The Third Hokage really misunderstood Orochimaru. If he hadn't reminded him, Orochimaru wouldn't have thought of this.
Who would have thought that performing too well in the Kumogakure battle would cause problems?
Before this, in order to plan Edo Tensei, Orochimaru and Genie had also thought of another method.
It's worth mentioning that Genie suggested repeating the same trick, threatening like they did with Danzo, using the competition for Hokage to force the Third Hokage to give Edo Tensei.
But Orochimaru firmly refused.
Unlike in front of Danzo, Orochimaru couldn't bring himself to do such a thing in front of the Third Hokage and Jiraiya. He even refused Genie's offer to take over.
Genie had no choice but to give up the idea of forcibly logging in. Anyway, they had the idea; there were plenty of ways to do it. This wasn't the only one.
But neither of them expected that before they could even set up the plan, the situation would resolve itself.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, a look of surprise and triumph flickering in his eyes.
Compared to having to set up the plan again, this kind of overwhelming momentum was much more unbeatable, just like Genie said, the old man could only choose the lesser of two evils.
And under Orochimaru's gaze, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also thinking.
Using a forbidden art to offset his merits, Orochimaru provided a good idea, but did this forbidden art have to be Edo Tensei?
As the Hokage, all the forbidden arts in the Book of Seals were no secret to him. He could say he knew them like the back of his hand.
But forbidden arts are not all the same.
One type would endanger the user's life when used, such as the Reaper Death Seal and Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags. Another type requires too much from the user. The Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu requires a huge amount of chakra, and the Flying Thunder God Technique can crush the user in space if not used properly. Edo Tensei is the last type, involving ethical issues.
Among these, giving the first two to Orochimaru would not cause anyone to object. On the contrary, it would be natural for a ninja of the 'Sannin' level to practice forbidden arts.
To follow this idea, he would have to give Orochimaru a forbidden art of the third type.
And the others might not be better than Edo Tensei.
What's more, Orochimaru might not cooperate if given something else.
Looking at Orochimaru, The Third Hokage's wrinkled face showed a hint of a wry smile.
Just like last time, his student had forced him into a corner again, and Orochimaru had gotten what he wanted again.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's emotions were very complicated, and he couldn't tell whether it was helplessness or relief.
The Third Hokage sighed and said, "Alright, if you want it, I'll give you the Edo Tensei."
"In addition to Edo Tensei, give me the Living Corpse Reincarnation, including the experience left by all the ninjas who have practiced this technique."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling, "I can make a promise that Edo Tensei will not be used on Konohagakure's ninjas."
The Third Hokage waved his hand, not knowing whether he believed it or not.
Or rather, Orochimaru's nature determined that he would not care about good or evil. If the benefits were sufficient, this promise might not be true. Forcing himself to believe it was just self-comfort.
...
It was late at night when he came out of the Hokage's archives.
Bathed in the moonlight, a hint of joy appeared on Orochimaru's pale face.
Edo Tensei, he didn't expect to get it so smoothly, several days earlier than he had imagined.
In front of the Hokage Building, Jiraiya followed and asked, "Orochimaru, what are you going to do with this forbidden art?"
"You want to know?"
Orochimaru turned to look at Jiraiya and smiled, "Before that, tell me, how far have you practiced the breathing technique you stole?"
"What do you mean stole? I heard it fair and square."
Jiraiya wore a shameless look, but under Orochimaru's cold gaze, Jiraiya put away his playful smile and his expression became unusually serious.
"That breathing technique is really effective. I don't know where you found it, but with more practice, maybe I won't need the help of the two sages to enter Sage Mode."
"Where did I find it?"
Orochimaru keenly grasped the key point. A hint of displeasure appeared on his face. Although that was indeed the case, Jiraiya's words were clearly looking down on him.
However, now was not the time to dwell on these things. Orochimaru said, "Record your experience in practicing the breathing technique and give it to me. Kakashi and the others are also practicing breathing. It might be helpful."
Jiraiya nodded slightly. He had seen those three last time. They were all ninjas with great potential in the next generation. If it was beneficial to their growth, there was no need to be secretive.
After agreeing on a date, Jiraiya asked again, "So, what are you going to do with Edo Tensei?"
"Summoning Technique. I'm going to study this aspect recently."
Orochimaru smiled, trimming the facts a little and piecing together another fact.
"Putting aside ethics and morality, Edo Tensei is just a Summoning Technique. It's just that what is summoned is not ordinary beasts or tools, but souls from the Pure Land."
Jiraiya frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Is that all?"
"Heh, if things go smoothly, I will naturally summon the souls of some powerful ninjas and get some knowledge from them."
Orochimaru played with the scroll in his hand with some regret. "It's a pity that the jutsu developed by the Second Hokage is still far from reaching this level. Like the Sand Village's puppets, they can only be controlled to do some suicidal things."
Hearing this, Jiraiya opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Orochimaru.
"I promise that I will not use the bodies of the village's ninja for experiments now. The ninjutsu is not mature enough, there is no need. Simple puppets can use anyone."
Jiraiya immediately understood the unspoken meaning. "That is to say, if the ninjutsu research is successful, you will also summon the village's ninjas?"
Orochimaru smiled, without directly answering this question, vaguely saying, "That depends on whether it's necessary."
He knew what Jiraiya and the Third Hokage cared about, which was nothing more than the bond with the same village. Desecrating the bodies of ninjas from the same village would break the bottom line in this chaotic world, of not attacking comrades.
But from a larger perspective, no one seemed to object to desecrating corpses themselves.
In Genie's words, this is called double standards. Ninjas' morality is narrow. It seems that only people from their own country and their own village are people.
The so-called moral bottom line is just a kind of self-comfort. Being bound by such things is really ridiculous.
"What, do you want to stop me?"
Looking at Jiraiya's sinking face, Orochimaru licked his lips and smiled. "This is also very simple. You just need to make me feel that summoning them is not worth the loss."
"But, can you do it? Compared to this, perhaps finding your child of prophecy is more important."
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