At the end of June, the rebellion in Kirigakure was temporarily halted. When the news reached Konoha, the members of the Jonin Division were all secretly amazed.
During the meeting, everyone looked puzzled upon learning that two more members of the Ninja Blade had been killed. Shikaku Nara, in particular, widened his eyes and asked in a somewhat distraught manner, " The Fourth Mizukage actually condoned this turmoil and even promoted a new Ninja Blade successor because of it?"
"This means the Mizukage supports seeking the Ninja Blade position in this way, which doesn't seem to benefit the village at all, does it?"
Konoha had been on guard against Kirigakure's retaliation, but now, even more hatred had arisen within Kirigakure's ranks.
This is such an outrageous situation that no one has ever seen before. The way the Kumogakure acts is normal. When the Raikage is killed, they immediately go to the Iwagakure Ninja to take revenge, regardless of the cost.
Orochimaru, sitting to Tsunade's left, chuckled softly upon hearing the question, "You heard me right, Kisame Hoshigaki, the successor to Samehada, is a Ninja Blade who was promoted by the Mizukage."
"There's another piece of information: the Daimyo of the Land of Water suddenly reduced the funding for the second half of the year, which may be the reason why Kirigakure has returned to the Bloody Mist Policy."
"Although the enemy's strength is gradually weakening, we must still remain vigilant."
"My Anbu members reported that some squads were being perfunctory during patrols, and our base's supplies weren't being replaced in a timely manner."
I don't want to see this happen again.
Although Orochimaru spoke calmly, as if discussing a trivial matter, the Jonin present all Jonin a chill run down their spines and responded loudly, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
The comfortable life allowed the Konoha Ninja to relax somewhat, as the Land of Fire was surrounded by a vast buffer zone, with Small Nations serving as their allies.
With the support of the allied nations and the increase in the village's revenue, some Konoha Ninja have become arrogant and have started to slack off when carrying out internal missions.
"There's no need for that, Orochimaru."
"Most of those who carry out these tasks are children; a warning from the teacher in charge is enough."
97
"The intelligence work in Kirigakure definitely needs to be strengthened. This news doesn't make sense. The Fourth Mizukage shouldn't make such a basic mistake."
Tsunade, dressed in a robe with fire cloud patterns, offered some words of comfort, but as she finished speaking, a look of confusion appeared on her face. The more she learned, the more absurd everything that had happened in Kirigakure seemed.
"You're still as merciful as ever. If we could, we should seize the opportunity to plunder you!"
" The Kumogakure have most likely already begun their operation. Don't forget how their Kekkei Genkai ninjas were created."
"We'll discuss this at the next Jonin Division meeting. You can go back and think about it."
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, many people secretly glanced at Tsunade and noticed that the Fourth Hokage seemed to have no objections, and they immediately knew the answer.
This wouldn't have happened during the Third Hokage's time. The new Hokage clearly doesn't mind appropriately replenishing the village's strength, and the Kekkei Genkai is worth trying.
When the meeting ended, Akimichi Choza hurriedly left. His son had just been born, and as a father, he wished he could stay at home every day.
Watching his friend's retreating figure, Shikaku Nara sighed softly. Yamanaka Inoichi, standing beside him, joked, "In a few months, you and I will probably be in the same situation."
Don't laugh at Choza in your heart; this is also a sign of a mature man.
Shikaku Nara, whose friend's son Choji Akimichi, was indeed very cute, said with anticipation, thinking that he would become a father in a few months, "I wonder if it will be a son or a daughter. I feel that a son would be quite troublesome."
"Without war, it's better to have a daughter..."
Yamanaka Inoichi felt the same way. He also began to slack off in his comfortable life. With a well-behaved daughter by his side, life seemed even happier.
Orochimaru had observed the changes in the Konoha Ninja. Although he didn't handle many daily tasks, a glance at the assessment report was enough to grasp everyone's thoughts, "It's changed like this in just one year, Tsunade, this is your responsibility!"
"Ninjas must always be vigilant. Although I don't like Root's past practices, sometimes I have to remind them."
"Peace is built on our absolute strength. If the other major ninja villages discover this situation, they won't show any mercy."
Tsunade nodded slightly in agreement, but then added, " Iwagakure and Kumogakure?"
"We definitely need to be on guard, but we can't spare too many personnel from the Anbu right now."
Orochimaru seemed thoughtful. He didn't ask why; he was aware of the Anbu's movements and could guess some of the information. "I understand. We'll discuss this again after the Anbu personnel are back to their normal organization."
"I still have some experiments to do this afternoon, so I'll head back now."
Orochimaru stood up without lingering and strode towards the door. Tsunade felt that her old friend's body seemed to have changed, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. "Was training too tiring?"
