ushernet Chapter 523 The Frostland Where the Cold Winds Howl
Chapter 523 The Frostland Where the Cold Winds Howl
It was completely different from the warm and humid nights of the Grass Country, where even the wind carried the fragrance of grass and trees.
The wind of the Frost Country is something else entirely.
It was more like a solid, carrying countless tiny ice crystals and sharp snow pellets, roaring down from the wasteland, sweeping across this barren snowfield without any hindrance, draining the moisture from the surface of all exposed living things, and then filling it with biting cold.
The same three figures moving swiftly through the night left three completely different tracks on the boundless snowfield.
The one running at the very front has the most imposing figure.
His striking white hair fluttered wildly in the wind and snow. He casually swung his hands behind his back, wearing a pair of large wooden clogs, and moved forward with a peculiar gait that combined jumping and running.
He seemed to be hopping around on the snow at will, each step kicking up small snowflakes, but in reality, every time he landed, he precisely stepped on the weakest point in the snow and wind. In the instant he lost his momentum, his body had already spurred a long distance by the reaction force.
He was humming a tuneless ballad, the lyrics indistinct, but in his mind he was conceiving a brand new chapter for his masterpiece.
"Heroic Tales: A Romantic Encounter in the Frosty Snow Kingdom".
Yes, this is how it should begin: "The icy wind cannot extinguish the passion in my heart; the heavy snow cannot bury my steps in search of true love. In this godforsaken place where even bears would freeze into icicles, I, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, encountered a woman as pure as a snow lotus..."
About twenty meters behind him was a tall woman.
Her long, golden hair was simply tied back, swaying with her movements.
The steps were steady and powerful, with even depth and constant spacing.
Tsunade ignored the antics of the clown in front of her.
As a top-tier medical ninja, her body has instinctively begun to analyze the "symptoms" of this land.
The air is dry, cold, and the air pressure is low.
In this environment, the body's metabolism slows down, blood flow slows down, and cell activity is inhibited.
Conversely, species that can survive and reproduce here must have extremely strong vitality. In order to resist the harsh natural environment, their life itself must have evolved into some kind of extremely resilient form.
Tsunade's thoughts were interrupted by the third figure.
The figure ran past her in an extremely bizarre manner.
This was not an ordinary run.
Orochimaru's center of gravity was extremely low, and his limbs swayed alternately in an extremely relaxed, ergonomic, yet inhumanly coordinated manner.
His breaths were long and shallow, and he used his energy to the fullest extent with each push off the ground.
This is a scientific running method that exists purely for the pursuit of efficiency, consuming the least amount of energy while maintaining the same speed.
He overtook Tsunade, caught up with Jiraiya, and then stopped without warning in front of a snowdrift.
In the golden snake eyes, a light that was almost fanatical, called curiosity, flickered.
He crouched down, carefully brushed away the snow, and picked up a snow rabbit from within.
The snow hare was pure white and showed no signs of life; its body was in a strangely stiff state.
Jiraiya and Tsunade also stopped.
"Hey, Orochimaru, what are you up to now?" Jiraiya walked over casually, peering curiously into the room.
"Sparashi...it's just too perfect."
Orochimaru ignored Jiraiya, instead pinching the snow rabbit between two fingers and holding it up in front of Tsunade. His purple lips opened and closed excitedly, and the white breath he exhaled smelled like a research paper.
"Tsunade, look."
He pointed to the snow hare's body and explained, "The cells of this creature, in order to withstand extreme cold, must have mitochondria with energy efficiency far exceeding that of ordinary organisms. This is a perfect example of adaptive evolution! If we could analyze its gene sequence and extract the relevant protein fragments, perhaps we could..."
Are you going to dissect a rabbit here?
"Shut up."
Before he could even finish speaking, Tsunade's beautiful eyebrows furrowed into a knot, and she took a half-step back with a look of disgust, distancing herself from the strange-looking guy.
"We're here as envoys, not for anatomy lessons!"
She had reached her breaking point with her partner's obsession with scientific research. This guy's thought process was simply extraordinary. Whenever he saw any living organism, his first reaction was always "Can I dissect it?", "What is its cell structure like?", and "Is its gene sequence worth studying?"
