"Three years, and his strategic depth has grown."
Orochimaru silently praised Veigar before resuming his research preparations.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen, having received no useful advice from Danzō regarding Veigar's placement, maintained his benevolent smile and slowly departed.
'Hiruzen, leave the Hokage position to me.'
After Hiruzen left, Danzō stared at the door, thinking to himself.
Little did he know, Hiruzen, frustrated by not getting an answer from Danzō about Veigar's arrangements, became even more resolute in his conviction.
The Hokage position absolutely could not fall into Danzō's hands.
Hiruzen was well aware of his current situation; abdication was inevitable.
However, he could choose his preferred successor. Among his three disciples, Tsunade and Jiraiya had explicitly stated they would not take the Hokage position.
Furthermore, Jiraiya even supported Minato in the Fourth Hokage election.
Lastly, there was Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru was running for Fourth Hokage primarily because Tsunade and Jiraiya had withdrawn, leaving him as the sole remaining candidate among his generation, Hiruzen was most pleased with this situation.
Compared to Tsunade and Jiraiya, Hiruzen believed Orochimaru was the most suitable person to become the Fourth Hokage.
Because Orochimaru was not only intelligent but also, like him, ruthless!
As for Minato, Hiruzen had considered him, but he felt that Minato was simply not suited to be a Hokage.
Though Minato possessed strength and wisdom, his heart wasn't ruthless enough, and his political acumen was too low.
As for Danzō, Hiruzen had never even considered him. After this meeting, his conviction only strengthened.
The roots buried deep within Konoha should not be exposed to the sunlight.
Between Orochimaru and Minato, Hiruzen leaned more towards his disciple Orochimaru than his grand-disciple Minato.
Disciple, grand-disciple, Danzō.
Ponder on that, ponder deeply.
The next day, 10:00 AM.
Konoha Hospital, in Might Duy's ward.
Tsunade, who now lived permanently in Konoha Hospital and meticulously taught Shizune medical ninjutsu, arrived first with Shizune.
"Hasn't Veigar arrived yet?"
The moment she entered, Tsunade, seeing only Might Duy and Might Guy, immediately asked with dissatisfaction.
"Tsunade-sama."
Might Guy, seeing Tsunade, immediately bowed respectfully in greeting.
"Veigar should be here soon."
No sooner had Might Guy finished speaking than Veigar's voice drifted in from outside the door.
"Tsunade-sama, I'm here!"
The three of them turned their heads. Might Guy and Shizune, who was following Tsunade, spoke simultaneously:
"Veigar, you're here!"
"Veigar, long time no see!"
Veigar slowly walked into the ward, nodded at Might Guy, then stood before Tsunade, bowed, and said:
"Tsunade-sama, long time no see!"
Then, he looked at Shizune and said with a smile:
"You too, it's been a while!"
"Shizune."
Tsunade looked at Veigar, who at only thirteen years old was already half a head taller than her, and couldn't help but say:
"Three years, and you've grown so tall?"
Veigar nodded, smiling as he replied:
"Perhaps it's because I've been eating well and exercising a lot, so I grew this tall!"
The faint sense of unfamiliarity that existed between Tsunade and Veigar due to their three-year separation was dispelled by these few exchanges.
"Can you tell me, how exactly do you plan to treat Duy?"
As a medical ninja, a figure at the pinnacle of the medical world, Tsunade was incredibly curious.
What exactly made the confident Veigar so sure he could cure Might Duy?
"That can wait."
"I've invited someone else to help."
Tsunade's brow furrowed, then she asked:
"Who?"
In Konoha, Tsunade knew all the medical ninja, and she herself couldn't completely cure Might Duy.
So she was equally curious, who else had Veigar invited to help?
"Tsunade, it's me."
Speak of the devil.
No sooner had Tsunade spoken than Orochimaru appeared outside the door.
"Orochimaru, it's you?"
Tsunade asked in surprise, then seemed to realize something and turned to look at Veigar.
"That's right, I invited Orochimaru-sama to help."
Veigar said, looking directly into Tsunade's eyes.
"Since Orochimaru-sama is here, can you tell us how you're going to treat him?"
Although Orochimaru wasn't as skilled as Tsunade in medical ninjutsu, his research on the human body surpassed hers tenfold.
The combination of Tsunade and Orochimaru, observing Might Duy's changes after Veigar's treatment together, would certainly be foolproof.
Tsunade's question was also what Orochimaru wanted to ask.
If the medical ninjutsu Veigar mastered could be applied to research, Orochimaru believed there would undoubtedly be significant gains.
Looking at the eager faces waiting for his answer, Veigar smiled slightly and then said:
"Sage Mode."
"Tsunade-sama and Orochimaru-sama, you should know what I mean, right?"
Might Duy, Might Guy, and Shizune were utterly bewildered by the word "Sage Mode" coming from Veigar's mouth.
They simply couldn't understand!
"Sage Mode? Are you serious?"
"In these three years, you learned Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku?"
Sage Mode was certainly not unfamiliar to Tsunade and Orochimaru, because Tsunade's summoning slug, Katsuyu, and Orochimaru's summoning snake, Manda, came from Shikkotsu Forest and Ryūchi Cave respectively, which along with Mount Myōboku, are known as the Three Great Sacred Lands of the Summoning World.
These two places also had Sage Mode traditions, but Tsunade and Orochimaru only knew that Sage Mode existed; they hadn't mastered it themselves.
They also knew that their teammate, Jiraiya, had learned Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku.
Now, Veigar claiming to use Sage Mode to treat Might Duy truly surprised them.
Tsunade and Orochimaru exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes!
"You learned Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku in three years?"
Tsunade asked again in astonishment.
Tsunade and Orochimaru deeply understood how difficult Sage Mode was to master. It wasn't something one could master simply by being powerful; it required talent.
They had also seen Jiraiya use Sage Mode, and the boost in power was undoubtedly immense.
It was just... a bit ugly!
Jiraiya, unable to master perfect Sage Mode, indeed looked quite unsightly with his toad-like features when using Sage Mode.
But, he was strong!
That couldn't be denied, could it?
Veigar nodded and said:
"Yes, I've mastered it!"
"To be precise, I only took less than eight months to master perfect Sage Mode."
Veigar's words were like a sharp blade piercing Tsunade and Orochimaru's hearts.
Less than eight months?
This impact made them feel an urge to bash their heads against a wall.
Back then...
Sigh!
The more said, the more tears.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]