Orochimaru's Research Breakthrough: Cursed Mark

"From the moment I met that person, I felt a strange sense of familiarity with him, but I couldn't quite place it. Now that I think about it, if it was him, it makes sense in terms of timing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gripped his Adamantine Staff and muttered to himself.

When he was eight years old, in the first year of Konoha, the Sarutobi Clan joined forces with the Shimura Clan to join Konoha, which was founded by the Senju and Uchiha. He remained there until he was a little over ten years old, when Madara defected from Konoha.

During those years, as the Young Clan Head of the Sarutobi Clan, he had seen Uchiha Madara quite a few times and naturally had some impression of him.

"Hiruzen, are you talking about Madara? But wasn't he defeated and killed by the First Hokage a long time ago? How could he still be alive?"

The Torifu Akimichi, however, could not be believed.

Uchiha Fugaku's expression suddenly changed as he realized a possibility and understood why the other party was using the Three Tomoe Sharingan.

If Madara had used Izanagi, it's indeed possible he could have survived the First Hokage's attack. However, Fugaku didn't know why Madara lost an eye after using Izanagi.

But if Madara really did have his own original eye, the outcome today would probably be completely different.

Fugaku kept his thoughts to himself.

Izanagi is the ultimate secret of the Uchiha Clan. He plans to discuss it with Meikyō before deciding whether to reveal it.

If this news gets out, then without a doubt, the entire Uchiha in the Ninja World will be targeted and ultimately wiped out.

Izanagi is practically a perfect resurrection coin. Every Uchiha with Three-Tomoe Sharingan becomes two resurrection coins in the eyes of others. Other Uchiha who haven't awakened their Three-Tomoe Sharingan will definitely be captured and their fruits will be reaped once they awaken their Three Tomoe.

Furthermore, members of the Uchiha Clan were sometimes captured and used as breeding tools, as a means of cultivating the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Just thinking about these things sent chills down Uchiha Fugaku's spine.

The former Root Base on the outskirts of Konoha is now a temporary production base for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Mother and child are safe and sound, and the child is very healthy."

Sarutobi Biwako, carrying the swaddled baby Naruto, walked out of the secret room.

Upon seeing his son born, Minato Namikaze concealed his worry and strode quickly toward Sarutobi Biwako.

"You men are all so clumsy. Don't touch the child yet. I'll take Naruto next door to clean up first. You go in and check on Kushina. This is the time when she needs you the most."

Minato Namikaze was slightly taken aback, then thanked Biwako Sarutobi Biwako before entering the secret room and meeting Kushina, whose physical strength was being restored by Tsunade using Medical Ninjutsu.

"Let me help, Biwako- senpai."

Meikyō put on sterile gloves and followed Biwako.

Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki... no, it should be Naruto Uzumaki. They are most likely not the reincarnations of Indra and Asura. The former should not have suffered the massacre of his clan, and the latter does not possess the power of the Nine-Tails.

In this situation, would they still be the chosen ones of this world?

This means that in the future, there may not be two more Super Kage, or even a powerful being who has reached the Six Paths level to seal Otsutsuki Kaguya and resist the attacks of other Otsutsuki.

The future has become even more unpredictable.

Madara's commotion almost shook the entire Ninja World.

A super strong fighter capable of simultaneously using Susanoo and Wood Release attacks Konoha!

He single-handedly withstood the attacks of multiple Kage Level wielders, including the Third Hokage and Fourth Hokage, and escaped unscathed!

That night, the commotion caused by the two behemoths, each clad in Susanoo armor, including the Wood Human Technique and Torifu Akimichi, was immense. Countless people witnessed it, and even if Konoha wanted to suppress the news, they couldn't. Other ninja villages didn't even need spies to pass on information; they already knew the general situation.

While marveling at the power of the attack, these people were also curious about his identity. At the same time, they were all working hard to develop their strength and strengthen the defenses of the village.

The strongest village, Konoha, could send out six Kage Level ninjas to repel this mysterious person, but other ninja villages don't have that many Kage Level ninjas.

However, Ban unexpectedly fell silent and did not take any further action.

The Uchiha Clan.

This place suffered enormous destruction due to the battle with Madara.

The patriarch's mansion, along with a large area around it, was reduced to ruins.

However, the Fugaku family owns more than one property, so they temporarily moved to another house that is much smaller.

"You mean, in the Battle of the Valley of the End forty years ago, Madara used Izanagi to deceive the First Hokage, and then came back now to take revenge on Konoha and the Uchiha?"

Meikyō casually ate some fresh fruit and spoke to Uchiha Fugaku.

"You don't seem surprised."

Looking at Meikyō's calm and composed expression, Uchiha Fugaku asked curiously.

"You asked me to come here, so you probably don't want to talk about whether I'm surprised or not."

