Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 281 The Dark Legion Plan

Hiruzen Sarutobi's guess was correct; Danzo Shimura did indeed run into trouble. He overestimated himself and underestimated the corrosive power of dark chakra. After an intense battle, he ultimately couldn't withstand the erosion of dark chakra.

"Lord Danzo, you do not possess the bloodlines of the Senju, Uchiha, or Uzumaki clans. That arm is too much of a burden for you; it has reached its limit. Using it again will inevitably erode your entire body. It must be removed as soon as possible."

After the examination, Yakushi Nonou solemnly stated the analysis results: the arm was far beyond Danzo's capacity to bear, and it could no longer be suppressed by sealing techniques.

The corrosive power of the Dark Phoenix far exceeded expectations. If the Dark Phoenix state were to be activated again, Lord Danzo's body would definitely not be able to withstand it and would be completely assimilated by the Dark Phoenix and Dark Chakra.

Danzo Shimura remained silent, staring at his pitch-black right arm, lost in thought.

Not long after, footsteps approached, followed by a deep, magnetic voice.

"Lord Danzo, have you encountered some problem that you summoned me for?"

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Upon seeing the visitor, Yakushi Nonou greeted him respectfully.

The visitor was none other than Orochimaru. After realizing he couldn't solve the problem with that arm, Shimura Danzo contacted Orochimaru, as he was now the only one who could solve it.

"What a waste!"

Looking at Orochimaru's aged and frail appearance, Danzo Shimura felt sorry.

If he wants to adapt to this arm, he must have one of the three bloodlines: Senju, Uchiha, or Uzumaki. Orochimaru's body is good enough; he can unleash Wood Release to that extent on his own, which is already very close to the level of the First Hokage.

It's a real shame that such a perfect body was ruined by the other party.

"Does Lord Danzo also want a body like mine?"

Orochimaru habitually licked his lips. Back when Shimura Danzo suddenly retreated from the battlefield, he had already guessed that something had happened to him and that he would definitely come looking for him.

Even when he first saw that dark chakra, he knew that Shimura Danzo couldn't control it.

What do you want?

Danzo Shimura directly asked Orochimaru about his requirements; he absolutely needed to have that kind of body.

My body is too weak; without the bloodline of an immortal, I simply cannot perfectly control that power.

Now is not the time to use the Ghost Sprout Luo Secret Technique; those bodies haven't been properly nurtured yet.

"I want to study Lord Danzo's eyes."

Orochimaru licked his lips, showing great interest in Shimura Danzo's eyes.

Although the arm and the eyes on it were his work, Danzo Shimura made some modifications to them, especially the eyes, which were almost pushed to the limit, making him very curious.

"Can!"

Danzo Shimura did not refuse, but simply told Orochimaru that it was nothing to do with him.

Seeing that Danzo Shimura had indeed agreed, Orochimaru's smile grew even wider.

Without much talk, he stepped forward to examine the eyes closely, and even brought the palm with the transplanted white eye closer to examine it through his eyes. He quickly made a discovery.

"This dark chakra is a perfect match for the Sharingan!"

The dark chakra fused perfectly with the pupil power in his eyes, and even enhanced it considerably.

Although it didn't achieve the qualitative leap I had imagined, it was still much stronger than a normal Mangekyou Sharingan.

"The new body must integrate this power."

Danzo Shimura stated his demands: he must master this dark power, for it is an inexhaustible and absolute power that he must control.

"That's not difficult. I have a ready-made clone of the first generation right now, but I need one of your fingers to study this dark chakra."

After Orochimaru finished speaking, he took out a scroll covered in slime from his mouth, unwrapped it, and after a burst of mist dissipated, a nutrient tank was revealed, in which a boy's body was soaking.

This was the second perfect first-generation clone he had cultivated. He originally intended it as a backup body, but now that there was a better option, this body was no longer of any use and was being traded to Shimura Danzo.

Seeing that body, and especially feeling the powerful life force within it, Shimura Danzo was very satisfied, and then decisively cut off his right little finger and handed it to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was also very satisfied. After taking the finger and sealing it away, he explained, "You need to use this body to devour your body and soul first. After you adapt, you can then devour the arm. The eyes will be transplanted into your eye sockets and sealed to a certain extent to reduce their corrosiveness, allowing your new body to have an adaptation period."

