Poaching Talent by Boiling the Frog Slowly

The "Chain of Emotions" was activated, and a large amount of Emotional Power overflowed from the bodies of the couple in the tomb.

Invisible chains connected the Emotional Power, surging into Shiraha's Wood Spirit Avatar, and then entering the depths of his soul.

The Emotional Power of a living being does not immediately dissipate shortly after its death.

Especially some extraordinary beings, even after years of death, still possess a powerful and intense Emotional Power within their corpses.

Death is, after all, one of the things that living beings fear most.

"Let's go." After absorbing the Emotional Power, Shiraha glanced at Pakura, who was deep in thought, and slowly spoke before walking towards the cave in the distance.

Snowflakes continued to fall from the sky, and it was estimated that the grave would soon be covered in snow and ice.

As for the news of the man's suicide, Shiraha did not intend to tell Bai, because he had already lost both parents the moment his father killed his mother. There was no need to add new troubles to him, and he might not have the chance to revisit the place in the future anyway.

"Okay." Pakura nodded and followed.

The man was dead, but she felt no sense of relief whatsoever; in fact, she felt a tightness in her chest and realized that her previous sense of 'justice' was somewhat laughable.

It's this damned world that has driven kind people to their doom.

The two quickly returned to the makeshift cave.

Bai was curled up close to the campfire, trying to keep warm, and the tear stains on his face had not yet dried.

He ate his food in small bites while crying sadly. As for the money Shiraha had given him, he left it all on the ground beside him, weighed down with small stones, and didn't touch it at all.

"Uncle, big sister, you're back."

Seeing Shiraha and Pakura return to the cave, Bai carefully put down the food, stood up, wiped away her tears, and gave a slightly forced smile.

Bai was thin and had a childish voice. Judging from his appearance, it was easy to mistake him for a girl. However, he did have the resilience of a boy. He had just suffered a great loss and lost his parents, but he still tried his best to appear strong.

"Let's eat first." Shiraha gestured for Bai to sit down, then took out more food from his Storage Scroll and distributed it to Pakura and Bai.

"Thank you, uncle."

Bai took the food from Shiraha with both hands, and waited carefully until the two of them sat down before sitting in the corner. Then he picked up the food he had been eating and began to eat it in small bites.

Pakura noticed that after Bai finished his food, he didn't continue eating the jerky Shiraha had given him, and couldn't help but ask, "Bai, are you full? Or do you not like the jerky?"

"I'm already full." Bai smiled, but his stomach protested loudly. He quickly explained, "People who don't work should eat less. I'll show my value in the future; I'll definitely be useful!"

Pakura's eyes welled up with tears. She picked up the dried meat and handed it to Bai: "Eat it quickly. We don't need you to do anything."

As she spoke, Pakura looked at Shiraha.

Ignoring Pakura's gaze, Shiraha asked Bai, "If I teach you Ninjutsu, make you stronger, and turn you into a tool for me to kill, would you be willing?"

"I... I'm willing!" Bai's eyes showed some struggle, but she still nodded heavily and said, "Uncle saved me and gave me the opportunity and meaning to live, so even if I become your tool, I will try my best to be a valuable tool!"

"Kodama, you!" Pakura felt that Shiraha was being rather heartless, saying such things to a child who had just lost his parents. This child looked very kind, and turning him into a ninja and a killing tool was too cruel for him.

"Big sister, this is my own choice. Only when I am needed can I feel my own value." Bai hugged her knees, curled up, and slowly said, "The village where I grew up is very small. My parents work from sunrise to sunset, cultivating barren land. Their life is very poor, and they often go hungry, but I feel very happy."

It wasn't until I discovered that I had the ability to control the flow of water at will, and when I excitedly showed my mother my special ability, she seemed very frightened and guilty.

The father and the villagers also witnessed this scene.

The uncles and elders who used to be very kind to me have completely changed their attitude; they seem very scared.

My father was so kind and loved my mother and me so much. He must have been forced to kill us.

Because of my abilities, everything changed.

The old man took me in, which must have been a huge risk, so I need to be a useful tool.

As she spoke, Bai raised her head, a heartbreaking smile appearing on her face.

