Chapter 83 Revealing Information
After returning to the village, the necessary welcoming ceremony could not be omitted. Lord Orochimaru had repelled the Sand Ninja numerous times. Although unilaterally starting the war had tarnished the reputation of the Leaf Village, the series of military achievements Lord Orochimaru had made could not be erased by anyone.
The Fourth Kazekage, along with Sand Ninja Chiyo, leading a group of Sand Ninja, were unable to invade the Land of Rivers. Lord Orochimaru's contribution was significant.
With Tsunade's quiet departure and Jiraiya's unreliability, repelling the invading Sand Ninja already made him a hero of the Leaf Village. When the news of Lord Orochimaru's return spread, many ninjas and civilians spontaneously came to welcome Lord Orochimaru's return.
Hyuga Mirai was not very interested in such a scene. This time, he returned alone. Hyuga Kiyomi and Kurenai Yuhi were arranged to return with a team three days later.
Upon returning to the clan and speaking with the Fourth Elder of the Main Family, he recounted the experiences of this mission and Hyuga Kiyomi's performance. Although there were other Hyuga Clan ninjas on the front lines, the ones who went on missions most frequently with Hyuga Kiyomi, besides Kurenai Yuhi, were him.
Besides reporting his experiences, Hyuga Mirai was subjected to another round of brainwashing rhetoric.
Currently, Hyuga Mirai's reputation on the battlefield was also considerable, showing a trend of becoming the next Medical Sage. The Fourth Elder of the Main Family realized that he was almost losing control of Hyuga Mirai, except through the Caged Bird Curse Seal, so he prepared to brainwash Hyuga Mirai with endless speeches about the Hyuga Clan's millennium-long mission and the meaning of the Branch Family's existence.
Besides the Fourth Elder of the Main Family, Hyuga Sosuke was also present.
This Jonin of the Branch Family, who had lived in the clan for many years, was not very aware of the reputation Hyuga Mirai had earned on the battlefield. He believed that the person in front of him was still like the young man who used to depend on the Main Family, so his words were interspersed with sharp reprimands.
Hyuga Mirai simply ignored these words. He had a more important matter to consider: the hostility from Uzumaki Naruto from the future.
Just having hostility was not a big deal. What Hyuga Mirai was concerned about was whether Minato Namikaze would know about future events and target him.
This guy, like his master, was a severe will of fire extremist, and he used the Flying Thunder God exceptionally well. If he were targeted by him, it would also be troublesome.
'I need to start researching countermeasures.'
Hyuga Mirai thought with determination. He liked to prepare in advance. Since he was taking Minato Namikaze as a hypothetical enemy, he needed to prepare several corresponding countermeasures.
After leaving the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Mirai went directly to Lord Orochimaru's research base. Regarding the potential changes in the future, Hyuga Mirai felt it was necessary to discuss them with Lord Orochimaru.
After all, he couldn't bear all the firepower alone.
… … … … … … … … … …
"Lord Orochimaru, wait a moment, Lord Orochimaru, I have something to ask you."
Having just left the Hokage Building, Jiraiya caught up, reaching out and grabbing Lord Orochimaru's shoulder, saying in a relaxed tone, "You just got back, want to go for a drink together? Consider it my celebration for you."
"No need. Just say what you want directly, Jiraiya. You're not suited for beating around the bush."
Lord Orochimaru subtly removed Jiraiya's hand from his shoulder, then calmly said,
"If you have something, say it quickly. I still have things to do."
Jiraiya didn't notice Lord Orochimaru's expression at all, and once again placed his hand on Lord Orochimaru's shoulder, smiling, "What could you possibly have to do right after returning? How about we go for a drink together?"
"If you don't say it, I'm leaving. I have an appointment."
Seeing Lord Orochimaru turn to leave, Jiraiya quickly stopped Lord Orochimaru and said, "Alright, alright, I just wanted to ask you something."
"In the Leaf Village, no, I should say in the entire Ninja World, no one understands snakes better than you. So I wanted to ask you, is there a snake with wings and four limbs, completely purple… Lord Orochimaru, I haven't finished yet."
Lord Orochimaru calmly glanced at Jiraiya and said, "Jiraiya, you don't need to consult me about your new novel genre."
Jiraiya anxiously said, "I'm serious, Lord Orochimaru, have you ever seen such a snake?"
"Heh…"
Lord Orochimaru saw the expression on Jiraiya's face and guessed that his old teammate was not lying. Although he didn't know why Jiraiya was inquiring about such absurd information, it must be very important to him.
"If you really want to find such a… snake, why don't you look in a children's storybook?"
After speaking, Lord Orochimaru turned and left. No matter how Jiraiya called out, Lord Orochimaru did not stop.
"Children's storybook?"
Jiraiya showed an indignant expression, stomping his wooden clogs, and said, "Does that guy think I'm joking? Damn Lord Orochimaru, I'll find that snake sooner or later and let you know that Jiraiya didn't lie."
Jiraiya's obstruction did not cause Lord Orochimaru to overthink. Although that guy's expression was incredibly serious, Jiraiya had done many unreliable things seriously in the past, so Jiraiya's words did not have much credibility with Lord Orochimaru.
Moreover, having not returned to the laboratory for so long, Lord Orochimaru was already eager to go back and check the progress of his experiments. He had no time to chat about children's storybooks with Jiraiya.
It didn't take long for Lord Orochimaru to return to his laboratory. When he arrived, Hyuga Mirai had already been there for a while and had finished reviewing the growth data of the clones.
When Hyuga Mirai saw Lord Orochimaru return, he handed over the experimental data. Lord Orochimaru checked it, then looked at the developing clones, which already looked two or three years old, and couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.
"It seems the clones will be fully grown in two years. This way, whether it's eternal life or endless truth, both will be in my hands."
Lord Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely. He already had some ideas about soul reincarnation and would soon begin developing the forbidden jutsu of soul reincarnation.
Moreover, according to Lord Orochimaru's idea, each time he reincarnated, his body and soul would become stronger, which would be his invented perfect path to eternal life.
Hyuga Mirai looked at Lord Orochimaru enviously and asked, "Lord Orochimaru, you must have made a lot of money this time, right?"
"Heh heh, not much, just enough to fund one clone."
That's not much!?
Hyuga Mirai's envy was undisguised upon hearing this. Indeed, making money from fools was the best way to accumulate wealth.
"Let's get to the point, Lord Orohimaru. Since you're so well-funded, why not build a laboratory outside the village? Being constantly under others' eyes is always too dangerous."
Upon hearing this, Lord Orochimaru's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and he asked, "Mirai-kun, have you discovered any information?"
Lord Third had some opinions about him, but not to the extent of making him move his entire laboratory; there must be other reasons.
Hyuga Mirai said, "When I was returning, I saw the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki."
"Kushina left the village? That's not…"
"It's not Uzumaki Kushina, it's Uzumaki Naruto. Blond hair, blue eyes, very similar to Minato Namikaze."
Lord Orochimaru was stunned. Even he, upon hearing this news, couldn't react immediately, as such a thing as time travel had never been heard of.
"It's the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki from the future, about twenty years from now, who came to this era through some means."
Hyuga Mirai concealed some information because he was also very interested in the Dragon Veins, but what he said was enough to pique Lord Orochimaru's interest.
"The most important thing is that the three people from the future have a strong hostility towards me, and from them, I learned a lot of information, such as the fact that the two of us are Rogue Ninjas…"