For a shinobi, intelligence is priceless—especially when it concerns soone like Kakuzu.
An S-rank rogue ninja.
A threat of this level could easily endanger the entire village.
For soone like that, no price is too high to pay for information. And more importantly...
The contents of the intel left Kitsuchi shocked—utterly stunned.
The Undying Ninja.
There are no wrong nicknas—only nas that fail to live up to the legend.
And in this case, the na was all too accurate.
"Is this intel for real?"
Ōnoki stood atop the platform, montarily forgetting even the matter of Roshi and Han’s defection.
The defection of Roshi and Han had indeed caused so losses to Iwagakure, but the two had shown notable restraint—neither had actually killed any Iwa shinobi.
That said a lot.
Despite their actions, Roshi and Han still held feelings for the Land of Earth and Iwagakure. Their departure stemd from a difference in ideals, not betrayal for betrayal’s sake.
As long as they were still alive, Ōnoki didn’t need to make dealing with them a priority.
However...
Kakuzu was a different matter.
If the intel from Kanda Kyoichi was accurate, then Kakuzu’s continued existence posed a massive threat to Iwagakure.
The man only needed one mask at a ti.
But if a mask was broken...
And then replaced...
Would that an every broken mask costs the life of an Iwa shinobi?
Unacceptable!
Ōnoki flew into a rage, literally lifting off the ground and floating around his office—as if getting airborne might raise his IQ a bit too.
He brooded for a long while before finally saying, "If Kakuzu and Sasori are teaming up, then this shouldn’t be just our problem."
"Father, are you planning to destroy his Lightning mask next?"
"Shut up!"
Ōnoki nearly fell out of the air.
This damn kid.
All these years of grooming, and his brain still hadn’t grown a bit! Just comparing him to Kanda Kyoichi, a boy in his twenties, was already humiliating.
Of course...
Kitsuchi did have a point.
Just look at Kyoichi’s lineage—his grandfather’s generation, his father’s generation—they were built different.
Can you even compare their intelligence?
Still, Kitsuchi just smiled and didn’t voice those thoughts. He waited until his father’s anger subsided before carefully asking, "Then what’s the plan, Father?"
"Let’s not provoke Kumogakure just yet. A and his gang are definitely the type to go to war. Best not to push them. Besides, Kakuzu isn’t easy to deal with either. For now, it’s better to work with Konoha."
Ōnoki explained.
It was obvious that Konoha had their eye on Kakuzu too. Otherwise, why would they have acted in the first place?
That operation might’ve failed, but there would absolutely be a second one.
And when it ca, teaming up with Konoha to bring down Kakuzu and Sasori together would be the smart move—especially Kakuzu, that bastard treating Iwagakure like a freakin’ spare parts warehouse.
If not for Konoha’s sensor advantage, they wouldn’t have even noticed what was happening. Since then, Iwa had been assigning more sensor-nin to its squads.
Reconnaissance and intelligence gathering were crucial.
Those damn Senju were frighteningly clever—Konoha’s tactics had elevated the use of sensors and scouts to an art form. Ōnoki still hadn’t figured out how to fully counter it.
So...
He had no choice but to follow suit.
Everyone needed to adapt to these new ninja warfare tactics.
He sighed—then suddenly froze midair.
Wait a minute...
Should I be thanking Kanda Kyoichi for this?!
Ōnoki’s face twisted with a strange expression.
---
At that mont, Kyoichi received a baffling system notification:
[Completed: Sensor-Based Recon Tactics – Teaching Module]
[Evaluation: Average]
[Reward: Earth Fist Technique]
Huh?
This must be from Ōnoki.
But seriously—what the hell did I say that inspired him? And what kind of stingy rating was this? Average?
Wasn’t that just dragging down his system ranking?
"Sensei, what exactly is Kakuzu’s jutsu?" Asuma couldn’t help but ask again.
Kyoichi shrugged. "How would I know? But from what I’ve seen, it’s probably so kind of life-draining ability—absorbing chakra natures or vitality from his targets."
"No wonder he can use all five chakra natures. But he probably can’t acquire kekkei genkai that way," Shisui added thoughtfully.
The three of them discussed it animatedly.
In truth...
They didn’t need Kyoichi to say more. Enough of Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear technique had been exposed to piece together a rough picture. But to those who didn’t know, this information was worth a fortune.
So, naturally—it had to be kept under wraps.
"Since leaving that village, can you still sense natural energy?" Kyoichi changed the subject.
There wasn’t much point in talking more about Kakuzu—he’d already marked the guy with a Flying Thunder God seal. As long as they had a general idea of his location, tracking him wouldn’t be difficult.
What he was more interested in was Sage Mode.
If Shisui and the others could gradually adapt to natural energy, then in a few years, they might be able to start training in Sage Mode properly.
So to Kyoichi, this was a far more pressing issue than Kakuzu.
"I can still sense it... but only at certain tis. Most of the ti, especially in towns, I feel almost nothing," Kurenai replied.
Shisui nodded in agreent. Asuma, anwhile, looked a little sheepish.
