Returning to the underground laboratory, Orochimaru organized his recent experimental data and then began to look through the information obtained from Sunagakure.
The three-day deadline had passed, and judging by the movements of White Zetsu's clones, Nagato's matter of devouring the One-Tails was likely nearing its end. If they continued to perform surgeries in large numbers, the probability of exposure would increase dramatically.
Furthermore, Orochimaru was a bit short on funds. The portion of surgical materials allocated to the village had been mostly used up, barely enough to maintain the steady number of visible and hidden subjects for the next few days. To perform large-scale surgeries again, they would have to wait for supplies from the village or Sunagakure.
This period was a rare lull, perfect for making preparations for future plans.
"Roran..."
Orochimaru repeated a place name, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Last time, when he performed the White Zetsu cell gene fusion, he didn't choose one of the three great Sage Lands, and this time was no exception, even though the natural energy in the Slug Forest came directly from the earth's veins.
There weren't many places with vast natural energy in the ninja world, and searching for them one by one would be too troublesome. Therefore, Orochimaru leaned towards accepting Genie Lamp's suggestion.
And Roran was indeed a good place. Putting aside whether the natural energy was abundant or not, the people who controlled Roran were very weak. Moreover, its location in the desert west of the Land of Wind was remote enough that no matter how big a commotion they made, an incident like the one at Takigakure Village would never happen again.
It was foreseeable that the transplantation of the First Hokage's cells this time would be much more dangerous than the last. Orochimaru would not leave any loopholes.
"Strange..."
Genie Lamp's head popped out from behind, surprised, "This country still exists."
In the original timeline, after Jiraiya's death, Naruto took on the mission to hunt down the rogue ninja Mukade from Sunagakure. As a result of a powerful surge of natural energy, he accidentally traveled back in time to over a decade ago.
Naruto, along with Minato, who had not yet become Hokage, eliminated the rogue ninja. However, Roran should have perished along with the natural energy sealed by Minato.
"Why do you say that?"
Orochimaru glanced at Genie Lamp. "Although it's just a small country, Roran has managed to survive thanks to that oasis. I've heard about this before. Why do you think it wouldn't exist?"
"It's nothing, I just thought such a place should have been destroyed by the sand long ago."
Genie Lamp also realized then that although Roran's destruction was something that should have happened normally a few years ago, the cause was actually Naruto from the future chasing a rogue ninja from Sunagakure.
The current ninja world was already unrecognizable compared to the original timeline. It was uncertain whether that rogue ninja Mukade, or Roran itself, would exist in the future. Naturally, there would be no more time travel.
Since that was the case, there was no need to mention it to Orochimaru again.
Orochimaru didn't press further, accepting Genie Lamp's comment as a casual remark, and continued to focus on reading the materials provided by Sunagakure.
Although Roran was now called a country, its actual scale was no more than a small town of two to three thousand people, known as the 'Pearl of the Desert.'
It now nominally belonged to the Land of Wind and even had to pay taxes to Sunagakure Village.
In exchange, the Sand Shinobi had to abide by local laws when in Roran...
Sunagakure Village had considered completely absorbing this pearl to supplement its increasingly insufficient funds, but Roran's location was too remote, making it practically useless. Moreover, the Queen of Roran controlled a ticking time bomb.
"The Dragon Vein... it actually has consciousness."
Orochimaru frowned slightly. According to the intelligence from Sunagakure, the queens of Roran throughout history had the ability to communicate with and pacify the Dragon Vein. In fact, if the bloodline of a particular lineage were to be broken, Roran would even face the risk of destruction.
"It's just a vague consciousness, it's hard to say if it's even comparable to an infant's."
Genie Lamp rubbed his chin. "I don't know how big the commotion will be for your transplant surgery this time. To be safe, it's best to find a way to get that Roran Queen to cooperate with you."
The sacred tree of Takigakure Village, which they had planned to reuse, was unfortunately consumed by the 'Tail-Devourer' by accident, and the aftermath was still unresolved.
The subject of this surgery was now a half-man, half-snake monster, and it was an uncertain transplantation of the First Hokage's cells. Who knew what kind of trouble it might cause.
"But getting that Roran Queen to sincerely cooperate will indeed be a bit difficult."
Orochimaru strongly agreed with Genie Lamp's opinion. He would have to make a deal with the Roran Queen, prepared for the possibility of destroying Roran.
