Jiraiya gave an affirmative response, and Orochimaru immediately received a notification.
"You have joined Reincarnator 002's Novice Mission. You will receive half of the Reward Points from the mission."
After confirming the mission, Orochimaru's mood brightened.
This mission was practically giving away Reward Points for free. Tsunade was even easier to handle than that idiot Jiraiya.
Hemophobia!
Her obsession with her deceased lover and younger brother!
The curse of always losing whenever she gambled!
Any one of those three could be exploited to achieve the goal.
"No..."
Orochimaru shook his head, feeling his consciousness blur slightly. His snake-like eyes narrowed. "I haven't rested for three consecutive days. I'm not very clear-headed."
He had used all the Reward Points from his previous missions to exchange for branch scrolls of Scientific Ninjutsu.
It had to be said, the sea of learning is boundless. The more Orochimaru learned, the less he felt he knew.
Zeno once said: Human knowledge was like a circle. What lay inside the circle was known, while what lay outside was unknown. The more one knew, the larger the circle became, and the more one realized one did not know.
Orochimaru had now reached the realm of the "great circle."
Mastering core technologies with novel concepts was, to Orochimaru, like a child getting candied hawthorn, Batman catching the Joker, Steve Rogers getting the Winter Soldier, Dragon Mom successfully restoring her kingdom, Voldemort ruling the Magical World...
Going three days without sleep was a trivial matter. If he ruined his body, he could simply replace it with Living Corpse Reincarnation.
After studying Scientific Ninjutsu, Orochimaru had improved many of his former ninjutsu. The side effects of Living Corpse Reincarnation had already been greatly reduced.
To him now, Reward Points were equivalent to research materials.
Therefore, Orochimaru would not allow the slightest mishap in this mission.
With that thought, he beckoned.
The servants in the mansion immediately understood and brought over the equipment he needed as quickly as possible.
Nothing sat atop the smooth Ironwood table. Only the Fuinjutsu engraved upon it, once infused with Chakra, formed an Air domain ten meters in diameter.
With a casual wave, several transparent solids that resembled ice yet remained at room temperature appeared on the table. With a light pat, the solids turned into powder.
"What is this stuff?" Jiraiya was textbook-level bewildered.
"A byproduct from chemical research."
Orochimaru formed hand seals expressionlessly and condensed Chakra. His pale, slender hands trembled slightly.
"Wind Style: Mountain Storm!"
A fierce gale swept in, scattering dust through the air.
In an instant, every maid who inhaled the medicine powder became rosy-faced and seductive-eyed. Even their instinctive fear of Orochimaru seemed to have faded considerably.
A few fearless ones even ran over to Orochimaru and began sharing their girlish feelings.
They praised Cold Lord's strength, coldness, dominance, and majesty.
They clumsily expressed their admiration and excitement.
They were dancing a close dance with death on the edge of a knife.
"Cough, cough, cough... What the hell are you doing? I'm choking to death!"
Jiraiya coughed twice. After complaining, he discovered that his spirits were rapidly rising, and his control over Chakra seemed to have improved by two levels.
He suddenly felt extremely happy—though he had no reason to be.
"What exactly is this stuff? I feel like Tsunade would really like it. Maybe if you gave her some, she'd agree right away..."
An exaggerated smile showed on Jiraiya's face. He became more talkative, like a drunk man, his words mumbled. "If you'd given me this stuff earlier, I would've willingly become a Reincarnator. Then I wouldn't have taken such a beating! My hair... my handsome face! Mm... I don't blame you. Our bond... even if you killed me, I wouldn't have any complaints, it's just..."
The rest was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz, far too soft for ordinary ears to hear clearly.
Yet Orochimaru seemed to understand. A terrifying smile showed on his cold face, and he actually explained patiently. "I only created this in the past few days. I mainly use it to stay alert. But it also makes people emotionally unstable. I can't completely determine Tsunade's reaction after using it, so it can't be used in the mission."