Scratching his head, he admitted, "I can sense a little bit, but not enough to guide it the way you described."
"It’s probably related to your ntal energy," Kyoichi mused.
Shisui and Kurenai had a leg up on Asuma in that regard—they both specialized in genjutsu and sensory techniques, which gave them stronger ntal energy.
Their thod was different from the Mount Myōboku version.
Mount Myōboku relied on things like special food (like "insect dumplings") to help the body synchronize with nature and begin sensing natural energy. But the Slug Sage path had no such crutches.
Slugs didn’t eat the sa way toads or snakes did. They weren’t even that into food.
Their training style was far more "Buddhist"—serene, ditative.
If they weren’t, Shikkotsu Forest would be a very different place.
Kyoichi gave them a few more pointers, then returned to the village and imdiately headed for Orochimaru’s lab.
No question about it.
Sage Mode might not be sothing you could mass-produce—but you could guide people to adapt gradually to natural energy.
It was possible.
But for that, he needed a proper test subject.
Orochimaru’s current life was oddly peaceful.
Except for the lack of freedom (thanks to being monitored by Mitokado Homura), things weren’t too bad. He had his lab, his research, sunshine, and ti to ponder new projects.
The one thing he lacked?
Inspiration.
The Wood Release research had reached its conclusion.
Kyoichi had pretty much wrapped that up—from structure, to enhancent, to application. Orochimaru’s job now was to simplify the techniques so more people could learn them and make them practical for civilian use.
That was no easy task.
Even now, Orochimaru hadn’t fully cracked it—but the odds of a Senju descendant awakening Wood Release had gone up.
It wasn’t just Kazamatsuri Toshiki anymore.
One of his younger brothers had awakened it too.
There was even another Senju who could use Wood Release... though...
His version was weird.
He could grow seedlings, but anything beyond that was near-impossible.
Still—
If it worked for agriculture, who’s complaining?
"Tch... Seems like all the fun research is locked behind restrictions. Hmph... Konoha really isn’t a place for people like ."
Orochimaru sighed, feeling vaguely disappointed.
The lab was nice.
But he still yearned for greater scientific exploration.
He had begun to entertain the idea of leaving again when—
A familiar chakra signature entered his range.
That kid again?
Interesting...
"Kyoichi. What brings you here? How’s the research going?"
"Not bad," Kyoichi replied casually.
"I’ve got a new topic. One I guarantee will interest you."
"Oh?"
"No? That’s fine. I’ve already made so progress anyway. Such a sha though... Sage Mode—a secret of the Three Great Sanctuaries..."
Kyoichi sighed dramatically and turned to leave.
A second later—
Orochimaru zipped to a spot just two steps in front of him.
"Sage Mode? Are you seriously offering to share knowledge of sothing that classified with ?"
His eyes glead with excitent.
Sure, Ryūchi Cave had Sage Mode—but Manda always demanded a ridiculous price just to summon him, let alone train soone.
You couldn’t count on that snake.
"Correction," Kyoichi said, raising a finger. "I’m not sharing it—I’m offering a research opportunity. Together."
"...Close enough. I’m very interested!"
Orochimaru licked his lips.
This brat...
He always managed to co up with topics Orochimaru simply couldn’t refuse.
Truly infuriating.
"You see? I knew you’d be interested. That’s why you were the first person I thought of! And how do you respond? With that attitude... sigh!"
"...Tch." Orochimaru fell silent for a mont.
This guy...
He was the one asking for help, and yet sohow it felt like he was the one losing out. Orochimaru suddenly had the urge to—
"Kyoichi-kun, there’s a ninja in the research division who specializes in food studies. Since we haven’t caught up in a while, how about we chat over a al at his place?"
"Sure! I’m starving anyway—lead the way!"
Kyoichi grinned.
Orochimaru still thought he could play hard to get?
Throw a juicy research topic on the table and watch how fast he rolls over.
When Mitokado Homura saw it was Kyoichi visiting, he didn’t bother coming out to interfere.
He knew this kid’s temperant—and he knew Kyoichi didn’t think much of him either.
So...
Out of sight, out of mind. No need to make both sides even more annoyed.
Kyoichi followed Orochimaru to the so-called "culinary research ninja."
The entire room had been transford into a kitchen.
The guy had even laid out a sleeping mat on the floor—a true maniac.
The mont they walked in, the air was filled with the rich aroma of slow-simred broth.
"What’s he making?"
"Heh. He’s trying to create a more nutritious and palatable version of standard military ration pills—hopefully to curb their overuse."
Orochimaru explained.
The broth and culinary flair? Just by-products of his main research: food-based supplents for shinobi.
Still...
To Orochimaru, this guy was just another cook. The idea of improving ration pills? Not exactly a reliable goal.
"Kyoichi-sama, Orochimaru-sama..."
The ninja wiped his hands on a towel. Seeing that Kyoichi was present too, he imdiately looked a bit flustered.
"What’s your na? That broth slls oddly familiar."
"My na’s Hakkaku, sir. As for the broth—you may have caught a whiff of it at Handa’s noodle shop. We were once classmates in the sa culinary school."
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