Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 284 The Third Generation's Little Thoughts

"Hiruzen".

Danzo's expression was grim as he said, "You need to think this through. Temporary losses are nothing. As long as Orochimaru returns, you and I will both possess Wood Release, and others will be able to possess Wood Release as well."

"By then, what can Sasori of the Red Sand do? Even if all five Kage gathered, they would still be no match for the two of us using our Wood Release techniques together."

Having witnessed the First Hokage use Wood Release to pacify the world, Danzo had great confidence in Wood Release. Even if intelligence indicated that Orochimaru's Wood Release had been defeated, he would only think that Orochimaru was incompetent.

If it were him, that brat Sasori of the Red Sand wouldn't be a match for his Wood Release ninjutsu.

Don't even mention that if three or more people in Konoha could use Wood Release, they could easily unify the five great hidden villages.

"Alright, that's enough."

The Third Hokage ignored Danzo's complaints and stuck to his own judgment, saying, "I will write to Orochimaru about the Wood Release. Just focus on your own work. The pressure on Kirigakure and Kumogakure is immense, and Root needs to make an effort."

"I..." Danzo said unwillingly.

"Stop talking to me, get to work." The Third Hokage frowned, adopting the air of a Hokage, and said, "This is the Hokage's order."

"Hmph! Third Hokage, you'll regret this." Danzo glared at the Third Hokage hatefully, then turned and left.

"Don't forget, I am the Hokage!" The Third Hokage snorted at Danzo's retreating figure.

After Danzo left, the Third Hokage came to the study and immediately wrote a letter to Orochimaru, directly inquiring about the Wood Release cell transplant.

Now that Orochimaru's Wood Release has been exposed, the Third Hokage believes in his teacher's identity, and Orochimaru will no longer hide anything from him.

"Inoichi, go and collect information on Orochimaru's movements over the past few years, and find out about his secret laboratory outside."

After handing over the letter, the Third Hokage gave instructions to the ANBU member standing beside him.

Although he trusted Orochimaru to no longer hide things from him, he still needed to take precautions.

Finding Orochimaru's lab outside over the past few years might also reveal the secret of Wood Release cell transplantation.

At the same time, Danzo, who had left, was doing the same thing: searching for Orochimaru's secret laboratory.

Both of them believed that Orochimaru's Wood Release cell transplant must have been done in an outside laboratory, not inside the Root base.

Otherwise, Danzo would have been able to discover it.

In addition to searching for Orochimaru's laboratory, Danzo did something else: he secretly sent Root ninjas to summon Orochimaru back.

If Orochimaru doesn't return, then we must write down how to safely transplant Wood Release cells on a sealed scroll and have a Root ninja bring it back to him.

Two days later, the Third Hokage's letter reached Orochimaru first.

In a secret hideout in the Land of Rivers, Orochimaru looked at the letter his teacher, the Third Hokage, had written to him, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Teacher, oh teacher!"

"You told me not to tell Danzo how to safely transplant Wood Release cells, but... I don't really have a safe way to transplant Wood Release cells either!"

Orochimaru shook his head. This was the reason why he hadn't told his teacher about his successful transplantation of Wood Release cells at the beginning.

Because his method cannot be replicated.

Unless the experimental subject is found again, the method of transplanting Wood Release cells will have to be studied again.

"Teacher... will you believe me?"

Orochimaru shook his head with a wry smile again. Just as he no longer fully trusted his beloved Third Hokage, his teacher no longer fully trusted him either.

Orochimaru couldn't do anything about it; that's just reality.

He took out the letter he had written to his teacher long ago and had someone from the communications department send it back by mail hawk.

Whether the teacher believed he was helpless or not, that was the reality.

However, the teacher is alright; after all, he is still his teacher and won't directly attack him.

But Danzo, that old bastard, is not so easy to deal with.

Orochimaru frowned slightly. Since there was no way to safely transplant Wood Release cells, Danzo would definitely target him, the person who had successfully transplanted Wood Release cells.

Given Danzo's madness, if given the chance, he would really dare to grab me and lock me in a nutrient tank to be an experimental subject.

"Forget it, let's just take it one step at a time."

After thinking for a while, Orochimaru couldn't come up with a good way to deal with Danzo, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, he just needs to be careful. With his current strength, as long as he's careful, Danzo can't do anything to him.

Let's talk about the future later.

Now let's think about how to deal with that brat named Sasori of the Red Sand.

"Isn't that kid a genius puppeteer?"

Orochimaru felt a headache coming on when he thought about the information about that red-haired brat mentioned in the intelligence report.

What kind of genius puppeteer?

When that brat fought him, he never used any puppets; he always used elemental ninjutsu.

"Could that thing that absorbs natural energy be his puppet?"

Orochimaru suddenly remembered the sphere that had been encased in iron sand during the battle, and naturally, chakra had been continuously drilling into it.

Now that I think about it, is it possible that it was a special puppet that could absorb natural energy and convert it into controllable chakra?

If that's the case, it would explain why that brat possesses such a massive amount of chakra.

Aside from Jinchuriki and Orochimaru himself, who possessed Wood Release, Orochimaru couldn't think of anyone else in the ninja world who could possess such a massive amount of chakra.

Clearly, the special puppet created by the other party can absorb natural energy and convert it into the chakra that the other party needs.

"If only..."

A fiery glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he began to ponder how to defeat his opponent.

"That red-haired brat is very strong, but he obviously doesn't have much combat experience."

"This is the easiest time to defeat him."

"Once this period is over, and that kid's combat experience improves, he won't be so easy to deal with."

"We need to speed things up!"

Orochimaru thought to himself.

So, over the next month, Orochimaru fought six more battles with Sasori.

In one of the battles, Orochimaru took advantage of Sasori's lack of sensory abilities to successfully close in and stealthily cut off Sasori's two arms, preparing to capture Sasori alive.

Unfortunately, Sasori wasn't a real human, and losing both hands didn't prevent him from using ninjutsu.

Sasori doesn't need to form hand seals to perform ninjutsu. After his soul merges with chakra, he can release ninjutsu without forming hand seals; he only needs to think about it.

So Orochimaru, who originally wanted to capture Sasori alive, was instead severely injured in the chest by Sasori's attack. If it weren't for the powerful life force of his Wood Release cells healing his body, Orochimaru would have died.

In the end, neither of them could defeat the other.

Sasori's combination of Magnet Release and Lightning Release ninjutsu is certainly powerful, but against Orochimaru, whom he has already witnessed, it would be difficult to kill him in one blow.

Orochimaru not only knows Wood Release, but is also proficient in the five basic chakra natures of ninjutsu, excluding Yin and Yang, and knows a wide variety of ninjutsu.

Aside from the first battle where Orochimaru was unfamiliar with the terrain and fled, he held the advantage in the rest of the battles.

After Orochimaru discovered the secret of Sasori's puppet body during their battle, both realized that defeating the other would be very difficult.

Unfortunately, both of them possess the ability to completely overwhelm the other's other people.

For a time, the two could only restrain each other.

And so, after a month, news of their battle spread throughout the entire ninja world.

Sasori also gained fame throughout the ninja world by leveraging the reputation of Orochimaru's three legendary ninjas, becoming another officially recognized Kage-level powerhouse.

Orochimaru's Wood Release also earned him the title of the leader of the Legendary Sannin.

This greatly displeased Jiraiya, who was fighting in the Land of Earth. However, he had not yet mastered Sage Mode, so he could only suppress his displeasure. Orochimaru, who possessed Wood Release, was already stronger than him, and would only become stronger now.

(End of this chapter)