At Konoha Hospital, Tenya lay on the hospital bed, leisurely flipping through a magazine. Beside him, Nanase Kurama was peeling fruit for him.
In fact, Tenya wasn't seriously injured; he was just slightly exhausted, and there was no need for him to be hospitalized. However, under orders from Konoha's higher-ups, he was admitted as a critically injured patient.
Using the words of his teacher, Yūhi Shinku, it was necessary for him to pretend to be a severely injured patient for a while to mislead the jounin from other villages, especially those from the Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water nations. In this Chuunin Exam, the seed candidates from these four nations had almost all fallen to Tenya's blade, making him a thorn in their sides.
If given the chance, these jounin might not hesitate to employ underhanded tactics. Konoha's leaders had him fake his injuries partly to protect him. After all, Tenya was the sole remaining participant in the second phase of the Chuunin Exams; the other contestants had either been eliminated or killed. This meant there was no need to continue the third phase of the exam, which was supposed to be a series of individual battles. With only Tenya left, there was no one to compete against.
Technically, Tenya was the only one qualified to advance to Chuunin rank. Now it was just a matter of time before the village conferred the Chuunin title upon him.
Looking at the mission board:
[Challenge Mission]: Obtain the Chuunin Title (Incomplete)
[Mission Requirement]: Participate in the Chuunin Exams, pass all the assessments, and secure the Chuunin promotion quota.
[Mission Reward]: (5%-15%) Role-playing Progress
The challenge mission was still marked as incomplete, indicating he had to wait a bit longer.
Hiruko's antics had caused quite a stir, putting the entire village on high alert. Even the jounin from other villages were alarmed. Some contestants' bodies were still missing, prompting the jounin to demand explanations from Konoha. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was troubled by this situation. Mishandling it could easily spark conflict.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just sent off the jounin from the four major ninja villages. He massaged his temples, taking a deep drag on his cigarette. He had assured the jounin that Konoha would do its best to recover the bodies of their participants. Konoha had already announced that jounin Hiruko had defected, killing many participants and several ANBU members.
To expedite Hiruko's capture, Konoha had placed a 10 million bounty on him, promising that whoever captured him would receive the reward. This news not only stirred the Konoha ninjas but also piqued the interest of ninjas from the four major villages. If not for their responsibilities, even the jounin might have joined the hunt for Hiruko.
At the ANBU base, Inoichi Yamanaka had extracted key memories from Hiruko's mind. Coupled with Tenya's testimony, it was confirmed that Tenya had spoken the truth. Hiruko had hidden his intentions well. If not for Tenya's intervention, who knows how many more Konoha ninjas would have perished at his hands? Hiruko's pursuit of Kekkei Genkai had led him to develop the Chimera Technique, an undeniable display of his genius, albeit misguided.
Meanwhile, at the Root base lab, Orochimaru was engrossed in the incomplete Chimera Technique scroll, his eyes gleaming with excitement. The scroll's details opened new horizons for him, especially the experimental data. Orochimaru saw potential in continuing Hiruko's research, possibly even developing abilities akin to the Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release.
Orochimaru's eyes sparkled with interest. The unexpected gain from Hiruko's demise had given him fresh ideas for future experiments.
"Interesting! Very interesting!" Orochimaru's eyes shone as he held the incomplete Chimera Technique scroll. This unexpected gain had provided him with new experimental ideas.
Nearby, Danzo asked, "Orochimaru, can we use the forbidden technique Hiruko left behind?"
Orochimaru smiled, "It can be used, but it's incomplete. Forcing it could lead to high failure rates."
He continued, "Given more time to perfect it, we could reduce the risks. Once perfected, we could potentially increase the success rate of experiments involving the First Hokage's cells by thirty percent."
"Really?" Danzo's eyes gleamed with hope.
"Of course!" Orochimaru affirmed.
Since the First Hokage's death, the village has sought to recreate Wood Release. Initially, volunteers, including many from the Senju clan, were involved in the First Hokage cell fusion experiments.
Many volunteers from the Senju clan were involved. However, no one from the Senju clan, who shared blood ties with the First Hokage, survived these experiments. The cells of the First Hokage were simply too overwhelming for any ninja to endure.
As numerous Senju clan members perished in these experiments, the First Hokage cell fusion experiments were forced to halt. However, Danzo never stopped. With Orochimaru's assistance and Hiruzen's tacit approval, Danzo continued these experiments in secret.
Progress had always been slow, but this time, hearing that Orochimaru could improve the success rate, how could Danzo not be thrilled? If a ninja capable of Wood Release could be created, his path to becoming Hokage would be much clearer.
As the technology matured, Danzo's dream of possessing Wood Release himself might not remain just a dream. The more he thought about it, the brighter Danzo's eyes became. He felt as though he was getting closer to becoming the next Hokage, almost within reach.
Suppressing his excitement, Danzo asked again, "How long do you need to perfect this forbidden technique?"
Orochimaru thought for a moment and confidently said, "Three months at the shortest, six months at the longest. But..."
"But what?" Danzo asked.
"But I need a lot of experimental subjects, at least some living bodies. Of course, it would be even better if the subjects were alive!" Orochimaru replied.
Danzo pondered for a moment and then nodded. "I can provide the experimental subjects, but I have only one request: perfect this forbidden technique as quickly as possible. Can you do that?"
"Rest assured, as long as there are enough experimental subjects, perfecting the Chimera Technique won't be difficult!" Orochimaru said, retrieving a sealing scroll and laughing. "By the way, this sealing scroll contains several corpses with Kekkei Genkai, which are valuable experimental subjects."
"Since they're experimental subjects, use them as you see fit!" Danzo said indifferently.
Orochimaru put away the sealing scroll and said pointedly, "Recently, the jounin from the four major villages have been demanding the return of the participants' bodies. Several of the corpses in the scroll come from these villages. Are you sure you want to use them for experiments?"
Danzo hesitated briefly, then said coldly, "What's in our possession should not be given up. Use these corpses for your experiments. I have ways to deal with the jounin from the four major villages. You focus on your research."
"Then I won't hold back," Orochimaru said with a satisfied smile, eager to start his new experiments.
He wondered if the perfected Chimera Technique would be as impressive as he anticipated.