Konoha Crush Plan, Epicly Enhanced (4)

May 20th, Konoha Year 60.

Otogakure.

Underground laboratory.

Orochimaru lay in a glass tank filled with nutrient solution.

Several months have passed, and his injuries have fully healed. However, his new body requires an enormous amount of nutrition. He enters the Nutrient Tank on time every day, but his body is still like a bottomless pit, thirsting for nutrients.

"Is his Mental Power already this strong at the Third-Class Apprentice stage? As expected, the most crucial thing is Isshiki's Otsutsuki Chakra."

After Orochimaru absorbed all the nutrient solution in the glass chamber, he sat up and felt the gradual fullness in his body. He felt that the time had come.

After several months of recuperation, Orochimaru not only fully recovered from the mental damage he had suffered, but also broke through several barriers in such a short time, advancing to the Third-Class Apprentice, and accelerating the absorption of Isshiki's Otsutsuki Chakra.

At this moment, Orochimaru could sense that his soul was undergoing a qualitative change, which was slowly affecting his body.

"A brand new body, brand new power."

Orochimaru felt that he had completely surpassed the level of the Five Kage of the Era. This was a completely new realm, and his body was filled with terrifying power with every move he made.

With veins bulging at the corners of his eyes, Orochimaru activated his Byakugan, gaining a glimpse into his own body.

After this period of transformation and the fusion of Isshiki's power, his Physical Energy and Mental Energy have been further enhanced, and his Chakra reserves have surged even further.

Although his Chakra reserves were not small before, after cell activation training and Soft Physique Modification, his Chakra reserves are now among the largest of his peers, but he still has to use them carefully.

However, Orochimaru now feels that he has become a humanoid Tailed Beast, and even compared to Tailed Beast Tailed Beast, his Chakra reserves are definitely among the top. He may not be able to compete with the Kurama, but he is no less powerful than the Eight-Tails.

The same Ninjutsu can have vastly different Ninjutsu depending on the amount of Chakra output.

Orochimaru closed his eyes, and his pure white pupils turned bright yellow again. Then, his eyes turned scarlet, and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared.

The Sharingan and Byakugan, which he had coveted for a long time, were now easily obtained after being fused with the Isshiki. Eternal Life was no longer just a beautiful hope, but was within reach.

After familiarizing himself with his body once more, Orochimaru walked out of the laboratory.

In the narrow, cramped corridor, he encountered Xin walking hurriedly towards him.

"Lord Orochimaru, a reply has arrived from Sunagakure." The letter arrived before Orochimaru, who bowed respectfully.

Because Orochimaru considered Shin one of his own, he did not hide anything from Shin about the plan to take revenge on Konoha.

Orochimaru was very satisfied with his new disciple and smiled slightly, saying, "It seems that Sunagakure is also unwilling to give up such a good opportunity."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Shin took out a scroll from his pocket, bowed slightly, and presented the scroll with both hands above his head. Although he had been taken in as Orochimaru's disciple, Shin still treated Orochimaru as his superior as before.

Orochimaru didn't say anything about this, after all, things were different now than they were back then. The only disciples who would act close to him were Nawaki and Anko, while Shiraha could only be considered half a disciple.

"As expected, Rasa could not resist this temptation."

Orochimaru opened the scroll to examine it. The information inside was brief, but the seal and signature of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, at the end were enough to prove the importance of this information.

If this scroll is given to Konoha, the relationship between Sunagakure and Konoha will likely deteriorate immediately.

Of course, Orochimaru wouldn't do that. He just wanted to use the power of Sunagakure to make the Third Hokage and Konoha pay the price.

Although Orochimaru was eager to take revenge on the Third Hokage and Konoha immediately, and his strength had changed dramatically since then, he still wanted to play it safe.

After all, he had successfully devoured the Isshiki because he had considered the worst possible outcome, which was why he narrowly won.

Unexpectedly, things progressed much more smoothly than Orochimaru had anticipated. He only sent someone to contact the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, and the Sunagakure showed great interest in his plan, offering such a generous offer.

Since he could take advantage of the Sunagakure, Orochimaru naturally wouldn't hold back.

After reading the contents of the scroll, Orochimaru carefully put it away.

Rasa has already replied, so he also needs to personally go to the border of the Land of Fire to make preparations in advance.

This is a good opportunity to test just how strong he has become.

Orochimaru wanted to see how long it would take to defeat Rasa, one of the Five Kage of the Era.

"Lord Orochimaru."

