"Lord Orochimaru, shall we continue?"
Dou, having snapped out of his reverie, let out a long breath.
"Continue."
Orochimaru gave a brief response, his eyes never moving, his burning gaze fixed on the massive glass container in front of him from beginning to end.
It was an indescribably huge glass container that stretched across the entire cave ceiling and floor, like an unbelievably thick glass pillar, lying across the middle of a large number of sophisticated experimental instruments.
A huge creature was submerged in the liquid inside the container.
In terms of size alone, it surpasses that of ordinary Tailed Beast.
Huge, bat-like wings folded towards the center of the body, enveloping most of it, while three thick necks intertwined, floating in the liquid in a bizarre posture.
The giant beast's eyelids were tightly closed, as if it were a dead thing, showing no signs of life.
Lord Orochimaru... did he become like this because of something like this?
Kabuto's eyes secretly glanced at Orochimaru in the wheelchair. Ever since Orochimaru brought him to this laboratory, he had been spitting out a rough object the size of an adult's arm from his throat.
Dou didn't know what it was; it looked like the bark of some kind of tree.
Orochimaru, however, was completely obsessed with it, studying it day and night as if he had lost his soul.
Perhaps they were influenced by Orochimaru's spirit?
Dou noticed that her hair had been falling out a lot lately, and she had also lost a few teeth.
But how can such setbacks compare to those of Lord Orochimaru?
If Lord Orochimaru so badly injured yet still wants to study this, then I should work even harder.
"Lord Orochimaru, our resources are no longer sufficient to continue..."
After hesitating for a moment, Dou finally regretfully revealed his current predicament.
Orochimaru's research is too resource-intensive.
As the experiment has progressed, not only this base, but all the resources from other bases have been transferred here, yet they still cannot sustain the enormous energy consumption required to operate the experiment.
We've reached our limit.
Taking another step forward would lead to a shortage of supplies.
"Is that so...?"
Orochimaru murmured thoughtfully.
The amount of resources consumed in conducting such a horrific experiment is astronomical.
Although he has accumulated a considerable fortune over the years, even if he invested it all, it would still be far from enough.
Only a major ninja village could withstand an experiment of this level.
But having come this far, how could he possibly be willing to give up now!
Orochimaru looked up at the enormous object in the glass container, his snake-like eyes seeming to burn with a raging flame.
This is the culmination of his life's work, the product of everything he gave!
After countless nights of research and endless contemplation, they finally cracked the genetic secrets of Godzilla's cells.
Orochimaru's desire for the object before him even surpassed that for the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Giving up here is absolutely out of the question!
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something.
A playful smile appeared in his snake-like eyes.
"I seem to have heard some interesting rumors lately. It seems that Kumogakure might be something we can make use of."
This experimental base is located within the Land of Lightning, so contacting Kumogakure) is not difficult.
At least on some points, they are aligned.
The Raikage Chamber.
Ai looked out the window, still as haggard as ever. Her once robust body had become emaciated in just a few days.
The once bustling Kumogakure has long lost its usual atmosphere.
Despite his orders to cover it up as much as possible, it was impossible to hide the fact that the village had suffered such a great loss.
The village is now in a state of panic, and has reached the point of disintegration.
These past few days, Ai has been racking his brains trying to figure out how to lead the village out of its predicament, but no matter how much he thinks, he has no results.
It seems that only one path remains before us: revenge against Konoha!
Let the pride of Kumogakure be infused with blood and corpses, and let the treacherous Konoha pay for their blood debts.
But this path comes at a great cost.
Ai dared not make a decision until the very last moment.
The image of Uchiha Mirai cleaving Kumogakure in two with a single sword strike kept replaying in his mind.
Just then, as if drawn by something, Ai's gaze suddenly shifted to her desk.
He stared in astonishment at his desk.
On one corner of the table, a slender white snake was swimming over, its bright red tongue flicking out.
"Snakes? How could there be snakes in Kumogakure?"
Ai frowned in surprise.
This illogical scene puzzled him.
Kumogakure is not a village known for its snakes. The village is surrounded by rocky mountains, and even animals are quite rare, let alone white snakes.
And what a coincidence that it climbed onto my desk.
Before Ai could think any further, the little white snake raised its upper body, stopped directly in front of Ai, and wriggled out a scroll about the thickness of a thumb from its throat.
Ai's pupils contracted slightly.
This isn't a wild snake; it's a communication method used by some ninja!
He hesitated for a moment, then picked up the scroll from the table.
Since the other party has a way to let the snake in, let's see what they're up to.
Ai's expression changed drastically when he saw the contents of the scroll.