Otherwise, if it really came to that, it was hard to guarantee that the other party wouldn't turn hostile.
"This matter needs careful consideration afterwards."
Orochimaru put down the intelligence materials in his hand and closed his eyes slightly.
The matter of Roran was slightly more troublesome than that of Takigakure Village. The natural energy within the Dragon Vein was not as stable as that in the sacred tree, and it wouldn't be resolved quickly.
The immediate priority was the Akatsuki organization.
If they could safely pass the next week, that would be acceptable. Otherwise, they would have to compete with Nagato while doing their best to minimize casualties in the village.
Orochimaru licked his lips. "Tsk... What will you do?"
...
Several days later, in the Black Tower laboratory in Amegakure.
Shinno pulled a Jonin, whose limbs were bound, out of a pale green culture fluid. He casually wiped some viscous fluid from his chest and directly pierced the subject's body with a scalpel, making an incision downwards.
The normally bloody flesh had a fibrous texture, and not a drop of blood flowed out.
"Lord Pain, please look."
A look of excited laughter appeared on Shinno's face. "This surgery was successful."
Tendo Pain's expression was unreadable. Hiruko and Yakushi Kabuto, standing beside him, had varied expressions, their gazes involuntarily turning towards the unusually prominent large trees in the room.
"After sacrificing five Chunin and one Jonin, we only got one successful case. What's there to be proud of?"
Konan asked expressionlessly, without leaving any room for politeness. "If you perform another surgery, can you guarantee success?"
"Well, that remains to be tested a few more times."
Shinno chuckled, then emphasized, "The leap in success rate from zero to one should be understood by both lords. As long as we continue, we will eventually reach a point you are satisfied with."
Shinno's attitude was respectful and his posture very humble, but even when reporting unwelcome news, he was unfazed.
This surgery was developed by several people together. Both the credit and the blame were shared. The reason he was assigned the role of playing the unpleasant character was simply that Izumi lacked the necessary weight, and Hiruko was too important.
Tendo Pain glanced at the ninja whose wounds were healing and said slowly, "How long will it take to increase the success rate to a practically applicable level?"
The so-called practical application was naturally not a fifty or sixty percent success rate. Even desperadoes wouldn't rashly start a gamble with a fifty percent chance of death. It needed to be at least eighty or ninety percent.
Tendo Pain felt his demands were not excessive. From the information he heard from the masked man, Akatsuki and Orochimaru could guarantee a hundred percent success rate without any restrictions on Jonin or Chunin.
"It's probably difficult in a short period of time."
Shinno knew what Pain was thinking. He hesitated before continuing, "If this transplant surgery can achieve an eighty percent success rate, it's already quite remarkable. Guaranteeing one hundred percent success is absolutely impossible."
"Konoha's Orochimaru must have other hidden means."
Tendo Pain found this argument reasonable and turned his gaze to the white-haired young man beside him.
Yakushi Kabuto gently pushed up his glasses and smiled, "I have compiled all the information previously obtained, and there is no withholding of secrets."
If nothing else, the successful case before them was proof of his sincerity.
"I'm not saying that Yakushi Kabuto-sama is hiding anything, it's just..."
Shinno, with his benevolent old man's face, suddenly became serious. "That's Orochimaru, after all. Who knows how much skill he's actually hiding..."
He unleashed a barrage of praise for Orochimaru, with the core idea being that it wasn't that they were incompetent, but that the opponent was too powerful.
Indeed, with Shinno's appearance, he could have been an 'expert' even in Genie Lamp's era. His words were convincing.
Tendo Pain already had a favorable impression of Orochimaru, and now he found Shinno's deliberate flattery somewhat believable.
However, these words sounded too obsequious to Hiruko, and he let out an unhappy snort.
But that was all. Hiruko knew very well that if he said anything belittling, he would inevitably be met with the response, "If you can do it, you go ahead."
And he was self-aware enough to know that he truly couldn't achieve Orochimaru's level.
Yakushi Kabuto watched the scene unfold, a cold sneer in his heart. If they had followed the plan left behind completely during this period, at least half the ninjas who had become trees by today could have been saved.
The three-day gap was fatal for this newly formed research group.
Who knew what kind of secret agreement these three had reached? The efficiency now was less than half of what it was initially.
After all, they were all intelligent people, and three days was enough time to find loopholes in the rules.
"I didn't want to resort to this method..."
