"The matter of One-Tail is handed over to you."
Seeing Nagato finally make up his mind, Obito smiled.
Although the process was different, this conversation was successful, and he achieved the effect he wanted.
Neither of them was one for casual talk, and after the conversation ended, Obito disappeared into the Uzumaki under the gaze of Tendo Pain.
At the same time, Yakushi Kabuto, who had just started searching for 'Corundum' with White Zetsu, was called back and given a death order – to thoroughly break through the 'Body Strengthening Surgery' within half a month, and at least complete one successful surgery.
Yakushi Kabuto did not know why Pain's attitude suddenly changed, but he felt it was useful information. He found an opportunity to hand it over to a summoned snake, and the message quickly reached Orochimaru.
In the underground laboratory, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes into a slit.
"It seems Nagato won't attack the village for now."
"Fifteen days, this time is not long. How should we handle Sunagakure Village... I need to discuss it with the old man."
...
In the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, who was staying overnight in the Hokage's office, was woken up.
"Orochimaru, why are you looking for me so late? What happened?"
After a moment of grogginess, Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze became as sharp as an eagle's. He knew Orochimaru's personality well; if it weren't for something important, he would never look for him at this hour.
"The meeting content has likely been leaked."
Orochimaru licked his lips and explained the matter of the White Zetsu clone in detail to the Third Hokage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent upon hearing this. He had become a ninja at the age of six and had been Hokage for decades, but he had never seen such a way of leaking information.
However, his duty clearly did not allow him to be surprised for too long. As he thought, his brow furrowed.
"Since things have come to this, we can only face the Akatsuki organization's attack next."
Judging by himself, the Third Hokage would never let Orochimaru continue the surgery like this. Given the Akatsuki organization's strength and characteristics, a surprise attack was inevitable.
Pain's Six Paths and the Akatsuki organization's executives were all elites. They could easily bypass ordinary ninjas and bring the battlefield to Konoha, making the village's Chunin struggle while causing maximum destruction.
"Things haven't gotten that bad yet."
Orochimaru smiled. "I previously received news from the Akatsuki organization that they are also preparing to research 'Body Strengthening Surgery.' And considering whether to have a decisive battle with Konoha, there might be a ten-day to fifteen-day buffer."
A complete falling out might not be a good thing for the Akatsuki organization. Both Orochimaru and the Third Hokage knew this well.
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly.
In previous encounters with the Akatsuki organization, he had actually discovered that their leader also wanted to maintain the status quo.
However, now that Orochimaru had returned to the village, Konoha had Body Strengthening Surgery and the ability to break the status quo. But if the Akatsuki organization also gained the same ability, this situation might continue.
The arms race between them, regardless of their mutual impact, would likely lead to the demise of other ninja villages.
Both Konoha and the Akatsuki organization hoped for this outcome, and Nagato might even be more confident, as he possessed the greatest strength.
The Third Hokage pondered for a moment and looked up at Orochimaru, "Do they have the ability to research your surgery?"
"Who knows? After all, the Akatsuki organization has the most crucial material, White Zetsu. Perhaps there is a genius in this area among them."
Orochimaru spoke vaguely and smiled, "It's hard to say if it will be exactly the same with a 100% success rate, but a substitute with slightly less effect is another matter."
A slightly higher death rate might not be a flaw. The Akatsuki organization's predecessor was a black market organization, where desperate people were never lacking.
The Third Hokage frowned upon hearing this, knowing that he could not place his hopes on this. Now, he should consider how to deal with the upcoming war.
"Orochimaru, what are your thoughts?"
The necessary preparations and orders had been completed at last night's meeting. All that could be done now was to order Orochimaru to remove restrictions and perform more surgeries.
Orochimaru understood what the Third Hokage meant and smiled. "Leaving aside whether it will alert the Akatsuki organization, the village also doesn't have that quantity of surgical materials."
Although the cost of 'Body Strengthening Surgery' was not too high, much of the list he provided was inflated. But it was absolutely impossible for him to completely reveal everything.
This was related to collecting materials for the 'First Hokage Cells Transplant Surgery' in the future. To obtain enough to satisfy the needs of his main body, it would take an unknown amount of time relying solely on his own forces.
