Su Nuo studied the Scroll of Seals inside Ogawa Gō as usual, along with the various Earth Style Ninjutsu he had taken from the souls of Iwagakure Ninja he had killed on the battlefield.
By then, Su Nuo possessed Cloud Release, Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Lightning Release Armor, Liger Bomb, Kurama Clan Genjutsu, Hiruzen's Great Fireball Technique, Sarutobi Sealing Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, Eight Gates, Flying Thunder God Technique, and Iwagakure Earth Style.
As for Cursed Energy, Su Nuo had absorbed souls and resentment everywhere on the battlefield, and his Cursed Energy had reached the level of five fingers.
"Not bad... Uchiha Miya."
After returning to the village, Su Nuo also heard that the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan were cooperating closely.
That amused him.
Hyuga Shin's death had turned out to be quite meaningful, and it had pushed events in an interesting direction.
Well, he had also achieved the desired effect of provoking Namikaze Minato.
As expected, mentioning Kushina was enough to set that lovesick fool off.
As for Ogawa Gō, Su Nuo had discovered him while controlling Hyuga Shin to slaughter people in Root.
Although his name was Ogawa Gō, he was actually "Senju Gō."
After being injured and rendered unconscious during a mission, he had been invited for tea and then turned into a test subject for Root, experiencing the village's darkness at point-blank range.
Su Nuo had refined one of Hyuga Shin's fingers into a Cursed Object, forced Ogawa Gō to swallow it, and chosen him as his new host.
During this period, Su Nuo also studied Ogawa Gō's body—in other words, his Senju Physique.
It was clear that the man's cells were more vigorous and that he possessed more Chakra, but there was no sign that he had awakened Wood Style.
Under Su Nuo's suggestion, Hyuga Shin successfully committed suicide.
Ogawa Gō was rescued by Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya before eventually being handed over to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately chose to release Ogawa Gō and gave him a large amount of compensation, but the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal remained.
He could not reveal any secrets concerning Root.
That was practically the same as having nothing.
Su Nuo's attainments in Fuinjutsu were now sufficient to remove the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
Even if he could not, the worst that could happen was that he would simply let it activate.
Hyuga Shin had been killed by the Caged Bird, but Su Nuo could still use Reverse Cursed Technique to revive him.
Wasn't Reverse Cursed Technique practically cheating?
Afterward.
As a teacher, Ogawa Gō took Uchiha Aoi and two other disciples.
But as the war intensified, Ogawa Gō was dispatched to the battlefield as a Jonin. He even joined Namikaze Minato's rapid-response force.
Within a month, he killed more than seventy Iwagakure Ninja.
He earned the title "Ogawa Gō of the Stone Armor Style."
The so-called Stone Armor Style.
It was an Earth Style plus Water Release that Su Nuo had developed.
A mass of water formed beneath his feet, letting him glide rapidly like an ice skater, while his body was covered in a rocky armor made from Earth Style.
It overcame the disadvantages of ninjas having low health and weak defenses.
Su Nuo had secretly unlocked the first few Gates of the Eight Gates for Ogawa Gō and repaired his body, granting him the powerful physique needed to support the heavy stone armor.
He also had enough Chakra to constantly stimulate the water and charge forward atop the flowing current.
Thus, the Iwagakure Ninja saw a man in full stone armor charging forward atop a stream of water like a cloud, tanking all kinds of attacks and blasting apart large numbers of Iwagakure Ninja.
After returning to the village.
Ogawa Gō was promoted to Elite Jonin.
Su Nuo had lost the Byakugan, and his combat power was actually much lower than when he had been inside Hyuga Shin. However, he had expected this and could accept it.
When changing bodies, he had two choices: the Uchiha Clan or the Senju Clan.
Uchiha Miya was also a good target.
Even if she was difficult to deal with—Uchiha Miya already possessed Elite Jonin strength and might not obediently swallow a finger—he could always search for another, less outstanding member of the Uchiha Clan.
Furthermore, the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai was pure Yin Power. If Su Nuo possessed an Uchiha host, it would be a case of two powers joining forces. He might even awaken the Mangekyo in one go and perhaps manifest a highly advanced Susanoo...