"Don't say anymore." Pakura was moved and gently hugged Bai. This child was too pitiful.

"I'm pleased that you have this awareness. Don't worry, I won't use you as a tool, nor will I ask you to kill for me." Shiraha nodded slightly and said, "Even if you awakened the Ice Style bloodline and have great talent, it will still take at least seven or eight years to reach a point where you can help me. I will find you a good place!"

"Uncle, are you trying to get rid of me? I'll try my best!" Bai looked somewhat bewildered.

"Where are you going to send this child?" Pakura couldn't help but ask.

Shiraha smiled and said, "Don't worry, the place he goes to will definitely be the most suitable place for him to grow up. I promised to help the Land of Whirlpools find ninjas with Kekkei Genkai. Bai has great talent and has awakened Ice Style. He will definitely receive special training in the Land of Whirlpools."

"You know Yagami Shiraha and Kushina Uzumaki?!" Pakura's expression was one of surprise.

Shiraha and Kushina had already made First Shinobi World War name for themselves in the Third Shinobi World War, and later they left Konoha and returned to the Land of Whirlpools ruins to rebuild the Uzumaki Clan.

As the Third Shinobi World War ended and time passed, the fame of the two gradually faded until the recent First Shinobi World War with Kirigakure made the world aware of the true strength of the Uzumaki Clan. This is a powerful Ninja Clan that can stand alongside the Five Great Shinobi Villages, because Shiraha and Kushina are worth thousands of troops.

"He gave me my life." Shiraha smiled, and he wasn't lying. Without him, there would be no Wood Spirit Avatar.

"Is it because he saved you that you're helping him find a bloodline ninja?" Pakura hesitated. "But are you sure Haku won't become a victim of human experimentation?"

The fact that Konoha suffered heavy casualties among the Former Senju Clan ninjas due to the Wood Release Experiment became common knowledge.

In addition, Orochimaru's use of fellow village ninjas for human experiments completely ruined his reputation in the Shinobi World.

Every ninja village conducts human experiments, and Sunagakure is no exception. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to develop such a powerful weapon of war Human Puppet. However, the bottom line for all the ninja villages is not to use their own people for experiments.

Both Konoha and Orochimaru crossed this line. Even if the Former Senju Clan ninjas were acting voluntarily, no one knows whether they were deceived.

Before leaving Konoha, Shiraha had a high reputation in the Konoha. However, to ninjas from other villages, he was Orochimaru's disciple and was sure he would also enjoy conducting evil experiments and searching for bloodline ninjas, perhaps even for human experimentation. Therefore Pakura was somewhat worried about Haku's safety.

"Don't worry, the Uzumaki Clan has publicly stated that they will take in wandering bloodline ninjas, so it's absolutely impossible for them to use a bloodline ninja like Haku for dangerous human experiments. At most, they will just extract some blood for routine research," Shiraha explained.

"When did the Uzumaki Clan say they would publicly take in bloodline ninjas?" Pakura asked, somewhat puzzled. There was no such thing at all.

"Just recently," Shiraha explained, explaining that this was actually a method he had just come up with on the spur of the moment.

Instead of searching for hidden bloodline ninjas like looking for a needle in a haystack throughout the Land of Water, why not just openly announce that they are taking in bloodline ninjas from the Land of Water?

In any case, Kirigakure adopted a policy of exterminating bloodline ninjas, so what Shiraha did was to give these bloodline ninjas a way out.

At that time, we only need to focus on training Haku and Kimimaro as key figures. We won't even need to advertise. There will definitely be bloodline ninjas from the Land of Water who will be willing to come to the Land of Whirlpools. After all, this First Shinobi World War has made the reputation of the Uzumaki Clan famous.

As for whether this behavior constitutes poaching and crosses the bottom line of Kirigakure and the Land of Water, Shiraha doesn't care at all.

Who told Kirigakure to invade Land of Whirlpools first, and they haven't even fought yet!

In this Shinobi World, might makes right.

As long as he wasn't at war with several major powers at the same time, Shiraha didn't take Kirigakure seriously. If it weren't for the fact that Kirigakure had a Six-Tails Jinchuriki strength was unknown, Shiraha would have done far more than just skin Kirigakure this time.

