Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 58 The Boat of Friendship Capsized

Leaving aside Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was heading to the Ino-Shika-Cho clan's territory, Danzo Shimura, who was returning to the Root base, met with someone he had previously asked to come.

It was Orochimaru, the disciple of his old friend. The loss of his right arm had greatly reduced his strength, and he needed to transplant a suitable arm.

In this respect, he lacked talent from his own circle of acquaintances, and in the end, he could only find this disciple of his old friend.

"What perfect power!"

Orochimaru was completely obsessed with the small piece of meat in the nutrient solution.

That was a piece of the First Hokage's flesh, which the Second Hokage secretly cut off for research.

Even a small piece of meat could still give him a powerful life force; it was unimaginable how terrifying the First Hokage's power must have been in his lifetime.

"The first generation of cells was highly invasive, and the second generation teacher failed in countless experiments."

Danzo Shimura explained that he also longed for the power of the First Teacher, but was even more wary of it.

After taking over Tobirama's laboratory, he secretly conducted some experiments, but the results were all disastrous and shocking to him.

"So this time you didn't ask me to help you obtain the power of the First Hokage?"

Sensing the apprehension in Shimura Danzo's tone, Orochimaru began to make some guesses.

"I need an arm that can restore my strength, preferably one that can enhance me. The reward is that you participate in the research project on the First Hokage's cells, allowing you to access the strongest power in the ninja world."

Danzo Shimura said in a deep voice, "The Ninja World War is imminent. The Third Kazekage is leading the Ninja Army to launch a strong attack on the defenses of the Land of Rivers. In addition, the strong members of my clan have already been wiped out in the Land of Whirlpools. The pressure there is immense."

Hiruzen cannot easily leave the village, so he has to go there alone, not only to command the battle, but also to fight against the Third Kazekage.

But now that he has lost his arm, he can't even form hand seals, and his strength has been greatly diminished.

In addition, having Orochimaru join the research on the First Hokage's cells was also intended to accelerate this research.

It must be said that Orochimaru is very talented, much better than the useless people under his command.

Do you have any good material?

Orochimaru inquired, and the simple arm transplant was not difficult for him; the most crucial thing was simply dealing with the rejection reaction.

"There is a swift-escape ninja."

Shimura Danzo said something and walked to an operating table on the other side, on which was tied an unconscious man. This was prepared by Shimura Danzo beforehand, and it was someone he had finally managed to capture.

"The Swift Release technique from Sunagakure?"

Orochimaru looked at the man and couldn't help but lick his lips, showing great interest in him.

He was familiar with all the information about bloodline limits in the ninja world, so he naturally knew that Sunagakure's Swift Release was a bloodline limit formed by the fusion of wind and lightning attributes. Its main characteristic was increased speed, possessing a speed that surpassed that of lightning and wind release.

"Obtaining a bloodline limit through transplantation is not easy."

A simple arm transplant is not difficult, but obtaining a bloodline limit through it is.

What do you want?

Danzo Shimura knew that Orochimaru was negotiating, but he didn't mind too much, especially since he urgently needed to restore or even enhance his strength at this stage.

"I want to join the research on the Sharingan."

Licking his lips, Orochimaru had long been interested in the Sharingan. After all, the Sharingan's limits were not low, no less than the power of the First Hokage, and he was very curious about its mysteries.

"Today I will successfully transplant an arm and gain the power of Swiftness."

After a moment's thought, Shimura Danzo agreed, as it wouldn't do him any harm.

Research on the Sharingan has long stagnated, yielding no new results in over a decade. Bringing Orochimaru in might bring new progress.

"You will gain Swiftness!"

Orochimaru smiled broadly. Although his current methods were insufficient to grant Danzo Shimura his full bloodline limit, he could at least obtain some, enough to make that arm swing faster.

Of course, surgical transplantation isn't that quick, but if we keep stimulating the cells with medical ninjutsu during the journey to the front lines, we can accelerate the fusion of the two cells. It should be almost done by the time we get to the front lines.

"Hiruzen has praised you many times, saying that you are his most outstanding and proudest disciple, and that you are very likely to become the Fourth Hokage in the future."

Suddenly, Danzo Shimura brought up another topic. He mentioned that after Shiguro Aburame returned from Uzushiogakure, he had told her everything he had said to that Senju kid. He thought it made a lot of sense and became more wary.

"The teacher is in the prime of his life, is it meaningful for him to say these things?"

With a flicker in his eyes, Orochimaru couldn't quite figure out Shimura Danzo's true intention in saying this, but he did have some thoughts about the Hokage position.

Was it because this incident wasn't handled well, leaving hidden dangers that made the teacher's position as Hokage unstable?

"The situation in the village is complicated. The Fourth Hokage may appear in this war, but judging from Hiruzen's appearance, he doesn't seem to be planning to recommend you for the position."

Danzo Shimura bluntly stated his intention to win over Orochimaru through this.

Orochimaru is a very talented person. He was very satisfied with the success of the transplant of the Swift Release ninja's arm. His Root organization needs such talent.

"Is Lord Danzo trying to sow discord?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking that Danzo Shimura couldn't be that stupid; he had been too blunt.

Danzo Shimura ignored Orochimaru's gaze and spoke indifferently.

"Although you are Hiruzen's most outstanding disciple, you are too outstanding, especially in terms of personality. Hiruzen cannot control you, and conflicts are inevitable in the future, which is not in his interest."

I heard that he paid close attention to a child at the ninja academy, and even asked Jiraiya to take him as a disciple and teach him a lot of ninjutsu.

According to my investigation, that child is truly outstanding, especially his unprecedentedly fast reaction speed. If he can learn Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique, he will surely leap to the level of a Kage.

Such an outstanding child would be more suitable for you to teach, but Hiruzen chose Jiraiya instead. What do you think your teacher was thinking?

The more he thought about what Shiro Aburame had brought back, the more uneasy he felt. He had someone secretly investigate the child, which made him even more uneasy.

Hiruzen is trying to train the Fourth Hokage ahead of time!

He was furious that the Hokage position was passed on to him rather than to a child, and he felt betrayed.

Although it's still just speculation, he feels it's basically settled.

He had seen the Flying Thunder God Technique; the requirements for its cultivation were very demanding, the most crucial of which was the speed of nerve reaction.

Otherwise, instead of flying over to kill someone, you would be handing yourself over to someone else's ninja sword.

That child possessed exceptionally fast reflexes and was naturally gifted; he was practically born to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Once you master the Flying Thunder God Technique, you can become the most terrifying ninja. Tobirama's most fearsome skill back then was the Flying Thunder God Technique.

It was precisely because he understood these things that he became even more certain.

Previously, everyone had only focused on Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, but no one expected Hiruzen to make such a choice and arrangement.

As expected of Hiruzen!

(End of this chapter)