"I want to know if you will reveal the information about Izanagi. If it gets out, even if the Uchiha Clan is strong, they won't be able to cope with the watchful eyes of the entire Ninja World. But if you don't tell, the clan and Konoha will face the threat of Madara again..."

"Information can be provided, but why reveal everything truthfully?"

Meikyō countered with a question.

"Reveal the information that should be revealed, and don't reveal the information that shouldn't be revealed. Seven parts truth and three parts falsehood, or three parts truth and seven parts falsehood, as long as the logic is consistent with itself and conforms to reality, then even if it is false information, it is no different from true information and can guide the event to develop in the direction we want."

As the current head of Konoha's Intelligence Analysis Unit, Meikyō clearly knows how to manipulate intelligence.

"Information about Izanagi can be revealed, but not completely. For example, exaggerate the cost of using it. It would be best to exaggerate the fact that only Madara can use it, making it unique. Wouldn't that eliminate the threat to the other Uchiha?"

That seems to make sense?

"Go on."

Uchiha Fugaku stood up and poured a cup of tea for Meikyō.

"In the minds of all ninjas in the Ninja World, who is the most omnipotent?"

"The First Hokage? No, it should be the legendary Sage of Six Paths?"

Uchiha Fugaku said uncertainly.

In everyone's mind First Hokage is basically the most powerful ninja, and is known as the God of Shinobi. The Sage of Six Paths, on the other hand, is too distant and is regarded by everyone as a figure from mythology, equated with the God in ancient legends.

"Then let's attribute it to the Sage of Six Paths! Remember the information I got from the Sage Slug? The ancestor of the Uchiha Clan, Indra God, was the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths. So let's just say that Uchiha Madara received the inheritance of his ancestor Indra God, obtained the Indra's Eye, and inherited a part of the power of the Sage of Six Paths, which is why he has such great power."

"And you and I, two possessors of the Mangekyō Sharingan, joined forces to use the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan to decipher the inscription on the stone tablet left by our ancestor. We learned that Indra sealed his powerful eye before his death so that his descendants could defeat the descendants of his brother Asura. It was precisely because of the power of this eye that Uchiha Madara was able to use the forbidden technique Izanagi of the Indra's Eye and survive to this day!"

Uchiha Fugaku was so surprised that he couldn't speak.

After a long while, he finally muttered a sentence.

"I feel like if you, Meikyō, were to write novels, you'd have a brighter future than Jiraiya- senpai?"

"Izanagi, Indra's Eye? The Uchiha Stone Tablet?"

When they received the messages from Meikyō and Fugaku, the various high-ranking officials of Konoha reacted differently.

Orochimaru was the most interested in this information.

He also found the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave, learned some other history about the Sage of Six Paths and Indra, and followed Meikyō Fugaku to pay homage to the thousand-year-old stone tablet.

Of course, without the Sharingan, he couldn't decipher any of the content above.

However, Orochimaru quickly lost interest in these myths.

Because his research has yielded new results.

"Meikyō Jun, perhaps from now on, you and I will be the protagonists in these myths and legends."

Orochimaru said this to Meikyō, and then took out more than a dozen scrolls and placed them in front of Meikyō.

"These are..."

"The data samples of the Senjutsu from the Three Great Sage Regions of Ryūchi Cave, Mount Myōboku, and Shikkotsu Forest. At first, I had no clue how to integrate the Senjutsu of these Three Great Sage Regions, until I discovered a very interesting child whose body could innately absorb Natural Energy."

"So, I had an idea: to use the breathing techniques of Breathing Technique to absorb Natural Energy, to use that child to study how the human body adapts to and even stores Natural Energy, and then to use the Senjutsu of the Three Great Sage Regions to apply Natural Energy and supplement it in other ways."

Orochimaru clapped his hands, and Mitarai Shīshō immediately led in a little boy with orange hair who looked to be only three or four years old.

"Lord Orochimaru, Lord Meikyō!"

Mitarai Shīshō, accompanied by the orange-haired boy, respectfully bowed to Orochimaru and Meikyō.

"His name is Jugo. I found him last month when I led the Root ninja on a mission to establish Root base in the Land of Rice Fields. You should have already seen the mission information."

After Orochimaru briefly introduced Jugo's situation, he reached out and removed Jugo's collar, revealing a black Cursed Seal.

"This is the Cursed Mark I developed. When Jugo absorbs too much Natural Energy, he will enter a berserk state, which even ordinary Jonin might not be able to subdue. The Cursed Mark is a secret technique that I developed after studying Jugo's condition. It can seal Natural Energy in the body using Sealing Technique similar to the Yin Seal."

"When the Cursed Mark is activated, the user will experience a mutation similar to Sage Mode, but it is more severe and more thorough, and the chance of successful transplantation is extremely low."