People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

Orochimaru was shocked by the words of the God, and looked at the God in disbelief.

The god continued, "My possession of you is not just to allow you to use my abilities. You, now possessed by me, have the ability to be compatible with any energy. Even something as powerful as Hashirama's cells can be transplanted into you."

Orochimaru's identity as a scientist instantly conjured up a complete set of operational procedures in his mind.

Orochimaru, who couldn't wait, immediately conducted the experiment.

He tied a rubber band around his arm, then made a cut on his right wrist with a scalpel and selected a small piece of interstitial cells for transplantation.

After the transplant was completed, Orochimaru stood ready, holding the Kusanagi sword in his left hand, prepared to cut off his right arm at any moment if the transplant failed.

As time passed, Orochimaru felt a sharp pain in his left arm.

At first, the stinging pain was bearable, but as time went on, the stinging sensation became more and more intense, causing Orochimaru unbearable pain.

Orochimaru's right arm, which had received transplanted Hashirama cells, also underwent changes.

Her once flexible arms began to stiffen, and her fingers started to become woody. Several small, forked branches grew from her skin and continued to spread up her arms.

Just as Orochimaru thought the transplant had failed and was about to sever his arm with the Kusanagi sword, the God shouted, "Don't rush! Let me take over your body!"

The god forcibly took over Orochimaru's body.

After the god took over Orochimaru's body, the woody transformation of his arm stopped, and it began to peel off gradually like keratin, until the arm revealed skin like that of a newborn baby.

The god returned ownership of the body to Orochimaru, who looked at his arm with obvious joy in his eyes.

Once the interstitial cells stabilize, the transplantation is considered to be more than half successful.

Orochimaru formed a Wood Release hand seal, and a small sapling appeared in his palm. Orochimaru looked at the sapling greedily, and finally could not suppress his excitement and laughed wildly.

"My Lord, I have always underestimated you. Your existence is more important than any power!"

"I told you, with my help, you will definitely stand above the upheavals of this world, and don't forget my story!"

Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly, "Of course! We're one!"

Because only a small piece of Hashirama's cells were transplanted for the experiment, Orochimaru has not yet obtained the Sage Body and the completed Wood Release technique brought by the Hashirama cells.

Orochimaru did not intend to completely transplant Hashirama's cells at this time, but instead planned to go to Sunagakure to obtain the sealing technique first.

If we start the complete transplantation of interstitial cells now, it may take too long.

Orochimaru always likes to have a backup plan for everything he does. Although it was a certainty that he would possess the Sage Body and Wood Release techniques, Yosuke was described as being too powerful by the God.

Even if you could defeat Yosuke using the Wood Release technique, Yosuke's immortality would render the victory meaningless.

In the end, they still had to rely on sealing techniques to seal Yang Jie.

Orochimaru already had a complete plan in mind regarding the transplantation of Hashirama cells.

That's Pain's Rinnegan.

Hashirama's Sage Body is already confirmed. If Orochimaru also possesses the Sage Eye, the Rinnegan, he could become a being comparable to the Sage of Six Paths.

With the God's ability to be compatible with everything, Orochimaru was not worried about the possible rejection that might occur after transplanting the Rinnegan.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru felt his heart surge with excitement.

Chapter 210 The Storm Is Brewing

In the Hokage Building office in Konoha Village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado all gathered together.

The news that Jiraiya was leading elite ninjas to fight against the ninjas of Sunagakure reached Kumogakure.

Kakashi and his ninjas at the front lines were met with a fierce counterattack from the Hidden Cloud Village and retreated back into the Land of Fire.

The purpose of the four gathering here is to discuss how to stop the Hidden Cloud Village before Jiraiya defeats the Sand Village's ninja forces.

Danzo immediately offered a suggestion: "Don't we still have the war machine Kurama? If all else fails, we can deploy Kurama to the battlefield!"

This suggestion was immediately opposed by Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two companions.

