Danzo had expected Orochimaru to come for an interrogation and had even prepared his excuses to deal with him.
Everything was for Konoha; Danzo had no other choice.
Unexpectedly, Orochimaru didn't mention Nawaki's death and even brought a pleasant surprise.
Nawaki's death had stimulated Orochimaru, who became interested in the study of life.
Danzo's voice was hoarse, barely concealing his excitement:
"Orochimaru, you are the junior I have the highest hopes for.
You have enough talent, enough mental fortitude, and enough diligence. However, a civilian physique without a Bloodline Limit restricts your potential.
Before a Bloodline Limit, effort is worthless.
I have painstakingly trained Wind Release for forty years, and what then? In front of a true Bloodline Limit master, I am easily defeated.
You painstakingly trained Earth Release and Summoning Jutsu, and what then?
You haven't seen the grandeur of Hashirama-sama and Uchiha Madara on the battlefield; that's how a true master should be.
Like you, I am also troubled by the limitations of my physique.
Giving up is not our Ninja Way; physical limitations are not insurmountable.
Tobirama-sensei had some ideas that were never implemented, but I believe they hold great promise.
As long as you are willing to research the physical constitution of Ninja for the Village, I am willing to provide all support.
Tobirama-sensei's research notes on transplantation, physique, and Bloodline Limits, I will give them to you tonight.
During the war, all prisoners from enemy Villages will be your test subjects.
After the war, you can also recruit volunteers from the Anbu; Konoha ANBU Ninja, after years of discipline, have very high awareness.
Furthermore, once the experiments achieve phased results, I am even willing to become your test subject.
I have some materials for transplantation, but I lack mature transplantation techniques."
Orochimaru thought to himself that what Danzo wanted to transplant must be the top-tier materials in the Ninja World. He said, "I hope to begin the research tonight."
A rare smile appeared on Danzo's face:
"Tonight, I will prepare the experimental equipment for you and send all the prisoners in the camp to your tent.
Ōnoki killed the Senju Young Clan Head Nawaki; Konoha will certainly retaliate.
I will order the Anbu to capture Iwagakure Ninja alive and send all living subjects to you.
During the war, your test subjects will be endless; do not be stingy with test subjects, research progress is more important.
However, I hope to specify the initial research direction."
"Oh? What direction?"
Orochimaru became interested, wondering what Danzo ultimately wanted to transplant.
Danzo said, "I hope you first conduct eye transplantation."
Orochimaru understood.
Danzo's teammate, Uchiha Kagami, died without leaving a corpse.
It seems Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan is in Danzo's hands.
As for whether it was a dying entrustment or a forceful taking and destruction of the body, that remains unknown.
"Orochimaru, starting today, you are the head of the Root laboratory, codenamed 'A'."
Orochimaru asked, "Why Root and not Konoha ANBU Ninja?"
Danzo said:
"Hiruzen is unwilling to bear a bad reputation, even the bad reputation of tasks secretly completed by the Anbu.
From now on, all the Village's bad reputation will be borne by me and Root.
To protect Hiruzen's honor, we have changed Root's responsibilities; not only do we train new recruits for the Anbu, but we also secretly complete tasks that are inconvenient for the Anbu to handle.
Don't worry, Hiruzen will soon know and agree to you joining Root."
Orochimaru turned and left the tent.
Danzo saw that the guards outside the tent were the Fox Squad, so he called out, "Fox, come in!"
Night Light received a mission to send all the prisoners in the camp to Orochimaru's tent.
At the same time, Danzo also informed him that Orochimaru was now a member of Root, the head of the Root laboratory, and had the authority of a Captain.
Arriving at the fence where the prisoners were held, Night Light had three team members tie up the five Iwagakure Ninja prisoners with ropes and take them away.
These prisoners had been drugged by the interrogation Ninja, making them unable to extract Chakra or resist.
One prisoner asked in terror, "Where are you taking us? Is our Village going to exchange prisoners?"
Night Light thought for a moment and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the era of prisoner exchanges is over. From today onwards, Konoha will no longer exchange prisoners with any Village."
"Wh-why? Why are you Konoha so cruel?"
Night Light shook his head, thinking to himself, 'Who told you not to commit suicide?'
When they arrived outside Orochimaru's tent with the prisoners, Night Light saw a young man already waiting at the entrance.
The tent flap opened, and Orochimaru stepped out, first looking at the prisoners.
Through the gap in the flap, Night Light saw two large tables inside, laid with simple scalpels, scissors, tweezers, awls, and other tools.
The young man excitedly shouted:
"Orochimaru-sensei! Please accept my condolences!
Nawaki's unfortunate sacrifice will motivate me to train even harder, making up for Nawaki's regrets twofold!
I ask you to formally accept me as your disciple! I will absolutely not disappoint your expectations!"
Orochimaru's gaze at the prisoners seemed very dissatisfied; he withdrew his gaze and looked at the young man.
"Did your Shimura Clan Head know you came to find me?"
"No, I haven't seen the Clan Head; the Clan Head might still be in the Village."
This young man from the Shimura Clan didn't even know if Danzo had come to the front lines.