Last time in the Land of Lightning, he got excited for a long time about a venomous snake he had never seen before, insisting that the snake's venom protein had extremely high medicinal value, and he almost caught it to extract it.
Now that they've arrived in the Land of Frost, they won't even spare a snow rabbit.
"But that's the secret of life, Tsunade."
Instead of being angry, Orochimaru revealed a mesmerizing expression and said in an aria-like tone, "Don't you think? In order to survive, life itself will evolve such exquisite mechanisms, which are more...beautiful than any ninjutsu."
"I just think you're a pervert."
Tsunade retorted without any politeness.
"Come on, don't say that."
Jiraiya jumped in to smooth things over, hooking his arm around Orochimaru's neck and winking at him, "Orochimaru, what's so interesting about studying a rabbit? I think we should make a fire, roast it, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, it should taste pretty good. Perfect for a midnight snack, to replenish the energy my genius brain has been expending on writing this script!"
Orochimaru's golden eyes instantly turned cold, and he glanced disdainfully at Jiraiya's hand resting on his shoulder.
"Vulgar. To use such a perfect biological specimen to satisfy one's appetite is a desecration of science..."
"╬...╬"
"Alright, alright!"
Tsunade was completely exasperated. She grabbed the two clowns by the ears, one on each side, and gave them a slap.
"One's a pervert, the other's a glutton! Quiet down, both of you! We're here on a mission!"
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Tsunade, be gentle! You're going to shatter my inspiration!"
Jiraiya shouted exaggeratedly.
Orochimaru merely frowned slightly but did not resist, letting Tsunade vent her anger.
The noisy chatter among the three stood in stark contrast to the tranquil snowfield around them.
However, even in this seemingly casual playful banter, the three of them maintained a perfect equilateral triangle formation.
No matter how they moved, the distance between them never exceeded the range that any one of them could provide instant support.
Jiraiya may seem to be clowning around, but his powerful observational skills have already allowed him to take in every little movement within a radius of several hundred meters.
Orochimaru, with his cold golden eyes, always sees the essence of things and potential threats.
They are the Three Ninja.
They are the three sharp swords of Konoha, and also the three sturdy shields.
They may argue with each other, and they may dislike each other, but when faced with external threats, they are always an unbreakable whole.
Under Tsunade's violent suppression, the world finally became peaceful.
Jiraiya rubbed his reddened ears, not daring to mention the roasted rabbit again.
Orochimaru glanced longingly at the snow rabbit, then finally tossed it back into the snow, muttering to himself, "Sample marker, Frost Country - North coordinates 345.67, awaiting further retrieval..."
"Let's go!"
Tsunade glared at them, then took the lead and continued forward.
About half an hour later, at the end of the snowstorm ahead, a black silhouette appeared.
It was the ruins of a village.
The dilapidated roof was covered with a thick layer of snow, and the broken wooden beams wailed in the cold wind, as if telling the story of the tragedy that had once happened here.
In the air, besides the coldness of the snow, there was also a faint, lingering scent of old ashes and death.
The three of them stopped at the same time.
The playful and joking atmosphere from just moments ago vanished completely in an instant.
Jiraiya dropped his nonchalant demeanor, lowered his hands from behind his head, and crossed them over his chest.
His gaze swept across the ruins, as deep and cold as a pool of water.
Tsunade stood still, her gaze sweeping over the ruins.
A sense of powerlessness, typical of doctors, welled up in her heart.
Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed slightly; he wasn't sensing life, but analyzing it.
"Judging from the decay of the buildings and the signs of wind erosion, this village has been abandoned for at least five years."
He calmly said, "Judging from the burn marks, it must have been destroyed by human hands."
Just then, Jiraiya's nose twitched.
"It doesn't taste entirely of ash."
He said in a low voice, "And... the smell of cooking."
Following his gaze, deep within the ruins, a faint, orange-yellow light flickered through the broken window of the only relatively intact stone house.
It's a campfire.
In these ruins buried by death and snow, someone was actually starting a fire.
This is definitely not a good sign.
Ordinary travelers or civilians seeking refuge would never choose to settle in such a gloomy place.
So...
Jiraiya's originally serious face suddenly broke into a big smile, revealing a set of white teeth. The smile carried a hint of wildness and undisguised excitement.
He turned to look at his two companions and spoke.
"Looks like this trip won't be too boring."