Whether the village reduces personnel losses in the war or his transplant surgery, Orochimaru knew which came first.
During this period, although he planned to perform more surgeries, the number would not be as many as the Third Hokage imagined.
"Surgery material matters must follow the previous collection pace. After all, openly, we have no knowledge of the Akatsuki organization obtaining the meeting intelligence. As for the battle with the Akatsuki organization..."
Orochimaru smiled. "I plan to visit Sunagakure Village and use Body Strengthening Surgery as leverage to pull this ally into the fray."
Orochimaru actually didn't worry about this technology being leaked. He wished everyone had this physique, which would only increase the number of Wood Style ninjas available for his 'First Hokage Cells Transplant.'
The reason he was holding onto it now was only because he needed to use it to gather surgical materials.
But this was something the Third Hokage needed to consider.
In an arms race, the pursuit was to have what others didn't and to be superior to those who did. If everyone was the same, any improvement would be equivalent to no improvement.
The Third Hokage thought long-term. After getting through this critical juncture, he even planned to limit the materials for some surgeries to reduce the possibility of other ninja villages researching this surgery.
And now, Orochimaru clearly intended to reveal 'Body Strengthening Surgery' to Sunagakure Village.
Both of them knew very well that simply performing surgery on a few Sunagakure Jonin would have no effect. This core technology must be held tightly.
From this perspective, the Third Hokage would prefer the village to solve the problem with the Akatsuki organization independently, otherwise, it would only push the sacrifices to later.
"Tsk... the old man is really heartless."
Orochimaru pulled the corners of his mouth apart and smiled.
"However, since the intelligence from the meeting room has been leaked, cooperating with other ninja villages is only a matter of time."
"Otherwise, even if we repel the Akatsuki organization, we will have to face the combined forces of the three great ninja villages."
The Third Hokage naturally understood this situation, but on the other hand, if the Akatsuki organization truly researched 'Body Strengthening Surgery,' this matter would not be so widely publicized, but would become a tacit cold war between the two factions.
Nagato might be confident in his strength, but having been the leader of the most powerful ninja village for decades, Sarutobi Hiruzen was no less confident. He believed that with the village's strength, it could definitely defeat Nagato and become the victor among the five great ninja villages.
Seeing that the Third Hokage was determined, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Old man, you can rest assured. There are many ways to leak surgical information... This time, the biggest bargaining chip for the envoy will not be the surgery itself, but the One-Tail Jinchuriki."
Having missed the feast of dividing up the Uzumaki Clan, Sunagakure Village, which had obtained the One-Tail Shukaku early, was now far behind other ninja villages in the research of Tailed Beast Sealing Jutsu.
Konoha had a good relationship with the Uzumaki Clan for generations and had some decent sealing jutsus, but Sunagakure Village had nothing.
Helping them solve this problem was the most practical exchange of benefits.
The Third Hokage pondered for a long time and sighed in his heart, "In that case, you may go."
He still did not agree with Orochimaru's method even now. But when comparing the pros and cons of the two methods, the Third Hokage did not want to argue with Orochimaru.
After all, he was old. How Konoha and the ninja world would be in the future was ultimately up to those who would bear the burden.
Now that he was still around, he could observe their methods and offer some experience to fill in some loopholes.
If the village's policy suddenly made a huge shift after his death, the resulting losses would be much greater, even irreversible.
Orochimaru vaguely sensed the Third Hokage's thoughts, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly. "Don't worry, old man, I won't let the village suffer any losses."
...
Leaving the Hokage Building, while the Third Hokage was gathering the ninja team members for the mission, Orochimaru went to a dark corner and began to perform a Summoning Technique.
He had many calculations for the mission to Sunagakure Village and naturally would not rely solely on a Shadow Clone.
And the village needed someone to oversee the continuous surgeries, so Orochimaru planned to have his main body create another clone.
'Bang'
A puff of white smoke rose, and a taller Orochimaru stepped out, looking at himself with smiles.
The 'Slug Split Technique' was indeed magical. While Shadow Clones had to consider issues like Chakra depletion or mental fatigue, 'Slug Split Technique' eliminated such worries. Clones and clones, clones and the main body, were perfectly integrated yet self-contained.
Unfortunately, even though he invested a lot of effort in training, Orochimaru could only maintain two consciousnesses so far.
