Two weeks later, in the Hokage's office.
A middle-aged Ninja with a cold demeanor and pale complexion stood before the desk and said: "Sensei, the Raikage's attitude is very uncompromising. He threatened that if we don't hand over the perpetrator, they will definitely retaliate in kind."
The Third rubbed his temples and sighed: "As expected, reasoning with those barbarians is not a wise move."
After thinking for a moment, the Third asked: "Orochimaru, during your mission to Kumogakure, what were your impressions?"
Orochimaru answered without hesitation: "Militarily powerful. Everyone is filled with war fervor. The entire village is permeated with the smell of gunpowder."
The Third asked again: "I heard the Third Raikage has already passed the title [A] to his son, making him the Raikage candidate. Are there any objections among Kumogakure's Ninjas?"
Orochimaru shook his head: "That young man is very strong. He has perfectly inherited the Third Raikage's power and prestige. The Ninjas of Kumogakure are very satisfied with him."`
The Third sighed, feeling somewhat envious. His two sons were decent, but neither could inherit his prestige.
Orochimaru added: "I noticed that the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki in Kumogakure seems to have developed a void in his heart. The Ninjas of Kumogakure aren't sensitive enough, so no one has detected the problem with him yet."
"Oh? B, is it?" The Third's eyes lit up. "I previously heard from intelligence that he excels in Ninjutsu, lineage, ability, and character, and is considered a Ninja who could potentially become a Perfect Jinchuriki."
Orochimaru smiled slightly: "People change, especially after becoming a Jinchuriki. Most people's attitudes towards them change. Without a pillar to fill the void in their heart, even the most excellent Ninja will fade."
The Third Hokage's expression turned cold: "If Kumogakure dares to retaliate in kind, find an opportunity to infiltrate and release the Iron Armor Seal on B, causing the Eight-Tails to rampage."
Orochimaru first nodded, then looked somewhat puzzled: "Matters like these are usually assigned to Elder Danzo, aren't they?"
The Third's expression was complex: "I'm starting to doubt his loyalty now."
Orochimaru was very surprised, 'In the past, no matter how outrageous Danzo's actions were, Sensei would shield him. Now he actually had doubts? What happened during my mission to Kumogakure?'
Although he very much wanted to investigate the answer, the Third clearly didn't want to say more on the topic and changed the subject: "After the Wood Release human experiments ended back then, did you restart them privately?"
Orochimaru's heartbeat skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive: "Of course not. Why would you ask that, Sensei?"
The Third said gravely: "Danzo told me that among the volunteers who sacrificed themselves back then, he discovered a posthumous child. That child successfully (merged with Wood Release. I always feel something isn't quite right."
'Wood Release! It's from that private experiment we conducted!' Orochimaru was inwardly shocked, but also felt puzzled, 'Even the Wood Release matter was told to Sensei? Isn't Danzo being quite loyal?'
Orochimaru suppressed the shock in his heart and asked: "Sensei, is that Wood Release User named Senju Setsuna?"
Now it was the Third's turn to be puzzled: "Why would you suddenly ask about Setsuna? Also, his name isn't Senju Setsuna, it's Chiaki Setsuna."
Orochimaru smiled: "Jiraiya told me. I met him in the Land of Hot Water on my way to the Land of Lightning."
The Third was caught between laughter and tears. The Land of Hot Water was famous for its hot springs, so meeting Jiraiya there was indeed not strange.
Orochimaru continued: "He still had some bruises on his face at the time. I asked him if Tsunade had hit him. He said he wasn't beaten by Tsunade, but by someone suspected to be Tsunade's secret love child. He also told me that a young Ninja named Senju Setsuna was more of a genius than me."
The Third was speechless, 'Jiraiya dares to spread rumors about Tsunade? Does he not want to return to Konoha alive?'
The Third shook his head helplessly: "Don't listen to his provocation. That bastard has ulterior motives. He took a fall at Setsuna's hands, so he wants you to look bad too."
Orochimaru was slightly surprised inwardly, 'From Sensei's tone, he seems to genuinely believe I could potentially take a fall. But if it's not Wood Release, it's hard for me to imagine a Genin having that kind of strength.'
"That Chiaki Setsuna..." Just as Orochimaru was about to inquire further, a child's voice came from outside the door: "Don't stop me! I want to see the old man!"
Hearing this, the Third smiled wryly and sighed: "Orochimaru, you may go rest now."
"Yes."
…
On Training Ground 3, Setsuna looked slightly surprised at Guy and asked: "You learned the Konoha Ryujin? You really are a Taijutsu genius." (T/N: Changing Dragon God to Ryujin.)
He wasn't surprised that Guy gained recognition. At this stage, Master Chen hadn't yet experienced the pain of losing his disciples, so he was presumably still willing to spread Taijutsu.
What surprised him was that Guy learned this super Taijutsu secret in less than two weeks. Truly a genius of hard work.
"Yeah, yeah." Guy nodded excitedly, but then said sheepishly: "Master Chen's Konoha Ryujin is just too amazing. I can only use it at about twenty or thirty percent of its full potential."
"That's still pretty good. How about we give it a try?" Setsuna issued an invitation, his mind again turning to the thought of secretly learning.
He had been close to Shenron before. If he could demonically modify the Konoha Ryujin into a Konoha Shinryu, its power might be even greater. (T/N: Shinryu means Divine Dragon.)
"Sure, sure!" Guy naturally wouldn't refuse Setsuna's proposal. He assumed an offensive stance: "Setsuna-san, here I come!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Guy kicked out while spinning. A violent wind sprang up around him, forming a green tornado over ten meters high. Guy rode the wind, swallowing Setsuna towards him.
"So this is the Konoha Ryujin?" Setsuna watched the wind, which had a rudimentary dragon shape, without panic, understanding dawning on him, 'Just as I thought. It's a kicking technique similar to the Rankyaku from One Piece, and it's a large-area group damage skill. No wonder Lee could break it in the future. The single-target damage of an area skill is naturally inferior to that of a single-target skill.'
Although this move wasn't as powerful as imagined, it was exactly what Setsuna hoped to obtain. Taijutsu lacked large-area group skills.
Although he had ultimate group damage skills like the Kikoho, his Ki wasn't sufficient to support using it multiple times. A pure Taijutsu skill like Konoha Ryujin had far fewer restrictions.
"Let me experience it personally." Setsuna advanced instead of retreating, charging directly into the body of the 'Dragon God'.
"Setsuna-san!" Guy was worried and prepared to stop the fight, but then he discovered that Setsuna was strolling leisurely within the violent air currents, every step landing in the vacuum zones of the tornado.
Setsuna certainly wasn't seeking punishment. The primary training of Ki involved perceiving faint changes in airflow in the surrounding environment to capture the enemy's presence and movements.
The tornado kicked out by Guy was too crude, so he precisely captured every airflow node.
"As long as I understand the internal structure of the 'Dragon God', replicating this move shouldn't be too difficult." Setsuna stood within the eye of the dragon and kicked out. A 'Divine Dragon' several times larger than Guy's Konoha 'Dragon God' soared into the sky, instantly swallowing it.