Mayuri Kurotsuchi Card Game, starting from Naruto

Chapter 28 The Uchiha Who Were Targeted [Please Read On]

The Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, felt a headache coming on as he looked at the furious Danzo and the expressionless Orochimaru.

"Hiruzen, do you really want Orochimaru to hollow out Root?" Danzo slammed his cane on his hand, his chest heaving, and roared angrily.

"I only took some research materials! Anyway, it would be a waste for Root to have them." Orochimaru ignored Danzo's murderous glare and retorted sharply.

"Orochimaru! You should at least show some respect to your seniors! Danzo was your teacher's partner, and he made great contributions to the village." A reprimand rang out from outside the door, and the village's two advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, walked in.

"Hiruzen, Danzo did make some mistakes, but your punishment shouldn't be so harsh as to completely destroy his roots," Minato said, standing in front of Danzo.

"No. I only took some materials that I didn't need at all, and two people I needed. It was entirely within the authority given to me by the master. His Root strength hasn't decreased," Orochimaru retorted.

"Hiruzen, although the village's economy has improved, you know we simply cannot afford to establish and invest in a new department." Koharu Utatane didn't argue with Orochimaru, but simply reminded the Third Hokage.

"Yes, a new department needs to train new talent and new ninjas, and there are various other necessary investments. It's a long-term commitment. The village has to think about the future, right?" Mitokado Homura also advised.

"And what are your opinions?" The Third Hokage looked at Danzo and the other two standing together, then at Orochimaru, who had no expression on his face, and asked in a deep voice.

"Everything as before. It's better to have Orochimaru cooperate with Root," Mitokado Homura said.

"You know about those experiments, it's really not suitable to expose them. The establishment of a new department will definitely attract the attention of everyone in the village, and then many things will be impossible to hide." Koharu Utatane offered advice from a different perspective.

Upon hearing the words of the two advisors, a smile unconsciously crept across Danzo's lips. Just as he understood Hiruzen, these two contemporaries who had spent every day with Hiruzen also understood him. They knew even better how to sway Hiruzen's heart.

As expected, the Third Hokage hesitated upon hearing Koharu Utatane's words. He increasingly felt his strength waning with age. The decisiveness he once possessed in his youth was gradually losing its edge and toughness.

Considering his age, in the ninja world where the shadow of war constantly looms and the survival rate of ninjas during missions is low, he is already considered long-lived. The only Kage older than him, it seems, is Onoki from Iwagakure.

All he wanted at that moment was for the village to develop steadily and without any major disturbances. Koharu Utatane's words undoubtedly shook his resolve.

"Shouldn't we be setting things right then and there?" Orochimaru, noticing his teacher's wavering, spoke up, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "It's precisely because of Root's cold-blooded and ruthless lack of discipline that all these tragedies have occurred! The establishment of the Technology Development Department is to set rules and reduce unnecessary sacrifices in the village. Only in this way can the tragedy be prevented from continuing."

Danzo suddenly looked at Orochimaru, who had spoken.

Is the root cold and ruthless?

He did admit that!

But you, Orochimaru, have always been the one in charge of the Wood Release experiments! Even if I was at fault, does that mean you, Orochimaru, are some kind of good person?

How could someone as ruthless as you, who is equally heartless towards those experimental subjects, say such a thing?

Are you the Orochimaru I know?

"Orochimaru!" Mitokado Homura frowned.

"Mito-senpai, the one who caused all of this is Danzo, who is right beside you! He attacked my disciple. Did he care about the village, about me, about the Nara clan, or about my teacher?"

"I remember, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were the clans that strongly supported Hiruzen-sensei and helped him stabilize the village, right? Or perhaps I should invite Akimichi Torifu-senpai over to discuss this as well?" Orochimaru coldly cut off Mitokado Homura's next words.

Feeling hurt by Orochimaru's words, Mitokado Homura glared at Danzo, inwardly cursing him for being too ruthless.

Danzo, who had only intended to use the Rokuni to threaten Orochimaru, to make him behave and conduct his experiments seriously, at least to show him some results, now had an even darker expression. He hadn't expected that what he considered a trivial matter would trigger so many changes.

If I had known, I would have sent a Root Jonin that time.

"That's settled then. I've already agreed to Orochimaru and Shikakichi's demands regarding personnel transfers and the establishment of the technology development department." The Third Hokage finally made up his mind, almost displaying his usual decisiveness, swiftly ending the debate and making the decision.

When the Hokage began to draw his conclusion, the two advisors could only remain silent. Fortunately, the Third Hokage offered them some consolation, saving them some face.

"However, the village's economy is indeed not yet sufficient to support the establishment of a new department. Apart from providing initial funding, the subsequent expenses will be raised by the Technology Development Department itself for the time being," the third generation leader added.

"Hmph!" Danzo snorted coldly, having failed to achieve his desired outcome. He turned and, leaning on his cane, left the Hokage's office, which had humiliated him. At the same time, the flames burning within him for that position intensified like never before.

Seeing Danzo leave, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also sighed and fell silent.

……

The grove of trees on the back hill.

The location where Orochimaru's team often trains.

As the smoke cleared, the fierce battle on the field finally came to an end.

"It seems you haven't stopped training during this time," Orochimaru's somewhat pleased voice rang out across the field.

