Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

Chapter 261 Talk is better than singing

Overseas, an island of oblivion.

brush!

The sea breeze, carrying a salty and damp scent, swept over them as Aoba appeared on a high cliff with Orochimaru.

A salty sea breeze blows in your face, and the rising sun slowly dispels the mist over the island.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique? I didn't expect you to have learned even that!"

Orochimaru carefully examined Yamashiro Aoba. He was already quite surprised that Aoba could learn the Spirit Transformation Technique.

I didn't expect that he even mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. Once could be attributed to luck, but twice indicates that there is a problem.

Facing Orochimaru's probing gaze, Aoba smiled and said, "I've said before that I have a special learning method, but the Flying Thunder God Technique can only be used for traveling; it can't be used for fighting like Minato."

"However, there should be a way for you to learn the art of spiritification."

"oh?!"

Upon hearing that Aoba had a way to teach him the Spirit Transformation Technique, Orochimaru instantly became interested.

However, Aoba's next words calmed his restless heart.

"The prerequisite is that you must first complete your soul."

Orochimaru narrowed his golden vertical pupils slightly as he turned to examine the island hidden in the mist before him.

Through the mist, one can vaguely see the cluster of buildings hidden in the forest.

Orochimaru wasn't surprised that Aoba had his own secret base outside.

As a seasoned research fanatic, he knew all too well that the development of some forbidden ninjutsu and secret techniques was simply impossible without a large amount of resources and human experimentation.

Even when he was in Konoha, he was able to conduct his research smoothly only under the cover of the Roots.

The reason he resolutely chose to defect was because there were too many rules in the village. If he wanted to conduct his research freely, he had to establish a base outside the village.

But he never expected that Yamashiro Aoba was hiding his true identity so well!

As the two slowly walked into the island, many people came out of their homes and greeted Aoba when they saw him.

The island is filled with buildings and has complete facilities. How could this be a secret base?

This is practically a small ninja village with everything you need!

"A member of the Uzumaki clan?"

To Orochimaru's surprise, he spotted several red-haired people in the crowd.

"After the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, very few members of the Uzumaki clan remained in the ninja world. How did you manage to find so many?"

"They're just some poor homeless people. I'll give them a safe haven and help me out a little while I'm at it," Aoba said calmly.

"Aoba-kun, I originally thought you were just hiding your true feelings well—"

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and washed his face, his eyes gleaming. "I never expected that you would actually build your own ninja village outside."

"Yeah, I didn't think too much about it at the time. I was just leaving myself a way out. In the end, I learned that from Lord Orochimaru."

"Oh?! Tell me about my future when it's convenient."

"No problem, we'll have plenty of time later."

He paused, turned to look at Orochimaru, and his tone became serious: "There will be plenty of time for the tour later. We need to deal with two problems first."

Orochimaru withdrew his gaze, his expression returning to its cold stern: "What trouble?"

"The first problem is with your soul."

Aoba held up a finger. "You should be able to realize it yourself. Because of the incompleteness of your soul, your personality has become extreme."

Orochimaru's smile faded slightly, and he remained silent without rebuttal.

"Under normal circumstances, this might not be a big deal; at most, it might just mean that the person has a quirky temper and isn't well-liked."

Aoba astutely pointed out, "But when conducting precise scientific research, such extremism and emotionalism are fatal."

"That's why in the original future, you went so far as to conduct endless experiments on yourself, ultimately making you less and less human."

"Every experiment carries risks. It is not something a rational researcher would do to conduct experiments on themselves without being 100% certain."

Orochimaru took a deep breath, a hint of seriousness flashing in his golden vertical pupils.

"You're right, Aoba-kun. Lately, I've indeed felt that my emotions are becoming increasingly difficult to control."

Orochimaru said in a hoarse voice, "It seems I need to return to Konoha and retrieve those soul fragments scattered within the cursed seal."

In the original work, although Orochimaru's cursed seal test subjects were only described in detail as Mitarashi Anko, Aoba speculated that there must have been more than one.

In addition to the Heavenly Curse Mark and the Earthly Curse Mark, Mizuki also has a Beast Curse Mark.