But Su Nuo still chose the Senju.
Although he was growing stronger step by step, he was not in a hurry to become stronger immediately.
What Su Nuo needed was to stay away from the whirlpool of conflict. His host could neither be some insignificant nobody nor an exceptionally powerful existence.
That was the "host positioning" Su Nuo needed.
With his concealment pushed to the limit, Su Nuo was very safe in this world.
His Invisible Slash, launched from zero frames, could kill most ninjas before they could react.
Hyuga Shin's account was already ruined.
After killing Younger Raikage and Raikage A one after another and finally wiping out the Hyuga Main Family, he would inevitably attract a great deal of attention. That would make it inconvenient for him to cut people down everywhere, and the identity of a Hyuga Ninja also had its limitations.
The Byakugan alone was not a power Su Nuo valued.
What he pursued was even greater power. Until then, he needed to remain hidden and maintain an absolute intelligence advantage.
He wanted Yin Power.
He wanted Yang Release, too.
If he possessed an Uchiha body, his Yin Power would become even stronger. He might soon surpass "Original Sukuna," after all, Su Nuo had already learned a vast number of Ninjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Taijutsu techniques.
With that kind of strength, he might slaughter his way through the Jujutsu world. But in the Naruto world, the upper limit of Yin Power alone was ultimately inferior to Yin Power plus Yang Release.
Now, speaking of Yang Release.
That required mentioning the ancient era.
The Sage of Six Paths gave Yin Power to Indra and Yang Release to Asura.
Indra possessed the "Sage's Eye," while Asura possessed the "Sage Body."
Asura was the ancestor of the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan.
He possessed a "body with abundant Chakra." However, the two clans developed in different directions: one developed Wood Style, while the other developed Fuinjutsu.
That was why Konoha's decision to sit by and watch the Uzumaki Clan be wiped out seemed so absurd.
In the near sense, there was the friendship formed by the First Hokage, whose wife was a member of the Uzumaki Clan. In the distant sense, they were, in the truest sense, one family eight hundred years ago, with similar blood flowing through their veins.
If Su Nuo wanted to obtain Yang Release and acquire the Sage Body.
Then the Senju were the best choice. After all, the Uzumaki Clan had too few people.
Among the Senju living in Konoha, Su Nuo chose the best one.
After the Senju Clan foolishly chose to abandon their surname and assimilate into Konoha... only Tsunade remained publicly as the last surviving Senju.
There might be members of the Senju Clan among the numerous Civilian Ninja.
But they were not the best "hosts."
Yamato... was a test subject from the human experiments.
He had mastered Pirated Wood Release.
However, Yamato was currently in Orochimaru's Base, and making contact with Orochimaru was not a good idea.
Su Nuo relied on surprise attacks to kill beings stronger than himself, but even if he chopped off Orochimaru's head, that fellow might grow another one.
Su Nuo remained wary of types with "strong defenses" and "powerful regeneration," because a surprise attack might not kill them.
Moreover, if he possessed Yamato, that fellow was far too young. That would be disadvantageous for combat. At the very least, he needed someone of adolescent age, so he could go to the battlefield to harvest souls and absorb Cursed Energy... At the same time, as the only successful specimen, Yamato would receive even more "attention," which did not suit Su Nuo's intentions.
It would be better to choose a second-rate Wood Style test subject from Danzo's side.
Ogawa Gō had begun as a Jonin and was a second-rate product of the Wood Style experiments. His cell activity far exceeded that of the other members of the Senju Clan, yet he had not awakened Wood Style.
That was already the best choice Su Nuo could make.
"Yang Release."
"Sage Body."
"Senjutsu."
"Natural Energy... Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest."
"Toads, snakes, slugs."
"The Great Toad Sage is an undying old monster who can also prophesy. He is not a good choice. There is only one slug, and the Slug Sage is just a small slug, so that is not a good choice either."
"My only choice is actually Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave?"
After thinking it over, Su Nuo stroked his chin and smiled.
"I have a pretty good plan..."
Before you continue