Orochimaru had already stopped his research and was standing in front of a teleportation array, continuously receiving various ninjutsu, secret techniques, and forbidden scrolls from Kiri. His face was already brimming with joy.
It had to be Shin, things were just different when he personally stepped in. Although Shin often went out to "borrow" things, the haul this time was unusually rich. And this was just the beginning.
Very soon, a large amount of chakra metal appeared, bringing Orochimaru yet another surprise.
Chakra metal wasn't just for forging weapons, it was also an excellent material for creating research equipment.
Next came large amounts of money and pure gold and silver.
After that were confidential scrolls detailing methods for forging chakra weapons and imbuing chakra metals with special properties.
Then came tube after tube of blood, spinal fluid, and cellular tissues.
When he picked up one and saw the label "Kaguya clan," even he was speechless.
What on earth had Shin done? Did he wipe out the entire Kiri?
Probably not, after all, no bodies had been sent over. But just as that thought ended, over a dozen unconscious people appeared before him.
Along with them were more than a dozen White Zetsu corpses.
Finally, Shin himself appeared before Orochimaru.
"Long time no see. I've missed you dearly!" Orochimaru licked his lips, excited.
"I told you I'd be back in three days. When have I ever lied to you?" Shin said with a smile.
This time's haul was bountiful, it would sustain their research for quite some time.
"But this..." Orochimaru gestured to the large pile on the ground and asked.
"You mean all of this?" Shin grinned. "It's a gift for you. Do you like it?"
"I do, but I'm really curious, what exactly did you do? And how do you have so many White Zetsu?"
Shin didn't hide anything and told him everything that had happened in Kiri.
Although he suspected that Madara might have given up on his original plan, it was better to be safe than sorry. So he deliberately instigated internal conflict within Kiri, and returned with a full load.
After he left, chaos erupted in Kiri. The faction of the elders and the Mizukage's faction plunged into a brutal civil war with heavy casualties.
Orochimaru didn't care at all about the mess in Kiri, but when he heard there were thousands of White Zetsu, his eyes lit up. After all, White Zetsu were excellent experimental materials, almost all genetic experiments could use them.
Seeing the gleam in Orochimaru's eyes, Shin laughed and said, "Don't worry. When you run out, I'll go catch more, plenty to go around. And there's no need to worry about consequences, someone else will take the fall this time."
Orochimaru immediately understood. Because of the missing ninjas, all the major villages had been investigating for a year now but hadn't found the cause. Once the truth behind the White Calamity of the Mist was revealed, all fingers would eventually point toward White Zetsu, or more precisely, whoever was behind White Zetsu.
Though this wouldn't lead to exposing Madara, it was enough to serve as a cover story. As for what ultimately happened to Kiri, that had nothing to do with Shin or Orochimaru.
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Three days after Shin resumed his research, Tsunade's group finally arrived at the border.
Their first stop was the border camp facing off against the Land of Wind.
The borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind didn't directly connect. Between them lay the Land of Rivers.
Officially, the northernmost territory of the Land of Rivers belonged to them. But in reality, it was occupied by both Konoha's and Suna's forces, who were constantly on guard against each other, and frequently skirmishing.
The Land of Rivers was suffering in silence.
After all, their strength was weak, and just surviving between two major hidden villages was already a challenge, how could they ask for more?
Along the way, Minato was visibly excited. He had long grown bored of staying at the Academy.
Just as Shin had said, at the Ninja Academy, he was basically just playing house.
Aside from Kushina, there wasn't a single student in the entire school who could take even one move from him, not even the teachers were a match. If it hadn't been for Kushina, he would have applied to graduate a year ago.
So, he had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
However, he had a rare and valuable trait, no matter how excited he was, he never lost control. Along the way, he listened very carefully to all the battlefield precautions Tsunade mentioned and remembered every single one.
After traveling for seven days, a group of ninjas led by Tsunade and Minato arrived at the camp, facing off from a distance against the Suna ninjas.
After putting down their luggage, Tsunade and Minato didn't rest. They headed straight for the command center and met with the commander of the camp, Nara Shikashin.
"Lady Tsunade, you're finally here!" Shikashin said, as he greeted her with great enthusiasm and quickly offered her a seat.
"And this must be Minato?" He turned to the blond boy beside her, who looked cheerful and honest, and greeted him warmly.
Tsunade smiled and nodded. "That's right. He's Shin's younger brother. I brought him along to help out."
When he heard the word "help," Shikashin couldn't help but take a closer look at Minato.
He immediately understood that this boy was not ordinary and definitely couldn't be treated like a mere child. So, his tone became even more welcoming.
The Nara clan had always been known for their high intelligence. Even stationed at the border, Shikashin still kept in regular contact with Torifu through secret channels, so he was always one step ahead in knowing what was happening in the village.
That included Tsunade's godlike performance in the Land of Whirlpools.
With her around, if Suna sent any elite ninja, they might never make it back alive. And ever since Shin was taken away by Orochimaru, it was Tsunade who had been providing the antidotes for the border troops over the past year.
However, as Suna continued to upgrade and refine their poisons, the old antidotes were mostly ineffective.
Now that Tsunade herself was here, was there still any concern about antidotes?
Whatever was needed, she could prepare it on the spot.
But none of those reasons were the main reason for Shikashin's enthusiasm. The most important reason was that Torifu had already clearly expressed to him that he had chosen to side with Tsunade.
Not in a "play-both-sides" kind of way, but firmly.
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio had always been united. After hearing Torifu's thoughts on Tsunade and Shin, and analyzing the intelligence, he agreed to support Torifu's stance.
The support of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio carried real weight.
Back when Kumo proposed marriage to Konoha, offering a sky-high bride price to wed Tsunade, Torifu's statement instantly changed the direction of many people's opinions.
And that was just a small show of influence.
As a member of Konoha's senior leadership and a direct disciple of Tobirama, Torifu may not currently hold real power, but his influence remained significant. However, so far, Tsunade and Shin had not chosen to leverage that relationship lightly.
Because powerful leverage should be used where it counts, at critical moments, it becomes truly effective. As for actions taken voluntarily by Torifu and the others, that was beyond Tsunade's control.
Once Tsunade and Minato sat down, Shikashin said, "If Torifu supports you, then we all support you. I wonder if you could tell me the latest situation in Konoha, what little tricks our Hokage plans to play this time, and what your next moves are?"
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200 = +1 bonus chapter
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100+ Advance chapters!
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