"However, it might be a bit troublesome to return to Konoha now."

Orochimaru looked at Aoba with a half-smile, "Thanks to the information you spread in the underground black market, Aoba-kun, the whole of Konoha is now in a state of panic."

"Although Danzo dumped most of the dirty work on me, the investigation within Konoha is still not over. The ANBU and Root have spies all over the village, and the experimental subjects are under strict surveillance. It will be a bit troublesome to secretly retrieve the soul fragments."

Aoba wasn't surprised at all that Orochimaru could guess that he was the one who spread the information.

"The matter of retrieving the soul fragments can be put on hold for a while, until the situation in Konoha stabilizes."

Aoba waved his hand and continued, "Then let's deal with the second problem first."

"Restore the eyes to their original state."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's eyes instantly blazed with fanaticism.

He already knew that the technique Aoba had used on him was actually a Mangekyou Sharingan technique belonging to Uchiha Shisui.

Orochimaru had always coveted the Sharingan, let alone the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan!

"Hehehe—this is truly an offer that's hard to refuse." Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and washed his face.

Afterwards, Aoba took Orochimaru to the core laboratory on the island and introduced Honoka to him.

"This is Honoka, the person in charge of medical care and scientific research on the island. Lord Orochimaru, you will stay with her for the time being to familiarize yourself with the island's environment and experimental equipment."

Orochimaru looked around at the sophisticated and advanced instruments, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. The equipment here was even more complete than in his laboratory in Konoha!

After settling Orochimaru in, Aoba once again used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the front lines.

He had another important task to do: to slowly withdraw the people who had been sent to the front lines.

That's right. Aoba secretly brought some of the people from Forgotten Island to the front line by taking advantage of his privilege as the front-line commander!

He scattered the men and mixed them into medical teams and combat squads for practical training.

As for concealing one's identity, that's even simpler.

The Whirlpool Clan's signature red hair is dyed black or brown; the Blood Pool Clan's easily visible red eyes are replaced with specially made colored contact lenses or sunglasses.

On the battlefield, people die every day, and new faces are added every day. Who would bother to thoroughly investigate the background of a rookie ninja? Plus, with Aoba manipulating things behind the scenes, even if someone notices something is wrong, he can control them and erase their memories.

Taking advantage of the conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure, Aoba successfully provided the rookies on the island with a valuable amount of practical experience.

The battlefield is always the place where ninjas grow the fastest.

There's no need to send them directly to the front lines to fight the Cloud Village's elite forces. Just arrange some peripheral reconnaissance and logistical escort missions, and secretly send shadow clones to follow and protect them.

After just two or three bloody battles, even if these rookies can't become qualified ninjas, they can at least fight back when they encounter danger later.

And just as Aoba had predicted.

After Kumogakure withdrew a large number of ninjas and officially sent envoys to Konoha to request peace talks, Konoha's leadership quickly issued orders to begin withdrawing a large number of combat personnel from the front lines.

After all, with tens of thousands of ninjas stationed on the border, the daily food and supplies alone amounted to an astronomical sum, not to mention the various high wartime subsidies.

Konoha's finances are currently being strangled by the Daimyo, and they're burning through their last reserves, so they're trying to save wherever possible.

Once the ninjas are recalled to the village, there will be no need to issue wartime subsidies. If the ninjas want to earn money, they will have to honestly accept commissioned missions, and the village will take a cut from each one.

However, Aoba did not see his name in this large-scale troop withdrawal order.

The orders given to him by the Konoha leadership were: to continue guarding the border for a period of time, in case Kumogakure acts erratically and breaks the peace treaty.

Looking at the transfer order stamped with the Hokage's seal in his hand, Aoba sat in the chair in the command post and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Beware of the Hidden Clouds? That's easier said than done."

Aoba casually tossed the transfer order onto the table, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of her lips.

He knew perfectly well that the Konoha leadership had kept him on the front lines not to guard against Kumogakure, but because they were afraid that his return to the village at this time would make the already chaotic situation even more chaotic!

Because the current Konoha leadership is in complete chaos!

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