Danzo sent people to search for Orochimaru's body. The battlefield was too chaotic at the time; he only knew that the body had been taken by an Otogakure Ninja, but not by whom specifically. After that, Otogakure fell into disarray, and now Gen'yūmaru has gained the support of the Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo, becoming the leader of Otogakure. As for the exact location of Orochimaru's body, Danzo's side still needs to spend more time investigating.
The soul, he couldn't extract the soul. The body, he couldn't find the body.
Orochimaru's two avenues for recovering his strength were both blocked. He also read a lot of information from the memories of Root Ninja, learning that his old friend Jiraiya had become the Fifth Hokage, and that Tsunade was also in the Village recently. Orochimaru wasn't in a hurry to escape; he calmly worked at Root, conducting his own research under the guise of suppressing the Hashirama cells within Danzo's body.
In the central area of Root headquarters, Orochimaru enthusiastically studied the solution in a test tube. Around him, there were no walls, not even any concealing furnishings; he worked completely under the close supervision of numerous Root Ninja.
From time to time, Orochimaru would spit out two mouthfuls of blood and cough twice, looking as if his life was nearing its end. Danzo stood on a high platform not far away, looking down at him.
The Third Hokage had made a bold conjecture in his notes: he believed that Orochimaru, resurrected by the Heavenly Cursed Seal, was strictly speaking a clone, a contingency he had prepared before defecting from the Village, storing his life information, memories, Ninjutsu, and other things as Chakra within Anko Mitarashi.
How his consciousness could exist simultaneously in two places and how it could be exchanged, the Third Hokage did not know.
The resurrected Orochimaru is Orochimaru, and yet he isn't, depending on how one defines soul and consciousness.
Danzo had just finished surgery with Orochimaru; his body cells were being rapidly eroded by Hashirama cells. Every day, large numbers of growths would appear on his body, which had to be cut off one by one. At his age, even with a skilled Medical Ninja by his side, the pain was excruciating.
He had Orochimaru transplant a Three-Tomoe Sharingan with the most Dojutsu Power into his right eye, temporarily delaying the rampage of the Hashirama cells in his body.
As for the transplantation of the Sharingan on his arm, that was extremely difficult, at least, Orochimaru said it was very difficult.
He needed to adjust and test many data, and then, after extensive calculations and clever Chakra pathway designs, he could achieve internal balance. He even had to calculate the Dojutsu Power within the Sharingan. In short, he presented a host of difficulties, all boiling down to one meaning: it couldn't be done right now.
Danzo didn't believe a word Orochimaru said, but he had no evidence and no core technology.
He estimated that when Orochimaru recovered his strength, that would be when the two of them turned against each other. By then, asking Orochimaru to transplant the Sharingan for him would come at a much higher price.
What to do?
The two of them were now like ants on the same rope, needing to huddle together for warmth, while also plotting against each other.
Danzo couldn't let Orochimaru be discovered by the Ninja in the Village, and Orochimaru couldn't let Danzo die from the Hashirama cells' backlash.
Relatively speaking, Danzo still held the initiative.
He wanted to control Orochimaru more.
Poison? Cursed Seals? Threats? None of the methods he could think of would work on Orochimaru.
Or just hold a blade to his neck? Orochimaru insisted that he couldn't perform the arm Sharingan transplant now, and Danzo had no good solution, so the two could only continue to stalemate.
To avoid giving others cause for criticism, Danzo had been very active in attending Advisor meetings recently. As long as they held a meeting, he would show up uninvited, just to use the opportunity to assert his presence.
Jiraiya suspected that the Akatsuki Organization was within the Land of Rain, but the Land of Rain had always been an ally of Konoha Village, sending Genin to participate in every Chunin Exams. The Land of Rain was also located at the junction of the three great powers: the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth. Without conclusive evidence, it was impossible to dispatch a large number of Ninja.
Jiraiya dispatched Kakashi to the Land of Rain to deliver his personal letter and some gifts to Hanzou, the leader of the Land of Rain.
Kakashi went around in a big circle, only managing to deliver the letter, but he didn't see Hanzou at all.
This Ninja, known as the "Demigod," was very old now. His peak was during the Second Shinobi World War, when he bestowed the title "Three Sannin" upon Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. As a true elder of the Ninja World, it was reasonable for him to be a bit aloof and not meet a junior like Kakashi.
Konoha had some suspicions, but none could be confirmed.
Although Konan was unwilling to talk about the Akatsuki Organization, through the battle in This Country and some information previously sent back by Itachi Uchiha, Konoha Village had largely grasped the intelligence on the Rogue Ninja within this organization.
The suspected leader was Nagato, and the suspected mastermind behind the scenes was Uchiha Madara.
The subsequent members of the organization were Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara, Sasori, and also Kakuzu and Hidan, whom Konoha had not yet encountered.
Deidara's information was the clearest; he was a disciple of the Third Tsuchikage, not an unknown nobody. However, Iwagakure and Konoha were not friends at all; they were a stubborn and unpleasant bunch. Konoha had sent a letter requesting a joint investigation and exchange of information, but it was directly ignored by the other party.
No information, no help. Say what you want, the will of stone is unshakable.
Sasori's situation was also a bit difficult. Gaara of Sunagakure had already gained the support of most Jonin, but to successfully take over as the Fifth Kazekage, he still needed to make a final effort, so Gaara couldn't provide much help to Konoha.
Ebizo's reply to Konoha was very blunt: Sasori and I also have a blood relation; he is my sister's grandson. He betrayed the Village and betrayed his grandmother who deeply loved him. You can fight him, kill him, do whatever you want, I don't care.
You want to know the weaknesses of the Puppet Mastery? Sorry, I don't know this Secret Technique, nor do I know its weaknesses.
Sasori's matter ends with me. My sister and I have been living in seclusion for many years. We are so old, please don't bother my sister, who often passes out, with the troubles of our grandchildren.
Gaara was willing but unable, and Ebizo was able but unwilling, so Konoha Village could only find a way themselves.
Asuma, through his own fight with Sasori, proposed a suggestion.
His Chakra Blade could cut Sasori's Chakra threads, which was currently the most effective solution against a Puppet Master.
Konoha Village had fought Puppet Masters before, but usually, the Sunagakure Puppet Masters Konoha encountered on the battlefield were considered competent if they could control one puppet, geniuses if they controlled two, and controlling seven or eight was considered a Secret Technique without written records.
Now, Sasori controlling over a hundred human puppets at once was truly astounding.
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