're great. Much better than my cooking obviously. I would've thought they were made of meat if I didn't read the name. Ah, I will leave in 3 days, so can I order the usual ration food?"
"Sure."
Zoro takes out some wooden food boxes from a scroll. He always buys ration food from this restaurant whenever he comes to Tsuna. They actually don't sell ration food.
But they make an exception for him because he always buys a lot from them. Besides, the "ration food" is just their regular food. But they won't spoil if Zoro stores them in the scroll and puts it in Torao's subspace storage where time flows very slowly.
His stay in Tsunagakure is peaceful even with some ANBU members constantly following him in secret everywhere he goes.
Zoro is about to leave Tsunagakure after staying for 4 days. But when he's looking for a caravan group to join, someone unexpected comes to meet him.
"Oho? It's been so long since we met each other. What brings you here, Kazekage?"
The one who comes to meet him is none other than the 4th Kazekage, Gaara's father.
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Chapter 119. Gaara of The Sand
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