When the new clone was summoned now, his main body, far away in Ryuuchi Cave, had to remain semi-dormant, otherwise, there was a high chance of embarrassing situations like the hands not obeying the mind. To reach the level of Slug Sage was still far off.
Swish swish swish...
After waiting for a few minutes in a corner outside the Hokage Building, a sound of breaking wind suddenly rang out, and two ninja teams appeared in front of Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's gaze paused on Shisui and Guy at the front, and he nodded slightly, "Let's depart!"
"Yes!"
...
Sunagakure Village.
A village built on sand, deep in the desert.
This dwelling place for ninjas, unlike other human settlements in the Land of Wind, was not rooted in an oasis. Its survival relied entirely on supernatural power, a product that defied nature.
The special region led to special ways of survival and culture. In short, tempered by the sand, the people here were fiercely stubborn.
In the three great ninja wars, Sunagakure Village, regardless of strength, was always the one that attacked proactively. After losing, apart from written surrenders and alliances, they suffered almost no territorial losses.
The Land of Fire was vast and rich. Konoha, used to green ninjas, couldn't be bothered by the sand of the Land of Wind.
And in the Land of Earth, although the national topography was similar to the Land of Wind, at least there was some moss to lick on the rocky ground. Even if they occupied Sunagakure Village, it would only be full of sand. Cacti... Heh, those had thorns.
Therefore, the Land of Wind, like the isolated Land of Water, had very high occupation costs and little value to gain. Simply looking at them more would be a losing proposition.
Being looked down upon, being belittled, being stereotyped by region... In such an environment, the national self-esteem of the Land of Wind and Sunagakure Village was actually the strongest.
Fiercely stubborn, fiercely stubborn. Poverty was not the main issue; stubbornness was the key.
Because of poverty, one would be inferior, cowardly, and weak... This was just a predictable story.
With such a mindset, both the Land of Wind and Sunagakure Village would predictably face destruction and would not have persisted until today.
But to be stubborn, one needed strength.
To improve themselves or the village's strength, the Sand Ninjas, in the face of harsh reality and constant setbacks, became increasingly extreme in their actions, even developing quite irrational operations.
Take the current Kazekage, for example. He was impatient and eager for success. To catch up with other ninja villages and compensate for the village's lack of strength, he placed the One-Tail Shukaku inside his pregnant wife, hoping to give birth to a child who would naturally be a Jinchuriki.
This practice was inspired by Kumogakure. Whether it was Fuu or Killer Bee, the key to their ability to control Tailed Beast Chakra skillfully and become complete or incomplete Jinchuriki was not only their adaptation in childhood but also the sealing jutsus on their bodies.
Sunagakure Village did not learn this well. A better approach should have been to continue improving the sealing jutsus.
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa and the Sunagakure Village advisor Elder Chiyo chose the wrong path. As a result, Rasa lost his wife and only obtained Gaara, an unstable experimental subject tormented by 'insomnia' and the beast's violent Chakra.
When Orochimaru first heard about this, he was astonished by Sunagakure Village's foolishness and even doubted how they had survived until now.
Although the 'False Awakening Technique' could control the One-Tail Shukaku, and a child suffering from 'insomnia' could avoid sleeping to prevent the One-Tail Shukaku from escaping, the Jinchuriki was tormented by illness. Should the person's mental state be completely ignored?
The five great ninja villages each had their own shortcomings, leading to different problems and conflicts.
The Land of Fire was fertile. Noble ninja clans that held power could lead their families to rise, so Konoha often saw ninja clans clashing with the Hokage.
The Land of Earth was vast but resource-scarce. To achieve great things with minimal effort gave rise to the absolute rule of the Third Tsuchikage.
The Land of Thunder was balanced in all aspects and the most united internally, but its unique power structure dictated constant external conquests and the maintenance of strength, otherwise, it would invite backlash, just like Ginkaku and Kinkaku killing the Second Raikage.
The Land of Water was isolated, the most secluded, hence frequent civil wars. Bloodline inheritors and ordinary ninjas were in a life-or-death struggle, with neither side willing to yield.
And the Land of Wind, Sunagakure Village, the ninjas of this land, their biggest problem was that they were the most lacking in love.
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