Even though the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was no match for Kushina and Kurama combined, the fact that Perfect Jinchuriki could use the Tailed Beast Ball meant that caution was necessary.

This thing is like a nuclear bomb. Shiraha and Kushina currently possess the strongest Kurama, but if a few Tailed Beast Ball were to hit, they might be fine, but everyone else in the Land of Land of Whirlpools would be in trouble.

Therefore, unless he has absolute certainty, Shiraha does not intend to drive a great power to the brink of destruction. He can instead use a gradual, slow approach to wear down the enemy Kirigakure.

Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, if Kirigakure hadn't started massacring Bloodline Clan throughout the Land of Water in recent years, and if internal strife hadn't frequently occurred within the village, its strength wouldn't be much weaker than Konoha's. It would at least be on par with Kumogakure and Iwagakure. It's just that the Third Mizukage's reputation isn't as prominent when it comes to the strength of top-tier ninjas.

If Kirigakure were to go through another ten years of turmoil, it would probably be a mere shell of its former self.

That will be the time when the Land of Whirlpools rises to power, stepping over the corpses of the Kirigakure.

In this First Shinobi World War, Shiraha held back somewhat and used relatively restrained methods, mainly focusing on deterrence. He hoped that other villages would be wary of the Land of Whirlpools's methods, but not intimidated by them. Otherwise, if they were to face another multinational Allied Force attack, the establishment of a nation would be a long way off.

Moreover, there is much that can be done in Konoha as well. The same methods that were used in Kirigakure can also be used in Konoha.

If Uchiha manages to sway either the Shiraha or Hyūga clans, Konoha will be in serious trouble.

"Besides Haku, there's also Kimimaro. The Kaguya Clan will be attacking Kirigakure soon, and their extermination is inevitable. We'll rescue Kimimaro then, and then take him and Haku to Land of Whirlpools to hand them over to Shiraha." Shiraha explained, "If you want to visit Haku, you can go to Land of Whirlpools anytime."

"I can go to the Land of Whirlpools anytime?" Pakura was slightly taken aback. Sunagakure had not established diplomatic relations with the Uzumaki Clan, and she was now 'dead'. If someone found out that she was still alive but had not returned to Sunagakure, she would be regarded as missing-nin.

"Of course, as long as you are still a member of the organization, you can go to the Land of Whirlpools at any time," Shiraha said with a smile.

"Could it be that the ' Infinite Ring ' organization and the Land of Whirlpools are connected?" Pakura's eyes widened as a startling possibility suddenly occurred to her.

Shiraha and Kushina's strength was already incredibly exaggerated. Pakura considered herself to be quite strong among the Kage Level, but she was clearly no match for the Kodama in front of her.

If the Land of Infinite Ring and the Land of Whirlpools join forces, they will eventually be able to stand alongside the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and in the future, they may even be able to compete with Konoha for the Genin World's overlord.

In an instant, Pakura's confidence in taking revenge on Sunagakure and changing the world soared.

Kirigakure, a powerful military force and one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, suffered heavy losses in its recent battle with the Land of Whirlpools.

The loss of hundreds of ninjas was a devastating blow to Kirigakure. More importantly, due to Kirigakure's closed-off policy, it received fewer commissions than other major powers. In addition, the defeat to a 'small force' like the Uzumaki Clan was, at least in the eyes of high-ranking officials and nobles, a significant blow to Kirigakure's prestige.

Furthermore, although Kirigakure did not have to pay war reparations after this defeat, they still needed to continuously purchase medicines from the Uzumaki Clan and the ' Serpent Spirit ' Medical Group just to treat the hundreds of ninjas who had suffered radiation damage.

Just as Kirigakure was beset by internal and external troubles, a group of over a hundred people, under the cover of night, openly arrived at a hilltop not far from Kirigakure.

This group of people all had black hair and black eyes, with black eyeshadow on their eyelids, two red dots between their eyebrows, and their hair was tied in a Samurai topknot. Each of them had a fanatical and crazy look in their eyes.

This is the Kaguya Clan, famous Shinobi World for their Shikotsumyaku (Shikotsumyaku). It is said that they are distant Hyuga clan. Both were powerful Ninja Clan that dominated their respective regions during the Warring States Period. However, they were later defeated by the Uchiha Clan, and the remaining members of the clan migrated to the Land of Water.