"No! Naruto is still young. He hasn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet, and he can't control the Nine-Tails' power. If Naruto loses control and the Nine-Tails breaks free from its seal, Konoha's current fighting strength is simply insufficient to deal with it!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "Now that your Root, my Anbu, and Tsunade have all arrived at Kumogakure, they should be able to alleviate some of the pressure from Kumogakure."

Danzo shook his head and said, "It's not enough. The number of ninjas is still not enough. Iwagakure is also getting impatient and has begun to constantly provoke and test the waters with the ninjas stationed at the front line. As long as Konoha shows any signs of fatigue, Iwagakure will join the battle."

Furthermore, the ninjas of Kumogakure already know that Tsunade suffers from hemophobia, so she can no longer intimidate them.

Since Hiruzen, you're unwilling to commit to the Nine-Tails, then have all the students of the Ninja Academy graduate immediately and join the battle alongside the genin!

Hiruzen Sarutobi widened his eyes and retorted, "Those are the future of Konoha! With their strength, they're nothing more than cannon fodder in the war!"

Danzo snapped, "This won't do, that won't do! Hiruzen! This is war! This is no longer a time of peace!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was well aware that it was a time of war, but by mortgaging Konoha's future, even if they won the war, Konoha would be weak for a long time without the addition of fresh blood.

Hiruzen Sarutobi still wanted to try a different approach: "Has Kirigakure still not agreed to form an alliance with us?"

Koharu Utatane shook her head and said, "Even if we offer a large sum of money and advanced ninjutsu as bargaining chips, they are still unwilling to form an alliance with Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face scrunched up in a frown: "Is there really no other way? In that case, I'll go to the front lines and fight!"

"no!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's suggestion was immediately met with a firm rejection from Danzo, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane.

"Hiruzen, are you senile?! As a Kage, your presence on the front lines changes everything. The villages are no longer just testing the waters; the war will begin in earnest!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was just saying it offhand, but Konoha had no other options besides this method.

Danzo said solemnly, "Besides that, there is another way. There is a mercenary organization in the ninja world called Akatsuki. It does not belong to any country and makes a living by accepting war contracts from small countries. All the official members of the organization are Kage-level.

We can commission them to attack Kumogakure. If the village is attacked, Kumogakure will definitely return to defend it, reducing the pressure on them. Once Jiraiya and the others have dealt with Sunagakure, we can focus all our efforts on fighting the remaining Kumogakure and Iwagakure ninjas.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and pondered for a long time.

In the ninja world, mercenary organizations are mostly composed of rogue ninjas from various countries. For Konoha, one of the five great ninja villages, to hire a mercenary organization composed of rogue ninjas to alleviate the pressure of war was a disgrace to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha.

However, no ninja village is willing to form an alliance with Konoha now, and Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer has the option to make a choice.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply: "Let's do it this way. Konoha will hire this mercenary organization called Akatsuki, and their target will be Kumogakure!"

Inside the Akatsuki base in Amegakure, the Land of Rain.

Pain, Konan, Zetsu, Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan, Tobi, Juzo Biwa, and Jizen are all here.

Pain looked down at the nine people below and asked coldly, "I received a letter from Konoha about Konoha wanting to hire our Akatsuki organization to attack Kumogakure. What are your thoughts on this?"

Kisame Hoshigaki said sarcastically, "It's really surprising that the prosperous Hidden Leaf Village would choose to seek help from our organization. It seems that the Hidden Leaf Village is under a lot of pressure in the war."

Kakuzu, obsessed with money, said, "I don't care who hires us, as long as the money is right, I'd even be willing to assassinate the Raikage!"

Hidan, obsessed with his religious sect, said with a bloodthirsty look, "I suppose the Jashin-sama would be quite pleased to offer up the ninjas of Kumogakure as sacrifices!"

Obito, disguised as Tobi, feigned fear and grabbed Zetsu's clothes, saying, "Waaah, how scary! War is coming! Mr. Zetsu, you have to protect me!"

