Chapter 58: The Kakashi Incident

Chapter 58: The Kakashi Incident

In front of Orochimaru, Genichi kept his posture very low and humble. Because in the ecosystem of Konoha, the status of the Sannin was extremely high. Orochimaru's own strength was also a terrifying existence.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the future Orochimaru would be instantly defeated by one of Itachi Uchiha's genjutsu; that didn't mean Orochimaru was weak. Kakashi was genius enough—a Jonin at thirteen, with a great reputation in the Anbu, who had earned the title of "Konoha's Copy Ninja." But when Orochimaru defected, even while injured, a single glance from him was enough to make Kakashi freeze on the spot, not daring to make a move. Even during the Konoha Crush, Kakashi was extremely wary when facing Orochimaru.

In front of Genichi, Orochimaru wasn't terrifying at all. On the contrary, he gave off a very gentle feeling. But Genichi could sense the cold-bloodedness and terror hidden beneath Orochimaru's gentle exterior. This was the intuition of a ninja.

However, although his posture was low, Genichi was not timid or submissive.

One behind the other, the two of them left the core area of Konoha and entered the mountain forest. This was the back mountain of Konoha. Hidden by the trees, a subterranean entrance appeared. It wasn't particularly secret. Genichi guessed that this was Orochimaru's public-facing research base.

Following him into the research base, Genichi soon saw many large and small jars and containers, displayed before him like a museum exhibit, dazzling his eyes. Some contained complete bodies, some contained certain parts, and some were impossible to identify which creature they came from. Of course, the most numerous were snakes, especially white-scaled snakes.

"I wonder if the Eight-Branched Serpent (Yamata no Orochi) has been created yet..." Genichi secretly guessed.

Although Orochimaru hadn't transplanted various kekkei genkai cells—and on the surface, it seemed he hadn't even used the Eight-Tails' cells he had obtained, as there was no Eight-Tails chakra on him—both the Yamata no Orochi and Orochimaru himself, who had become a great white serpent, possessed the characteristics of the Eight-Tails. Compared to Kabuto's crude transplantation of various cells, Orochimaru's methods were far more astonishing and fascinating. He had truly grasped the power and mysteries hidden within various kekkei genkai.

"This is..."

Suddenly, Genichi stopped, his gaze fixed on a huge glass container. Soaking inside was a giant bull's horn.

The horn of the Eight-Tails!

Genichi subconsciously swallowed. He wanted it badly.

Orochimaru stood to the side and said with a faint smile, "Genichi-kun, do you know what this is?"

Genichi said, "I'm not entirely sure."

"I encountered the Cloud Village's jinchuriki on a mission."

Orochimaru's eyebrow raised. "Oh... hehe, to be able to complete a mission after encountering a jinchuriki. As expected of Konoha's White Fang."

Genichi smiled. "Sensei is amazing. Even the son of the Third Raikage was no match for him."

But in his heart, he couldn't help but snark: Compared to you secretly killing the previous Eight-Tails jinchuriki, that was just a small scene.

"Does Genichi-kun want this horn of the Eight-Tails?" Orochimaru asked. His perception was incredibly sharp.

Genichi pretended to hesitate for a moment, then nodded. "Senpai, I have witnessed the power of a Tailed Beast before. The jinchuriki was seriously injured by my master. If he were an ordinary ninja, with those injuries, he would have surely died unless Lady Tsunade was there. But as a jinchuriki, he was able to recover quickly."

The recovery ability of a jinchuriki was indeed monstrous. And the Eight-Tails' ability to preserve its own life was very strong. Plotting to get a Tailed Beast was difficult, but after meeting Killer Bee, Genichi remembered that Orochimaru had cultivated a horn of the Eight-Tails. This might be a path. Even if it was just one horn, it was still better than the Zero-Tails.

"Hehe, the power of a Tailed Beast is naturally extraordinary." Having researched and cultivated a horn from its cells, Orochimaru understood the power of the Eight-Tails better than anyone.

He chuckled lightly. "But the power of a Tailed Beast is not something an ordinary person can withstand."

"Genichi-kun, what do you plan to trade for it?"

Genichi fell into deep thought. He certainly had some information he could use for an exchange. It was just that revealing this information now would not fit his current identity. Although it probably wouldn't matter—Orochimaru was unlikely to share it with others—it was very likely to attract too much of his attention.

But did he need to do this now? Not at all. Wouldn't it be better to just get it for free in the future using his overdraft ability?

And so, Genichi shook his head and said honestly, "Senpai, I'm afraid I have nothing I can trade for it right now. Although I have developed some ninjutsu, I'm afraid they are not enough to exchange for this, and senpai probably wouldn't be interested anyway."

Orochimaru listened and smiled nonchalantly. "Then let's wait until you have enough chips to trade. I have faith in you!"

And then the tour continued.

...

Coming out of the research base, Genichi now had a scroll in his hand. It was the data on human body modification that he had traded for from Orochimaru.

So far, he had met all three of the Sannin. And Orochimaru was the most difficult to get along with, even though Tsunade seemed to have a fouler temper. Under Orochimaru's gaze, Genichi couldn't help but feel like he had become prey.

This person, Orochimaru, was extremely dangerous!

"Good thing I have a cheat..."

Genichi leaped away.

At the Konoha Hospital, Tsunade saw Genichi return with the scroll and asked directly, "You're cooperating with him?"

Genichi shook his head. "How could I have the qualifications for that?"

"This is the data I exchanged for the cells of the Magnet Release user."

Tsunade was surprised. "The cells of a Magnet Release (Jiton) user?"

Genichi took out a small sealing scroll from his ninja tool pouch, opened it, and took out the contents. Blood, bone marrow, and several corpses.

Genichi smiled. "They're all from the Cloud Village."

"This is the blood and bone marrow of the Magnet Release (Jiton) user."

Tsunade nodded, then said, "The probability of a successful match is very low."

Genichi smiled, unconcerned. "I know."

"But even so, perhaps we can still obtain some information about Magnet Release (Jiton) from his cells, right?"

"If we can use this method to research a way to practice Magnet Release (Jiton), that might be even better."

Tsunade nodded, and the two of them began to get busy. The bodies and cells of ninja could contain a lot of information and intelligence. If not for bringing back a live captive, these Cloud ninja bodies would have probably first been sent to Konoha's Intelligence Division.

Genichi first performed the tissue typing comparison. But obviously, his luck wasn't that good. Another failure.

This time, Genichi was even less concerned. He followed Tsunade's lead and methodically carried out his research. He even used Orochimaru's snakes to send messages and carry out some research exchanges.

It had to be said, Orochimaru was really too good. He answered every question. For a while, Genichi even had the urge to just throw in his lot with him. In terms of research, Tsunade was more than a step behind Orochimaru. Or perhaps it was a matter of specialization.

...

Time flew by. Autumn passed, and winter came.

Missions became more and more frequent, so much so that Genichi's time for training and research was constantly being reduced. And Genichi also noticed that the situation in the shinobi world was changing step by step. It seemed that enough time had passed since the end of the great war, and as the various ninja villages recovered their strength, they were beginning to get restless again.

On this day, Genichi had just finished a mission and rushed to the Konoha Hospital through the snow. But as soon as he saw Shizune, he received a piece of news from her: Kakashi was injured and hospitalized.

"What happened?"

"Is Kakashi badly hurt?" Genichi asked one question after another.

Shizune quickly said, "Kakashi's injuries aren't serious. It's just... it's just that his mental state isn't very good."

"Because his squad... except for him, everyone else was killed in action."

What?

Genichi's face was full of astonishment.

(End of Chapter)

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