Due to a virus deeply rooted in their bloodline, most Kaguya Clan die from bloodline disease, and as time goes by, fewer and fewer clan members are able to awaken the Shikotsumyaku Pulse).

In this generation, even the head of the Kaguya Clan has not awakened the Shikotsumyaku. The only person to have awakened the Shikotsumyaku is a seven or eight-year-old child named Kaguya Kimimaro, who is also one of Shiraha's targets on this trip.

Kimimaro stood outside the crowd, his short figure obscured by the people in front of him, but his silver-white hair stood out from the crowd.

Despite being a ninja of the Kaguya Clan clan, a warrior race obsessed with battle, Kimimaro remained calm, unable to comprehend why his clansmen displayed such fanaticism towards fighting and killing.

Because of Kimimaro's 'uniqueness', he was regarded as an outcast in the Kaguya Clan. In particular, Kimimaro was not warlike at all, awakened the Shikotsumyaku, which no one else possessed, and was thus isolated by everyone.

Normally, Kimimaro would be locked up alone in the dungeon, and his clansmen would only release him when he was needed to fight. In the Kaguya Clan, he was merely used as a killing weapon at will.

However, for Kimimaro, being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with his clansmen was enough.

For him, this was also the meaning of survival.

He didn't care what the fighting and killing were for.

After all, almost every member of the Kaguya clan died in battle.

Perhaps dying in battle was his destiny; he was no different from the other members of his tribe.

As for imprisoning him, it was because his clansmen feared he would lose control of the power of the Shikotsumyaku.

Now that his people need him, he must fight for them and for the meaning of his own survival.

"Fellow clansmen! Now is the time to show Kirigakure the strength of our Kaguya Clan!"

The Kaguya Clan Leader raised his arms and shouted, seemingly having no intention of launching a surprise attack on Kirigakure at all. Or rather, the Kaguya Clan attacked Kirigakure without any intention of hiding. The Kaguya clan members, who are single-minded, probably don't have any strategy.

"Aww!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill all the ninja from Kirigakure!"

"Feel the fear!"

"Killing one is no loss, killing two is a bonus!"

The members of the Kaguya Clan grew increasingly excited, their faces filled with the thrill of impending slaughter, seemingly utterly unafraid of death.

"Rush!"

The crowd roared and rushed toward the gate of Kirigakure.

Kimimaro remained calm, following behind his clansmen, as if he were not concerned about the impending death.

Less than half an hour.

The gates of Kirigakure were piled high with the corpses of the Kaguya Clan ninjas.

They were wiped out by the Kirigakure ninja before they could even breach the gate.

Kirigakure is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Even if all of the Kaguya Clan's hundreds of clan members were Jōnin, it would be unlikely that they could destroy Kirigakure. Moreover, most of these people have mediocre talents due to Bloodline Disease. The more capable clan leader is Special Jonin, and only about half of the clan members have the strength of Chunin. The rest are barely at the Genin.

The strongest fighter among them was Kimimaro, who awakened the Shikotsumyaku at the young age of seven. He repeatedly turned the tables on his enemies by freely manipulating Osteoblast and Osteoclast with the Shikotsumyaku. However, he was too young and lacked Chakra, so he quickly ran out of energy in the battle.

If it weren't for the Kaguya Clan Leader's order to retreat, Kimimaro would have fought to the very end and died alongside his clansmen.

Beside the stream not far from Kirigakure.

Kimimaro stepped into the stream, then squatted down to wash the blood off his hands and face, his expression remaining perfectly calm.

However, looking at his reflection in the water, a hint of confusion flashed in Kimimaro's eyes.

The Kaguya Clan will be expelled from the family register.

At the clan chief's command, he chose to retreat at the last moment, but without his clansmen, what would be the meaning of his existence?

"Life. What is the meaning of living?"

Kimimaro stood up from the icy stream. Under the bright moonlight, the surroundings seemed empty, just like his heart at that moment.

"Of course you can find meaning in life just by being alive. If you can't find it, then let me give you meaning!"

A gentle voice rang out from the darkness, sounding quite abrupt.