As for the thing sealed inside you, seal it away for now. Once your body has fully adapted to the dark chakra, you can transfer it back into your body.

After saying that, he took the clone out of the nutrient tank, used chakra threads to control it, placed his hand on Shimura Danzo's left shoulder, and injected a pure sample of First Hokage cells into it.

Guided by the pure Wood Release chakra of the clone, the First Hokage's cells began a stable process of erosion and assimilation of Shimura Danzo.

The process was naturally very painful, but it was nothing to Shimura Danzo, a ruthless man of his generation.

Ultimately, apart from his right arm and left side of his torso, which were corrupted by dark chakra, the rest of his body was corrupted and assimilated by the First Hokage's cells.

At this point, Orochimaru manipulated the clone to raise its hand and form hand seals, drawing the eroded and assimilated part of the body into its own, along with Danzo Shimura's soul.

The first generation of cells was highly corrosive, but not overly so. It did not completely devour and transform Shimura Danzo's cells, leaving some residue at the genetic level. This residue became the connection point between Shimura Danzo's soul and his new body.

With this connection point, the soul successfully merges with the new body and even quickly regains consciousness.

"Is this how you got your new body?"

Feeling his new body, Shimura Danzo was both very satisfied and very surprised.

He had previously thought that Orochimaru had somehow perfectly integrated the First Hokage's cells into his body, but it turned out that he had completely transformed his body.

"My body had already reached its limit, and it was difficult to improve it further. I didn't want to undergo a typical bloodline transplant, and the phagocytic activity of the first-generation cells was too strong, so I had no choice but to take this route."

Orochimaru didn't shy away from the topic; there was nothing shameful about it. Besides, the Senju clan of Konoha was gone, so who could possibly stop or criticize him?

Meanwhile, his subordinates worked quickly, taking out a failed first-generation clone as a carrier and grafting Shimura Danzo's right arm and right half of his torso, including the seal, onto it, and then sealing it with layers of seals.

"Unfortunately, it's still not as good as the first teacher's physique."

Danzo Shimura lamented that it would have been perfect if it were the body of the original teacher; this clone was simply not good enough.

"Can we guide the absorption and fusion now?"

Looking at his remaining right arm and right side of his torso, he knew he wouldn't give up on the dark chakra.

"First, erode and assimilate it little by little, let your body adapt, and then gradually erode and adapt. You erodeed too quickly before, so your body didn't have time to adapt, and thus the dark chakra completely took over."

Orochimaru gave a few instructions, then removed the eyes and began transplanting them into Danzo Shimura.

Danzo Shimura also manipulated the first-generation cells of the new body to continue eroding the remaining part of the body, or rather, to erode each other.

The First Hokage's cells, now infused with dark chakra, are even more aggressive and domineering, and in turn invade Danzo Shimura's new body.

Fortunately, Danzo Shimura listened to Orochimaru's advice and only accepted a small portion, then used his entire body to dilute that portion of dark chakra and dark wood release cells.

As expected, the eroded parts did not turn completely black, but instead formed hideous and twisted black patterns that spread throughout the body, with the highest density around the eyes, eventually connecting and merging with the pair of pitch-black Mangekyou Sharingan.

"It's relatively stable. Lord Danzo, take your time to adapt."

After confirming that Shimura Danzo's condition was relatively stable, Orochimaru raised his hand and dispelled the shadow clone.

That's right, he only sent a shadow clone; his real body is busy with something else.

"He indeed glimpsed the secrets of the immortal bloodline."

Danzo Shimura's face darkened, realizing that Orochimaru had indeed discovered those secrets, though he didn't know how much.

"This body..."

Yakushi Nonou, who had been watching from the sidelines, expressed her concern. After all, Lord Orochimaru was no good person, and she worried that he might have left some tricks up his sleeve in this body.

"Nothing can escape the devouring power of dark chakra."

Danzo Shimura was very confident about this. The corrosiveness of dark chakra was extremely terrifying, and it became even more terrifying after fusing with the First Hokage's cells and Wood Release chakra. No power could resist this corrosive assimilation, and no power could hide in front of it.

"I was indeed too impatient before; I need to gradually adapt to master this power."

Looking at the black markings on his body, Danzo Shimura realized that he had indeed been too hasty in the past.

It is precisely because of the lack of adaptation steps that the degree of corruption of dark chakra continues to deepen, especially when it is used at a high intensity in intense battles, the corruption will be even deeper.

