I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 227 A casual word of kindness may just be the light in someone else's heart.

Inside the research lab, Tatsuma, referring to a cross-sectional diagram of the left kidney, used special absorbable materials to build the kidney's structure. This is the "skeleton" for cultivating the kidney, and an essential step in the cultivation process.

Fortunately, this wasn't Chenma's first time doing this kind of work; he had previously participated in the breeding of mouse and piglet organs, so he was quite familiar with the process.

Orochimaru was not far away, preparing serum and nutrient solution to cultivate kidneys. Next to him was Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had followed them in to visit from the beginning.

However, neither Orochimaru nor Tatsuma paid much attention to Hiruzen Sarutobi. After all, even Tsunade might not be able to understand the work here immediately, let alone Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Secondly, the two who had their privileges revoked still harbored some resentment, and it was impossible for them to smile and chat with Hiruzen Sarutobi, at least for now.

After observing these completely incomprehensible things for a long time, Hiruzen Sarutobi came to Tatsuma's side and said quite naturally, "I really didn't expect you to use the technique I gave you in this way."

Tatsuma stopped what he was doing. Although multitasking wasn't difficult for him, he still wanted to concentrate on this kind of meticulous work. He slightly raised his head and asked:

"Using this technique to save lives, isn't that what the Hokage would want to see?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile faltered slightly, but he quickly recovered and said with a smile, "Of course not. I'm just amazed by your creativity. It would be difficult for anyone else to connect this technique with saving lives, would it?"

Tatsuma smiled and shrugged, neither confirming nor denying. If he hadn't witnessed the Second Hokage proposing to use his forbidden technique to heal Sasuke during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he would have found it difficult to use the technique to save someone.

Because this technique is highly targeted.

Imprisoning the soul within the body is only one of the functions of this technique's vision. This technique can completely imprison the recipient's soul within the brain, making it difficult for them to enter or leave.

Even certain special chakra is difficult to overflow from the brain, such as flowing into the eyes. This technique can handle scenarios beyond just Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique.

If handled properly, it can even drive certain clans that rely on special chakra to stimulate their eyes and thus achieve a transformation in strength into apathy.

If someone were to cruelly perform this technique on every newborn in that tribe, the tribe's magical heritage would likely be completely severed.

Tatsuma put down the equipment in his hand and asked, "By the way, Hokage-sama, is there a way to undo this technique? This seals off Dan-senpai's Spirit Transformation Technique, so even if he recovers in the future, he will have difficulty regaining his strength."

Tatsuma already knew from Tsunade that there was a way to break the soul imprisonment technique, but he would ask Hiruzen Sarutobi in a more appropriate way.

In fact, the existing solutions are not necessary for Tatsuma. He can fully understand all the spells that constitute the spell, and he can find a solution for each spell by spending some time.

It's difficult to fully decipher and use it in a short time. After all, who knows if the second generation left any backdoors in his techniques? To break Kato Dan's restraints, at least a dozen piglets would have to contribute.

But Chenma wasn't the kind of person who was pedantic. If he could just ask for the finished product, why would he bother to do the hard research himself? He wasn't even craving roast suckling pig.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, "Of course I do, but I didn't expect you to learn how to use it so quickly, so I didn't give you the solution."

"As for the solution, I can provide it whenever you wish. However, given that the current situation is not yet stable, it's best to observe for a while longer to prevent the spirit and body from separating after the confinement is lifted."

Tatsuma nodded. Indeed, there was no rush. Without using Hashirama cells, it wouldn't be quick to cultivate a complete and fully functional kidney.

"Tch~"

Just as Tatsuma was about to agree, Orochimaru, who was not far away, seemed unable to suppress his laughter. Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and looked over, only to find that Orochimaru's eyes were filled with undisguised mockery.

Ignoring the disapproving look from his teacher, Orochi said, "I also studied the Soul Imprisonment Technique in my early years. I have backups of the technique and its solution. If you need it, Tatsuma-kun, just ask me."

Even if one has a copy of such a forbidden technique, one does not have the right to teach it to others; one must obtain the Hokage's permission. However, Orochimaru stated this so bluntly.

However, because of what happened today, Hiruzen Sarutobi inevitably felt indebted to Orochimaru, his disciple. Therefore, although he was unhappy, he still said, "It's good this way. You can still pass on some experience to Tatsuma."

Tatsuma didn't intend to refuse Orochimaru's kindness, but he also didn't want things to get too tense between the master and disciple, so he said, "Then I thank Lord Orochimaru for passing on the Hokage's skills to me."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression softened a bit. Tatsuma's words made Hiruzen understand that Tatsuma's dissatisfaction was more emotional than genuine dislike for him.

As for their disciples, when exactly did the two of them start to go their separate ways?

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression had eased, Tatsuma quickly changed the subject, saying, "Hokage-sama, I heard that this was the work of the Iwa ninja. I wonder what the reason is?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want to argue with his disciple, so he took the opportunity to back down, saying, "I suspect that this is for the same reason and purpose as the Iwa ninja we encountered three years ago. It's just that this time, they gathered a lot of people, which led to the accident."

