Two weeks later, in the Hokage's office.
A middle-aged ninja with a cold demeanor and deathly pale skin stood before the desk and said, "Sensei, the Raikage's attitude is extremely forceful. He threatened that if we do not hand over the culprit, they will definitely retaliate in kind."
Hiruzen rubbed his brow and sighed. "As expected, trying to reason with those barbarians was not a wise move."
After pondering for a moment, Hiruzen asked, "Orochimaru, what was your impression of Hidden Cloud Village during this diplomatic mission?"
Orochimaru replied without hesitation, "They are martial to the core. Everyone is brimming with enthusiasm for war, and the entire village reeks of gunpowder."
Hiruzen continued, "I heard that the Third Raikage has already passed the title of 'A' to his son, making him the Raikage candidate. Have the Hidden Cloud Village ninja raised any objections?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "That young man is very strong. He has perfectly inherited the Third Raikage's strength and prestige, and the Hidden Cloud Village ninja are all convinced by him."
Hiruzen sighed. He felt somewhat envious. Although both of his sons were fairly capable, neither could inherit his prestige.
Orochimaru added, "I noticed that the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki of Hidden Cloud Village seems to have developed a void in his heart. Their ninja are not perceptive enough, and no one has noticed the problem with him yet."
"Oh? Blue B?" Hiruzen's eyes lit up. "I previously heard from intelligence reports that he was outstanding in ninjutsu, bloodline, ability, and character. He was considered a ninja who might become a Perfect Jinchūriki."
Orochimaru said with a smile, "People change, especially after becoming Jinchūriki. Most people's attitudes toward him will change as well. Without a pillar to fill that emptiness in his heart, even the finest ninja will fade."
The Third Hokage's expression turned cold. "If Hidden Cloud Village truly dares to retaliate in kind, find an opportunity to infiltrate the village, undo the Iron Armor Seal on Blue B, and let the Eight-Tails go berserk."
Orochimaru nodded at first, then looked somewhat puzzled. "Wouldn't this sort of thing normally be entrusted to Elder Danzo?"
Hiruzen's expression was complicated. "I'm beginning to doubt his loyalty."
Orochimaru was greatly surprised. No matter how outrageous Elder Danzo's actions had been in the past, his teacher had always protected him. Why had he suddenly become suspicious? What had happened during the time Orochimaru had left Konoha on his mission to Hidden Cloud Village?
Though he wanted badly to uncover the answer, Hiruzen clearly did not wish to say more about the matter. He changed the subject instead. "After the Wood Release human experiments ended back then, did you ever resume them in private?"
Even Orochimaru's heartbeat seemed to slow for an instant, but his face remained calm. "Of course not. Why would you ask that, Sensei?"
Hiruzen said in a deep voice, "Danzo told me that among the volunteers who died back then, he discovered an unborn child. That child successfully fused with Wood Release. I have always felt that something was not quite right."
Wood Release! It was that experiment he and I conducted in secret! Orochimaru was shocked, yet also confused. Danzo had even told the Third Hokage about the Wood Release matter. Wasn't that quite loyal of him?
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Orochimaru asked, "Sensei, is that Wood Release ninja named Senju Setsuna?"
Now it was Hiruzen's turn to be confused. "Why are you suddenly asking about Setsuna? And he isn't called Senju Setsuna. His name is Chiaki Setsuna."
Orochimaru smiled. "Jiraiya told me about him. I ran into him at the Hidden Hot Springs Village while I was on my way to the Land of Lightning."
Hiruzen did not know whether to laugh or cry. The Hidden Hot Springs Village was famous for its hot springs, so it was hardly strange to encounter Jiraiya there.
Orochimaru continued, "His face was still bruised at the time. I asked whether Tsunade had beaten him up. He said that while Tsunade had not beaten him, he had been beaten by someone suspected to be Tsunade's illegitimate son. He also told me that the little ninja named Senju Setsuna was more talented than I was."
Hiruzen was speechless. Jiraiya even dared to spread rumors about Tsunade. Did he no longer wish to return to Konoha alive?
Hiruzen shook his head helplessly. "Don't listen to his provocation. That bastard has no good intentions. He suffered a setback at Setsuna's hands, so he wants you to end up looking equally miserable."
Orochimaru was slightly surprised. From the sound of it, his teacher truly believed that he might suffer a setback. Yet if it was not Wood Release, he could hardly imagine a Genin possessing such strength.
"Then that Chiaki Setsuna..." Just as Orochimaru was about to continue asking, a child's voice came from outside the door. "Don't stop me! I want to see the old man!"
Hiruzen smiled bitterly at those words and sighed. "Orochimaru, go back and rest first."
"Yes."
At Training Ground Three, Setsuna looked at Might Guy with slight surprise. "You learned the Leaf Dragon God? As expected of a Taijutsu genius."
He was not surprised that Guy had gained Chen-sensei's approval. At this stage, Chen-sensei had not yet suffered the pain of losing his disciple, so he was presumably still willing to spread Taijutsu.
What surprised him was that Guy had learned this supreme Taijutsu technique in less than two weeks. He truly was a genius of hard work.
"Mm-hmm." Guy nodded repeatedly in excitement, but then said bashfully, "Chen-sensei's Leaf Dragon God is simply too powerful. At most, I can only bring out twenty or thirty percent of its strength."
"That's still not bad. How about we give it a try?" Setsuna invited him, the thought of secretly learning the technique rising in his mind again.
He had encountered Shenron at close range before. If he modified the Leaf Dragon God into the Leaf Divine Dragon, perhaps its power would become even greater.
"Sure, sure." Guy naturally would not refuse Setsuna's proposal. He assumed an attacking stance. "Big Brother Setsuna, here I come."
As soon as he spoke, Guy spun and unleashed a kick. Fierce winds surged up around him, forming a green tornado more than ten meters tall. Riding the gale, Guy charged toward Setsuna like a devouring force.
"So this is the Leaf Dragon God?" Setsuna calmly watched the hurricane that had begun to take dragon form, understanding dawning on him. Just as I thought. This is a kicking technique similar to Rankyaku from Pirate King, and it is an area-of-effect skill. No wonder Rock Lee will break it in the future. The single-target damage of a group skill naturally cannot compare to that of a single-target skill.
Although the technique was not as powerful as he had imagined, it was exactly what Setsuna wanted. Taijutsu inherently lacked large-scale group techniques. Though he possessed a powerful group-killing move like the Tri-Beam, his qi was not enough to support repeated use. A pure Taijutsu technique like the Leaf Dragon God had far fewer restrictions.
"Let me experience it for myself." Rather than retreating, Setsuna advanced and charged straight into the "Dragon God."
"Big Brother Setsuna!" Guy was worried and was just about to stop the battle when he saw Setsuna strolling leisurely through the violent vortex. Every step he took landed in a vacuum zone within the tornado.
Setsuna was naturally not asking to be battered around. The beginner stage of qi cultivation involved sensing the subtle changes in the surrounding airflow and using them to detect an enemy's presence and movements. The tornado Guy had kicked out was far too crude, and Setsuna precisely caught every airflow node within it.
As long as I understand the internal structure of the Dragon God, replicating this move will not be difficult. Standing in the dragon's eye, Setsuna threw out a kick. A "divine dragon" several times larger than Guy's Leaf "Dragon God" shot into the sky and instantly swallowed it whole.
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