On the first night after Orochimaru moved into her new home, Tsunade and Jiraiya came to celebrate with her.
"Orochimaru! Congratulations!"
Tsunade and Jiraiya raised their glasses filled with juice.
"Thank you."
Orochimaru raised her glass and clinked it with theirs.
Jiraiya, who had never tasted the drinks only adults could have, looked at the juice in his glass and grumbled discontentedly, "Orochimaru, since we're celebrating your new home, why are we drinking juice! I want to drink sake! I want to drink sake!"
Bang—!
Tsunade's iron fist landed on Jiraiya's head. If she hadn't held back, that punch would have knocked Jiraiya out, and the food on the dining table would have spilled everywhere.
"Honestly, you should consider our age. I really don't know what you're thinking, Jiraiya!"
Tsunade blew on her fist, glared fiercely at Jiraiya, and took a sip of juice.
Actually, she was also very interested in the taste of sake, but it wasn't appropriate to say so in front of Orochimaru.
"Ouch!"
Jiraiya clutched his head, about to say something, but sensing Tsunade's fierce gaze, the words died in his throat.
Jiraiya quickly recovered, thinking about what had happened in Konoha after he went to Mount Myōboku. He pointed his thumb at himself and said, "Speaking of which, so many things happened not long after I left. If I had stayed in Konoha all along, would all these things not have happened?"
He only learned about all the major events in Konoha after returning from Mount Myōboku. Orochimaru's home collapsed, and the Hyuga Clan's internal strife all happened after he went to Mount Myōboku.
"Stop flattering yourself. These things would have happened whether you were in Konoha or not. It has nothing to do with your presence!"
"Then how do you explain that these things didn't happen when I was in Konoha! That's the deterrent power of Lord Jiraiya!"
"Stop joking around!"
There they go again… Orochimaru rested her chin on her hand, watching Tsunade and Jiraiya argue with great interest.
Before they knew it, Tsunade and Jiraiya's argument stopped, and they began to devour the delicious, fragrant food on the table like a whirlwind.
"Delicious, delicious! Orochimaru, your cooking is still the best. I accidentally talked in my sleep before, complaining about Shima-san's terrible cooking, and the next day I almost died from her torment…"
While eating, Jiraiya thought of his experiences on Mount Myōboku and wiped away a bitter tear.
Mount Myōboku's insect cuisine… Orochimaru remembered those insect dishes from Mount Myōboku that were so delicious to the toads, and it made her a little nauseous.
"Just eat, okay? Don't talk about such disgusting things."
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with disdain, unable to help but recall how Jiraiya had previously recounted, in great detail, the insect dishes he had eaten on Mount Myōboku.
The most crucial point was that most of the insects in those dishes were still alive after being prepared!
Alive!
After the housewarming party ended, Orochimaru and her Shadow Clone tidied up the house and set up the Laboratory. She decided to conduct research on Chakra Poison and medicine in the Laboratory at home.
The next day, morning.
Ding-dong—!
The doorbell rang. Orochimaru was extra careful, gently placing the test tube into the test tube rack.
It was a bit strange; who would be looking for her so early?
Orochimaru walked to the door and opened it, looking surprised at Hyuga Mio standing in front of the door.
"Mio?"
"Orochimaru, I want to be your assistant."
Hyuga Mio said, pointing to her forehead. She wasn't wearing a forehead protector. "I've already told Hokage-sama about this."
"Are you… giving up your Ninja status?"
Orochimaru looked at Hyuga Mio's smooth forehead. Returning a forehead protector meant giving up one's Ninja status, no longer being a Ninja.
"Yes."
Hyuga Mio nodded.
"Are you certain I'll agree to you becoming my assistant?"
Orochimaru narrowed her eyes. "What if I don't need your assistance? Can you go back to Hokage-sama and get your forehead protector back?"
"…"
Hyuga Mio didn't speak, just quietly looked at Orochimaru, as if waiting for her to make a decision.
"Mio, being my assistant is very hard work."
Orochimaru turned and walked into the house.
Hyuga Mio let out a sigh of relief. She knew Orochimaru had agreed to her request. She quickly followed, closing the door behind her.
"Mio, having a Byakugan assist with some experiments is indeed much more convenient, allowing us to collect more useful data."
Orochimaru glanced at Hyuga Mio, who was following behind her, out of the corner of her eye. She felt that Mio seemed a bit down, as if something bad had happened.
It wasn't appropriate or convenient for her to ask about such a thing.
