Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 356 Orochimaru: Spirit Lord, save me!

In a private room on the top floor of the Ninja Hospital in Sunagakure.

At this moment, Gaara was lying on the hospital bed, his face pale, his body stiff, and he was not breathing; he was clearly a corpse.

"Grandma, is there really no way?" Rasa asked Chiyo, who had just finished examining Gaara, standing in the ward.

The elderly Granny Chiyo slowly shook her head and said, "There's no way. You brought back a corpse and asked me if I could save it. That's absurd, Fourth Hokage."

"Your forbidden technique," Luo Sha hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"You're really heartless, saying such things to an old woman like me," Granny Chiyo said, looking at Rasa.

However, after a moment, she shook her head again and said, "The technique of resurrection can indeed bring the dead back to life to some extent, but that only works if they have just passed away. You were delayed for two days on your way back, so even if I use this technique now, it is impossible to undo the damage."

"Damn it!" Luo Sha gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his expression somewhat unwilling.

"Fourth Hokage, are you feeling resentful about Gaara's death, or about losing Shukaku?" Granny Chiyo asked softly, looking at Rasa.

Rasa's expression was slightly complicated. After a moment, he said, "Is there even a question? Of course, it's for Shukaku."

"Is that so?" Granny Chiyo shrugged, not pressing the matter further, and then said, "Because of your recklessness, our Sunagakure is now in a great crisis. Konoha has officially declared war on us, and the village will soon face Konoha's attack. I'm afraid we are not strong enough to resist."

"I don't need you to remind me of this kind of thing," Luo Sha said in a dark and gloomy tone.

After saying that, Rasa didn't even want to look at Gaara, who was already hopeless, and turned to walk out of the ward.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Temari and Kankuro standing anxiously outside.

"Father, Fourth Hokage." Temari looked at Rasa with a hint of hope in her eyes, her tone hesitant.

Kankuro also looked both uneasy and expectant.

Rasa glanced at the two children, frowned, and said, "Don't look so weak. You are ninjas. Go and prepare for this war."

After saying that, Luo Sha walked between the two men without hesitation and left the hospital.

Seeing this, Temari's eyes welled up with tears. Judging from her father's reaction, Gaara was dead.

"I've always been afraid of him, even though he's the older brother, because he's afraid of his younger brother. I've even thought about things like what would happen if he died. But why do I feel so much pain now?" Kankuro slumped against the wall, muttering to himself.

On the other side, Rasa walked out of the hospital building, where Baki, the leader of the Jonin team, was already waiting for him in the courtyard.

"The Fourth Hokage, Gaara?" Maki couldn't help but ask after seeing Rasa come out from inside.

After all, Gaara was his disciple.

Luo Sha shook his head and said, "It's beyond repair."

"Is that so?" Having experienced the Fourth Shinobi World War, Maki's demeanor was much better than his other two disciples. Although his eyes also held a hint of sadness, he didn't succumb to that emotion. He quickly took a deep breath and asked, "So, what's next?"

"Even if we can't win, we'll have to fight one battle. Fortunately, we've already made preparations for the war. You'll be in charge of the coordination for now. I need to go to the capital myself to meet the daimyo," Rasa said somewhat irritably.

"Meet a famous person?" Maki's expression froze, seemingly puzzled.

"Militarily, we simply cannot defeat Konoha. You and I both know that. Otherwise, why would I have agreed to Orochimaru's plan?" Rasa looked at Maki, paused slightly, and then said, "Since we cannot resist militarily, we must at least seek some political assistance. If the Daimyo can communicate and negotiate with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, perhaps we can turn the tide."

If the Daimyo of the Land of Fire were to order Konoha to end the war, then perhaps Sunagakure could be preserved.

However, Rasa was well aware that this was very difficult, since he had launched the surprise attack on Konoha first, and he hadn't even consulted with the Daimyo of the Land of Wind before carrying out the plan.

Going to their door to beg for help now probably won't solve the problem.

However, I'll never be satisfied if I don't try.

He was willing to pay any price to end this war that he could never win, even if the Land of Fire wanted his life!

Looking at the desolate desert, at the Sand Village that was forever surrounded by sandstorms, and at the anxious people and ninjas in the village, Rasa suddenly stopped after taking a few steps.

After a long silence, he asked softly, "Maki, do you think I did something wrong?"

Hearing this, Maki shook his head firmly and said, "Fourth Hokage, you did nothing wrong. After all, when you are walking in the endless desert and struggling to survive, no decision you make can be called wrong."

At this point, Maki's tone became regretful, and he said, "The only thing I'm not happy about is that I ultimately couldn't find the right direction."

"Is that so?" Luo Sha murmured, the confusion in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by an unwavering gaze.

"If I can't come back, you will become the acting Kazekage. Then, you will only need to do one thing: end the war as soon as possible. Whatever demands Konoha makes, fulfill them as much as possible. Our Land of Wind, our Sand Village, although surrounded and swallowed by this boundless and merciless yellow sand, I always believe that one day, life will come again here. So until then, you must learn from my experience as a loser. You must be patient and suppress the resentment in your heart!" Rasa said to Maki.

