Uchiha's personal opinion

But before he could even come up with a plan, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in!"

Orochimaru pushed open the door, but did not immediately enter. Instead, he bowed slightly at the entrance.

Behind him stood five or six Uchiha Jonin.

"...Don't be shy, come in and have a seat."

Uchiha Tokumitsu suddenly felt a little uncomfortable with Orochimaru's unexpected politeness.

However, after examining the person and sensing their chakra aura, Uchiha Tokumitsu confirmed that the person in front of him was not someone else in disguise.

"Your Excellency, I have come under orders. Please give your instructions..."

Orochimaru's face still had that sinister look, and the calm smile on his lips still gave people a strange sense of malice, but the words that came out of his mouth were somewhat unexpected.

"What are your thoughts on this matter?"

After a long silence, Uchiha Tokumitsu finally asked in a low voice.

Clearly, applying pressure has little effect on Orochimaru.

“I am a Konoha ninja, and he is a rogue ninja. It is only right and proper for me to report him.”

Orochimaru repeated his statement from the crime scene.

"Is that so..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu remained noncommittal.

"This is the bottom line that every Konoha ninja should uphold."

Orochimaru's tone was unusually sincere: "Of course, although my bottom line and stance cannot be violated, out of consideration for our long-standing friendship, I did not choose to take action against the rogue ninja Jiraiya. Therefore, I hope Your Excellency will understand my personal reasons..."

Your Excellency, I am...

How could such honorifics come out of Orochimaru's mouth?

That's unbelievable...

"It's human nature, I can understand it."

Uchiha Tokumitsu naturally didn't intend to press the matter further, otherwise he wouldn't have met with Orochimaru. "However, I'm still very curious, what do you hope to obtain?"

"trust."

Orochimaru spoke slowly.

"trust?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu leaned back in his chair with a tactical backbend, and said with a scrutinizing tone, "That's quite an extravagant request!"

"Indeed extravagant. So, does Your Excellency mean that the traitor Jiraiya is not worthy of your attention?"

Orochimaru showed no emotion whatsoever, his face still bearing that sinister smile, and he even emphasized the pronunciation of the words "traitorous ninja."

"To be honest, that's enough..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu clicked his tongue, deciding to stop beating around the bush: "However, what is your opinion on so-called sacred sites for summoning beasts, such as Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave?"

"They are just a bunch of oddballs who gather together to survive. They are powerful creatures that can be used, but they are nothing special."

Orochimaru answered without a care.

"So, did the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave summon you to have something to tell you?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu asked, "As for the time... it should have been a few months ago, right? I'm curious about what happened back then."

"The White Snake Immortal only hinted that if I betrayed the village or had other ideas, it might choose to support me in doing something, that's all, it didn't say anything specific."

Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged.

Since Uchiha Tokumitsu has already pointed it out, there's no need for him to hide it or make excuses.

This shows just how closely the police department was monitoring him...

"From now on, the police department's surveillance posts will be completely removed."

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded, satisfied with Orochimaru's frankness: "In addition, if you want to continue your experiments, you can apply for funding through the research institute and use the corresponding equipment."

"I imagine... the secret laboratory under your artificial hill must have suffered quite a bit of damage this time, right?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu said nonchalantly.

"Thank you for your concern and support, Your Excellency. However, due to time constraints, I have not yet been able to confirm the extent of the damage to the laboratory."

Orochimaru then bowed politely to express his gratitude for his superior's concern.

"Oh, right~"

Uchiha Tokumitsu seemed to suddenly realize something, "I wonder if Orochimaru, a Jonin, is interested in the toads of Mount Myōboku?"

"...That's natural."

This time, Orochimaru was getting restless.

"The village captured two Ninjatoads from Mount Myōboku, and they're a special breed that possesses Sage Chakra..."

As Uchiha Tokumitsu spoke, Orochimaru's breathing became heavier and heavier.

"By the way, what's the relationship between Ryuchi Cave and Mount Myoboku?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu abruptly changed the subject and asked a question.

"...As far as I know, they are in a state of hostility."

Orochimaru was a little unaccustomed to it, but still answered directly.

"So, the research on the dissection of grenades and the analysis of the origins of Sage Chakra... it shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"

A smile appeared on Uchiha Tokumitsu's face.

"No problem, serving His Excellency the Governor is the duty of every Konoha ninja."

The gentle and refined Orochimaru spoke with great respect.

"That's fine then..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was even more satisfied.

A smart person is a smart person.

Without needing to say much, both sides understood each other's position and choices.

After seeing Orochimaru off, Uchiha Tokumitsu paced back and forth in his office, pondering his plans.