Kimimaro tensed up and subconsciously activated the power of the Shikotsumyaku). A half-meter-long arm bone pierced through his palm and transformed into a sharp Bone Sword.

"You are too young. Using such powerful energy will shorten your lifespan."

Shiraha emerged from the darkness.

This time, it was his true form that came. After studying the cells of the Kaguya clan, he discovered that the power of the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku was even greater than he had imagined, especially since the research samples were Kaguya clan cells that had not yet awakened their Shikotsumyaku.

So he personally came to the outskirts of Kirigakure and witnessed the Kaguya Clan's suicidal attack.

Just as he was about to make his move, he discovered that Kimimaro had escaped on his own, so he followed him here.

Kimimaro was slightly taken aback when he saw the handsome young man in the white robe in front of him.

"Come with me, I'll give you a reason to live." Ignoring Kimimaro's defensive stance, Shiraha Yu walked up to him without any precautions, gently stroked his tender, cold face, and said with a smile, "Let me give you a home."

"Such warm hands." Kimimaro looked up at Shiraha's inhumanly handsome face and his captivating smile, and couldn't help but feel his cheeks burning.

Was this a divine intervention to save him?

Shiraha removed the clasp from the robe and draped it over Kimimaro's shoulders.

The robe that originally fit him perfectly turned into a floor-length cloak when worn by Kimimaro, but Kimimaro felt an indescribable warmth from it.

After draping the robe over Kimimaro, Shiraha turned and left.

Kimimaro opened his mouth, but suddenly couldn't make a sound, because he didn't know what to say.

Shiraha paused, turned around, and chuckled, "What's wrong? What are you standing there for? Aren't you coming home with me?"

"Hmm~!" Kimimaro finally spoke, nodding heavily as he chased after them.

"My name is Kaguya Kimimaro. Please tell me your name!" Kimimaro said respectfully.

"My name is Yagami Shiraha."

Shiraha said with a smile.

"Lord Shiraha, from now on you are the meaning of my life, and I will dedicate the rest of my life to you!" Kimimaro's young face showed an almost pious expression.

Shiraha smiled and nodded, then gently stroked Kimimaro's cheek again.

"It seems I'm late."

Shiraha and Kimimaro had only taken a few steps when a slightly deep, hoarse voice rang out.

A man with long, black hair reaching his waist stood by the stream. His skin was slightly pale, his face was thin, and his eyes were narrow, with black eyeliner and purple eyeshadow. His pupils were eerie, vertical golden pupils, and he wore blue and green Magatama-shaped Earrings.

It was Orochimaru, Shiraha's former teacher.

Standing next to Orochimaru was a boy with a youthful face but a very tall stature. He had orange hair and orange eyes, and looked to be about the same age as Kimimaro, but there was a big difference in height.

Orochimaru was clearly also interested in Kimimaro, which is why he came here.

I just didn't expect Shiraha to beat me to it.

This was exactly what Shiraha had expected.

Without him, Kimimaro's fate would have been Orochimaru, and he would have died around the age of 16 from the bloodline disease of Shikotsumyaku.

However, now that he has chosen Shiraha, his fate will begin to change.

Shiraha currently lacks sufficient research on bloodline diseases, but he is an expert in bloodline research and transplantation. After all, that's what Bloodline Warlock do. Even if he can't completely cure Kimimaro's bloodline disease, Shiraha is still very confident that he can live a few more years.

As for how far the research can go in the future, nobody knows. Perhaps it will be able to completely cure hematopoietic disorders.

"This is... such rich Natural Energy." Compared to Orochimaru, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, what caught Shiraha's attention more was the boy standing next to Orochimaru, whose body was filled with Natural Energy.

Shiraha activated his enhanced perception ability of "Sixth Sense," and saw that the boy was like a magnet, constantly attracting the Natural Energy overflowing in the space.

As expected, Orochimaru always manages to discover all sorts of talented people.

Orochimaru noticed that Shiraha was looking at Jugo beside him, and instinctively blocked Jugo. Looking at Shiraha, he said calmly, "It's been a long time, Shiraha."

Shiraha withdrew his gaze and said with a smile:

"It has indeed been a long time since we last met, Orochimaru-sensei."