"The Fourth Generation!?" Maki's expression was somewhat surprised and doubtful.

"Come with me. I will tell you more about the Wind Shadow and gather everyone to announce this decision." Luo Sha did not hesitate and waved his hand as he walked towards the Wind Shadow Building.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Grass, at one of Orochimaru's secret bases.

At this moment, Orochimaru was also lying on the hospital bed in the laboratory, his expression somewhat ferocious, occasionally letting out a few painful groans.

Meanwhile, Kabuto Yakushi was constantly using medical ninjutsu to treat Orochimaru's arm injury.

Whenever the Palm Healing Technique activates the cells in Orochimaru's arms, restoring some life to his arms which have developed purple lividity, the dense aura of death quickly devours that life force again, keeping Orochimaru's arms forever in the state of a corpse.

The pain of this restoration being disrupted, coupled with the loss of his soul and arms, caused Orochimaru to groan in agony.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Damn it. That old man. I must kill him! I must kill him!" Orochimaru cursed through gritted teeth.

"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto Yakushi said, looking at Orochimaru with some unease and great concern.

Orochimaru tried to lift his arms, but he had no feeling at all and was unable to do this simple thing.

If you can't even lift your arms, how can you use ninjutsu?

It could be said that his dear teacher, that damned Hiruzen Sarutobi, destroyed his dream!

"With my medical skills, I obviously can't heal your arms, but I believe there's definitely a way to solve this problem." Kabuto paused, then his tone turned serious. "What do you think of Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin? With her unparalleled medical skills, she should be able to help."

"She can't do it." Orochimaru looked at his arms, his tone grim. "This isn't something medical ninjutsu can do; it's a wound to the soul."

In the original story, Orochimaru had no other choice but to try his luck with Tsunade, even though he thought it was unlikely that she would succeed. But what if she did?

But now things are different. After confirming his condition with Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's first choice is naturally not Tsunade.

How could we forget the Spirit Lord when it comes to matters of the soul?

You should know that, just like Hiruzen Sarutobi, he personally witnessed Bane chasing down the God of Death and rushing into the Pure Land. Although he didn't know what happened afterward, it was clear that the Spirit Lord was very accomplished in the field of souls. When they first met, the Spirit Lord used pure soul power to repair the slight soul damage he had caused by using the Reincarnation technique.

Now that his soul has been severed from both hands, if he wants to restore them, he should definitely find the Spirit Lord first, why would he need to find Tsunade?

Given his relationship with Tsunade, they might fight the moment they meet. In his current state, it's unlikely he could win. But going to the Spirit Lord would be much less risky.

At the same time, besides searching for the Spirit Lord, Orochimaru actually had some confidence in his heart, namely that his research on the "Reanimation Jutsu" might also be able to restore his hands.

Using the Reincarnation Technique will transfer the soul to a new container, at which time the soul will also be "reshaped" to fit the "shape" of the container. This is why his previous use of this technique caused some damage to his soul.

Although his souls have been severed in both hands, if he were to use the Reanimation Jutsu to replace them with new vessels, he might be able to restore them. However, this is ultimately a "last resort." The overall quality of Orochimaru's soul will not change. The restoration of his hands by the souls of the other parts will inevitably lead to a weakening of his overall soul, just like a piece of clay. No matter how you mold it, its total amount will remain the same.

In the original story, Orochimaru used this technique to temporarily restore the mobility of his hands, but his soul became even weaker.

"It's a pity you didn't do a good job. If you had gotten your hands on the Book of Sealing, it would have been much easier to explain to the Spirit Lord." Orochimaru glared at Kabuto Yakushi with some annoyance.

Kabuto Yakushi had no intention of explaining or arguing. He had already said what needed to be said, and that was the situation. There was no need to argue with Orochimaru while he was so emotionally charged; that would only cause trouble for himself.

Seeing Kabuto remain silent and looking extremely remorseful, Orochimaru snorted coldly, no longer pursuing his mistake, and instead said in a deep voice, "Black trench coat, fiery red clouds... if I'm not mistaken, the two people you encountered should be members of Akatsuki. Acting in pairs is in line with their rules, and given their strength, you are indeed no match for them."

Orochimaru was puzzled: why were those madmen from Akatsuki stealing Konoha's Book of Seals?

Furthermore, how did they manage to seize such a precise moment?

Is it a coincidence, or...? Orochimaru thought to himself, glancing at Kabuto Yakushi. If he remembered correctly, this guy seemed to have some connection with Sasori of the Red Sand.

However, the most urgent matter is not to think about these irrelevant things. No matter what the situation is with Kabuto Yakushi, he still needs this guy right now.

"You wait here. The rest of you will come to meet you. Then we will begin the plan regarding Uchiha Sasuke," Orochimaru said, getting up from his hospital bed.

"And you?" Yakushi Kabuto hesitated for a moment before asking.

"I have my own way of restoring my hands; you don't need to worry about it," Orochimaru said coldly.

Although it's a bit embarrassing, I still have to go to Longdi Cave to find the Spirit Lord.

(End of this chapter)