The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could play a very important role in biotechnology. She had wanted a member of the Hyuga Clan to assist her research for a long time.
But what she hadn't expected was that Hyuga Mio would offer herself.
It could be said that Hyuga Mio's addition would save her a lot of time and avoid many detours. After all, instruments found it very difficult to detect subtle changes in experimental subjects, while the Byakugan could see and record them immediately.
"If you don't mind, I suggest you move into my house. It'll be easier to go to the Laboratory with me for research."
Orochimaru didn't want to have to go find Hyuga Mio beforehand every time she conducted an experiment; that would be too troublesome. It was better to have Hyuga Mio move into her house.
"Hmm, I'll move in."
Hyuga Mio agreed to Orochimaru's suggestion.
She no longer had any relatives in the Hyuga Clan, and as the reformer who had changed the Hyuga Clan, she wasn't very popular within the clan. Both former Main Branch members and Branch Family members harbored more or less apprehension towards her.
When Hyuga Mio noticed the change in her family's attitude towards her, she was also very puzzled, not understanding why this was happening. She had led the Branch Family to change the Hyuga Clan, so why should they be wary of her?
Did I do something wrong?
Hyuga Mio struggled for a long time, then gave up the idea of asking. She recalled Orochimaru once saying, "If I had someone from the Hyuga Clan assisting with research, it would be great. The Byakugan can observe subtle changes in experimental subjects very well."
This was why she decided to give up her Ninja status and choose to become Orochimaru's assistant.
Land of Waves
In the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company president's office, Aokawa spread a map on the coffee table, pointing to the peninsula north of the Land of Iron on the map, and then used a pen to circle an unmapped island in the adjacent sea.
It's worth noting that the peninsula north of the Land of Iron was deliberately separated from the Land of Iron by lines, seemingly to inform everyone looking at this map that the peninsula north of the Land of Iron did not belong to the Land of Iron's territory.
"Lord Orochimaru, I built the Laboratory Base you requested on this island, near this peninsula."
Aokawa couldn't help but glance at Hyuga Mio, who was standing behind the sofa like an emotionless statue.
Who is this Hyuga Clan member?
Why is she allowed to be by Lord Orochimaru's side?
Orochimaru noticed Aokawa's gaze towards Hyuga Mio and introduced her, "She is Hyuga Mio, my assistant who helps me with research."
"It seems the intelligence circulating in the black market is correct. It's no longer possible to distinguish between the Hyuga Clan's Main Branch and Branch Family by the Caged Bird Curse Mark."
Kakuzu looked at Hyuga Mio's forehead. He had received information about the Hyuga Clan in the black market before, and today, seeing Hyuga Mio, it was confirmed.
Unable to distinguish by Caged Bird… Doesn't that mean that trying to obtain a Byakugan by ambushing Hyuga Clan members is like opening a blind box? No one knows whether the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan member they killed is good or bad before it's dug out.
Orochimaru secretly pinched herself. It was clearly a very serious and bloody matter, yet for some reason, it felt a little comical.
Perhaps it's because both the Byakugan and Sharingan can be hot-swapped?
Orochimaru stopped thinking about these things and looked at the location of the island Aokawa had just circled on the map, next to which was the peninsula north of the Land of Iron.
That place was no longer just familiar; it was a place that left an extremely deep impression.
Isn't this where old Madara is hiding?
"Lord Orochimaru, if you're not satisfied, how about rebuilding the Laboratory Base here? It won't take long."
Aokawa noticed Lord Orochimaru staring at the map with a subtle expression on her face, thinking she was dissatisfied with the chosen location. He quickly pointed to the sea south of the Land of Water, using a pen to circle the location of an unmapped island on the map.
Kakuzu frowned at this scene. What he couldn't tolerate most was wasting money on such things. A newly built Laboratory Base was going to be scrapped?
However, Orochimaru was the true owner of the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company. No matter how many Laboratory Bases she wanted to build, he could only pay out of his pocket.
"Aokawa, the place you chose is excellent."
Orochimaru was very satisfied with the location Aokawa chose for the hot weapons Laboratory Base.
Look how well the location was chosen!
When conducting explosion experiments, Uchiha Madara, who was hiding in the Mountain Graveyard, could also hear the bang.
To take care of this lonely old man (Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan had not yet awakened at this time) who was so idle he could only pick at wall corners and tease plant people, to enrich his boring life, and add a few moments of tension to his dull remaining years.
The barren, desolate peninsula, home to many dangerous creatures, although bordering the Land of Iron, did not belong to the Land of Iron.
