SJIN: Chapter 24

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Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

He didn't even care about Jiraiya and Kato Dan. He ran out like a shot.

Mizuno looked downstairs. Orochimaru seemed to have instantly transformed into a child—no, he was a child now—and he threw himself into his father's arms.

"Father!" Orochimaru shouted excitedly.

The man in black bent down and hugged him. "Orochimaru, long time no see. I heard you're a ninja now?"

"Yes." Orochimaru quickly nodded, a hint of pride on his face.

Mizuno remembered that in the original story, according to Sarutobi, Orochimaru had started searching for the meaning of life after his parents died, and his personality changed drastically. The current Orochimaru was undoubtedly a child just like Jiraiya and Kato Dan.

It was his father who had an effeminate aura, quite similar to Orochimaru in the original story. No wonder Mizuno felt familiar.

"It's Ryūkotsu-maru who's back," Danzo said, standing up in surprise. "This is good. Kagami might be saved."

Danzo's words surprised Mizuno. "Ryūkotsu-maru?"

Danzo nodded. "To be precise, he's called Ryūkotsu. Years ago, he and his White Snake Lady went out on a secret mission for the Second Hokage. After that, they disappeared. They were said to be searching for a mysterious training sanctuary. We don't know exactly what they were doing."

Hatake Sakumo also walked over. "I heard about him at the Ninja Academy. A legendary ninja. They say he participated in many of the Second Hokage's research before he left. He had deep medical skills. I wonder if he found the legendary sanctuary after all these years. What a fascinating ninja."

Mizuno frowned slightly.

Sanctuary?

He instantly thought of the three great sanctuaries in the original story.

Mount Myōboku was out of the question. Could it be that... they were searching for the Ryūchi Cave, the home of the White Snake Sage?

Downstairs, Ryūkotsu set Orochimaru down. "I heard there's a new Hokage now. I need to go pay my respects to the Third Hokage."

Orochimaru quickly nodded. "Yes, Sarutobi-sama is my teacher."

Ryūkotsupatted his head. "You're truly my son. Come on, let's go find your teacher."

Danzo also quickly called out to Mizuno. "Let's go take a look. Maybe Ryūkotsuwill have a solution."

Inside the Hokage's office.

Ryūkotsu gave a report that lasted for a full half hour.

Uchiha Kagami's situation was extremely urgent, but even so, Ryūkotsu's brief explanation still took half an hour. It was clear that he had a reason to report to the Third Hokage. After half an hour, at Danzo's urging, Ryūkotsu finally went to the medical department.

Under the Third Hokage's guidance, everyone finally saw what Uchiha Kagami looked like.

If Tsunade hadn't led them, Mizuno wouldn't even have recognized the swollen body as the Uchiha Kagami he knew.

Kagami no longer looked like a ninja. He was swollen everywhere, his body had expanded to more than twice its size, and his skin had almost no normal color. A foul odor permeated the air, coming from the boils and toxins in Kagami's body.

"He's still alive. That's a surprise," Ryūkotsu said after examining Uchiha Kagami's condition in the medical department. "Konoha actually has such an excellent medical ninja."

He was referring to Tsunade. Tsunade stood gracefully beside him, like a lotus flower emerging from the water. She couldn't help but blush slightly when she heard Ryūkotsu's praise.

"But we still haven't completely cured Kagami-sama."

Ryūkotsu shook his head. "He needs to undergo a large-scale body revitalization to dispel the toxins."

"Body revitalization?"

Ryūkotsu's words made everyone's eyes light up.

Danzo said in a trembling voice, "Can you do it?"

Ryūkotsu nodded. "Absolutely no problem. I can't say for sure if I can cure him, but I can definitely save his life."

As soon as he said this, a weight lifted from everyone's hearts.

Ryūkotsu waved for everyone to leave, and Mizuno followed the others outside to wait.

"What exactly happened," Mizuno said to the Third Hokage. "You sent Kagami on that mission?"

Sarutobi held a pipe in his mouth, his eyes looking ahead. "Yes, it was for peace negotiations."

Mizuno frowned. "With the Land of Lightning?"

Mizuno understood without Sarutobi's explanation. The Six Paths Tools he had taken from Kinkaku and Ginkaku had been used by Sarutobi as political capital for peace negotiations.

"You're putting the cart before the horse." Mizuno said.

Sarutobi sighed and didn't answer.

Konoha needed peace desperately.

He needed a highly stable environment to allow Konoha to develop.

