Chapter 96:
Normally, the job of the Hokage is extremely busy—especially now that Naruto, who tolerates no corruption whatsoever, has taken on the role. He's even more hands-on, personally involving himself in nearly every matter, big or small, to prevent any signs of rot.
And yet, despite his packed schedule, Naruto was not in the Hokage's office today. Instead, he was at Konoha Hospital, anxiously waiting outside a room for any news from within.
Not even when Hinata gave birth had Naruto been this agitated.
"Granny Tsunade, how is it?" Naruto hurriedly asked as soon as he saw Tsunade walking out.
But upon seeing the troubled frown on her face, Naruto had already begun mentally preparing himself for the worst.
If Juuzou Suzuya really had been infected, then for the sake of Konoha—and the entire ninja world—Naruto might have no choice but to imprison him. If the situation proved dire enough, he might even have to kill him.
The thought weighed heavily on Naruto's heart. No matter what, Juuzou Suzuya had come to help Konoha.
Tsunade frowned as she said, "We've examined Suzuya's cells and found no abnormalities. They're no different from a normal person's, so for now, it seems like there's nothing wrong."
"Sigh... Granny Tsunade, could you not be so vague?" Naruto complained.
This wasn't a matter to be taken lightly—it would determine Juuzou Suzuya's immediate future, as well as the fate of Konoha and the entire ninja world.
If the situation were mishandled and a biohazard outbreak really did occur, Konoha would become the ultimate scapegoat.
"Since we don't have any infected cells to use as a comparison, I can't say with absolute certainty whether or not he's been infected. Let's detain him under observation for now. During this period, no one is allowed to visit him without my explicit permission," Tsunade said.
"I suppose that's the only thing we can do. I'm counting on you for this, Granny Tsunade." Naruto nodded with a serious expression before hurrying back to the Hokage building to deal with other matters.
Meanwhile, Shunhi once again sought out Orochimaru.
After all, according to Shunhi's plan, it was just about time to confirm the plot's main antagonist. And when it came to creating story villains, no one was more reliable than the scientific genius Orochimaru.
When Shunhi found him, he greeted him with, "Hey, Gray Wolf, how's your research going?"
"Not bad," Orochimaru replied.
And this wasn't just a casual brush-off.
Orochimaru's research had indeed made significant progress. Ever since he joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and learned about the Umbrella Corporation, he had barely rested, working day and night—especially after Shunhi handed him the RC cells.
After achieving his goal of immortality, Orochimaru had once lost his sense of purpose, reduced to a dreamless drifter doing grunt work for Konoha. But S.H.I.E.L.D. had given him a new dream—to create lifeforms even stronger than Naruto and Sasuke.
"I've successfully fused the Hulk's cells with the RC cells."
Orochimaru led Shunhi to a cultivation chamber. Suspended in green fluid within was a sleeping clone.
To wield immense power, one first needed a body capable of containing it—and the Hulk's body was the ideal vessel.
"Got a name for him?" Shunhi asked.
"No."
Though Orochimaru didn't understand why the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. would ask such a thing, he still answered truthfully.
"Then I'll name him Jason. Stage name: Gecko," Shunhi said with a grin.
Stage name? Orochimaru didn't quite understand what he meant, assuming it was just some kind of codename—like his own. His real name was Orochimaru, but his codename was Gray Wolf.
"Gray Wolf, I want you to program Jason's memory according to this script."
Orochimaru glanced through the script Shunhi handed him, then replied, "No problem. That's simple."
He had always believed that humans never did anything without a reason. Every action had its motive.
For example, Minato and Kushina died on the night of the Nine-Tails attack to protect Konoha.
Uchiha Itachi massacred his clan to protect his younger brother.
So, what about S.H.I.E.L.D.? There had to be a reason behind everything S.H.I.E.L.D. was doing.
Though Orochimaru was cooped up in his lab, he frequently sent his pets to gather intelligence. He was well aware of recent developments in Konoha—like Uchiha Sasuke becoming a movie star.
Why was S.H.I.E.L.D. doing all this? Orochimaru absolutely did not believe they were putting in all this effort just to make a movie for fun.
"There's one more thing. Signs of Hulk activity have been detected in the Land of Water."
"Oh, that would be one of the Hulks we sold off earlier to fund the Umbrella Corporation's operations. Wait—how do you know what's going on in the Land of Water?"
"My snakes are everywhere," Orochimaru answered simply. Based on Shunhi's response, he also formed a few suspicions of his own.
In fact, those movies being filmed were probably for promoting the Umbrella Corporation's creations—advertising them to fetch a higher price. The bigger the organization, the greater the demand for funding.
Orochimaru hadn't forgotten that the Akatsuki's early operations were primarily focused on making money.
...
"Hey, Boruto, are you sure it's okay for us to be tailing them like this?" Sarada whispered.
"Shh—keep it down, Sarada. Don't worry, we won't get caught," Boruto replied confidently. Then he frowned. "Huh? Feels like we're missing someone... Where's Uncle Sai?"
"I'm right behind you." Sai stood directly behind the now-frozen Boruto. "You kids sure have guts, trailing the Anbu like that."
Both Sai and Sasuke were battle-hardened shinobi. They had noticed Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki sneaking after them long ago.
"What a coincidence, Uncle Sai. Looks like we just happened to be heading the same way!" Boruto laughed awkwardly.
"Is that so? Quite the coincidence indeed, Boruto," Sai said with a half-smile as he swiftly pulled out a scroll. "Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitating Drawing!"
A sumi-e style eagle sprang from Sai's drawing and scooped Boruto into the air. As he was lifted skyward, Boruto let out a miserable wail.
"Damn that scheming, squinty-eyed old man! Why am I the only one getting punished..."
A thoroughly worn-out Boruto was now being dragged down the streets of Konoha by Sarada and Mitsuki, each supporting him by the arm.
"Obviously, this whole 'let's follow the Anbu' idea was yours, so of course you're getting the worst of it," Sarada sighed. "But seriously, Boruto, you should try to stay out of trouble for a while. Haven't you noticed? The atmosphere in the village has changed."
Ordinary citizens of Konoha might not have picked up on it, but as a ninja, Sarada had. Patrols around the village had increased, and nearly every jōnin had disappeared from public view, sent off on missions.
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