That's how it was last time, especially the initial battle with Yekura, which took the most damage and caused the deepest erosion.

During the final battle, he fought fiercely with Onoki, causing the erosion to exceed the limits of his body's tolerance.

Of course, more importantly, the Dark Phoenix caused trouble; the consciousness originating from Zero Tail had been trying to take over.

After his chakra was depleted to a certain extent, he suddenly attacked, almost being devoured and becoming nourishment for the opponent.

That is why he had to withdraw from the battlefield and abandon his plan to seize the Hokage position.

"Once this body has adapted to the dark chakra, and we find the stolen Gedo Mazo, we can begin the Dark Legion plan."

Even with that dark lotus flower in mind, Danzo Shimura remained full of confidence and ambition for the future.

The Dark Phoenix was merely a transitional device; his true strength lay in the Dark Lotus, the perfect vessel to bear dark power, which was also devoid of consciousness, allowing him to safely seal it within his body for use.

Unfortunately, the Dark Lotus's foundation is insufficient; it has already reached its limit by devouring a three-tailed creature. It must find the Outer Path Statue for it to devour and evolve, and then it can devour the Dark Phoenix and the two-tailed creature sealed within it to enhance itself.

The Dark Lotus has immense potential; its devouring of tailed beasts involves not only the absorption of their energy but also their abilities.

The Three-Tails contains countless smaller versions of itself, one of which was sealed away by Koizumi.

The Dark Lotus also gained this ability after devouring the Three-Tailed Fox. It did not nurture a smaller Three-Tailed Fox, but rather a lotus seed that, after cultivation, could transform into a smaller version of the Dark Lotus.

In this way, it can be sealed into the ninja's body, forming a Black Lotus Jinchuriki, gaining the power of Dark Chakra and Dark Wood Release, and their strength will inevitably increase dramatically.

With the essence of the Dark Lotus, it is enough to nurture tens of thousands of lotus seeds, which can then be used to create a Dark Legion of tens of thousands. No one can withstand such an army.

Even Hiruzen's reanimated army was nothing but clay chickens and dogs in front of the Dark Legion, and might even become a source of chakra to amplify his power.

This is the most terrifying aspect of Dark Chakra. After fusing with Wood Release Chakra, Dark Chakra's devouring power reaches an extreme. It can devour any chakra. The infinite chakra of Impure World Reincarnation is the best supplement for Dark Chakra.

"Has any intelligence come from Jia Yi?"

Suppressing his ambitions, Danzo Shimura inquired about information. He took the boy very seriously, even personally destroying his file and using kaleidoscope illusions to erase the memories of those who knew of his existence.

Now, only he and Yakushi Nonou know his identity within the entire Root organization, and he has even given him a new code name—Kai-ichi.

It means the first person at the root, whose status is second only to oneself.

"Information was sent last night, but you were suppressing the power in your arm, so we didn't disturb you."

The Root ninja standing nearby presented a slip of paper, containing intelligence that had been delivered the previous night.

The note was small, but it was covered with writing, and the language was concise and clear.

"Ridiculous. Hiruzen, the strongest Hokage acknowledged by the Four Kage, you truly are the biggest cancer hindering the village's development."

After reading the above information, especially after seeing one sentence, Shimura Danzo clenched his fists in anger.

What a disgrace!

The four great ninja villages are quite cunning; they actually want to stabilize Hiruzen's position as Hokage, use Hiruzen to suppress Konoha's development, and even scheme against the village's geniuses.

It's truly laughable, hateful, and pathetic that the Naruto series has stooped to this level!

As expected, Hiruzen's decision to become Hokage was a mistake; he had to correct the course himself to lead the village to its peak.

"Any new information?"

Using wind-style chakra, Shimura Danzo shredded the note in his hand and then inquired about other information.

"The day before yesterday, we received intelligence that Base No. 3 was attacked by a mysterious powerful figure and was completely destroyed. However, judging from the damage, it is highly likely to be the Otsutsuki Relic mentioned in the intelligence."

The Root ninja reported that this information came from the day before yesterday, but at that time Lord Danzo was focused on suppressing the power in his arm and could not be distracted, so they temporarily suppressed it.

"Base Three, Otsutsuki Relic, did he rescue that woman?"

