Uchiha's personal opinion

Orochimaru answered modestly.

At this moment, he was in an unusually pleasant mood.

After receiving full support from the Konoha Research Institute's equipment and the Uchiha clan's funds, Orochimaru suddenly realized that he had actually been taking the wrong path all along!

He used to think that having money was nothing special! Only ninjutsu was eternally beautiful!

Now, Orochimaru has come to a profound understanding of what it means to be "rich and powerful"!

No matter how rare or precious the equipment or materials are, as long as he makes a request and explains their importance, the joint venture can deliver them to him within three days.

As a result, whenever Orochimaru thought about how he used to earn a little money by carrying out missions to keep the laboratory running, he felt that the past was too painful to recall.

What kind of days are those! The research efficiency is just too low!

Thus, Orochimaru's fervent energy erupted, plunging the Konoha Research Institute into an unprecedented state of frenzied competition.

Orochimaru first used the performance evaluation system as a spur, then adopted the phased achievement performance bonus as an incentive, and finally announced that he would implement the bottom-ranking elimination system, forcing a group of researchers who originally worked nine-to-five jobs to become 007 corporate slaves, thus completing an almost impossible research task in just a few days.

Most importantly, Orochimaru's diagram of the ninja frog's body structure clearly points out the mechanism by which the ninja frog of Mount Myōboku stores and utilizes Sage Chakra within its body.

This breakthrough is miles ahead of the Vortex Research Institute.

In the past, researchers from the Uzumaki clan mainly focused on extracting Sage Chakra from the bodies of Greninja frogs for analysis, but due to objective limitations such as the generation and storage of Sage Chakra, their research progress was particularly slow.

After clarifying the lower-level sage chakra and the fusion reaction mechanism of the body, it will undoubtedly accelerate the research progress of the Uzumaki clan.

—Uchiha Tokumitsu did not intend to hand over the Uzumaki clan's research entirely to Orochimaru, but rather to have both sides conduct their own research to verify each other's findings.

"Given Orochimaru's unparalleled talent in scientific research and management..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu changed his form of address to show familiarity, and picked up a pen to fill out a letter of appointment on the spot. "Therefore, it is proposed that you be appointed as the acting director of the Konoha Research Institute. Would you be willing to accept?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu paused his pen at the signatory's signature line, looked up at Orochimaru, and said.

"It is my honor to serve Lord Deguang."

Orochimaru stood up, his face unusually solemn, and said very seriously.

"very good!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu then signed his name on the letter of appointment and handed the document to Orochimaru.

"Dean Orochimaru, I hope you will continue your efforts in your research position."

"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Deguang!"

This time, Orochimaru couldn't help but stick out his tongue and wash his face on the spot.

……

However, as soon as Orochimaru walked out of the police headquarters building and returned home, the happy smile that had been on his face immediately disappeared.

Actually, his house was rebuilt on his behalf by the village investment company...

Moreover, after a thorough inspection, Orochimaru confirmed that no hidden weapons had been left in the house, but his secret laboratory hidden under the artificial hill had been completely filled in.

The equipment and data originally located in the secret laboratory have been transferred by the police department ninjas to the Konoha Research Institute's dedicated laboratory.

Although the information may appear to be exactly as it was, the actual situation is open to interpretation.

To put it bluntly, although Uchiha Tokumitsu lifted the surveillance on him, he also took the opportunity to go through all of his secrets again.

This is also a kind of warning.

This shows that Uchiha Tokumitsu did not trust him as much as he appeared to.

"Orochimaru……"

At that moment, a small snake appeared in the garden outside the living room, peeking around.

"...Why are you here again?"

Orochimaru, whose thoughts had been interrupted, said with displeasure.

"The White Snake Immortal wants to see you. Come to Dragon Cave tonight!"

The little snake said nonchalantly, "Also, since you have money to rebuild your house, give me a few more offerings!"

"I'm busy!"

"...At dawn, Princess Tianxin will use reverse summoning magic... What did you say!"

The little snake was explaining the arrangements for Ryuchi Cave, but was immediately confused by Orochimaru's words.

"...I cannot leave the village now. The White Snake Sage knows everything that has ever happened in the ninja world, so it should understand."

Orochimaru realized his tone might have been too harsh, so he changed his approach, saying, "The village has been assigning me a lot of tasks lately, and I can't leave under everyone's watchful eyes..."

"...I'm just relaying messages. Whether it's what the Great Immortal said or what you said, I'll pass it on verbatim!"

