Eight Inner Gates Seal

"Orochimaru, how is Konoha doing now?"

After two straight months of discussion, the two finally stopped. Tobirama was the first to speak, asking the question that concerned him most. He wanted to see whether he had entrusted Konoha to the wrong person.

"Master, Konoha is generally doing well. But ever since you left, the situation hasn't been very optimistic."

The exhausted Orochimaru spoke slowly. After two months of hard work, the two had finally made initial progress in developing the Eight Inner Gates Seal.

Though his body was tired, his eyes were exceptionally bright. It was clear that he was very satisfied with the current results.

Seeing the questioning look in Tobirama's eyes, Orochimaru did not beat around the bush. He recounted everything the Second Hokage had done after assuming the Hokage position in a time of crisis.

Tobirama was gratified when he heard that the Third Hokage had returned to the village and stabilized the situation. However, as Orochimaru went deeper into the story, Tobirama's expression gradually darkened.

From the Third Hokage standing by while the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, to restarting human experimentation; from Danzo establishing the Root Organization and plotting to seize power, and so on.

"Compared to you and the First Hokage, the Third Hokage could only be considered barely qualified. But when it comes to political maneuvering, he was far better than either of you."

Hearing that his disciple had maintained Konoha's development through such methods, Tobirama felt somewhat disappointed.

"Sigh... How many times have I told you? Address me by my title while we're working!"

After a pause, Tobirama continued.

"How do you think Konoha should develop from here to reverse this decline?"

Orochimaru was taken aback by Tobirama's question. Why was he asking him something like that? He wasn't the Hokage.

Tobirama nodded at him, his gaze carrying a trace of encouragement.

"If Konoha produces another Hokage as brilliant and exceptional as the two of you, these problems will naturally be solved!"

After a brief pause, Orochimaru continued.

"The Third Hokage has already lost his fighting spirit, while Danzo is still eyeing the position greedily. We need someone with prestige, ability, and passion to lead everyone once more..."

Orochimaru then put forward Minato as an example. If someone as approachable and capable as Minato led Konoha—

Konoha might not reach the heights it had under the First Hokage, but Minato's extraordinary talent would be enough to make the other villages hesitate before acting rashly.

"Sigh, forget it! I'm already dead, so I won't worry about it anymore. This is the world of you young people now."

As he spoke, Tobirama patted Orochimaru on the shoulder. After spending two months together, he could see that Orochimaru pursued only strength and had not the slightest interest in the Hokage position. In that respect, he was somewhat like Tobirama's elder brother.

"Thank you for your help this time, Lord Tobirama. If Konoha faces any crisis in the future, I'll step forward and do my part."

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Tobirama showed his first smile in two months.

"That's all I needed to hear. It proves my guidance over these past two months wasn't wasted. I hope you'll keep your word!"

As he spoke, his body gradually turned to ashes. Orochimaru had released the Impure World Reincarnation.

After watching Tobirama depart, Orochimaru looked at the Eight Inner Gates Seal he had just developed in his hand.

Just as Orochimaru had said, this technique was designed to counter genjutsu, especially the genjutsu of the Uchiha clan.

The instant an enemy used genjutsu on him, this technique would automatically activate within his body, gradually forming the Eight Inner Gates Seal formation.

Most genjutsu would be unable to pass through that seal and enter Orochimaru's spiritual world to control him.

However, it was not without a cost. Once this technique was activated, Orochimaru would be unable to use Chakra.

But Orochimaru did not care about that. He still had physical energy at his disposal, and that alone was enough to give his enemies a nasty surprise. It would also let him catch them off guard.

As for more powerful genjutsu, such as Kotoamatsukami, Tsukuyomi, and Izanami, the current Eight Inner Gates Seal could not yet provide complete protection against techniques of that level.

Still, he was confident about developing it further. Everything was difficult at the beginning; once he had taken the first step, the rest would not be so hard.

Besides, he had not spent all this time merely developing this one technique. He had also taken the opportunity to consult the Second Hokage about many of the techniques involved.

For example, the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, the flaws in and improvements to Impure World Reincarnation, the principles behind Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, and more!

It was rare to encounter such an all-around mentor as the Second Hokage, so Orochimaru naturally would not let the opportunity slip away.

He had also taken this chance to sort through all the ninjutsu he knew. He naturally understood that ninjutsu was not about quantity, but mastery.

But without extensive knowledge of many different ninjutsu as a foundation, it would have been impossible for Orochimaru to develop techniques unique to himself.

Only after playing a thousand melodies could one understand sound; only after seeing a thousand swords could one recognize a fine weapon. That was the principle.

"I've been away for two months. It's time to go back!"

For the past two months, Orochimaru had eaten and slept in this secret laboratory. Whenever he was hungry, he merely had a Shadow Clone bring food back.

What he wanted most now was a good night's sleep to make up for two months of sleep deprivation.

His mind in particular had been drained nonstop for two months and was already exhausted beyond measure.

"I wonder how Tsunade and Shizune are doing!"

With that thought, Orochimaru packed up the documents here. In the next instant, he took a step and vanished.

Before long, he returned home—Tsunade's home, of course.

Finding neither Shizune nor Tsunade at home, Orochimaru quickly washed up and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke again, it was already the morning three days later.

"Sigh... Morning, Shizune!"

Orochimaru opened his door and stretched, just in time to see Shizune emerging from her room as well.

"Wow... Uncle Snake, you're finally back!"

She scampered over and gave him a big hug.

"Mm, I took a nap as soon as I got back."

Orochimaru rubbed her little head. She seemed to have gotten a little thinner during the two months he had been away.

"Uncle Snake, you have no idea how Lady Tsunade and I survived these past two months."

As she spoke, a mist rose in Shizune's eyes, and tears began to well up.

"All right, all right, I'm back now, aren't I? You're already this grown up, yet you're still crying. Come on, tell your uncle what happened!"

Orochimaru pinched her soft, smooth little cheek. You had to pinch a child's cheeks while you still could—once they got older, they would not be so cute anymore.

As Orochimaru brushed his teeth and washed his face, he listened to Shizune pour out her grievances.

It turned out that when Orochimaru told them he would be leaving for a while, neither of them had taken it seriously.

For the first few days, they ate out. But after living on takeout for half a month, they decided to cook for themselves.

Naturally, Tsunade was not the one who did the cooking. It was Shizune, who had learned a few home-style dishes by following Orochimaru around.

But cooking was one thing in theory and another in practice.

The dishes she made were naturally far from satisfactory. After several days in a row, Tsunade had developed something of a trauma over Shizune's cooking.

In the end, the two returned to living off takeout.

After listening to her and seeing how pitiful she looked, Orochimaru spat out his mouthwash.

"Now you know how important Uncle Snake is, right?"