At the center of Konoha, inside a newly built facility, Orochimaru had received a letter from Kabuto He curled his lips into a faint smile, burned the letter in his hand, and muttered:
"Grass Village… you're certainly ambitious. Not bad."
He remained composed, completely unbothered by Kusanagi Village's schemes. Even if they managed to acquire a tailed beast, it wouldn't make a difference. To Orochimaru, they were still insignificant.
Floating beside him, Djinn glanced sideways and added,
"Don't underestimate Kusanagi. Their goal likely isn't the tailed beast."
"Oh?" Orochimaru raised a brow.
"They're probably aiming to open the Box of Bliss."
Tailed beasts were powerful, yes—but without a proper jinchūriki, they were volatile and hard to control. Given Kusanagi's current capabilities, they weren't even fit to handle one.
Orochimaru frowned. "Box of Bliss?" The name was unfamiliar.
Djinn nodded. "It's a relic from the Sage of Six Paths era. A weapon. When opened, it releases a creature called Satori. The one who controlled it nearly ruled the entire world back then."
Orochimaru's expression turned serious. For someone with his knowledge of the Sage's era, that kind of power wasn't something to take lightly.
"Still," Djinn continued, "Kusanagi likely can't reach that level. At most, they might be able to summon Satori."
And even that was dangerous.
"Its strength is on par with a wild tailed beast, maybe more troublesome. It's fast, durable, and its abilities are… odd."
Unlike most ninjas who rely on the five senses and instinct to dodge attacks, Satori operated on a different level. It reacted to malice. The moment someone intended harm, even before chakra surged or muscles moved—Satori was already dodging.
Add to that its speed and resilience, and even a Kage-level shinobi would struggle.
"A few of these things," Djinn said grimly, "and not even someone like Hashirama could protect Konoha."
He smiled faintly. "Best to stop it now while we can. Use the excuse of pursuing Kabuto to intercept and retrieve the box—study it for yourself."
Orochimaru's golden eyes flickered. The temptation was real. Artifacts from the Sage era were priceless. Even if they weren't useful, they were worth collecting—just like his stash of Kusanagi swords gathering dust.
But after a moment of thought, he waved the idea away.
"The shinobi world is at peace—for now." He sighed. "Sooner or later, complacency will spread. Without external pressure, people let their guard down."
And perhaps… if Kusanagi truly unleashed Satori, it would serve as a wake-up call.
But truthfully, Orochimaru just didn't have time for a side mission right now. The Box of Bliss wasn't going anywhere.
---
While Orochimaru chatted with Djinn, two Nara clan shinobi—Shikame and Suzaku—arrived at the newly established "Ninjutsu Selection and Guidance Center." They set down piles of documents on a long table.
"My lord, the data has been sorted."
Orochimaru flipped through the files, nodded, and said, "Not bad."
The results weren't perfect—lacking in scientific analysis—but met his expectations. Promising work. Worth cultivating.
"I'm just surprised," Orochimaru mused. "You didn't slack off and push the work onto someone else?"
The two exchanged wry smiles.
He had specifically requested members of the Nara clan, knowing their reputation for intelligence—but also their reputation for laziness. Still, they had clearly seen through his intentions and complied.
They weren't thrilled—but they were obedient.
"Don't worry," Orochimaru chuckled, "You'll get what's coming to you. If it gets overwhelming, just use my name to pull more help from your clan—or borrow one of the elders."
Konoha, after all, was a military state. No labor laws. Six-year-olds went to war. Adults didn't get to whine about freedom and rights—they worked.
The two Nara shinobi forced polite smiles. It wasn't just them—now their whole clan was on Orochimaru's radar.
They weren't opposed to working for him, but being too close to Orochimaru in public wasn't ideal. The man had a reputation, and reputation mattered.
Still, they were smart enough to know the future held value in following someone like Orochimaru.
He didn't care about being liked—he cared about results.
And when the time came, that reputation could be traded for real benefits.
So they resigned themselves to their fate and resumed their duties, welcoming the next batch of ninjas and continuing the tests.
---
Orochimaru, satisfied, stepped back and observed. He offered occasional feedback, then returned to his private work: refining the chakra qualification-testing rods.
Two days passed.
And finally, in a dark underground chamber, Kakashi succeeded in the first stage of the Spiritualization Technique. For the briefest moment, his chakra-based soul left his body.
Orochimaru's eyes glinted with interest. As Kakashi's spirit returned and his body slumped from exhaustion, the Sannin nodded.
"Thirty seconds… that's more than enough."
Kakashi exhaled sharply and looked up. "What do you want me to do, Orochimaru-sama?"
He already knew—this was no longer training. It was the start of something real.
Orochimaru's lips curled.
"It's simple. I want you to help me explore the Pure Land."
He narrowed his eyes.
"You must've felt the pull when your soul left your body… That's the path I want to follow."
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