Naruto: Konoha’s Trickster, Starting as the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki Chapter 374: Operation Targeting Orochimaru

"And you—your performance today completely shattered everything I thought I knew about the Uchiha Clan."

"A proud Uchiha, and not just any Uchiha, but one with the Mangekyō Sharingan… and you actually got caught in a genjutsu?"

"If Madara were still alive, he'd probably beat you to death for disgracing the clan."

Black Zetsu was at a loss for words. Muren Uchiha had left him utterly speechless.

Already in a foul mood, Muren grew even more agitated.

"Hmph, that was just a fluke. Genjutsu doesn't work on ."

"I was just caught off guard for a mont."

He forced the words out, but deep down, he made a silent vow—he'd start brushing up on his genjutsu defenses the mont he got back.

"But what about you? Why are you here?"

"Did you already take care of the Three-Tails?"

Muren and Zetsu had acted separately—Muren to capture a host, Zetsu to locate the Three-Tails.

Now that Zetsu had shown up here, it ant he'd already secured the target.

"Yeah, it's in the sea south of Kirigakure. We can go retrieve it when the ti cos."

"The Three-Tails won't stand a chance against you."

"The seal is ready too. I'll place a formula on this guy's heart—he won't be able to do anything except let soone else kill him."

Muren nodded, satisfied. That would keep the plan on track.

Zetsu was tasked with escorting Akaashi back, while Muren moved on ahead...

...

In the Land of Fire, beneath the ruins of an abandoned facility.

"What the hell is all this...?"

"Kakashi, do you recognize any of it?"

Obito Uchiha stared at the shattered tanks and equipnt around them. The air reeked of blood.

Kakashi and Rin stood beside him, both wearing grim expressions.

The scene before them was far beyond what any of them had expected.

It was clearly a research facility—but why it was abandoned, or when, was a mystery. Most of the equipnt hadn't even been cleared out.

"This looks like so kind of lab..."

"As for what they were researching... probably sothing forbidden."

"Otherwise, why destroy it?"

Kakashi's tone was heavy. Normal experints didn't leave behind this much blood.

Live experints?

He might've been young, but Kakashi wasn't naïve.

"So what do we do now? Report it?"

"This place is already trashed," Obito muttered, glancing around at the wreckage.

Just then, Rin pulled out a notebook from her pack.

"This is the fourth lab we've found. The earlier ones weren't as extre as this, but the research was still highly classified."

"Who's doing all this?"

Their mission had been to investigate marked zones—but every marked site turned out to be another secret lab.

And the deeper they got, the more uneasy they felt.

They didn't believe enemy shinobi were sneaking into the Land of Fire to carry out these experints. It all pointed to soone from within the village.

"Let's head back and make our report..." Kakashi said at last.

Obito and Rin nodded, and the three of them started toward the village.

Along the way, Obito couldn't stop thinking about what they'd seen.

"Kakashi, who do you think is behind all this research?"

"Could it really be soone from the village?"

Kakashi stayed silent for a mont, then gave a small nod. The atmosphere grew even heavier.

"If the Hokage sent us to investigate… doesn't that an the village doesn't approve of this research?"

"In that case, who would even have the power and resources to pull this off...?"

Obito's voice grew quieter, his expression darkening. He was starting to suspect sothing he didn't want to believe.

But Kakashi and Rin had already reached the sa conclusion.

Nas flashed through their minds—one after another—yet in the end, none of them said a word.

...

The three returned to the village and reported to the Hokage's office.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed the materials they had gathered, he let out a long sigh—then quickly masked it with a smile.

"Well done on this mission."

"There will be a team handling the follow-up. You three should get so rest. We're still in the middle of a war."

"Once you've rested, you'll likely be sent back to the front lines."

"Be ready."

As he watched the trio leave, Hiruzen slumped back in his chair, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. His head throbbed.

More labs—every single coordinate led to a research lab...

Even if he didn't want to accept it, the materials Kakashi's team had collected left him no choice.

These were all locations reported by Danzō—Orochimaru's labs.

So of the experints conducted there were terrifying...

Genuine forbidden research.

"Orochimaru…"

"Soone, send for Midori."

Now that the truth was clear, there was no turning back. The scale of the forbidden experints had gone far beyond what the village could accept.

Even if he was his own student, this couldn't be overlooked...

...

Before long, Midori arrived in a rush.

"Lord Hokage, you called for ?"

Midori looked at his father, then at the docunts on the desk. He already understood why he was here.

Hiruzen's face was grave as he handed over the files.

"Orochimaru's involvent has been confird. He's currently on the battlefield. Once the front line stabilizes, bring him in."

Midori nodded. He'd expected this outco from the mont he saw the nature of the experints.

"Understood, Lord Hokage. I'll keep a close watch on this."

"But… Lord Hokage…"

Hiruzen closed his eyes. Though it pained him deeply, he knew the situation was dire. As Hokage, he had to act.

"No need to persuade . This is my responsibility. Just do what needs to be done. If he refuses to cooperate, I'll handle it myself."

...

Unbeknownst to them, a tiny snake hidden in the ceiling had overheard every word.

...

Far away in the Land of Hot Water, Orochimaru sat with a dark expression.

The snake he had placed inside the Hokage's building had done its job—gathering intel.

Even though he had ntally prepared for this mont, hearing the truth still stung.

He was simply pursuing the limits of human potential—why was that forbidden?

Science always demanded sacrifice. Was that really so hard to understand?

"Kazuyama, everything's unfolding exactly as we predicted."

"Sigh… The Land of Waterfalls will be my new stage."

...

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