After Shinji left the Research Institute, Amado immediately convened a meeting with the Institute's higher-ups including Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Sasori.
Once everyone had arrived, Amado announced, "Regarding the next ritual, we need to start preparing now!"
Apart from Orochimaru, everyone else was stunned.
Tsunade spoke up directly, "Owl is still wreaking havoc in the Shinobi World. Without dealing with him first, how can we proceed with the next step of experiments?"
"Exactly!"
"We haven't even dealt with Owl yet. If we create another Owl, that would be truly troublesome!"
"Right, let's deal with Owl's defection first!"
Everyone chimed in, supporting Tsunade's viewpoint.
A madman like Owl, possessing 'Six Paths Level' combat power, posed too great a threat to the Research Institute and the entire Shinobi World, so no one dared to ignore this threat.
Amado raised his hand to stop the discussion, then said, "Regarding Owl, you don't need to worry anymore!"
Tsunade asked, "What do you mean?"
Amado said, "The higher-ups have already dealt with Owl!"
Tsunade continued to ask, "Did 'A' take action?"
"En!" Amado nodded and said, "So the matter with Owl has come to an end. The topic we need to discuss next is the preparation for the fourth ritual, and how to prevent the recurrence of uncontrollable experimental subjects like Owl."
Hearing Amado say Owl had been dealt with, the attendees breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Orochimaru looked gloomy. He thought to himself, "Even with the Shinjutsu 'Conversion', did Owl still lose to Uchiha Shinji? What a pity!"
Although he had guessed Owl would lose, hearing the definitive result from Amado still left a trace of regret in Orochimaru's heart.
If Shinji had arrived just a step later, his plan would have succeeded.
By then, he could have used his Shinjutsu 'Absorption' to absorb Owl's Shinjutsu 'Conversion' into his own body.
Thinking that the Shinjutsu slipped through his fingers like this, he felt faintly unwilling.
At the same time, Owl's failure once again confirmed one point: a single Shinjutsu was far from enough to oppose Shinji!
Next, the meeting discussed the preparatory work for the fourth ritual.
Since there were already two successful cases before, and the Research Institute had never stopped optimizing and perfecting the ritual, the preparation for the fourth ritual wasn't difficult. The only difficulty was how to restrict the experimental subjects whose strength skyrocketed after the ritual.
Sasori mentioned the curse jutsu he developed again.
Tsunade shook her head, "If you implant your curse jutsu into the experimental subject beforehand, it's almost impossible for the subject to survive the ritual. Just the step of fusing with the Chimera buds would fail! And if we wait until after the ritual, would the subject who has already obtained 'Six Paths Level' combat power agree?"
Sasori snorted lightly, "Hmph, he won't have a choice!"
Orochimaru smiled, "If we act before the experimental subject adapts, the resistance should be much smaller."
Obviously, Orochimaru supported Sasori.
As for the 'before adapting' he mentioned, it referred not only to the subject's adaptation to 'Six Paths Level' combat power but also to the adaptation of their change in status.
If the Research Institute planted the curse jutsu in the subject's body before the subject fully realized they had the qualifications to negotiate with the Institute, then even if the subject realized it later, they could only accept their fate.
At this time, someone questioned, "Can a mere curse jutsu really control that kind of monster?"
Sasori curled his lips, "How about you try it yourself?"
That person shut up immediately.
Although he also led a research team and had roughly the same status as Sasori, he obviously didn't want to have a fierce conflict with a madman like Sasori over this.
Tsunade said, "Considering the possibility of the experimental subject awakening a Shinjutsu at any time, a curse jutsu is indeed not safe. If the next subject awakens 'Conversion' like Owl, the curse jutsu might be directly converted by 'Conversion'."
"Hmph!"
Sasori snorted lightly.
However, he also knew what Tsunade said was true, so he didn't say much more. After all, facing unknown Shinjutsu, no one dared to say their methods would definitely work.
After discussing several restriction plans, the meeting was adjourned.
Leaving the meeting room, Yakushi Kabuto trotted to catch up with Orochimaru. Reaching a deserted spot, he whispered, "Lord Orochimaru, shouldn't we stop the Institute from restricting the experimental subjects? If all subjects are restricted, we won't have a chance to act!"
Orochimaru said, "With the technology currently mastered by the Research Institute, mass-producing experimental subjects is just a matter of time. So dispelling the Institute's concerns and rapidly increasing the number of subjects is the top priority. As for later, heh..."
As he spoke, he chuckled lightly.
With Shinji's current control over the Research Institute, one or two experimental subjects rebelling wouldn't cause any waves at all.
Instead of this, it was better to dispel the Institute's concerns first and mass-produce a batch of subjects possessing Shinjutsu. Once the group of subjects grew and the balance of power between the two sides changed, he could profit from it.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru asked, "How is our experiment going?"
Kabuto replied, "The sacrifices and resources for the ritual are still being prepared!"
Orochimaru frowned slightly, "Speed it up. Apply to the Institute for whatever is needed; I'll find a way to approve it."
Kabuto worried, "Isn't that a bit risky?"
"Can't worry about that anymore!" Pausing, Orochimaru's expression became somewhat solemn, "I understand him less and less!"
The 'him' Orochimaru referred to was naturally Shinji. Every time he saw Shinji, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity. Even though it had only been a few weeks, the other party always gave him a feeling of being reborn, which made him very uneasy.
Kabuto sensed the urgency in Orochimaru's heart and nodded, "I understand!"
On the other side, Shinji, who left the Research Institute, did not return to the Flying Fortress immediately but arrived at the Land of Demons in the far west of the Shinobi World.
His return to the Shinobi World this time undoubtedly indicated that World No. 2 was gone.
This was only natural; worlds targeted by the Hegemon were destined for destruction, at least so far there had been no exceptions.
However, like World No. 1 and World No. 4 before, although World No. 2 was devoured by the Hegemon, Shinji still snatched a lot of planetary energy from the Hegemon's mouth. This also caused the Hegemon to be unusually angry in the end, showing a momentum to swallow Shinji as well.
But Shinji, familiar with the route, naturally wouldn't let the Hegemon succeed. At the critical moment, using World No. 3 as a springboard, he easily escaped from World No. 2...
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