Root base, Sai summoned a large pile of data from a scroll.
"Lord Danzō, all of Orochimaru's research data is here!" Sai knelt on one knee to hand over the mission.
"Mm, well done."
Danzo picked up a piece of data and flipped through it, confirming it was what he wanted. He nodded in satisfaction.
He was indeed arranging a research team to study Hidan's secret of immortality and had obtained all the information about the Evil God Religion. However, the Evil God Religion's sacrifice method had a very low success rate, and he also didn't want to worship jashin.
Then, the only option was to study the immortal substance within Hidan's body.
However, his research team's foundation was too poor, far inferior to a research genius like Orochimaru. To make progress in the research, he set his sights on this expedition team.
As long as he sent someone to seize Orochimaru's main research data from these years, his side would definitely have new developments!
After all, Orochimaru had studied immortality for many years, and no one understood it better than him, and nothing was more valuable than his data!
"Then, Lord Danzō, what should I do next..."
"You stay in Team Seven for now!"
Danzo ordered, "You keep an eye on Sasuke Uchiha for me! The Uchiha are an evil clan, and you must not take them lightly! One day I will give you new orders. During this time, you don't need to come here anymore for now."
Sai accepted the order: "Understood! Your subordinate takes his leave!"
After Sai left, Danzo put all the research data back into the scroll and hurried to check on the experiment's progress.
In the Hokage Office, Kakashi recounted the details of the operation and submitted a written report, including Orochimaru's death, Sasuke's spoils of war, and Sai's strangeness.
Tsunade listened to the report and frowned, "So, what exactly did Danzo send Sai to find?"
Kakashi shook his head, "I'm not sure, but I noticed Sai spent a lot of time in the archives. I assume he was looking for some experimental data."
"Probably..."
Tsunade could also guess some things.
After all, Danzo and Orochimaru had a private transaction before, with Orochimaru responsible for researching Wood Release and Danzo responsible for providing funds and materials. The two could be said to be in cahoots. Now that Danzo wants to research immortality, he has probably encountered a bottleneck, which is why he set his sights on Orochimaru's research data.
Those guys, just ignore them!
The next day, Tsunade gathered everyone who participated in the Crusade, praised them again, and then assigned everyone an S-Rank mission.
After all, the subjugation of Orochimaru was a major event concerning the safety of the Village and even the country, so giving an S-Rank mission was not excessive.
Then, Tsunade dismissed everyone and reminded them to remember to go to logistics to collect their mission bonuses.
However, Sasuke, Neji, Natsuki, and Tenten did not leave.
Sasuke and Neji looked at the young couple, "Why don't you two go first?"
Natsuki shook his head, "You go first. Tenten and I are not in a hurry. Since you two look so impatient, I wouldn't feel right making you wait."
"Then we won't be polite."
Sasuke and Neji said, "Tsunade-sama, our two S-Rank missions and six A-Rank missions should be enough for the agreement. We want to go to the Senju Library to take a look!"
Tsunade smiled, "I knew that was your goal. Alright, wait outside for a moment. Once I finish this last bit of work, I'll take you to the clan territory."
The two didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
Tsunade then looked at Natsuki and Tenten, "Natsuki, I remember you don't have enough S-Rank missions yet, so I assume you're not here for the Senju Library. And Tenten is here too, don't tell me you two are planning to get married."
Tenten's face turned a little red at the mention, but she quickly said, "No, no, it's just that Natsuki and I want to leave the Village to handle some private matters."
Tsunade was very curious, "What private matters? Can I know? If it's inconvenient, I won't ask."
Tenten still trusted Tsunade very much and didn't hide too much, but only said, "We found some information about special Ninja Tools in Orochimaru's base before. I want Natsuki to go with me to find them. Tsunade-sama also knows that I become stronger by relying on Ninja Tools, so I want to collect more powerful Ninja Tools."
"So that's it!"
Tsunade suddenly understood, "Becoming stronger is indeed a very important thing. I'm very pleased that you have this initiative. Alright, I approve your departure from the Village, but how long do you plan to be away?"
Natsuki had already calculated, "I will use the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel, but finding things might be difficult. Please approve one month, Tsunade-sama!"
One month?
Tsunade thought for a moment and felt that one month was fine.
After all, they had defeated Orochimaru, and they didn't have to worry about the Akatsuki coming to capture Naruto, so there weren't any major issues.
So she nodded and said, "Then one month. If it's not enough, you can extend it by another half month. Consider it preferential treatment for you."
Tenten was overjoyed, "Thank you, Tsunade-sama!"
Then, Natsuki took Tenten and directly flashed away using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Tsunade couldn't help but feel envious at the sight. Natsuki was truly free and unrestrained now that he knew the Flying Thunder God Technique, and he could even take his girlfriend everywhere. Compared to her, who could only stay in the office and work all day, it was truly much more enjoyable.
It seems Natsuki said something to someone about not wanting to be Hokage.
Because he didn't want to not even have time to accompany his wife and children in the future. Being Hokage is really not a job for humans!
Tsunade shook her head to get rid of the unpleasant thoughts, then went out and took Sasuke and Neji to the Senju clan territory. The two had also prepared their things to ensure they wouldn't be bothered by trivial matters for three days.
Soon, the two were also locked inside the secret room.
Then they both directly took out a large lamp and turned it on, illuminating the entire secret room.
The two didn't say much and immediately began searching for what they wanted to see.
Soon, Neji stopped at the history scroll section and saw a record about the history of the Hyuga Clan. He quickly took out the scroll and read it.
...Hyuga Ancestral Land... Hyuga Sky Ninja...
(of Li Zhao)
Neji's eyes seemed to be glowing. He finally found useful clues!
Sasuke went to the notes section and, after observing for a while, picked up a scroll. The scroll read "Regarding the Uchiha and Sharingan," and the signature was actually Tobirama Senju.
He quickly opened it, and his eyes immediately lit up, "Uchiha, Izuna..."
Indeed, the Senju Clan's library is truly a treasure trove. Fortunately, they all came and found what they wanted!
On the other side, Natsuki and Tenten appeared in the Land of Rice Fields.
The information about the Gold and Silver Brothers included a map. Kabuto Yakushi's speculated location was in a group of islands in the sea west of the Land of Lightning. It seemed that after the Gold and Silver Brothers were pursued by the Third Raikage, they fled across the sea with serious injuries and most likely escaped to that group of islands. And to get to the Land of Lightning, the Land of Rice Fields was relatively close.
Natsuki's Flying Thunder God Technique reached its furthest point here. Next, they still had to travel.