A short while later, four ninjas from the Otogakure arrived at the underground laboratory.

He was one of the test subjects who survived after Orochimaru Cursed Seal on him.

The four are collectively known as the Sound Four: Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon, and Jirobo.

They are young powerhouses cultivated by Orochimaru over the past few years, and they can work together to use the ' Four Violet Flames Formation,' a high-level barrier-type Sealing Jutsu that even top-tier Kage Level powerhouses cannot easily break.

At least before Orochimaru absorbed the Isshiki, he was unable to break the Four Violet Flames Formation from the inside.

"Kabuto has delivered intelligence." Tayuya respectfully presented the scroll.

Orochimaru took the scroll and examined it. Inside were details of Kabuto's acquisition of Konoha's Anbu deployment and his agreement with Kakashi.

"Eight Gates, Might Duy, the old man is still the same as before." Orochimaru looked at the scroll mentioning Might Duy and fell into deep thought. This was a secret technique that even Shiraha considered extremely powerful, so Orochimaru dared not be negligent.

Furthermore, there are rumors that the concept of the Eight Gates was proposed by the Second Forbidden Technique Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, and that Might Duy developed the Eight Gates on his own based solely on this concept, which clearly demonstrates his astonishing skill in Taijutsu.

Even Orochimaru was somewhat wary of the power of having Eight Gates open.

To be honest, he is not afraid of physical attacks, especially after completing the Soft Physique Modification and developing the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique. Even if he suffers a fatal attack, he can recover from the injury in a way similar to a snake shedding its skin.

The only drawback of the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique is that it consumes a huge amount of Chakra, Orochimaru himself doesn't use it often.

However, after absorbing the Isshiki and changing bodies, with Orochimaru's current Chakra reserves, he can use the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique Ninjutsu on the spot, even if it's used more than ten times.

However, Orochimaru was still afraid of Sealing Jutsu and attacks on the soul.

Judging from the current situation in Konoha, there aren't many people who can inflict fatal damage on Orochimaru.

"You may all leave." After reading through all the information in the scroll, Orochimaru gestured for Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon, and Jirobo to leave.

"Yes." The four of them respectfully withdrew, looking at Shin, who had been staying by Orochimaru's side, with envy. They all thought that this guy was really lucky. Despite being so weak, he was actually valued by Lord Orochimaru.

At this moment, Orochimaru fell into deep thought. Kakashi being able to trick Might Duy Guy away was naturally the best option.

If he could, Orochimaru would not want to confront Nawaki, his former disciple.

"Lord Orochimaru?"

Just as Orochimaru was lost in thought, Shin suddenly spoke cautiously from the side.

"What's wrong? Letter."

Orochimaru snapped out of his daze and looked at the letter.

Shin couldn't help but ask, "Lord Orochimaru, if you are going to Konoha, could you please take me with you?"

"Of course, but..." Orochimaru nodded, looking at the letter with a thoughtful expression.

Shin looked at Orochimaru with suspicion.

"There are many strong people in Konoha. When a battle breaks out, I may not be able to protect you. So you need to improve your strength before you come to Konoha with me," Orochimaru added. Since he was a disciple, he was concerned about Shin's safety.

Although Shin possesses a special physique that allows him to transplant any cell without rejection, the cells he transplanted previously were all First Hokage Cells with low activity. While these cells helped improve his physique, they had a very small impact on his strength.

Strictly speaking, when Shin approached Orochimaru, he wasn't even a ninja. He was only used as a special test subject by Orochimaru because of his unique physique.

The Chakra he currently possesses is primarily due to Cell Transplantation.

In just a few months, Orochimaru took the time to give Shin some guidance, teaching him to be like a ninja.

Shin's strength is probably only at the Chunin level, so going to Konoha would likely be dangerous for him.

Although Orochimaru was very confident in his own strength, the ninjas of Konoha were not to be underestimated. If he were to be held back and Shin were to be killed, that would be unacceptable to him.

"How about this, I'll transplant some of my cells into you first, then clone a body for you, and I'll use Cursed Seal to seal a portion of your Chakra and consciousness into the new body."

Orochimaru pondered for a moment before speaking.

Unfortunately, Shin's body has no rejection ability, which means Orochimaru cannot Cursed Seal in him, especially the Earth Cursed Seal and the Heavenly Cursed Seal, which can greatly enhance strength. If implanted in Shin's body, they would be quickly digested as negative effects.

Although he was quite confident about this trip to Konoha, he couldn't guarantee that no unexpected events would occur.

