Reclaiming the Goods

Just as Shan Juhua anxiously sought to atone for her mistake, Uchiha Yū had already begun gathering some of the ninjas into an elite scouting squad.

This was an entirely different style of warfare. Though Uchiha Yū did not use them as weapons, years of training and killing had long turned these ninjas into cold, emotionless weapons. They would carry out any order from Uchiha Yū-sama without hesitation.

"We have virtually no intelligence on Snow Eagle Territory. It lies to our east, and its territory is roughly the same size as ours. Further east lies its suzerain state..."

Kakuzu, who stood beside Uchiha Yū, analyzed the information before them. Xue Ying was merely an appetizer; the real trouble was the behemoth behind him. It undoubtedly had experts at the Six Paths level. If the war spread to the borders of its territory, the suzerain state would likely not tolerate Uchiha Yū's actions.

Only a relatively peaceful environment would allow them to develop quickly. Orochimaru had not been the first to propose raising one's strength by devouring energy. The creatures of the Underworld had the Dark Release bloodline limit engraved in their blood, allowing them to absorb energy through Dark Release.

Yet no one carried out slaughter on a massive scale, because absorbing the energy of one's subjects would cause impurities to accumulate in one's body.

This had no effect on Orochimaru. First, a ninja's body was not made of energy. Second, while gathering energy, Orochimaru would remove every impurity that affected it. Even if that meant cutting the total energy in half, Orochimaru would still choose the safest method of extraction.

He understood that impure energy could help ninjas grow stronger, but it could never push them into the Six Paths level and bring about a complete transformation.

"Don't worry