To some extent, the battle in the Six Rings World was a rehearsal conducted by Shinji for the coming Ninja World War. Therefore, any issues that arose during the battle in the Six Rings World held significant reference value for the Ninja World.
For instance, the great battle between Shinji and the Plague Hegemon had nearly caused the Six Rings World to collapse prematurely. This was a point Shinji had to take seriously.
Thus, taking advantage of the questions from Amado, Tsunade, and Sasori, Shinji ordered, "Next, the Research Institute's task is to comprehensively reinforce the Ninja World. This will be tentatively named 'Project Fortress'! I don't care what methods you use; in short, you must make the Ninja World capable of withstanding the aftershocks of a great war!"
"Yes!"
Amado nodded and accepted the task.
Due to the suspension of the ritual, many projects in the massive Research Institute had stagnated. This made many researchers unaccustomed to the downtime, so a new task and a new goal were not bad things for the current Research Institute.
Moreover, since this matter involved the safety of the Ninja World, the Research Institute needed to go all out.
Shinji instructed, "I won't repeat the details regarding the corrosive nature of the Hegemon here. Therefore, the entire plan must be kept highly confidential. The core content is limited to the attendees present here. It must be kept secret from everyone else, including the grassroots personnel participating in the plan!"
Amado said, "Understood!"
Shinji then instructed Shion, "Shion, you have experience in constructing magic barriers, so you will stay at the Research Institute to assist them in executing 'Project Fortress'."
Shion hurriedly said, "No problem!"
She wasn't afraid of having tasks; she was afraid of having nothing to do.
Shinji's gaze then swept over Sasuke, Naruto, Yakumo, and Haku. "Next is a critical moment for the Ninja World. The Hegemon has definitely infiltrated some power in already. We cannot predict what it will do or when it will strike, so you must ensure the safety of the Research Institute!"
Sasuke was full of confidence. "Leave it to me!"
Naruto nodded with rare seriousness. "Don't worry, I will definitely protect everyone!"
Yakumo and Haku didn't say anything; they simply nodded to Shinji, expressing their determination with their eyes.
Shinji nodded and withdrew his gaze.
After several comprehensive purges, the spies, traitors, and ambitious individuals hiding inside the Research Institute had been mostly cleaned out. Even if there were one or two fish that slipped through the net, under the current high-pressure situation, they would likely be dormant and dare not act recklessly. Therefore, there shouldn't be any major internal problems within the Research Institute.
Furthermore, the Research Institute's combat power was actually already very formidable.
Not counting conventional forces, just the 'Six Paths Level' combat power currently in the Institute included Sasuke, Naruto, and Shion, who was about to stay. Adding the siblings Eida and Daemon, the Research Institute had five resident 'Six Paths Level' combatants. Thus, there was no force in the Ninja World capable of threatening the Research Institute anymore.
The only worry was Orochimaru.
Thinking of this, Shinji said to Amado, "What do you think of Orochimaru?"
Amado spoke bluntly, "I can't see through him!"
Shinji didn't say much and looked at Tsunade and Sasori.
Tsunade was one of the Sannin and an old acquaintance of Orochimaru. Sasori was cold by nature, which sometimes made him less susceptible to superficial appearances.
Tsunade frowned and thought for a while, then said, "He is definitely hiding something from us; there is no doubt about that. It's just that I'm not too clear on exactly what he's hiding."
Sasori said without thinking, "He has a guilty conscience!"
Shinji narrowed his eyes. "Guilty conscience? In what way?"
Sasori shrugged. "Can't you see his unconcealable interest in Shinjutsu, or more specifically, in the experimental subjects possessing Shinjutsu? And just as those subjects were taken away by you, he left the Research Institute under a pretext. Doesn't that explain the problem?"
Amado frowned. "Are you saying he did something to those subjects privately? Is there evidence?"
Sasori curled his lips. "Is evidence important?"
Amado chose silence.
Tsunade wanted to speak but stopped, ultimately remaining silent.
When everyone around felt something was wrong with Orochimaru, evidence wasn't that important anymore.
Sasori smiled. "If you insist on finding evidence, it should be on those experimental subjects."
Tsunade hurriedly said, "I can conduct another comprehensive examination on Yamada Juichi and Fuma Ichiro!"
Amado remained silent.
He knew that the original Owl, as well as the subsequent Yamada Juichi and Fuma Ichiro, had likely long since become sacrifices for the Divine Tree.
Shinji tapped the table lightly. "No need for that trouble. Just find Orochimaru, and everything will be clear!"
Seeing that Shinji intended to arrest Orochimaru, Sasuke volunteered, "Let me go. I will definitely bring him back!"
Between him and Orochimaru, there were countless grievances. The matter of the Cursed Seal alone gave him a reason to kill Orochimaru.
Shinji glanced at Sasuke and shook his head. "You are not his match."
Sasuke didn't believe it. "How is that possible!?"
Naruto said, "I can go with Sasuke!"
Amado added, "If needed, I can have Eida and Daemon act as well."
Shinji still shook his head.
Since defeating Orochimaru just after the ritual, he had only seen Orochimaru once or twice and hadn't had much contact. But at that time, he was already at the peak of 'Kekkei Mora', only one step away from 'Kekkei Shinra'. Even then, his intuition told him that Orochimaru wasn't simple. That was why he had hesitated to move against Orochimaru for so long.
Just think, if he felt Orochimaru wasn't simple even when he was at the peak 'Kekkei Mora' realm, then sending a few 'Six Paths Level' shinobi to arrest him would be sending them to their deaths.
Moreover, Orochimaru's changes must be related to Shinjutsu, so Shinji couldn't send Eida and Daemon, the two who mastered Shinjutsu, to risk it.
Finally, Shinji made the decision. "I will handle Orochimaru's arrest personally! Amado, start comprehensive surveillance on people related to Orochimaru from now on. Try to see if you can dig anything out from them!"
Amado agreed, "I'll arrange it right away!"
"Go!"
Shinji waved his hand, ending the meeting.
'Project Fortress', finalized in this meeting, was the pre-war preparation for the Ninja World to face the Hegemon. As for the hidden danger of Orochimaru, Shinji had to solve it before facing the Hegemon; otherwise, there would be a risk of a fire breaking out in his own backyard.
After the meeting adjourned, Shinji secretly summoned Eida and Daemon in the conference room.
The moment she saw Shinji, Eida froze, looking surprised. "How could it be you?"
Shinji smiled. "Why couldn't it be me?"
Eida asked, "Exactly how strong are you now?"