"Besides, you don't need to feel sad about your hairstyle."
Orochimaru looked at him with an ambiguous smile, his tone eerie. "I saw a very interesting ability in the Main God's Exchange List."
"After exchanging for that ability, all you need to do is one hundred push-ups, one hundred squats, one hundred sit-ups, and run ten kilometers every day. Keep it up for three years, and you'll possess unparalleled attack power, defense, and speed."
"The only side effect of this ability is becoming a bald head. But if you exchange for it, you won't have to worry about that side effect."
Jiraiya froze for a moment and pondered seriously for a long while. Then he suddenly felt...
Orochimaru made so damn much sense!
Since the ability's side effect was baldness, and he was already bald, wouldn't exchanging for it be an absolute steal?
"Once I have enough Reward Points, I'll definitely exchange for the ability you mentioned! I, Sage of the Toads, keep my word!"
As for the few reckless young girls gathered around him, Orochimaru surprisingly did not find them annoying enough to slap them to death. He merely smiled and knocked them out one by one.
"No wonder I felt something was off before. The mission really isn't that simple."
Orochimaru adjusted the monocle on the bridge of his nose and muttered, "Hemophobia and gambling addiction are flaws in Tsunade's character, but they are also hidden traps in this mission. If we approach things from either of those angles, there's an eighty to ninety percent chance Tsunade will refuse the invitation to become a Reincarnator at the final moment, directly causing the mission to fail."
Jiraiya rubbed his bald head and chuckled.
His attention was clearly not on the mission. His thoughts had obviously wandered. "What's that thing hanging on your face?"
It was a red, semi-transparent monocle.
"A Combat Power Detector. The Main God's Exchange List is as vast as the sea. There are many things in it whose names and appearances alone can give me considerable inspiration."
Orochimaru's resistance to the drug seemed quite high. The expression on his face had already returned to normal, though the mental effects still lingered somewhat.
He looked at Jiraiya and said something incomprehensible.
"Three Stages of Scholarly Power, roughly equal to my previous combat power. But I'm now a One-Star Scholar. Although I haven't converted much of my scientific stockpiled knowledge into results, it's still enough to take down two of you at once."
Jiraiya went drug-crazy again, delighted like a Two Hundred Jin Child.
"Hehehe... Forget all that! Today, we're rebuilding the Legendary Sannin Team!"
"Fine. Before that, we need to formulate a strategic plan."
Year 60 of Konoha, March.
Hokage's Office.
"Setting aside those sent back to Ninja Academy for retraining and those who dropped out... there are only twenty-seven qualified graduates this term, so they'll probably need to be divided into nine classes..."
"We're short-handed, and there's a gap in the ranks..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi scratched his head, took a satisfied puff of his pipe, and frowned deeply.
Squad Leader Teachers for the graduating ninjas...
Which nine people should he choose?
"Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. Those three can be assigned to the same class, with Kurenai Yuhi leading them."
"Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi. The famous Ino-Shika-Cho combination can't be split apart. That brat is idle all day, so making him a Squad Leader Teacher would be a decent job for him. It could also deepen his ties with the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans and help him expand his connections."
Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to use his authority for personal gain and get his son, Asuma Sarutobi, a good position.
But the moment that thought arose, he rejected it.
"The graduating ninjas are Konoha's future. I can't let that brat pass his bad habits and conduct on to the next generation!"
"I'll think some more..."
The Third Hokage rubbed his throbbing temples and finally made up his mind. "Have Kakashi Hatake lead the Ino-Shika-Cho class! Konoha owes the Hatake family much for White Fang's death."
There were nine graduating classes in total. After the Third Hokage finished assigning them, three students remained.
Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno.
"Jonin squad leader, Wang Yan!"
"He was only recently promoted, but his strength is remarkable. He can shoulder this responsibility."
The Third Hokage had not realized at all that someone had silently altered his thoughts.
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