Zetsu pulled Obito's hand away: "Idiot! You're already a full member of Akatsuki, don't be so cowardly."

The other members of the Akatsuki organization did not express their opinions.

Payne nodded slightly: "It seems you have all agreed to this employment."

Konan, however, had a different opinion: "Wait, Pain, the Akatsuki is still in the preparation stage. It's not the right time for them to be exposed to the Five Great Shinobi Villages."

Payne explained, "Over the years, our Akatsuki organization has instigated some small wars and monopolized war commissions from small countries at low prices, but our funds are still not very sufficient."

The current situation is already showing signs of a Fourth Shinobi World War, and we are not fully prepared yet.

However, the funds entrusted to us by Konoha can now replenish the organization's funds, and we can begin our plan to capture the Tailed Beasts. At that time, it will not matter if our Akatsuki organization is exposed to the sight of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Furthermore, Kumogakure possesses two Tailed Beasts. Accepting Konoha's request to attack Kumogakure and capture the Tailed Beasts would be a win-win situation.

Payne's answer was perfectly reasonable.

Seeing that Konan had no objections, Pain immediately assigned tasks: "Osamu, Hidan, you two will form a group and head to Kumogakure first to create chaos there."

Zetsu and Tobi's team, search for the location of the Tailed Beasts in Kumogakure!

Once the tailed beasts' locations are confirmed, Kakuzu and Sasori will enter the arena. The six of you will then regroup and capture the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails of Kumogakure!

After everyone agreed, Payne announced that they would set off immediately once they were ready.

Meanwhile, in Kagerou Village, far away in the Mountain Country, Yosuke received a demon crow from Osamu.

"Is the Akatsuki going to start collecting the Tailed Beasts...? Kumogakure, let's go there."

Chapter 211 Assassination

Jiraiya's ninja force has reached the border of the Land of Fire.

The ninjas of Sunagakure were stationed outside the border of the Land of Fire and knew nothing about Jiraiya's ninja forces.

"Hiashi, how's it going?" Jiraiya asked Hiashi Hyuga inside the makeshift tent.

Using his Byakugan to observe Sunagakure, Hiashi Hyuga reported to Jiraiya: "We haven't found any trace of the Kazekage Rasa yet, but Elder Ebi of Sunagakure is hiding among the troops."

Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that Rasa, as the Kazekage, still maintains the composure befitting a Kage and has not come to the front lines in person. However, the fact that Ebizo, who has already retired to the second line, has appeared here shows that Sunagakure is determined to achieve its goal of invading Konoha this time. So, what about Chiyo, the puppeteer who has also retired to the second line?"

Hiashi Hyuga shook his head and said, "I didn't see any trace of the puppeteer Chiyo."

Jiraiya paced back and forth, muttering to himself, "That shouldn't be the case. If Ebizo is here, then Chiyo should be here too."

"Forget it, we need to act immediately before they discover us. We must defeat the Sand Village ninjas as soon as possible to relieve the pressure on Konoha."

Hayate Gekko! Kurenai Yuhi! Might Guy! Asuma Sarutobi! The four of you will set off tonight to carry out a decapitation strike against Ebizo. You must assassinate the highest-ranking commander of the Sunagakure ninja forces!

The four people whose names were called by Jiraiya all said "Yes" in unison.

After everyone left, Jiraiya had a vague premonition that this operation would not go smoothly.

Jiraiya recalled the time when the Uchiha clan still existed.

During the Third Shinobi World War, although the Uchiha clan had extreme personalities, their strength was undeniable. They showed no mercy to their enemies and fought fearlessly, making them highly qualified as comrades.

On any battlefield where the Uchiha clan is present, victory is virtually guaranteed.

But now...

The team has very few high-level combatants. The four ninjas whose names were just mentioned are among the few Jonin who can be considered capable. Among them, Hayate Gekko is a special Jonin. The unique nature of Hikaru Hyuga and his clan's Byakugan prevents them from participating in such dangerous battles.