Danzo Shimura roughly guessed what had happened. It must have been that Otsutsuki Sharei sensed the woman's presence through some method and then went to rescue her.

But it doesn't matter. He has already conceived two children with that woman, which is enough material for fusion. What that woman is like is unimportant.

Leaving aside Danzo Shimura's side, Orochimaru, after receiving the memories transmitted back by his shadow clone, paid little attention to them and continued with his experiments.

After an unknown amount of time, a strange eye finally took shape.

It was a special eye with three pupils, each with three tomoe slowly rotating, as if three three-tomoe Sharingan eyes had been brought together and arranged in a triangular structure.

However, this fusion was clearly unstable, and it disintegrated after only a short while, leaving the eyes completely ruined.

Orochimaru didn't care much, and didn't feel sorry even though he lost his few three three-tomoe Sharingan.

"It can indeed be done, but the cell fusion is not thorough enough, and the rejection of the pupil power is greater. It still requires cells from blood relatives and the pupil power of the eyes."

After carefully examining the remaining eye cells, Orochimaru confirmed that Haojun's line of reasoning was correct.

It is indeed possible to use this to be compatible with kaleidoscopes, and there are three pairs of kaleidoscopes. With the blessing of three pairs of kaleidoscopes, even without fusion and transformation, the sheer number is enough to provide extremely strong power.

However, creating that kind of eye structure is not easy. It not only requires three types of eye cells that are related by blood, but also eyes that are kaleidoscope-level.

Only in this way can a delicate phase of opposition and integration be formed, and then the three eye techniques and eye powers can be guided and integrated, which may lead to a transformation.

"The cells from the eyes that met the mirror back then have been preserved. These eyes belong to Mingjing-kun. We're still missing one. I wonder if Mingjing-kun's child can awaken the Kaleidoscope."

Orochimaru quickly thought of his last target: Uchiha Myokyo's child.

After obtaining Uchiha Kagami's eyes, he extracted a small amount of cells to perform the Impure World Reincarnation technique, and preserved a portion of them at the time.

Uchiha Myokyo has the eyes, but he's missing the last one. Fortunately, Myokyo-kun has a child still alive.

As the child of Mingjingjun, he certainly has the potential to awaken the Kaleidoscope; all I need to do is wait patiently.

After pondering for a long time, Orochimaru opened his mouth, took out the finger that had been sealed by the shadow clone, and felt the dark chakra on it, which gave him some guesses and ideas.

"It seems that Lord Danzo has deeper schemes and resources, and may become a good prey."

Licking his lips, Orochimaru had already set his sights on Shimura Danzo.

It just so happens that Shimura Danzo possesses Uchiha Kagami's Mangekyou Sharingan, while he himself possesses Uchiha Kagami's Mangekyou eye techniques and eye power. This is a common point, and as long as it is used well, it will definitely bring great benefits in the future.

I just hope that Lord Danzo can step up his game and bring even bigger surprises.

After sealing the finger, Orochimaru got up and went to the laboratory next door, where two nutrient tanks were stored, containing two bodies, one large and one small, that were being nurtured and developed.

Orochimaru stood before the red-haired girl's nutrient tank, his face filled with fascination.

"It'll be ripe soon!"

This was the body he valued most, cultivated using Mito Uzumaki's cells and Chakravartin, and further enhanced by the egg of a female Uzumaki ninja as a carrier, to repair the clone's congenital defects to the greatest extent possible and maintain the integrity of its genes.

With this body, the power of the First Hokage's cells and the Kaleidoscope can be perfectly transplanted in the future, and the power of the fused tailed beast can be restrained.

This is the most perfect carrier, far more perfect than the clones of the first generation of cells.

Through his numerous experiments, he discovered that the power of the First Hokage's cells and the Sharingan are mutually exclusive, making fusion extremely difficult. However, they do not have an opposing relationship with the Uzumaki clan's chakra, allowing for direct fusion.

The chakra of the Uzumaki clan can even harmonize the power of the Sharingan and the First Hokage's cells, ultimately guiding the transformation into the Yin-Yang Release power under the blessing of the Tailed Beast's chakra.

That power was of a higher quality than Wood Release chakra; it was a power that surpassed all Sage bloodlines.

Perhaps that is the ultimate secret of the immortal bloodline, the power that only the legendary Sage of Six Paths can master, and the supreme power that I need to pursue and control.

(End of this chapter)