The little snake snorted coldly, transformed into a wisp of smoke, and vanished, leaving behind the words:

"Rat tail juice!"

Chapter 343 The Situation Escalates

"Ryuchi Cave is, after all, the gathering place of Orochimaru's contracted summoning beasts, so there is no need for him to report this to me."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said hypocritically.

"...The so-called sacred land of spirit beasts is, after all, an anomaly, and ultimately unreliable."

Orochimaru replied solemnly, "Those who are different can only be driven and controlled, but they cannot be listened to or believed!"

The perspective and intention behind these words are indeed profound!

Uchiha Tokumitsu couldn't help but nod in approval.

It has to be said that Orochimaru seemed to have suddenly become enlightened after rising to the middle and upper echelons of Konoha.

Although I've heard plenty of nice words and flattery, it's important to know who said them.

For example, Orochimaru, a guy with a foul temper, stubbornness, and strong principles, has a way of speaking that is more pleasant than the flattery of others.

"I am very interested in the so-called holy sites..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu smiled and tapped his fingers lightly on the table, "Director Orochimaru should understand that there's a reason why I put you in charge of the Ninja Toad research..."

Orochimaru nodded slightly, his gaze subtly glancing at a report lying next to Uchiha Tokumitsu's fingers.

Although there was a piece of paper covering it, you could tell from the corners that it was his funding application report.

Moreover, it seems that it hasn't been opened yet...

"I understand, it's for the sake of Sage Chakra."

Orochimaru bowed slightly.

"Although I vehemently despise those outcasts who attempt to interfere with the ninja world, especially those who always manage to create unplanned disruptions to the great cause of unifying the four seas..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu seemingly casually uttered words that stirred up a storm in Orochimaru's heart: "But!"

Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat.

"Natural energy is a good thing, and Sage Chakra is also a good thing."

After Uchiha Tokumitsu finished speaking, he smiled without saying a word.

"...The inheritance of Ryuchi Cave must be difficult, because as far as I know, besides the White Snake Ancestor, the only other Ryuchi Cave descendants who possess Sage Chakra are the Three Goddesses."

Orochimaru remained silent for a while before speaking.

His gaze returned to the funding application report next to Uchiha Tokumitsu's finger.

This report involves his core research!

Orochimaru's heart was burning with intense desire, but he couldn't express it directly.

"I remember that besides the Three Goddesses, there was also a giant serpent named Shinya that should also possess Sage Chakra... and it even has the power to petrify people..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu still maintained a calm, smiling expression.

“Sachiga is a member of the highly regarded Ryūchi-dō clan, and I can neither approach him nor command him…”

Orochimaru sighed and said, "However... the Sage Techniques manuals in Ryuchi Cave might still offer a solution."

"That's not bad either~"

Uchiha Tokumitsu's smile deepened.

I casually scribbled on the table and then, seemingly quite suddenly, noticed the application report next to me.

"This is Dean Orochimaru's application! You should have said so earlier!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu casually flipped to the last page, signed his name with a flourish, and then handed over the report with a smile.

"Then I'll have to trouble Director Orochimaru..."

"...It's my duty."

Orochimaru bowed slightly and accepted the report signed by Uchiha Tokumitsu with both hands.

"This is the legendary power of money..."

After leaving the office, Orochimaru couldn't help but glance at the funding application report he was clutching tightly in his arms, and a sense of disillusionment welled up inside him.

It's like seeing your beloved possessions as nothing more than toys that someone else can casually discard.

"...Just once!"

When no one was around, Orochimaru no longer controlled his tongue.

After thoroughly washing his face with his tongue, Orochimaru, now calm, thought to himself, "The Sage Mode techniques of Ryuchi Cave are useless without the aid of Sage Chakra! So this doesn't count as betrayal!"

"And... I'll only do it once! Just once is enough!"

……

Jiraiya's public appearance in Konoha, followed by his escape in full view of everyone, was a significant blow to the shogunate and the police department.

Fortunately, this also allowed Jiraiya to reveal a trump card, enabling Konoha to make adjustments in advance.

Especially in terms of sealing techniques and barriers.

After extracting the chakra traces left at the scene, the sealing team, led by the Ashina clan chief, worked tirelessly to quickly adjust the existing sealing array and develop a new type of spacetime sealing barrier. However, the new sealing technique had not been tested, and the sealing team, including the Ashina clan chief, was not very confident about it.