Chapter 165: A One Hundred Million Ryo Gap.
Orochimaru's explanation wasn't exactly flawless, but it was reasonable and well-founded, and the Shadow of a village shouldn't pry too deeply.
Although Chiyo and Ebizo still had some lingering doubts, Orochimaru's disguise had passed for the time being. Now, the next step was how to quietly embed the Sound Village into the Hidden Sand Village.
Naruto and Orochimaru had planned this out well; it was nothing more than borrowing a chicken to lay eggs, wanting to use the Hidden Sand Villageto strengthen themselves.
The plan was also perfect: let the core Ninjas of the Sound Village anonymously enter the Hidden Sand Village's Anbu, and under the protection of Orochimaru's public identity, quietly become parasites sucking the blood of the Hidden Sand Village.
"Is the new body ready?"
Naruto's third Clone, Uchiha Ten, stood before the incubation tank with Yakushi Kabuto. The latter was stunned for a moment, then nodded respectfully.
The Sound Village was now basically empty. Apart from the elite Ninjas, all the others had become souls under Uchiha Sasuke's blade.
According to Orochimaru, this was making use of waste. Although it was somewhat cruel, this was the unspoken rule of the Ninja World: the weak only deserve to become resources for the strong.
"It is already prepared, but..."
"Speak directly." Uchiha Ten's temperament was very cold, and he did not drag his feet in doing things or speaking.
"It's just that Kimimaro has not fully mastered the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, so it is still uncertain whether it will succeed on the first try."
Naruto was now the second-in-command of Orochimaru's organization. Although it was only in name, his actual power was already on par with Orochimaru's. As long as the two did not disagree, all of Orochimaru's subordinates had to follow Naruto's orders.
This was a situation that had been anticipated long ago; there was no need to be surprised. Otherwise, wouldn't the Kotoamatsukami, which could only be used once every ten years, have been wasted?
However, Yakushi Kabuto still felt somewhat unbalanced in his heart. After all, his status with Orochimaru had plummeted, and how could Yakushi Kabuto, who regarded Orochimaru as his lifelong pursuit, feel good about that?
But now, Yakushi Kabuto could only endure it. In Naruto's eyes, he was just a rather useful housekeeper, not worth worrying about.
Uchiha Ten felt the same way, and after nodding, he asked about Kimimaro's physical condition.
"Kimimaro's body can only be supported by medication. Even so, his body has already entered a state of overdraft. It is estimated that it will reach its limit in two or three months."
The bloodline disease was indeed a very terrifying illness. Apart from death or the successful evolution of the Bloodline, there was almost no third option.
And the ultimate topic of Bloodline tracing was something neither Naruto nor Orochimaru wanted to give up, and they naturally were unwilling to let Kimimaro's body samples vanish into dust along with the outbreak of his bloodline disease.
The Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu had become the only means to extend Kimimaro's life and preserve his original body samples.
"Give Kimimaro another month. Regardless of the outcome afterward, have him proceed with the body replacement."
"I understand, Lord Ten!"
Yakushi Kabuto nodded. After checking the operation of the incubation tank, he spoke again, slightly reserved.
"Lord Ten, the experimental funds in the base are no longer enough... What do you think..."
Cloning was a very expensive technology. Instruments, culture medium, and incubation tanks undoubtedly accounted for the bulk of the cost. Even with the entire fiscal revenue of the Sound Village, a medium-sized Ninja village, supporting it, it was still running at a deficit.
Moreover, because the Sound Village had directly participated in the Konoha Destruction Plan, although the Sound Village had not yet been retaliated against by the weakened Konoha, the task orders had plummeted.
The cause for this was naturally Konoha's public statement that anyone who encountered Sound Village Ninjas while carrying out missions would be executed without exception.
This was the shamelessness of great powers and large Ninja villages. Many employers were still very afraid of encountering Konoha Ninjas after hiring Sound Village Ninjas, which would cause them unnecessary losses.
"Zabuza has returned from his mission, right?" Uchiha Ten asked casually.
"He has returned, but the commission for the A-rank mission he executed is only enough to maintain the daily needs of these few incubation tanks." Yakushi Kabuto picked up the notebook in his hand and flipped through it. "According to Lord Orochimaru's plan, 5 more incubation tanks need to be added, and the required funds are about 150 million Ryo."
"How much is the gap?"
"There is a gap of 100 million Ryo."
"Good, go and summon Haku, Uchiha Sasuke, and Guren." Uchiha Ten had originally thought about having Haku, Uchiha Sasuke, and Kimimaro form a team, but since Kimimaro was not ready, he could only pull Guren in to make up the numbers.
As for Orochimaru's other talented test subjects, although Uchiha Ten had some ideas about them, there was still a significant gap between them and Haku and Kimimaro.
Suigetsu Hozuki's Hydrification Technique was very strong, but the weakness of fearing Lightning Release was too obvious.
Uzumaki Karin was a qualified Medical Ninja, but her only means of healing injuries and recovering Chakra was her own blood, and although she had advantages in reconnaissance, there were still major shortcomings.
On the other hand, Haku had the Ice Release Bloodline Limit, and he also practiced medical Ninjutsu, making him capable of both offense and defense. Except for his personality being too kind and not wanting to kill, there were almost no major shortcomings.
Anyway, with Uchiha Sasuke, who had become an executioner for the sake of revenge, in the team, Haku only needed to be responsible for support, and the rest could be left to him.
And as for Guren, as a filler, there was no need to mention her Crystal Release Bloodline Limit; she would be replaced by Kimimaro in the future anyway.
"Lord Ten..."
Soon, led by Yakushi Kabuto, Uchiha Sasuke and the others came before Uchiha Ten. Their ready-to-go appearance clearly showed they knew something.
"Since you are all ready, let's set off."
Uchiha Ten turned and left. Haku and Guren followed closely behind. Uchiha Sasuke clearly wanted to ask something, but after thinking about it, he followed along.
After Uchiha Ten left, Hyuga Hinata walked out from the shadows. Her aura was more ethereal; she had already undergone her second body enhancement.
"Lady Hinata."
"Don't... call me that..." Hyuga Hinata was still not used to Yakushi Kabuto's address. "Just call me Hinata."
Yakushi Kabuto knew Hyuga Hinata's temperament, but Hyuga Hinata had Naruto as her backer. Even though he knew Hyuga Hinata would not report him behind his back, Yakushi Kabuto's cautious nature still made him act carefully.
"Lady Hinata, your eyes... are they okay..."
Yakushi Kabuto looked at Hyuga Hinata, whose Byakugan was mixed with a faint blue color. It was unclear whether he was sincere or fake, but he asked with some concern.
"I feel great. My vision is much clearer than before."
Hyuga Hinata didn't feel much. After the body enhancement was completed, she found that Uchiha Ten was no longer around, so she came out to look for him, but unexpectedly happened to run into Uchiha Ten and the others who were going out to execute a mission.
"What mission are they going to execute?"
"The funding for the experimental base is insufficient. Besides finding a base substitute that is suitable for hiding, raising funds is also a very important part of the mission."
"Are they going to the underground black market?"
"No, they are going to take a turn around the Akatsuki Organization, and incidentally, blackmail Konoha."