Even the diligent training of the Land of Iron's samurai would not lead them to rashly approach this place. This peninsula, to them, was more like a forbidden zone of life.
The island where the hot weapons Laboratory Base was located happened to face the Mountain Graveyard across the sea, from where the giant skeleton could be seen.
"Lord Orochimaru, Experiment Subject No. 1 has been set up."
Orochimaru wore a wireless headset, and her subordinate's voice came through.
"Very good. Prepare for the first detonation experiment."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru! Experiment Subject No. 1, preparing for detonation! 3! 2! 1!"
Boom—!
The explosives placed in the sea were detonated, and the seawater churned, a huge wave soaring into the sky, with powerful shockwaves spreading in all directions!
Mist diffused over the sea, and a huge void appeared on the surface, with surrounding seawater continuously filling it.
This was the power of that inconspicuous thing?
Hyuga Mio looked at the distant explosion with a shocked expression, veins bulging around her eyes, instinctively using her Byakugan to observe the detonation experiment in the sea.
She had thought it was just a slightly special exploding tags before, but she hadn't expected such an exaggerated power.
The power is not bad. Just mixing Chakra into the explosives has such power… What if the Chakra mixed in reaches the limit the explosives can withstand?
Orochimaru was quite satisfied with the power of the Chakra explosives.
Such power, even a Tailed Beast would find it hard to bear, right?
However, what's the use of great power if it can't hit anything?
Orochimaru wanted to develop missiles that were extremely fast and quite powerful, at least supersonic, to accurately strike targets.
The issue of power already had a solution: Sage Chakra!
If Chakra could be mixed into explosives, perhaps Sage Chakra could be mixed in to create Sage Art Explosives!
Then, the Sage Art Explosives would be sealed in paper, and using the principle of Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, at the moment the Sage Art Missile was launched, the paper sealing the Sage Art Explosives would be continuously summoned.
The instant the Sage Art Missile hit its target, the Sage Art warhead would detonate!
An exaggerated number of Sage Art Explosives detonating in an instant would definitely be enough to give those cosmic parasites of the Ōtsutsuki Clan a run for their money. It might even blow them to smithereens.
What kind of art is Deidara's!
In front of me, Orochimaru, do you dare call your tiny clay bombs art?
Witness what true art is!
"Hmm… but the problem now is how to make the warhead hit the enemy. No matter how powerful it is, it's useless if it doesn't hit anyone!
With the technology I currently possess, it's impossible. This will require a much longer time for research, and there are still many, many technical difficulties to overcome.
I can't just hug a Sage Art warhead and use the Flying Thunder God Technique to blow up the Ōtsutsuki, can I?
And most importantly, where am I going to get so much Sage Chakra?
Orochimaru wrote down his current thoughts in his notebook. After finishing, he added another sentence.
How much Sage Chakra the explosives can contain is also a crucial issue.
Regarding this, since I haven't mastered Sage Chakra yet, I can only test it with Chakra and develop explosives that can contain more Chakra.
Hmm… Edo Tensei?
Orochimaru suddenly thought of the incredibly powerful Edo Tensei developed by Senju Tobirama.
As the one who developed the Edo Tensei, Senju Tobirama surely wouldn't mind hugging a Sage Art warhead and blowing himself up with the Ōtsutsuki, would he?
After all, the Edo Tensei was developed for exactly this purpose.
When Orochimaru was reviewing the records of the First Shinobi World War, Second Hokage Tobirama Senju repeatedly used the Edo Tensei on the battlefield to revive fallen Konoha Ninja and send them back into battle, completely overwhelming Second Tsuchikage Mu and Second Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu.
It is said that the Second Raikage agreed to form an alliance with Konoha precisely because he couldn't stand those Edo Tensei Konoha Ninja who couldn't be killed no matter how many times they were killed.
As for whether this rumor is accurate, the people involved have been dead for so many years, who knows?
Orochimaru couldn't possibly go ask his teacher Sarutobi and the others to verify the truth of this rumor.
However, this move is indeed a bit unethical… The most unethical part is making Senju Tobirama blow himself up with the enemy. No matter what, he was the Second Hokage, and it's truly disrespectful to him.
It could, however, be used as a special trump card, only to be deployed when there are no other options.
When it truly comes down to it, who cares about ethics?
If we don't kill those cosmic parasites, we'll be the ones who die!
Hyuga Mio watched Orochimaru writing furiously. She had lost count of how many times she had seen him recording something in his notebook, presumably related to his experiments.
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