Inside the laboratory, Anya had gone through the final test subject. Her eyes held bitter laughter and confusion.
It had been some time since she last taught Yugao sword techniques. Anya had thrown herself entirely into the Wood Release experiments, but unfortunately made little progress. Hashirama's Essence proved much more difficult to handle than she had imagined.
Asking Danzo to capture more test subjects was out of the question. After much thought, Anya's eyes lit up as she thought of an idea.
In the Hokage's office, Anya placed two differently colored bottles in front of Minato, then casually picked up the red one and said, "This is an antidote pill I recently developed. If a ninja consumes it, they can remain inside the Deadly Poison Valley for four to six hours without being affected by the poison mist."
"As for this blue bottle, you can apply it to your body. It has a very strong, irritating smell that discourages attacks from poisonous creatures."
Minato beamed. "These two medicines arrived just in time. Can we mass produce them?"
Anya shook her head. "The required ingredients are extremely expensive. Mass production is impossible. I can only say that there will be enough for Konoha's use."
Minato contemplated for a moment. "Do you have a way to completely eliminate the toxins within the Deadly Poison Valley?"
"That's impossible. Once the poison mist spreads into the air, the area affected becomes too vast. Even if it could be done, it still wouldn't be advisable," Anya said with deep meaning. "If Konoha truly accomplished this, instead of gratitude, the other villages would likely raise concerns and possibly even provoke conflicts."
Minato understood and nodded in agreement.
Suddenly recalling something, Anya offhandedly remarked, "By the way, Anbu received intelligence suggesting we've located Orochimaru, Konoha's S-class Rogue Ninja. I've decided to handle this personally."
Minato seemed taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "You're going? That makes sense. Orochimaru was once one of Konoha's legendary Sannin. Aside from you, it would be far too dangerous for anyone else to face him."
Anya felt a quiet thrill but kept a calm facade as she said, "Then I'll leave immediately."
"That soon?" Minato said kindly, "Why don't I notify Jiraiya-sensei and have him accompany you? As another member of the Sannin, he could provide backup."
"No," Anya interrupted. "This intelligence was hard to come by and we must act quickly. Orochimaru is cautious and won't stay in one location for long."
Understanding her point, Minato nodded and agreed. "Alright then. Be careful."
"Goodbye."
Anya took her leave without ceremony and left without looking back.
"That's strange," Hiruzen Sarutobi entered the room, watching Anya's retreating figure with confusion.
"What's wrong?" Minato asked, puzzled.
"I just feel something odd. She seems... too eager," Hiruzen said, then chuckled bitterly. "But in the end, Orochimaru was also my mistake from back then. If she can fix it, that's a good thing."
Without hesitation, Anya mounted the Warhawk Puppet and flew toward the Grass Village.
Arriving at the familiar barrier and environment, she felt strangely nostalgic and walked in with light, quick steps.
When a familiar figure appeared in the distance, Anya greeted them enthusiastically, "Uncle, I'm back again."
Suddenly, a shadowy figure flew quickly toward Anya.
She accepted it casually, only to realize it was an empty bottle about the size of her palm.
Orochimaru stepped forward with a sinister smile and said, "Use your blood. Fill it up."
Anya wore a confused expression.
Orochimaru then said mockingly, "Every time you come to me, you're asking for help. This time won't be any different. Fill the bottle first, then we can talk about the rest."
Anya thought carefully—it really was true. She had gotten used to freeload off Serpent Master, but now she realized things wouldn't be so easy anymore.
Anya looked at the small bottle and bargained, "Uncle, can't you give me a smaller one?"
"Sure," the Serpent Master replied casually, "as long as you don't mind me giving you a discount later."
With just one light sentence from the Serpent Master, Anya quickly gave in without hesitation. She drew her blade, sliced through her palm, and let the blood flow into the bottle's mouth.
Compared to the other uncle, this one was clearly sharper—definitely not someone to mess with.
At that moment, Kakuzu from Sunagakure sneezed unexpectedly.
After handing over the bottle filled with blood, Anya watched as Orochimaru accepted it and nodded in satisfaction. Without hesitation, he directly extended his long, thin tongue into the bottle's mouth and then swiftly retracted it. The fresh red blood seemed to bloom with a delicious charm on Serpent Master's tongue.
Anya was stunned—this tongue was truly amazing, capable of creating so many wonders...
Damn it, what am I thinking?
Shocked by her sudden perverted thoughts, Anya broke out in cold sweat. Right now, Orochimaru was still an uncle—not yet an aunt.
Even if he did become an aunt, she shouldn't dwell on it.
"Follow me inside," Orochimaru interrupted Anya's dirty thoughts.
Walking into the laboratory, it had expanded even more than before. There were fewer test subjects, but much more equipment. Clearly, Serpent Master's research had advanced significantly during this time.
"Tell me," Orochimaru said while injecting Anya's blood into a container, "why did you come this time?"
"I came out because of a mission." Anya pulled out the mission scroll and pleaded, "Uncle, you must help me with this mission."
Orochimaru glanced at it, his pupils slightly narrowing. "Interesting. How exactly do you want my help? By letting you bind me and take me back to Konoha?"
"Of course not!" Anya waved her hands repeatedly. "I want you, uncle, to destroy a few of your old nests, creating the illusion of a battle scene, and then I'll stay here for a while, just like when I was trapped in the Maximum Security Wing."
"Oh, really?" A smirk appeared on Orochimaru's face. "So you've suddenly seen the light, huh? No... something's not right."
Orochimaru knew Anya inside out. He immediately realized and said with interest, "You're holding something back, aren't you?" He smirked. "Have you set your sights on one of my experiments?"
"You see through me entirely," Anya laughed. "Uncle, I want to participate in that experiment you're conducting with Danzo."
"The Wood Release Experiment interests you as well," Orochimaru said with a smirk. "No wonder Danzo hasn't submitted any experimental data recently. It seems you've already started researching it in Konoha. The results were minimal, weren't they?"
Anya admitted frankly, "That's correct. The more difficult the experiment is, the more interested I become. Moreover, Hashirama's Cells in the Wood Release Experiment fascinate me greatly."
"I see," Orochimaru said, his expression filled with admiration. "The cells of the Ninja God truly are miraculous. Even after such a long time since his death, the cellular activity remains surprisingly robust. It doesn't surprise me that you're interested. Then come, let's begin."
Making their way through the Grand Hall, they entered an area of more complex design, filled with various labs. Anya could make out the purpose of each room just by reading the labels on the doors. The further they went in, the more advanced and difficult the experiments became.
[Wood Release Experiment] was almost at the very end of the hallway.
Why say "almost"? Because deep in the darkness, another door remained hidden, catching Anya's attention.
Orochimaru issued a warning. "Stop looking. That door—you can't go in. No one. I mean no one, gets in there."
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