Yakushi Kabuto sighed slightly and smiled, "Shinno-sama says that improving the success rate of this surgery is a distant prospect, but I actually have a way."
He took out a document from his怀 and handed it to the three researchers separately.
Shinno, Izumi, and Hiruko each took one and briefly browsed through it. Their expressions all changed.
Hiruko even questioned angrily, "What do you mean by this?"
The document broke down the entire body enhancement surgery into multiple steps and assigned different people to research each one.
While reasonable division of labor, specializing each person's abilities, would naturally bring significant benefits to the experiment itself, conversely, being restricted to a specific area without the opportunity to see the whole picture could be considered being nothing more than a cog in the machine.
This clearly went against the interests of the three present. They intended to use this investment from the Akatsuki organization to acquire substantial knowledge, but what use were scattered pieces of a puzzle?
"It can't be helped. You were given an opportunity but didn't seize it. What can you blame me for?"
Yakushi Kabuto turned his gaze to Tendo Pain. "As long as you cooperate with me, I am confident that I can increase the success rate to eighty percent within ten days."
"Why didn't you do this from the beginning?"
Tendo Pain had no objections. He didn't care about these people's selfish desires and even found it annoying that Yakushi Kabuto had spoken so late.
"You can't blame me for that."
Yakushi Kabuto shrugged. "After all, this method might have dampened their enthusiasm and had a negative effect."
"But now, they brought it upon themselves. If they had proceeded step by step as they should have, our progress would definitely not be this slow."
Yakushi Kabuto knew that intelligent people had countless reasons. He didn't analyze their slacking one by one, only stating that since the research results didn't meet expectations, they shouldn't blame him for changing the method.
"Those who don't want to continue participating in the research can also choose to withdraw."
Yakushi Kabuto squinted his eyes, looking at the three in front of him, a smile on his face.
"You..." Hiruko glared, but dared not utter the word 'no.' Shinno and Izumi beside him were similarly speechless.
After all, Tendo Pain was watching, and he was not someone to be trifled with. If he made a move to leave, he would most likely lose his life in the next moment.
Furthermore, if they were to be negligent, who knew if the other party might proactively suggest replacing them? Not to mention, doing so was inherently against their own interests.
That's right, Yakushi Kabuto was acting with full confidence.
The successful development of the 'Body Enhancement Surgery' was a plan set by Orochimaru-sama. How could he let these people who prioritized personal gain over public interest disrupt it?
"Since there are no objections, then it's decided."
Yakushi Kabuto deliberately waited for a moment, enjoying the darkening complexions of the three, and then turned his gaze to Pain. "I will handle this matter."
"Very good."
Tendo Pain nodded slightly. He suddenly lifted a hand from the ground, and the Jonin who had completed the transplant surgery was immediately grabbed by the neck.
Creak...
As his palm tightened, the wooden Jonin's face turned red from suffocation.
"It seems that it only has strong healing abilities, and it's not unkillable."
Tendo Pain released his hand, threw the wooden ninja to the ground, and let him gasp for air. He then glanced at the other three and disappeared.
The ninjas present all changed their expressions, clearly understanding this as a warning.
Except for Izumi, they were all high-level experts in the ninja world and clearly understood the weight of that move just now.
"It seems our superior is a bit angry."
Yakushi Kabuto smiled wryly. "Everyone should work a bit harder recently, don't make things difficult for everyone."
...
Returning to the upper level of the Black Spire, Tendo Pain approached Konan. "Contact Kakuzu, Muwei, and the others. Three days from now, we will launch a surprise attack on Konoha."
"So suddenly?"
Konan's expression changed, and she was taken aback. She quickly said, "With Orochimaru, Tsunade, and the others in the village, these people going there would just be sending them to their deaths."
Konan wasn't cherishing their lives, she just felt that this approach would be ineffective.
"Therefore, in three days, I will go too."
Tendo Pain said, and then added, "This time, I will have my main body take action as well."
Konan looked worried. "Nagato, shouldn't this matter be reconsidered? Orochimaru's sensory abilities are a bit peculiar. If you go, there will be considerable risk."
"It's worth it."
Tendo Pain said slowly, "Currently, Yakushi Kabuto and the others still need some time to research suitable surgeries. And with Orochimaru in Konoha, they have already gained a significant advantage. We cannot let them proceed so peacefully."
For this reason, Nagato no longer cared about incurring the fear of other ninja villages.
---
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