Peering into the Power of God

"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 gloomy look on Danzo's face and chuckled softly.

"Lord Danzo, you truly are perceptive."

"As for the test subjects, naturally, they were used."

"Used?"

Danzo suddenly took a heavy step forward, his wooden sandals striking 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 used up so many test subjects."

"Where are the experimental results?"

"Where is the power I want?"

"Answer me!"

Orochimaru quietly watched Danzo rage.

Then the corners of his mouth rose, exposing his fangs. He licked his lips with a snake-like tongue.

"Lord Danzo, you are far too impatient."

"With experiments like these, whether they go 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 over the motionless body on the operating table, his face full of rapture.

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

"Every collapse and regeneration of cells is like dancing at the edge of an abyss. It is nerve-racking, exhilarating, and utterly captivating."

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

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

"I do not care about mysteries or dancing. All I know is that if I invest, I must see returns!"

Every word Danzo spoke was accompanied by a vicious jab of his cane against the floor.

"Do you understand what returns mean?"

"I want returns!"

Orochimaru leaned forward slightly.

"Returns?"

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

"Danzo, in my laboratory, experimental collapse is itself a return. Every failure brings gains."

"If you want certain 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 mouth widened further, his gaze holding an 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 God!"

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

Then he looked at Danzo with an amused expression.

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

Danzo was also startled by the sudden change.

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

If they were injected directly into his body and went out of control, would his body not collapse like a bridge washed away by a flood?

He frowned, and the dark clouds covering his face eased somewhat.

"Even if progress on the First Hokage Cells is slow, 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."

"That... there are already results for that."

Orochimaru walked to the side, pulled an experimental report from a whole 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 not a 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 the subject, his gaze turning somewhat disdainful as he looked at Danzo.

"Danzo, you truly want every piece of trash Bloodline Limit you can get your hands on."

"Hmph! What do you know?"

Danzo wore an expression that said Orochimaru understood nothing.

"Ghost Spider's Spider War Bow may not be very powerful, but when paired with the First Hokage Cells, it will become a potent assassination ability."

"The Root needs such an ability. Konoha needs it too."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

He had the power of the God of Shinobi, yet he still thought about assassination. Truly a rat in the gutter.

Pathetic!

He chuckled. "You want the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, the First Hokage Cells, and even Ghost Spider's Bloodline Limit. I wonder whether you plan to fuse even more."

"But as your partner, let me remind you: fusing too many Bloodline Limits... can cause problems!"

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

Danzo was brimming with confidence.

"As you wish!"

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

"We 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 becoming wary. If we conduct large-scale captures again, we will not be able to keep it under wraps."

"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, entered.

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

Shimura Danzo took the scroll and read through it at a glance.

A moment later, he snorted and looked at Orochimaru.

"The person who had been supplying us with experimental subjects over the long term was killed in a bamboo hut in the border mountain forests."

"We do not know whether the information was leaked. The specifics 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 was utterly unconcerned upon hearing this and walked straight toward the door.

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

"All I know is that if the supply of test subjects is cut off, the experiment will enter a state of suspension."

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

"I can wait..."

"But your body... I do not know whether it can."

"Orochimaru..."

Danzo narrowed his eyes at the direction Orochimaru had left, clenched his fist, and remained silent for a long time.

"Lord Danzo."

Ryoma spoke cautiously.

Danzo came back to his senses.

"What is it?"

The scroll had only compiled the incidents. With Orochimaru present just now, Ryoma had not explained the specific circumstances.

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

After the village halted the experiments, Orochimaru and Danzo went underground. The Root secretly abducted civilian children and hired bounty shinobi to seize people in the outskirts.

As more and more children went missing, the residents grew increasingly dissatisfied. Sarutobi Hiruzen also noticed something and dispatched ANBU to investigate.

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

But there had been unexpected developments. Some shinobi had already died before they could be silenced. Unless the causes of those deaths and the people they had contacted before dying were thoroughly investigated, there would always be a possibility of intelligence leaking.

Seeing Danzo's inquiry, Aburame Ryoma began his report.

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

"At the place where he died, two mission squads happened to pass by nearby."

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