Tsunade stretched out her arm and exerted force. The muscles on her forearm that she used to have disappeared, but the Chakra she instantly generated far exceeded her peak condition.
Perhaps it was the activation of the Senju Clan's talent, Tsunade felt her vitality slowly increasing. Although her body became much more flexible, her cells and meridians were strengthened.
With such power from ordinary Chakra, Tsunade inexplicably thought of her disciple, "You who altered my body, what level of strength have you reached?"
"As a teacher, I'm really terrible..."
Tsunade felt a surge of warmth in her cheeks whenever she thought of the sense of security that came from having someone she could rely on, a feeling she admired.
After all, Shu Furukawa is too young. Even if he looks like an adult, he will only be 14 years old in a few months.
Late at night, in the Root Laboratory in the eastern part of the village, a large number of scrolls filled the room. Orochimaru read them continuously, occasionally picking up a pen to take notes.
Noticing the door open, he said in a low voice without looking up, "Xiu, help me perfect another batch of Hashirama Cells."
" The Root conducted some experiments in the past, and it seems that the power of the Uchiha Clan can balance the erosion of Hashirama Cells."
"If we trace back to even older records, the combination of the two seems to reveal an even more fascinating phenomenon."
"You saw that manuscript about the Sage of Six Paths, right? It was collected from the Uzumaki Clan. Their Sealing Jutsu seem to have originated from this sage."
Orochimaru has fallen into a kind of fanaticism during this period, frantically studying all records about the Sage of Six Paths.
Through Konoha's documents, a peculiar relationship between the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan was further deduced.
" Hashirama Cells aren't a problem, teacher. You need to pay attention to changes in your body."
"Your Chakra aura has changed a lot recently, perhaps due to the influence of Natural Energy."
Shu Furukawa walked to Orochimaru's side and whispered a reminder. The latter then looked up, frowned after careful consideration, and asked uncertainly, "Is it a problem with Senjutsu Chakra?"
"It's possible. This force seems to be changing the teachers, but I can't be sure of the specifics."
Orochimaru thought back carefully and realized that after receiving the news of cooperating with the Mangekyō Sharingan user, he seemed to have inexplicably felt anxious and eager.
He devoured these documents, something he would never have done before, let alone place his power in ethereal legends.
"An interesting change! My Chakra has been warped!"
"Is it the effect of Senjutsu? It's a pity I can't go to Ryūchi Cave to confirm with the White Snake Sage."
After letting out a long breath, Orochimaru completely calmed his inexplicable anxiety, a smile returning to his face. He handed Shu Furukawa a scroll. "This is the information on the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu that you needed."
" The Reaper Death Seal Technique is indeed very interesting. How to undo it is not yet complete, and I have marked some of my own thoughts on it."
"Thank you, Orochimaru- sensei. This is enough!"
Shu Furukawa accepted the scroll; as long as he could determine a few directions, he could perfect the technique.
If the plan proceeds as scheduled, he will be able to obtain the Nine-Tails Chakra.
Combined with the Indra and Ashura Chakra within his body, he essentially possesses the "coordinates" of the Sage of Sage of Six Paths.
"Your reminder reminds me of the village's past research on the Uchiha Clan."
" Chakra can indeed distort a ninja's personality, and eye power may be a manifestation of a higher level of Chakra."
"Perhaps Senjutsu Chakra also has this kind of manifestation."
"If the deduction is correct, higher quality Chakra will distort a person's personality more. When practicing Senjutsu, you should also pay attention to changes in your body."
Perhaps sensing his disciple's concern, Orochimaru blurted out all his deductions. After a moment of contemplation, Shu Furukawa nodded vigorously and expressed his gratitude once again.
When the experiment ended that night, Orochimaru hurriedly left again. He hoped that the new vessel could fuse the power of the Senju and Uchiha. Time was of the essence, and he had to speed things up.
Shu Furukawa continued organizing the data, a figure silently appeared on his shoulder. Seeing several reports recording the subjects' emotions, he said in a soft, gentle voice, "Is Master Osamu also worried about his health?"
"Actually, there's no need for that. As long as Master Xiu doesn't use my body, my Senjutsu Chakra will have little effect on him."
"Her Senjutsu Chakra is compressed. When you train together, it will have some influence on you, but that's all due to your desires."
"Whether it's immortality or reproduction, these are both desires of Master Xiu himself."
Shu Furukawa felt he'd lost because he'd emphasized the word "reproduction," but he didn't want to discuss it, so he sighed again in a language the other couldn't understand, "Does cultivating immortality require cultivating the mind? I've indeed embarked on the path to immortality..."