Slowly opening his eyes, the scenery in front of him gradually changed from hazy to clear, the light in the cave was dark, the temperature was cool, and the humidity in the air felt very high. Taking a break in such a cave made Asahi feel uncomfortable.
He gently moved his body, but it still felt slightly sore. There was no serious trauma on his body, and although he was slightly mentally tired, there wasn't any major problem.
Asahi sat up and started comforting his tibia.
(T.L Note: Tibia - the inner and typically larger of the two bones between the knee and the ankle (or the equivalent joints in other terrestrial vertebrates), parallel with the fibula.)
Based on the above information, Asahi reached the conclusion that as long as he takes a good rest for a night, he could probably return to his best state.
Last night, he did his best to escape from the Land of Wind and enter the Land of Rain. This made Asahi feel very exhausted, and so he found a cave to rest. It's just that the continuous rain in the Land of Rain made the air very humid, making him feel uncomfortable.
After simply drinking a bit of water and eating some dry food, he stepped out of the cave and started running towards the Konoha camp.
That evening, he finally returned to the Konoha camp and met Orochimaru.
This time he sneaked into the Land of Wind to execute this mission. Although it was not as dangerous as he thought, the process was quite thrilling. And for Asahi, this Land of Wind trip at this time was a rare experience in his ninja life.
In this mission, he faced the difficulty of choosing between the mission and teammates. It was difficult to make a firm resolution for a while, but Keita decided to sacrifice himself and save him.
It's undeniable that he was very moved at the time, but afterwards he thought about something carefully. If he did not complete the mission entrusted to him by Orochimaru, what would he face after he returned to the village?
Village's distrust and doubt, Orochimaru's abandonment. Of course, these were not even the most important. The most important thing was that Asahi's ideals and ambitions were bound to be completely ruined.
Without the village's support, he couldn't get access to the higher rank ninjutsu, which was undoubtedly deadly for a war orphan without any background. No one to teach him, and wanting to teach him, would just be crazy.
There must be no fetters in his pursuit of strength.
At this moment, he suddenly understood why Uchiha Sasuke went to Orochimaru's lair so desperately.
Because in Konoha, no one would guide him except Kakashi.
Sasuke wasn't like Uzumaki Naruto. He doesn't have a father who was the Fourth Hokage and died for the village. Sasuke's father was a Clan Leader who plotted a coup d'état and was thinking of usurping power, and most important of all, Sasuke didn't have the village's ultimate weapon within his body.
He would not receive any special care (not talking about monetary care or him being famous as the last Uchiha).
Although Senmei Asahi and Uchiha Sasuke of the future have different ideals, they both were pursuing the same thing: Strength.
Since life was tough, he could only work on his own. At this point, Asahi was not even as good as Sasuke, at least that guy had a pair of Sharingan, and a big brother who loved him crazily.
Senmei Asahi had nothing.
But it didn't matter if his life was bad or tough, because he could create his own opportunities. You don't have a Kekkei Genkai? Go and research someone else's Kekkei Genkai; if you aren't powerful at ninjutsu, go and learn a powerful forbidden jutsu; you don't have a summoning beast? Go and grab someone's summoning beast.
At that moment, he suddenly had a clear comprehension.
Asahi doesn't need a companion or a relationship. In his pursuit of strength, he could only rely on himself.
Thinking of Ueno, Keita, and Shinohara, he secretly said to himself, 'Goodbye, my partners!'
Entering Orochimaru's camp, he saw that there was only Orochimaru inside the tent, and so he said directly, "Orochimaru-sama, the mission was successfully completed."
"Very good, you did not let me down." Orochimaru's cold look locked onto Asahi's face, and with a husky voice, he continued, "Your teammate suffered a serious injury and was sent back by Minato, he's now lying in the medic team's tent. Are you going to take a look? "
"No need for that." Asahi looked at Orochimaru, with a smile on his mouth, and said indifferently, "He's lying there anyway, it's the same whether I go to see him or not."
Asahi was slightly relieved to hear that Keita was still alive. But now that a decision had been made and it was that his road ahead would be a lonely one, Asahi would have to end his relationship with Keita.
The mission at this time allowed him to choose between missions and companions. What about next time?
Especially since he had decided to follow Orochimaru. What kind of person is Orochimaru? He knows best, maybe one day, Orochimaru would even tell Asahi to kill Keita himself, so he must not show anything. Even if he cares, he couldn't show it.
At least until he had gained enough power.
"Oh?" Orochimaru said in surprise, "He's has a serious injury."
"That's unavoidable." Asahi shrugged, saying indifferently, "Who made him part of the Hyuga Branch House, he's just untalented. I have seen these things since I was very young, and that's why I work hard. "
He guessed that since Orochimaru knew about his plans against Tsunade, he must have inquired about his own information. But some things Orochimaru must have only guessed and couldn't confirm.
Now that he had chosen to follow Orochimaru, some things were not good to be said out loud.
"You are really amazing." Orochimaru gave an interesting look at Asahi, then said with an evil laugh, "But the one who suffered a serious injury is called Shinohara, and your teammate of the Hyuga clan was found dead in the Land of Wind."
'What?!'
Hearing this news, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, but when seeing Orochimaru's playful expression, Asahi pressed his emotions down, and asked indifferently, "What's going on?"
After hearing everything from Orochimaru, he had completely calmed down.
It turned out that when Minato found Keita, he had already died while Asahi was missing. In order to find him, Shinohara ran out alone and was ambushed by a patrol team. Fortunately, Minato arrived in time at the last moment, and saved Shinohara's life.
But for this reason, the location of the sand cave was also discovered, and Minato had to leave early. However, Minato left a hint in the sand cave, indicating which direction he should run to meet them.
It was just that Asahi was just glancing around, and saw that no one was left in the sand hole and so, he didn't see the prompt left by Minato at all.
"Then I'm going to take a look. I still have to comfort my unconscious teammate." Asahi sounded as if he was reluctant, and left Orochimaru's camp, and ran to the medic team.
*****
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