Xin was not only his disciple, but his special physique was also a great help to him in continuing his experiments.

"Yes, thank you, Lord Orochimaru." Shin was very excited about Orochimaru's high regard and concern.

Konoha.

Hokage Building.

Meeting room.

With the Chunin Ninja Exams approaching, Konoha High-Level gathered here.

This Chunin Ninja Exams is different from previous ones. The Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure wrote to the Third Hokage, hoping to deepen the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha through this Chunin Ninja Exams. Therefore, Sunagakure hopes to hold Joint Chunin Exam with Konoha and invite dignitaries and high-ranking officials from various countries to watch.

The Konoha High-Level, led by the Third Hokage, attached great importance to this matter and agreed with the Sunagakure's proposal. The main topic of discussion at this meeting was the details of the Chunin Selection Exam.

Since it is Chunin Selection Exam jointly organized by two major ninja villages, it must be held on an unprecedented scale, and at the same time, it should show the other villages the new look of Konoha.

Therefore, the Third Hokage prepared to invite the other Three Great Shinobi Villages, namely Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure, to participate in the competition.

Any country that is willing can participate in this Chunin Ninja Exams.

This will be Chunin Selection Exam open to the entire Shinobi World.

"Lord Hokage, all the letters have been sent out today. This is the list of political figures from various countries who received the letters. Do you see if there is anything that needs to be added?" Shikaku Nara approached Sarutobi Hiruzen with the list and handed it to him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took the list, which listed the various ninja villages that might participate in the competition. At the top of the list was Uzushiogakure.

After all, Uzushiogakure and Konoha are nominally allies, and a close-knit Mutual Defense Alliance at that.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen really didn't want to see the Uzushiogakure, he knew that if Konoha were to hold the Chunin Selection Exam conjunction with Sunagakure, they would have to invite the Uzushiogakure.

Thinking back to the Chunin Ninja Exams when Itachi participated alone, it was because Shiraha and his group disrupted the proceedings that the opportunity to greatly enhance Konoha's reputation was lost, ultimately turning the Chunin Ninja Exams finals into a farce.

If Shiraha were to bring members of the Uchiha to participate in this exam, it would be a blatant slap in the face to the Third Hokage in front of the entire Shinobi World.

Fortunately, there are a few freshmen that Sarutobi Hiruzen values highly. The first one is Naruto, whom he has carefully trained. Naruto's strength is already close to that of Jōnin. After these months of mission training and Kakashi's guidance, Naruto's strength will definitely be even stronger.

There's also Sasuke, a genius among the Uchiha Clan, whose talent reminded Sarutobi Hiruzen from back then.

The combination of Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin is something even Kakashi wouldn't dare underestimate. They could definitely make Konoha shine in this Chunin Ninja Exams and restore Konoha's reputation as the number one ninja village in the Shinobi World.

Even the three of them back then—Haku, Kimimaro, and Meteor —would definitely not be a match for the current Team 7.

In addition, there is Rock Lee, Guy's disciple, who has also mastered the Eight Gates to a high level and possesses explosive power comparable to Jōnin.

Sarutobi Hiruzen put down the list and said in a deep voice, "The list is fine. Next is the ninja deployment at the start of the Chunin Ninja Exams. We must ensure safety and stability during the exams and prevent any unexpected situations from occurring."

"Yes!"

All the Jōnin present said in unison.

Since Danzo was sentenced to life imprisonment, the Root's power has completely returned to Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands. Although his reputation was damaged by the Uchiha Incident, his actual power is even greater than before.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen never forgot Danzo.

News has come from the hospital that Minato's vital signs are rapidly recovering and have stabilized, indicating that he is about to wake up.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hoped to complete the Chunin Ninja Exams successfully before Minato woke up, and then do a few more important things. At that time, he would take the opportunity to propose the release of Danzo, and there would be a high probability that he could get Danzo out.

As long as Danzo is not given real power, the current Uchiha will not Danzo who has lost his power.

Uzushiogakure.

"A joint Chunin Exam, and with Sunagakure no Sakura no Michi... What is this? Is the timeline converging?"

Shiraha was somewhat stunned when he received the Invitation Letter from Konoha.

In the past few months, he has helped Hikari, Taichi, Shion advance to the First-Level Warlock, but he has not been able to find Orochimaru. If the Konoha Crush Plan still occurs, he might be able to meet Orochimaru in Konoha.

and

"Three First-Level Warlock participating shouldn't be considered cheating, right?"