Tsunade finished reading the letter and showed a trace of shock.
"This little bastard actually pulled off something big."
Then she turned toward Dodai with a look full of disdain.
"Hmph, is the Land of Fields really making you that desperate?"
"Sending a Jinchūriki to investigate... bold move. No wonder I haven't seen the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki anywhere."
Tsunade's words made a sense of foreboding rise in Dodai's heart.
"Dodai, your plan has completely failed!"
"Withdraw from the Land of Hot Water—now!"
"Get out of the way!"
Tsunade wasn't interested in arguing. She charged at Dodai, her monstrous strength erupting again.
Seeing this, Dodai could only retreat rapidly, helpless. Meanwhile, Tsunade's words kept echoing in his mind.
Could something have happened to Killer Bee? That's impossible. The team was made entirely of Jōnin, and Killer Bee is the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Unfortunately, Tsunade was pressing in fast—he had no time to think.
The Black Mamba hadn't dispersed either; it lunged straight at Dodai.
He might be a snake, but he was a snake with a temper! How dare someone talk trash about him? Revenge was a must!
Tsunade only fought harder the more she fought. In the letter, Gekko Chizan had clearly stated that he had intercepted the Kumogakure squad heading for the Land of Fields.
Then he planned to scout the Land of Lightning. It was wartime—Tsunade's objections wouldn't matter. After all, when a general is out in the field, he doesn't have to follow orders to the letter.
She could only let him go.
Tsunade shared this now because she knew Konoha had fewer people overall than the enemy. They could fight once or twice, sure—but if they continued a prolonged battle, Konoha would suffer too much.
By telling Dodai, and letting him pass the message back, Kumogakure would likely send another team to the Land of Fields to confirm the situation. Once they found out what happened, they would definitely retreat.
At first, Tsunade had been puzzled why Gekko Chizan would intercept them. But after thinking it over, it made perfect sense.
The Third Raikage and Iwagakure were already fighting fiercely in the Land of Fields. If Kumogakure's forces in the Land of Hot Water had rushed to reinforce immediately, they might not have lost much.
At worst, they would've lost a forward base. But if a full battle broke out on two fronts—it would be chaos.
Most of Kumogakure's elites were in the Land of Hot Water. The Land of Fields had fewer troops.
Iwagakure had sent more than ten thousand shinobi—basically, the war in the Land of Fields was already decided. Now it was just a matter of how much Kumogakure would lose.
As the saying goes: when there's war at the front, the rear is never peaceful.
And for Konoha, that couldn't be truer.
...
At this moment, in Konoha Village, at the Root base—
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was glaring furiously at Danzo in front of him.
"Danzo! I told you—the experiment with the First Hokage's cells must have boundaries!"
"For this experiment, I specifically arranged fifty strong adult shinobi for you, and now they're all dead!"
"And you actually dared to use children?!"
"Terminate this experiment immediately!"
Danzo had already expected this reaction from Sarutobi Hiruzen and remained completely calm.
"Hiruzen, you must understand—do you know what we're cultivating?"
"These are the First Hokage's cells. In other words, it's the Wood Release bloodline limit."
"This kind of experiment is incredibly difficult. Without sacrifice, there is no result. Fifty people is nothing! As long as we can create a single Wood Release user, that's a success!"
"If adults won't work, we use children. As long as we can—"
Danzo was, after all, the dark side of Konoha. The leader of Root. In his eyes, people were either useful or useless.
To gain someone truly valuable, ordinary people could be sacrificed without a second thought.
But he didn't get to finish.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's furious roar cut him off.
"Enough! Danzo!"
"I'll say it one more time—terminate this experiment immediately!"
"Orochimaru is to return to the front lines at once!"
"The deceased will be given proper burials, and all those who haven't undergone experimentation will have their memories wiped and be returned to the village!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was already as dark as it could get. If he'd discovered this earlier, none of this would've happened.
To think that so many had died for a single experiment—and that children were being used. It was beyond outrageous.
"Hmph! They're all dead anyway. Fifty adults. Fifty children."
"But we've already gathered preliminary data. If we keep going, the experiment will definitely succeed!"
How could Danzo be willing to stop now? If the experiment succeeded, he could attempt to acquire Wood Release for himself—and then he'd be the ideal candidate for Hokage!
"I said stop! Do you understand me, Danzo?"
"Or are you saying the Hokage's word doesn't mean anything anymore?"
This wasn't the Sarutobi Hiruzen of the future. Fueled by fury, his body radiated a powerful aura.
Sensing that pressure, Danzo's expression shifted slightly.
After all, the Third Hokage was legendary throughout the ninja world. Known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, his strength was overwhelming.
In a pure fight, Danzo was no match. Sarutobi Hiruzen might be older now—but he wasn't too old to swing a blade.
"I am the Hokage, Danzo!"
"And I said this experiment ends here!"
"I'll send people to shut down the labs. All data and records will be destroyed!"
"Danzo, you'd better understand my bottom line. Do not cross it!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't hold back at all. His entire body radiated an oppressive, terrifying presence.
What neither of them realized was that their conversation was being watched by a small white snake hiding nearby.
The snake quickly slithered away.
...
In one of the Root laboratories, Orochimaru was staring at a large cultivation tank, muttering to himself:
"It really worked... the fusion with Hashirama's cells..."
Suddenly, the small white snake slithered up onto his shoulder and flicked its tongue, delivering a message.
Orochimaru's previously amazed expression turned grave.
"They're calling off the experiment...?"
"What a shame... it was already a success..."
"Oh well. I've already backed up the data. If it gets destroyed, so be it. But this child..."
Orochimaru's gaze landed on the child inside the cultivation tank, and he revealed a faint smile—a smile of success.
He stared for a long time, before murmuring:
"Chizan-kun... do you realize it...?"
"The truth is right in front of us. Bloodlines can be created..."
"But it's still uncontrollable... once I perfect this technique... everything will become possible..."
Orochimaru's eyes were full of hope, as if he were already looking at the future.
But quickly, that gaze turned cold.
"That damned bounty office. How dare they give me false information... hmph!"
"Otherwise, a single corpse of a bloodline-limit shinobi would've pushed me another huge step forward."
Little did he know—the reason he never got what he wanted... was all thanks to his most treasured student's handiwork.