A plan to eliminate Shinnō

Shinnō had not expected the child he had picked at random to be a friend of Uchiha Yefeng.

After Shinnō left, Inuzuka Clan Fengyu went straight to the training ground Ye Feng frequented and told him that Shinnō had gone to the Ninja Academy to ask about him.

Ye Feng was puzzled to hear that someone had gone to the academy looking for him. Once he asked what the person looked like, he immediately realized it was Shinnō.

I didn't expect him to wait for me at the Ninja Academy. It looks like he still hasn't given up on the medicinal bath ingredients. I have to eliminate him. Otherwise, if this gets out, Konoha High Command will definitely force me to hand over the secret formula. Even Orochimaru won't be able to stop them. I need to find a way to eliminate Shinnō without alerting Konoha's higher-ups.

With that in mind, Ye Feng was no longer in the mood to train. He decided to discuss how to eliminate Shinnō with Orochimaru instead, and once again went to Orochimaru's laboratory.

Ye Feng himself felt that he was visiting a little too often. He had only left that morning, and now he was back that evening.

Upon seeing Orochimaru, he got straight to the point. "Shinnō went to the Ninja Academy today to ask about me. He's after something I have."

"What could have both you and Shinnō so concerned, Ye Feng?"

"A secret medicinal bath formula that can strengthen the body!"

"Strengthen the body?! How effective is it?" Orochimaru perked up. The things that had appeared lately had all gone beyond his knowledge, and all of them were useful to his research.

"With long-term use, even an ordinary ninja's body could reach a level of strength above Chunin. If a talented ninja used it, their physical strength alone might surpass the Jonin level." Ye Feng also intended to share the secret formula with Orochimaru.

The medicinal bath was of no use to Ye Feng for the time being. Once he broke through to Foundation Establishment, his body's own nourishment would exceed the effects of the medicinal bath. There was no harm in telling Orochimaru about it, but he was still not strong enough to expose himself to Konoha High Command.

"To think a medicinal bath formula could have such effects!" Orochimaru was shocked as well. How many times had Ye Feng shocked him already? Everything he brought out far exceeded Orochimaru's understanding. The more this happened, the more mysterious Ye Feng seemed, and the firmer Orochimaru's resolve to cooperate with him became.

"I was planning to write it down for you later, but Shinnō already knows about this, so he can't be allowed to live! You know the consequences-how important this would be to increasing the village's strength."

"Have you never considered handing the formula over to the village, Ye Feng? With it, Konoha's strength would far surpass the other villages."

"Don't tell me someone with your insight, Orochimaru, wouldn't know how that would turn out. Even if the Third Hokage wouldn't do anything to us, what do you think the other three advisers would do? It's not that this medicinal bath formula can't be handed over to the village. Just not now."

"You really do see things clearly, Ye Feng. Endless assassination attempts would await us! As far as those three advisers are concerned, a secret this important must be in their own hands."

"If Shinnō spreads word of this outside the village, we'll face endless trouble just the same. The other four great ninja villages might not want to watch Konoha become the sole dominant power. It could even spark a war."

At the mention of war, Orochimaru's expression darkened considerably, as though he had recalled painful memories.

Orochimaru's parents, Tsunade's Dan Katō, and his own student Senju Nawaki had all died because of war. Their deaths had also changed Orochimaru's mindset, causing it to begin to twist.

Gritting his teeth, Orochimaru said fiercely, "We absolutely cannot allow a war to happen. Shinnō must die!"

Looking at Orochimaru now, Ye Feng saw that he did not yet possess the sinister cunning, ruthlessness, and heartlessness of his future self. At least he could still grow angry over people or events from the past. Ye Feng also wanted to preserve this version of Orochimaru, so that he would not become as heartless as he was in the future. He had quite a bit of humanity now.

"So we can't put this off any longer. Have you found the information on Shinnō I asked you to investigate?"

"We've found where he's staying, but we've only uncovered superficial information about him. It seems he has always appeared as a physician. The rest is all about him traveling from place to place, treating illnesses and saving lives."

Ye Feng hesitated over whether to tell Orochimaru about Shinnō's identity. If the hunt went badly and alerted the village, killing a famous physician without a reason would make things difficult for them through public opinion alone. Besides, the village would not believe they had killed someone at random. They needed a reason.

"As far as I know, this Shinnō should be the leader of the Sky Ninja." Ye Feng stopped worrying about it. He had already revealed so many secrets that a little more did not matter. After all, he was only telling Orochimaru.

"The leader of the Sky Ninja? How did you obtain such confidential information, Ye Feng?" Orochimaru was puzzled. Ye Feng was only a child and had never even left the village. How did he know? Could there be another force behind him?

"You don't need to know how I learned it. You only need to know that if we alert the village, this will be our reason for killing Shinnō. As for how you explain it to the village afterward, I'll leave that to you." Without waiting for Orochimaru to ask more questions, Ye Feng continued:

"Shinnō will go to treat Might Duy again tomorrow. Send some people to search Shinnō's lodgings, then arrange for others to wait somewhere else. Once Shinnō arrives, surround Might Duy's House and wait for my signal to attack and kill him together. His Taijutsu is very advanced, so don't let him escape. Also, everyone you send must be at least Jonin. Anyone below Jonin would struggle to hurt him and would only add needless casualties. See if there's anything else we need to add."

"Would it be convenient for you to use poison, Ye Feng? I have some newly developed poisons that might be useful," Orochimaru added.

"Give me some. Poisoning his food or tea won't work well. Shinnō is a physician, so he'd detect it. I'll coat my weapons with it and try to land a hit to weaken him."

Afterward, Ye Feng and Orochimaru discussed the plan for a long time, closing the gaps in every part of it. Ye Feng did not leave until late into the night.