To this end, he was willing to make concessions, such as using these artifacts to secure guarantees from the Land of Lightning.

Seeing this, Mizuno didn't press further, but asked a question he was more concerned about. "Who were the opponents?"

Uchiha Kagami was different now. He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and his strength could be said to be among the top tier in the entire ninja world.

Such a Kagami had suffered such a huge loss. The origin of the opponent couldn't be overlooked.

Sarutobi frowned. "The opponent's origins are complex. Senju Mineshi and Uzumaki Ryūzan are certain."

Mizuno snorted. "Those two again."

Sarutobi nodded. "Also, such a powerful poison definitely involved the intervention of a poison expert. Considering the last encounter, I suspect that the Rasa couple was also involved."

This was no surprise. It seemed that Hatake Sakumo was right.

Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe. "There's another force that I'm very concerned about."

With that, he pulled out an explosive tag from his chest.

Mizuno was surprised. He didn't understand Sarutobi's meaning.

Sarutobi said, "Kagami wasn't completely empty-handed this time. He killed a ninja named Jinpachi."

As soon as he said this, Mizuno was shocked.

Jinpachi?

"The user of the Explosive Sword, Shibuki?"

Sarutobi was surprised. "You know about the Explosive Sword Shibuki? It's a new force in the Land of Water. They're called the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. It's said there are seven of them."

Mizuno knew all about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

But what was going on?

In the original story, Jinpachi died at the hands of Might Duy. It happened much later. At that time, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were blocked by Might Duy. Might Duy, who had opened the Eight Gates, killed a bunch of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, including Jinpachi.

But how could he have been killed now?

Mizuno had a nagging feeling that some timelines had changed after he transmigrated.

He was still thinking about this when Ryūkotsu walked out.

"His life is no longer in danger." Ryūkotsu said.

Mizuno quickly pushed open the door, and Danzo and the others quickly followed.

Uchiha Kagami had clearly recovered. At least, he was no longer a swollen fat man.

Mizuno couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. It seemed that Ryūkotsu really did have some skills.

"This is just a temporary solution," Ryūkotsu said. "To fully recover, he needs to go to a sacred land."

Sacred land?

Mizuno was quite surprised.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression changed slightly. He waved for a few people to leave, then gestured to Mizuno.

"Let's talk in the office."

Under Sarutobi's instructions, everyone went to the office. Then, Sarutobi revealed what Ryūkotsu meant.

As Mizuno had guessed, Ryūkotsu had been searching for the Ryūchi Cave all these years!

"We have found that place. And we met the White Snake Sage. This world does have Sage Art besides the First Hokage's. My wife is waiting for us to go back." Ryūkotsu said.

This was truly surprising. Mizuno had originally thought that Kabuto Yakushi was the first ninja to enter the White Snake Sage's Ryūchi Cave. But now it seemed that Ryūkotsu had found it many years ago.

"Mizuno, I hope you can go. On one hand, it's to treat Uchiha Kagami. On the other hand, I hope you can obtain the inheritance of the Ryūchi Cave." Sarutobi said.

These words made Mizuno's heart skip a beat.

But he didn't show anything on his face.

"Why me?" Mizuno asked.

Yes, Sage Art inheritance. How could such a good thing fall on his head?

Sarutobi shook his head. "I have no other choice."

He looked at Mizuno. "You know, Senju Mineshi has threatened Konoha repeatedly, but I've never gone to the Senju clan to demand an explanation. Why is that?"

Mizuno knew, of course. "They're a great clan. You can't afford to offend them."

Sarutobi didn't deny it. "So, I need to cultivate commoners. Cultivate a large number of commoners."

That was right. In Konoha's history, this was the most glorious period for commoner ninjas.

Hatake Sakumo, Might Duy, Kato Dan, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, including Tsunade, who wasn't a Senju, and later, Minato Namikaze, etc... none of them were from great clans.

But the situation was awkward now. Hatake Sakumo was bound to the Daimyo and had independent tasks. Orochimaru and the others hadn't grown up yet. Uchiha Kagami was seriously injured, and Danzo couldn't go out easily. It was Mizuno who was the most likely candidate for the inheritance.

"Ryūkotsu and the White Snake Lady have both tried. They're not suitable for learning Sage Art. So, Mizuno, I hope you can go take a look."

Mizuno understood.

Even just to treat Uchiha Kagami, it was worth going.

"Alright, I agree. I'll go to the Ryūchi Cave."

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