Peering into the Power of Gods

"Orochimaru!"

"Why are the chains empty? Where are the test subjects that were hanging from them?"

Orochimaru slowly turned around.

"Ah, Lord Danzo!"

As though he had only just noticed Danzo, he saw the dark look on his face and gave a soft laugh.

"Lord Danzo, you truly are sharp."

"The test subjects? Naturally, I used them."

"Used them?"

Danzo suddenly took a heavy step forward, his wooden sandal slamming against the floor.

"After using them..."

"Where are the results?"

His chest heaved violently as his cane repeatedly jabbed at the floor. His voice turned shrill.

"Answer me. You consumed so many test subjects."

"Where are the experimental results?"

"Where is the power I asked for?"

"Answer me!"

Orochimaru silently watched Danzo rage.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted. He bared his fangs and ran his serpent-like tongue over his lips.

"Lord Danzo, you are far too impatient."

"With experiments like this, whether they proceed quickly or slowly depends on luck."

"If luck is good and the direction is right, the results will come."

"If luck is bad... naturally, it will take some time."

He gently brushed a hand across the motionless body on the operating table, his face filled with intoxicated delight.

"But then again, the mystery and beauty of life itself lies in its uncertainty."

"Every collapse and regeneration of cells is like dancing at the edge of an abyss—tense, exhilarating, and irresistible."

"How could this possibly be as simple as killing a few people?"

Danzo's eyes widened as he fixed a devouring gaze on Orochimaru.

"I don't care about mysteries or dancing. I only know that if I invest, I expect returns!"

With every word Danzo spat out, his cane viciously struck the floor.

"Do you understand returns?"

"I want returns!"

Orochimaru leaned forward slightly.

"Returns?"

His pale face looked exceptionally eerie beneath the lights, and he grinned.

"Danzo, in my eyes, the collapse of an experiment is itself a return. Every failure is a gain."

"If you want definite results, then give me time."

"Time! Time! It has already been so long. Tell me clearly—how much longer will it take?"

"How would I know?"

The curve of Orochimaru's smile grew deeper, his eyes filled with almost crazed devotion.

"After all, what we are prying open is the Creator's forbidden domain!"

"What we are peering into is..."

"The power of gods!"

As he said this, he suddenly swept out his hand, shredding the trees that had abruptly burst from the operating table and begun growing wildly.

Then he looked at Danzo with an amused expression.

"See, Lord Danzo? You would not want to become like that, would you?"

Danzo was startled by the sudden change as well.

He had not expected the First Hokage's cells to remain so dangerous after all this time.

If they were injected directly into his body and went out of control, his body would collapse like a bridge washed away by a flood.

He frowned, and the gloom clouding his face eased somewhat.

"Even if research into the First Hokage's cells is progressing slowly, what about the other bloodline limits?"

He snorted coldly.

"You have had Ghost Spider's cells for two years already, yet you still have not given me a satisfactory answer."

"About that... there are already results."

Orochimaru walked to the side, pulled an experimental report from a neat row of documents on the table, and handed it to Danzo.

"After Ghost Spider defected, we could no longer obtain new samples, so progress slowed somewhat."

"But cloning new individuals is no problem at all. We simply have not found a way to integrate them into your body yet. Give me a little more time."

"However..."

Orochimaru abruptly changed his tone and looked at Danzo with a hint of contempt.

"Danzo, you really do want every worthless bloodline limit you can get your hands on."

"Hmph! What do you know?"

Danzo wore an expression that plainly said Orochimaru did not understand him.

"Ghost Spider's Spider War Bow may not be especially powerful, but if it can be combined with the First Hokage's cells, it will become a formidable assassination ability."

"Root needs that ability. Konoha needs it too."

Orochimaru raised a brow.

With the power of the God of Shinobi in his grasp, he was still thinking about assassination. Truly a rat that lived in the gutter.

Unable to stand in the spotlight!

He chuckled. "You want the Uchiha Sharingan, the First Hokage's cells, and even Ghost Spider's bloodline limit. I wonder whether you plan to fuse even more."

"But as your partner, let me warn you: fusing too many bloodline limits... will cause problems!"

"There is no need for your concern. Hiruko is already working on solving that problem."

Danzo was completely confident.

"Suit yourself!"

"But Danzo, the supply of test subjects cannot be cut off."

"I cannot provide too many in the short term." Danzo shook his head.

"We have already gathered all the orphans from the nearby villages."

"The residents are growing wary. If we start grabbing people on a larger scale, we will not be able to keep it under control."

"I did not expect you to consume them so quickly."

Just as Orochimaru was about to speak, Aburame Ryoma, who had been standing guard outside the door, entered.

"Lord Danzo, this is the intelligence compiled by the people below."

Danzō Shimura snatched the scroll and rapidly scanned it.

A moment later, he gave a cold snort and looked at Orochimaru.

"The man who had been supplying us with experimental subjects for a long time was killed in a bamboo house in the border mountains."

"We do not know whether information was leaked. The details are still under investigation."

"Recently, quite a few people who supplied test subjects have been killed. It will be difficult to provide you with large numbers of people in the short term."

Orochimaru did not care in the slightest. He simply walked toward the door.

"Danzo, I do not care where the children come from."

"I only know that if the supply of test subjects is interrupted, the experiments will be suspended."

His figure gradually receded into the darkness, leaving only his low, hoarse voice echoing through the corridor.

"I can afford to wait..."

"But I wonder whether your body... can afford to wait."

"Orochimaru..."

Danzo narrowed his eyes at the direction Orochimaru had departed in, clenched his fist, and remained silent for a long while.

"Lord Danzo."

Ryoma cautiously spoke up.

Danzo came back to his senses.

"What is it?"

The scroll only contained a compilation of incidents. With Orochimaru present just now, Ryoma had not explained the specific details.

The early human experiments had mainly relied on willing ninja and orphans from orphanages.

After the village halted the experiments, Orochimaru and Danzo went underground. Root secretly captured civilian children while hiring bounty ninja to snatch people from the outskirts.

As more and more children disappeared, public outrage grew, and Hiruzen Sarutobi took notice. He dispatched ANBU to begin an investigation.

Left with no choice, Danzo began systematically silencing the bounty ninja who had previously supplied them with people.

But there had also been unexpected developments. Some ninja had already died before they could be silenced. Unless the causes of their deaths and the people they had contacted before dying were thoroughly investigated, there was always the possibility that intelligence had been leaked.

When Danzo asked, Aburame Ryoma began his report.

"Kawata Nao's fatal wound was a piercing injury to the chest."

"At the time of his death, two mission squads passed nearby."

"One of them was led by Kakashi..."