Although deep down, Uchiha Tokumitsu still didn't have much trust in Orochimaru, that didn't stop him from entrusting Orochimaru with some of his research tasks.

Moreover, he was extremely dissatisfied with the progress made by the vortex researchers!

Although the Uzumaki Research Institute has consistently produced results, such as the continuous innovation of various chakra weapons and breakthroughs in ninja army-level sealing techniques, to be honest, the research output is quite impressive.

However, the analysis of Sage Chakra, which Uchiha Tokumitsu was most concerned about, had made little progress. Every time he inquired, the response was basically, "The experiment is progressing as scheduled," followed by a request for more funding due to "expenses exceeding expectations." This is similar to how the Uzumaki researchers are skilled in "engineering," and manufacturing various weapons is what they excel at and are passionate about; but they seem somewhat incapable of handling "science" tasks like Sage Chakra research.

"I have no idea how the Uzumaki clan came up with so many sealing techniques; their theoretical research is so weak..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu inwardly grumbled.

Since that's the case, why not let Orochimaru get involved too? At the very least, he can act as a catalyst, a catalyst for change.

Moreover, for someone like Orochimaru, as long as there is sufficient funding and a large laboratory to satisfy his desire for exploration, he can do whatever he wants in other aspects.

However, after much deliberation, Uchiha Tokumitsu decided that he still had to keep a backup plan.

Picking up a pen from his desk, Uchiha Tokumitsu issued a secret order and whispered a few words to his attendant ninja, instructing him to immediately proceed to Fubo Castle in the Land of Whirlpools.

Chapter 342 Exploitation Amidst Suspicion

As Orochimaru's mansion was reduced to ruins amidst the chaos, the ninja disappearance case that had been the focus of attention throughout Konoha was finally solved.

Although the outcome of the disappearance case was unexpected, after the twelve Konoha ninjas who had been drugged by the spell regained their senses with Tsunade's personal intervention, their focus shifted from the disappearance case to hatred for the perpetrators based on their personal accounts.

"I don't know either. I was just walking down the street when someone tapped me on the shoulder, and then I don't remember anything else."

"I just heard someone call my name from behind, so I was about to turn around, but before I could turn around, I felt a pain in the back of my head, and when I woke up, this was what happened..."

"...I only saw a cloud of green mist coming towards me, and then a giant appendix-like thing appeared in front of me and swallowed me into its belly. At that time, I thought I was going to die!"

"..."

Although the testimonies of the twelve Konoha ninjas who had once gone missing differed, it is certain that they were indeed captured after the attack.

However, this was not enough to quell the doubts of some Konoha ninjas—there were still some scheming former Hokage lineage ninjas who were spreading all sorts of strange rumors in private, such as that someone else had kidnapped the ninjas, but the truth had been buried, and so on.

As for the giant toad that appeared at Orochimaru's residence that day, they automatically filtered it out.

They did nothing wrong! Jiraiya may have made mistakes, but did Orochimaru not make any mistakes at all?

Of course, their words and actions were also silently recorded by spies from the police department and the internal affairs department, just waiting to be used as evidence when Uchiha Tokumitsu decided to clean house.

Meanwhile, when Minato Namikaze, the representative of the police department, was explaining the case at a special session of the Senate, Tsunade took the initiative to explain the "red appendix-like creature" that appeared when Jiraiya captured the missing ninjas.

"That's the Rock Toad from Mount Myōboku, which proves that this case was indeed committed by Jiraiya!"

Tsunade's speech in the Senate left the ninja senators attending the briefing looking at each other in bewilderment.

Theoretically speaking, as a member of the Senju clan with a special status, and clearly having no connection to the case, Tsunade has no need to make any special statement on this matter.

But Tsunade had tears welling up inside, which she couldn't express.

After learning that Jiraiya had tried to force Orochimaru to defect, the clan elders were terrified and rushed to Tsunade's residence, demanding that she publicly declare her break with the rogue ninja Jiraiya to avoid similar persecution in the future.

Even after her teacher, the former Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, died in battle, the elders of the clan were not so nervous, so Tsunade did not understand what these old guys were afraid of.

However, when her close relatives, including her boyfriend Dan Kato, subtly advised her to sever ties with Jiraiya, Tsunade had no choice but to reveal some secrets about the three sacred sites at the Senate meeting, thereby expressing her complete break with Jiraiya.

……

"...This is really interesting!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu held a report in his hand, flipping through it while constantly expressing his admiration.

"Orochimaru truly lives up to his reputation as the number one research genius in the ninja world! He actually drew the anatomy diagram of the ninja frog so quickly!"

"Lord Tokumitsu is too kind. The data provided by the Shogunate Research Institute is the key. I have only done some insignificant work by standing on the shoulders of predecessors."