Chapter 93: Contacting Orochimaru
Root Underground Laboratory.
"Alright, that's enough for today," Kyosuke said, gently patting Yamato's head before sending the little guy away.
Then, he picked up the recent experimental data and began to examine it carefully.
"I've hit a bottleneck..." Kyosuke sighed helplessly, looking at the experiment that had made no progress for several months.
Several months had passed since the end of the Chunin Exams, and there were not many days left in the year.
Kyosuke's life had changed a lot in these few months.
After his victory, the Konoha leadership, led by the Third Hokage, had first given him great recognition and praise, but then they had "stripped" him of his Anbu identity.
Of course, this wasn't a complete removal from the Anbu. Instead, they had put him on the shelf.
The official reason was to let him focus on improving his strength, rather than doing those boring missions.
To this, Kyosuke had, of course, argued his case.
Unfortunately, the Third and the others had firmly rejected his request this time.
While reluctantly accepting this reality, Kyosuke also faintly sensed a change in the attitude of the Third and the others towards him.
Heh, are you afraid that I will eventually exceed your control? Kyosuke had only realized this later.
Because ever since this grand Chunin Exam, Kyosuke's reputation had soared, not just in Konoha but throughout the five great nations.
The benefits of this were obvious. If Kyosuke were to make any "moves" in the future, this prestige among the ordinary villagers and ninja would undoubtedly provide him with considerable support.
But high prestige also had its corresponding disadvantages. Not to mention the 10 million ryō bounty on his head at the exchange station, or whether he would be targeted by those behind the scenes, just the wariness of the Konoha leadership was enough to give him a headache.
That was why Kyosuke had been put on the shelf.
Otherwise, in a few years, once Kyosuke had firmly established himself in the Anbu, the Third and the others would probably have to think twice before making a move against him.
However, the Third and the others did not understand the sense of urgency in Kyosuke's heart.
Because he had been in the limelight this time, the time left for Kyosuke was actually not much.
Kyosuke was sure that the previous targeting by Mei Terumī and the others from the Mist was definitely orchestrated by Madara from behind the scenes. As for the method, it was nothing more than directly controlling the Mizukage or using some means to indirectly influence his decisions.
This meant that he had already entered the line of sight of Madara and Black Zetsu.
Kyosuke even dared to say that, except for some places like the Root and the Uchiha compound, his every move was likely being monitored by a White Zetsu clone.
The purpose was to evaluate him, to see if he was suitable to be Uchiha Madara's "successor."
In a situation where his life and death were in the hands of others, how could Kyosuke not be anxious?
Unfortunately, being put on the shelf, he had even lost his only way of obtaining experience points.
With no other choice, Kyosuke could only continue his experiments while trying to find a way to break the stalemate.
In the end, he discovered that the person who could help him at this time was not the Uchiha, nor the currently ambiguous Danzō, but Orochimaru, who was far away on the front lines.
At the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers, in the camp of the Konoha Southwest Army, inside the tent of the supreme commander, Orochimaru.
"Sir, I'll take my leave now," a Jounin said, bowing respectfully to Orochimaru, who was sitting in his chair, before slowly exiting the tent.
After watching him leave, Orochimaru picked up the intelligence report in front of him and began to read it.
"After being quiet for a few months, are they starting to get restless again?" Although Orochimaru's tone was light, his expression was unexpectedly grave.
His rich battlefield experience told him that the Sand was likely planning to make a real move this time.
For this reason, he urgently wrote a secret report, preparing to explain the situation here to the Third Hokage and then request some reinforcements.
Just then, Orochimaru's heart suddenly stirred.
Then, he bit his finger and pressed it firmly on the ground.
"Summoning Technique."
Poof!
A green snake appeared before Orochimaru and spat out a scroll with the character for "secret" on it.
A message from Kyosuke? I wonder what it's about, Orochimaru thought to himself as he picked up the scroll and began to read it.
As he read, a smile slowly spread across his lips.
The content of Kyosuke's scroll was very simple. He wanted to go to the front lines against the Sand, and as a Konoha ninja, not an Anbu.
A simple request, but it made Orochimaru think of many things.
However, although this was not a simple matter, it was still something he could do with a wave of his hand. Orochimaru would still do Kyosuke this favor.
After all, Kyosuke was his disciple. It was only natural for a teacher to want his disciple to get some experience on the battlefield.
Even if the Third and the others had their concerns, he was sure they wouldn't go so far as to offend Orochimaru over this matter.
With a war about to break out, the Third would not let Orochimaru become dissatisfied with him or with Konoha over a mere Kyosuke.
So, as long as Orochimaru made this request clearly, the Third would not, and could not, refuse.
Kyosuke was well aware of this, which was why he had asked Orochimaru to help him.
As for after the war, he was confident that by then, he would have become a powerhouse that the Third could not touch.
"Since Orochimaru has received the message, all that's left is to wait," Kyosuke thought to himself, sitting in the Root laboratory.
After all, the war had not yet begun. Even if the Third agreed to Orochimaru's request for reinforcements, just the allocation of personnel and resources would take a month or two.
So, Kyosuke could only continue to wait patiently.
Thump!
In Training Ground 43, two figures were engaged in a fierce battle.
Swish!
Kyosuke used the Body Flicker Technique to quickly close the distance. At the same time, he raised the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi in his hand high and slashed at the figure opposite him.
Unfortunately, this unstoppable slash was dodged by the figure with a light leap.
At the same time, a gust of wind, thick with chakra, suddenly brushed past Kyosuke's body.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."
Kyosuke's expression stiffened as he turned to look back. A deep trench had been carved into the ground behind him by Saori's Vacuum Palm.
The figure he was fighting was, of course, Hyuga Saori.
"Tsk, your skills still need improvement," Saori said, having won the bout, not forgetting to take a jab at him.
Kyosuke rolled his eyes at her words, indicating that he had no desire to engage with her.
After all, Saori's strength had already reached the Jounin level. If it wasn't a life-or-death battle, Kyosuke really had no good way of dealing with her.
However, Saori's state today was a bit off.
"If you have something to say, just say it," Kyosuke said, ignoring her teasing and getting straight to the point.
After all, with how familiar they were, there was no need to beat around the bush.
"Then I'll be direct," Saori said, looking at Kyosuke with a solemn expression. "I want to go to the front lines."
(End of Chapter)
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