"Were they also ostracized by Onoki?"

Tatsuma quickly chimed in, and Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, saying, "Onoki used some abandoned ninjas to launch an attack on Konoha, and it seems he's still searching for Jiraiya's whereabouts."

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Tatsuma nodded. Even Orochimaru, who was initially uninterested, perked up his ears slightly. Something like this had happened three years ago? And he even pointed the finger at his own teammate, Jiraiya?

Thinking of his teammate whom he hadn't seen for three years, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel curious, but he still said in a sarcastic tone, "I wonder how the Hokage plans to handle this?"

Upon hearing Orochimaru address him as Hokage-sama, Hiruzen Sarutobi simply looked away, preferring to ignore it, and said, "Unfortunately, the village is the one on the defensive."

From the moment these Iwa ninja were abandoned by Onoki, they were probably already "traitors" who had not yet made it public. Even if I questioned Onoki, he would use this as an excuse to brush me off.

The best solution is to bring Jiraiya back and strengthen reconnaissance within the country. Before I came here, I spoke with Hyuga and Inuzuka, and they are willing to conduct a thorough investigation within the Land of Fire.

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma frowned and said, "In this way, the village will be left undefended. After three years, these Iwa ninjas could not possibly be unaware that they have been abandoned, yet they remain within the Land of Fire."

This suggests that they have most likely formed a new organization and discipline, and may even have someone to help them. Their target appears to be the lone Konoha ninja team and Jiraiya-sensei, but this was their mission when they left the village.

If they continue the mission after learning they've been abandoned, there are only two possibilities: either they're incredibly foolish, which is impossible, or they're using a smokescreen.

Even the exposure of this operation might have been part of their plan, designed to disperse Konoha's defensive forces and achieve their true objective.

After Tatsuma finished speaking, Orochimaru stopped what he was doing and pondered the possibilities in Tatsuma's words, and what their real purpose would be if Tatsuma was not mistaken.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and said, "But if we don't thoroughly investigate, the harm done to the Konoha squad could continue to happen."

What you said makes sense, but if the village is only concerned with maintaining stability and ignores the past disappearances of Konoha ninja teams, then I will have a hard time explaining myself to the whole village.

"Based solely on limited calculations, without concrete evidence, the villagers would not agree with your idea."

Orochimaru shook his head. Sure enough, this teacher had changed. What Tatsuma said was indeed unsupported by evidence, but it was also very likely. Therefore, the investigation should be expedited to find evidence to support or disprove Tatsuma's deduction.

However, his teacher once again chose to do things in a good way. The joint investigation was like a military exercise. If something bad was caught during the process, it would be a surprise, but even if nothing was caught, it would still be an explanation to the others.

But Orochimaru saw nothing of the sort in this, since the manpower and time invested were not proportional to the potential gains. It was just to make it seem to those who didn't understand that Hiruzen Sarutobi was taking this matter very seriously.

Even if we include the Aburame clan later, it would take the Hyuga and Inuzuka clans at least three months to thoroughly investigate the entire Land of Fire. And that would only be a preliminary investigation. It would be impossible to identify suspicious individuals through detailed investigations of personnel changes and social networks.

Moreover, such a large-scale operation, even if it manages to grasp just one "point" in the "thread," will not be able to follow the trail to the whole thing. The mastermind behind it will simply cut off all ties, leaving Konoha with only one fruit.

However, even if it's just a three-month preliminary investigation, the entire mission will continue until the New Year. During the New Year, Konoha will still be working on the issue of the missing ninjas. I suppose those people will be very grateful.

Orochimaru glanced at his teacher, then said, "Hokage-sama, we still have a lot of work to do, and I'm sure you don't have much time to waste here either. How about we leave each other alone?"

Seeing his disciple give him the order to leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened, but seeing Tatsuma stop working, he still suppressed his anger and said, "Very well, if you need any support, just tell me."

After saying this, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned and left. Orochimaru closed the door that Hiruzen hadn't closed, then looked at Tatsuma and asked:

"What do you think is the true purpose of the Iwa ninja?"

Tatsuma was silent for a moment, then said, "The Wood Release experiment has probably been leaked. It's unclear whether it was the village or the daimyo, but someone must have guessed that the Jinchuriki replacement is imminent."

Those Iwa ninja abandoned by Iwagakure likely became the true masterminds, their actions a ploy to lure the enemy away.

Why didn't you say so just now?

Orochimaru looked at Tatsuma with interest. Tatsuma remained silent for a while before finally saying, "There is someone I can trust more."

After Tatsuma finished speaking, he silently made a note that he would definitely go back and discuss it with Grandma Mito after he finished here. But when he came to his senses, he saw Orochimaru with eyes full of light.

"Thank you, Tatsuma-kun. I won't let you down. And you're the one I trust even more."

Tatsuma: ? ? ?

(End of this chapter)