Uchiha Shisui, Anko, and Shikaguchi stood somewhat disheveled opposite Orochimaru, supporting each other.

"Damn it, he can't even beat one of the teacher's shadow clones!" Anko fumed as she watched Orochimaru, her opponent on the field, disappear into a puff of smoke, revealing Orochimaru's true form standing outside the field.

"We're all just genin yet, and we need to face the gap between ourselves and Lord Orochimaru." Shisui said with some helplessness to Anko's words. He wouldn't dare to say whatever he wanted to Anko so casually.

"Your performance has already surprised me greatly. Shisui, I've seen your talent. You're skilled in Body Flicker Technique, and I'll compile an analysis of the principles behind it for you later."

Orochimaru was indeed pleasantly surprised by Shisui's talent, but he did not mention teaching him ninjutsu.

"Lu Nie, your shadow techniques have begun to involve shape and nature transformations? It seems you've mastered what I taught you very well." Orochimaru's gaze fell on Lu Nie, clearly satisfied with Lu Nie's progress.

"What about me? What about me?" Hongdou pouted, hands on her hips, looking dissatisfied.

"You are the best at mastering my fluid jutsu." Orochimaru praised her generously, and his kindergarten principal-like manner immediately brought a bright smile to Anko's face.

Lu Nie and Shisui exchanged a glance, reaching a consensus that a team always needs at least one carefree teammate. Let Hongdou be happy; her happiness is simple enough anyway.

During a break, Orochimaru made a request that made Shisui's eyes widen instantly.

"You wish to visit the clan chief?" Zhi Shui was somewhat caught off guard.

"Yes," Orochimaru said.

"The clan chief will be very pleased with your visit." Zhishui took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. He knew very well that he was just a messenger, but that didn't stop him from saying this based on his understanding of the clan chief.

At least in Shisui's view, this was the beginning of the village's higher-ups being willing to communicate with the clan. Even if, for the time being, only Orochimaru had expressed this attitude.

"Tomorrow, I'll go tomorrow night," Orochimaru said, setting the time, and then dismissed the group.

He's very busy right now; the technology development department is practically a shell, with countless tasks requiring his attention. He's already planning to hire a consultant from the Nara clan to handle the day-to-day operations.

"Your suggestion last time was very interesting. Although Wood Release is a bloodline limit composed of water and earth chakra natures, its vigorous life force is almost like that of Yang Release."

To curb the phagocytic and expansive nature of primary cells, we first need to find another force that can counteract it and bring it into balance.

Orochimaru, leading Shikane through the underground laboratory inherited from Root and currently serving as a technology development department, slowly said to Shikane, "I've searched through all the books in Konoha that deal with Wood Release, as well as the historical records of the Senju clan. I believe this power is very likely to be found in the Uchiha clan."

If we consider the power within the First Hokage's cells as a manifestation of Yang Release, then the Uchiha clan, representing Yin Release, should be able to balance this power.

"You want to use the Uchiha clan as test subjects?" Shiro asked sensitively.

"Of course not. There is no one in the Uchiha clan now who can fight against the First Hokage's cells. I've heard that the Uchiha clan has eyes called the Mangekyou Sharingan, which are above the three tomoe. The most famous among them is the legendary Madara Uchiha, who was on par with the First Hokage."

I think that if they wanted to resist the devouring and assimilation power of the First Hokage's cells, then the Uchiha, as the experimental subject, would at least have the ability to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Otherwise, I don't think there's much difference between the Uchiha and other experimental subjects." Orochimaru shook his head. He wasn't completely unrestrained and reckless in his experiments, especially when it came to the sensitive and troublesome Uchiha clan.

"So that's why your attitude towards Shisui changed so quickly?" Shika Nie thought of Orochimaru's change in attitude towards Shisui.

"He's just a backup plan." Orochimaru licked his lips. "He still has a long way to go before he grows to the level I'm satisfied with."

"The Uchiha clan is a fanatical clan! If they think we're researching their bloodline limit, it's hard to say what they'll do." Lu Nie thought of the Uchiha clan's increasingly unstable emotional characteristics as they awaken their Sharingan, and felt somewhat worried.

"Are you worried that I might resort to violence?" Orochimaru sensed something from Shikane's emotions and smiled. "What you said was quite good: inheriting the Hokage means gaining the resources of an entire village."

Although I'm not sure what the teacher's true intentions are, wouldn't it be good to get more people on my side? As one of Konoha's most powerful clans, the Uchiha are second only to the Hyuga in wealth. I just want to discuss financial matters with Fugaku tomorrow.

"To help with the research on how to properly awaken the Uchiha's Sharingan?" Lu Nie hadn't expected that some of the things he had said to Orochimaru would be remembered.

"That's a good excuse," Orochimaru nodded. He felt it would be easier to extract money from the ninja clans than from Danzo, as long as he could produce the results they needed.

This is a technological priority!

"I remember asking you about your ideals, and you said you wanted to research all bloodline limits and the origins of chakra." Orochimaru suddenly spoke up: "The origins of chakra can be put on hold for now, but Konoha has three great bloodline clans with a thousand-year history!"

P.S.: At this crucial moment, please continue reading!

(End of this chapter)