Helping Orochimaru Clear His Name

Tsunade said, "You still have the leisure to mess around with this?"

"But with your talent, it's not impossible for you to awaken Wood Release."

Tsunade was actually a little sour when she said that. As Hashirama Senju's granddaughter, she should have been the one most likely to awaken Wood Release.

Yet the truth was that, even now, she could only use the Senju Clan's most prized brute strength, physical prowess, and chakra.

Mito Uzumaki was intrigued as well. Wood Release was not something one could awaken just by wanting it.

Uchiha Yato was not the sort of person who made empty boasts, either. She was looking forward to what came next.

Uchiha Yato said, "A while ago, I gained some insights while researching with Orochimaru."

"If it succeeds, awakening Wood Release is still possible."

Mito Uzumaki still felt somewhat uneasy upon hearing that.

It wasn't as if she had never heard Orochimaru's name before.

How could she not have heard of someone who, like Tsunade, was called one of the Three Sannin and had once been Nawaki's teacher?

But the higher-ups more or less knew that he had gotten mixed up with Danzo Shimura.

Tsunade also said at that moment, "Orochimaru didn't invite you to conduct Wood Release experiments, did he?"

"He came to me before too. I thought he was joking at the time."

Uchiha Yato explained, "Don't look at human experimentation so one-sidedly, all right?"

"Have you become this narrow-minded after spending too long around Danzo?"

Yato's attempt to clear Orochimaru's name was not merely about clearing his name.

He wanted to win over the Three Sannin. That would benefit their future development.

In the original story, it was precisely because of various factors that rifts formed among the Three Sannin.

But now, as long as Danzo Shimura was dealt with, a Konoha Village with the Three Sannin would not be a force to underestimate.

Yato's plan was simple. He did not need to conquer the ninja world.

At the very least, while he was alive, the ninja world would be nothing more than his personal toy.

Yato's ambition was simple: to give the items and "toys" the system granted him to the entire ninja world.

After hearing Yato's words,

Mito Uzumaki asked, "There won't be any harmful effects on the body, right?"

Yato roughly explained what volunteers were, then gave them a bit of medical knowledge as well.

With Tsunade, a master of medical ninjutsu, present, she could verify whether what Yato said was correct.

Yato went on to explain his speculation about Wood Release. (This would only be a general explanation; the details had already been covered earlier during Orochimaru's invitation.)

"So I think it is absolutely necessary to investigate it. That is also one of the reasons I came to see you this time."

Mito Uzumaki more or less understood Yato's request.

He wanted Tsunade to join the Wood Release research team and wanted assurance that it would not cause too much harm to her body.

Tsunade was actually quite eager deep down.

From Yato's description, it was clear that Orochimaru's human experiments were related to medicine in certain ways.

For a ninja passionate about medical ninjutsu, there was common ground there.

She could discuss medicine with Orochimaru while also attempting to awaken Wood Release and fulfill her long-held wish.

It was killing two birds with one stone, so Tsunade very much hoped her grandmother would agree.

Mito Uzumaki looked at the expectant eyes of the two of them and did not remain overly stubborn.

She told Yato that he had to ensure both Tsunade's safety and his own. Otherwise, she would absolutely not allow them to participate in Wood Release research.

Yato still hoped to play with the entire ninja world in the future. How could he possibly take his own life so lightly?

At that moment, Yato appropriately brought up another topic.

"Uncle Sakumo has had it rough lately. He got set up again."

"If someone with ulterior motives takes advantage of this and succeeds,"

"then what will happen to the Will of Fire? Sigh..."

Yato had deliberately said those words for Mito Uzumaki to hear.

His meaning was clear: human lives mattered more than missions, and someone was fanning the flames behind this matter.

If it was mishandled, it would become a disaster for all of Konoha Village, so it had to be dealt with cautiously.

Mito Uzumaki deliberately found an excuse to send Tsunade away, then asked Yato,

"You brat already has an idea, don't you?"

Yato smiled bashfully, which was as good as admitting that he did.

Mito Uzumaki said patiently, "First, you must have conclusive evidence."

"Second, you are not allowed to use extreme methods or force."

"Provided you can guarantee those two conditions, no matter who you uncover, I will allow you to use force directly."

Yato had received the assurance he wanted most.

The guarantee and support of Konoha's empress dowager.

Inside Orochimaru's laboratory.

This time, someone Orochimaru could never have expected arrived—Mito Uzumaki.

She still wanted to see whether Orochimaru's experiments were truly harmless and beneficial.

Mito Uzumaki's gaze made Orochimaru experience a different kind of emotion.

It was a little like a mother-in-law looking at her prospective son-in-law, her eyes full of scrutiny and disdain.

The moment you give me any reason for dissatisfaction, I guarantee your project will be shut down.

Orochimaru immediately took Mito Uzumaki to tour his most normal laboratory.

Yato had previously told Orochimaru that he hoped his laboratory would be more proper.

But he had not expected the official conducting the surprise inspection to be of such high rank.

Even if it had been his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he would have felt that seeing something did not matter.

He could just turn a blind eye and let it pass.

But Mito Uzumaki was different. She was not so easily deceived.

Fortunately, Orochimaru had no intention of deceiving her. The experimental data and equipment she saw were all relatively normal.

There were no animal specimens, biological specimens, jars of organs, or anything like that.

But this also had its benefits.

If Orochimaru gained Mito Uzumaki's approval, then his future research into Wood Release would become an officially sanctioned Konoha procedure.

Danzo Shimura would no longer be able to choke off his research funds, because Yato would provide the money.

After all, this project was related to Yato himself, so investing a little money also meant investing in his own development.

Mito Uzumaki was generally quite satisfied. In the end, she reminded him,

"An experiment is still an experiment. You must remain somewhat rational."

"You need to be even more careful with human experiments, but you cannot harm anyone."

Mito Uzumaki's implication was obvious.

You may conduct experiments, and I approve of you conducting them, but you may not hurt anyone.

If something happens, I will not be able to protect you, so you must be careful—careful beyond careful.

Orochimaru also thoughtfully presented the plan for the first Wood Release study.

Orochimaru personally believed that Senju bloodline was more important.

Therefore, the first public Wood Release experiment would still revolve around Tsunade.

As the process continued, Yato might also need to join the experiment.

And helping Orochimaru clear his name this time was also meant to cut off one of Danzo Shimura's escape routes.

At this point, Danzo Shimura had only two paths left: his own clan and Hiruzen Sarutobi.