Chapter 482: Searching for the Tsuchigumo Clan
Originally, Kabuto thought he would have a lot in common with Ino. But after learning that Ino possessed Wood Release, he spat, "Tui!" So you, with your innocent looks, are also a Kekkei Genkai user!
Kabuto now held a special hostility towards these Kekkei Genkai ninja.
It had to be said, old man Danzō was a treasure trove.
Kabuto had obtained the learning scroll for the Impure World Reincarnation and a considerable amount of Hashirama cells from Danzō. If he wanted to use Wood Release, infusing himself with Hashirama cells seemed like an opportunity, but he didn't do it.
He hid outside the village, using ordinary small snakes as his eyes and ears to spy on Konoha. After three days of patient observation, he finally discovered the secret to Ino's strength. So that's it, Sage Mode!
Kabuto originally didn't know any snake-style ninjutsu; Orochimaru didn't trust him back then.
After Orochimaru's death, and in the period before he handed Orochimaru's body over to Sasori, he had collected a large number of items related to Orochimaru.
Among them was the summoning scroll for Ryūchi Cave.
Kabuto felt that Orochimaru had betrayed him, turning the meaning of his entire existence into a sham. He would have his revenge. Revenge on whom? On the entire ninja world!
The journey to Ryūchi Cave would be perilous. Even he wasn't confident he could pass all the trials, but he had to go.
Before he left, he wanted to prepare a big bomb for the ninja world.
For the next few days, Kabuto wandered the wilderness of the Land of Fire.
Relying on information from Danzō and his own deductions, he unearthed a deep red coffin from an underground mausoleum.
Unfortunately, when he opened the coffin, it was empty. There was no body inside, only a badly damaged set of standard-issue metal plate armor.
"It should be here... What key clue did I miss?" he pondered, trying to figure out his mistake.
"Hehe." A light chuckle echoed behind him, crystal clear in the empty tomb.
He whipped around. "Who's there?"
Zetsu emerged from the ground. He looked at Kabuto, then at the empty coffin. "Looking for Madara Uchiha's body? Have you ever considered the possibility that the Madara Uchiha from back then didn't die at all, but lived for many more years before passing away? If you're searching based on the information left by the Second Hokage, you'll definitely find nothing. And if I hadn't been here today, you would have already triggered the warning barrier the Konoha ninja set up."
As Zetsu spoke, he pointed to the southwest corner of the coffin. Kabuto followed his gesture and saw a very well-hidden warning talisman.
The warning talisman was connected to a dense network of explosive tags. If this one was triggered, at least a thousand explosive tags would detonate in a chain reaction. The tomb would collapse, and he would surely be buried alive.
"You're from Akatsuki, right? Why are you here?" Zetsu's black cloak with red clouds was very conspicuous. Ino was always running around in her own version, and the fact that their clothes were so eye-catching had a lot to do with it.
Zetsu answered with a question of his own. "I know you. You were once Orochimaru's loyal subordinate. Now you're looking for Madara Uchiha's body, right? Willing to make a deal?"
"What deal?"
"Help me detoxify an unlucky fellow."
"And then you'll give me Madara Uchiha's body?"
"That's right. Not only will I give you Madara's body, but I'll also tell you the burial places of many other powerful individuals."
Kabuto quickly weighed the pros and cons. "Alright, I agree."
A day later, Zetsu brought Kabuto to treat Obito.
Obito had been half-dead since being poisoned. Zetsu felt that this pawn could still be salvaged.
They hadn't interacted for two years, but Kabuto had some understanding of the Vice President's methods with poison. After all, he had taught Ino much of her medical ninjutsu knowledge back then. Knowing the general approach, and being a top-tier medical ninja himself, coupled with Obito's durable body, a few imperfections in the antidote wouldn't matter. He administered two strong doses of medicine, and the poison was mostly neutralized.
Zetsu kept his promise and gave Madara Uchiha's body to Kabuto.
Kabuto had invested nearly three years in studying the Impure World Reincarnation. After getting the correct learning scroll, he picked it up quickly. In less than a week, he had completely mastered the forbidden jutsu.
The Land of Water.
"Master, are you sure the Tsuchigumo clan that took in the Six-Tails jinchuriki lives around here? Are you sure you're not lost?" Ino asked Tsunade, who was leading the way, with a strange expression. Beside her, Shizune, holding Tonton, had the same thought.
The three of them were resting under a tree.
"How could I be?" Tsunade's expression was a bit unnatural. "I've walked this road seventeen or eighteen times in my youth. I would never get lost! Shizune, I brought you here when you were little, have you forgotten?"
The faces of Ino, Shizune, and Tonton were all written with the same three big words: "I don't believe you!"
The Six-Tails jinchuriki, Utakata, had fled the Mist Village many years ago and had a jutsu to hide his own chakra. Ino's brain wasn't a computer; without a specific target, no matter how strong her sensory abilities were, she couldn't find him in a sea of people.
They could only use the slow method: asking the locals.
"A tall, thin young man, have you seen him?"
"You haven't? Alright then."
"What? You've seen him? Where?"
A passerby would point in a direction, and Tsunade's team would search for a needle in a haystack.
Occasionally, Tsunade's gambling addiction would flare up, and the two of them and the pig would have to accompany her for a couple of rounds. They walked and stopped, and after half a month, they hadn't seen a shadow of the Six-Tails jinchuriki. They only had a rumor that he had been "seen with someone from the Tsuchigumo clan." They didn't know the specifics, and now they were lost.
Tonton ran happily ahead, while the three of them strolled leisurely behind. Running like a ninja? Not a chance. That posture was so ugly. Besides, they weren't in a hurry. They could take their time.
As they walked, Ino suddenly stopped. She closed her eyes to confirm.
When Tsunade looked over, she said, "About a hundred li to our southwest, someone is absorbing natural energy. What a chaotic way of absorbing it. Is that person insane?"
Shizune immediately reacted. "Isn't the Tsuchigumo clan we're looking for a secret technique family that can use natural energy?"
Tsunade scratched her face, looking uncomfortably toward the southwest. Their current direction of travel was quite far from the southwest; it was like going south to find a chariot that went north.
Ino and Shizune squinted at her. Tsunade laughed heartily. "Hahahaha! I was just trying to liven things up because you all seemed so down. I was just joking with you. I've traveled all over the place for so many years; of course, I know the Tsuchigumo clan is in the southwest. Right, Tonton?"
She shot a murderous glare at the pet pig and made a throat-slitting gesture. Tonton, under duress, had no choice but to abandon his comrades and nod with a strained smile.
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