He had taken a spot in Nawaki's squad, and now seeing Nawaki dead, he thought his opportunity had come.
Orochimaru gave a strange laugh and said, "Alright, then you go in first."
Orochimaru turned to Night Light:
"Send the prisoners into the tent, and don't leave; wait outside. You'll handle the bodies tomorrow."
"Understood, Orochimaru-sama."
Screams of agony erupted from inside the tent; Orochimaru found them noisy, and the screams abruptly ceased.
Throughout the entire night, there were only muffled groans from the tent, making one's scalp tingle.
The next morning, Orochimaru emerged from the tent.
The sunlight illuminated Orochimaru's pale face, and he even had a somewhat contented expression, perhaps enjoying the experiment or the sunlight.
He waved his hand, signaling the Fox Squad to go in and deal with the bodies.
Six bodies were disfigured beyond recognition.
Wait, weren't there five prisoners? Why was there an extra body?
The young man from the Shimura Clan was actually dissected by Orochimaru?
Did Danzo know about this? Should it be reported?
After some thought, Night Light decided it should be reported.
Orochimaru was not his superior; Danzo was his superior's superior's superior.
The prisoners' bodies were directly taken outside the camp for cremation, while the young man from the Shimura Clan's body was kept for now.
Night Light rushed to Danzo's tent and reported the dissection of the young man from the Shimura Clan to Danzo.
Danzo was momentarily stunned, then said, "I understand."
Danzo thought to himself that to transplant eyes for himself, some sacrifices must be made.
His own clansmen were most similar to him, so Orochimaru wasn't completely unreasonable, but he would have to limit the number in the future; too many Shimura Clan members couldn't be dissected.
Night Light thought, 'Is that all?'
He quickly exited, no longer inquiring about the matter.
The body of that young man from the Shimura Clan was directly burned.
Watching the body slowly shrink in the flames, Night Light sighed, Danzo truly was a ruthless man.
Ruthless to others, and ruthless to his own people.
This kid too, why did he bother creating a 'next Nawaki' persona? What a miserable death.
Especially with his eye sockets gaping black holes, his eyeballs gone.
Captain Black Gorilla's injuries were recovering remarkably well, and he returned to duty early, arriving at the front lines from the Village.
"Long time no see, Fox."
"Long time no see, Squad Leader."
Night Light looked down; Black Gorilla's amputated leg was thinner than his good leg.
Poor Black Gorilla, not only did he lose an arm, but one of his legs was also not fully functional.
Black Gorilla said:
"For the coming period, we need to capture at least 3 Iwagakure Ninja alive, the stronger the better.
Fox, your squad is the strongest in the company, so you will be the main force from now on.
I won't make you work for nothing; I just applied for an Earth Release Ninjutsu scroll for you. You can choose one Ninjutsu from it."
Night Light was very excited to hear this.
He had completed many Anbu missions and could finally exchange for Ninjutsu.
The Anbu didn't have a standard for what level of Ninjutsu was rewarded after how many B-rank missions, or higher-level Ninjutsu after how many A-rank missions.
Rewards, besides assessing mission history, also depended on whether one's Fire Will was firm.
Whether the Fire Will was firm entirely depended on the subjective judgment of the superior.
Black Gorilla believed Fox's Fire Will was like steel; another superior might not think so.
Night Light took the Earth Release Ninjutsu scroll and scanned the table of contents.
Night Light currently mastered three elemental Ninjutsu: Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique, Earth Release: Earth Substitute, and Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
Infiltration, substitution, defense; he still lacked an offensive Ninjutsu.
Night Light saw a familiar name: Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears.
During the reconnaissance of the Battle of Mt. Niuhe, he had seen an Iwagakure Jonin use this Ninjutsu.
Chakra is infused into the ground, and sharp stone spears protrude from the ground, instantly piercing enemies.
The attack angle is tricky, allowing for sneak attacks from behind, making it a good offensive Earth Release Ninjutsu.
"Captain, I choose this B-rank Ninjutsu."
Black Gorilla saw the name and shuddered:
"My leg was comminutedly fractured while fighting against this Jutsu; it's a good Ninjutsu."
He opened the corresponding position on the scroll and had Night Light copy the Ninjutsu.
After Night Light finished copying, Black Gorilla said, "We will leave the main camp tomorrow night to capture Iwagakure Ninja. Learn this Ninjutsu as quickly as possible."
Night Light didn't sleep; he went to the training ground of the main camp and began practicing the Ninjutsu.
The reason he chose this Ninjutsu was that it only had one hand seal.
Only one unitary seal was needed to complete this Jutsu.
In his previous life, he saw a news report where a general said, 'What's the aiming for? Just raise your gun and shoot! First fire wins!'
Battles between Ninja are the same; a one-hand seal Ninjutsu is stronger than a three-hand seal Ninjutsu.
As long as he uses the Ninjutsu first, the enemy will have to dodge, and the battle will enter his rhythm.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
An earth spear pierced out from the ground, striking the tree stump opposite.
Unfortunately, the earth spear's strength was too low, only slightly harder than soil; it shattered upon hitting the tree stump.
Practicing Ninjutsu himself was more difficult than getting Ninjutsu from the system.
Night Light trained repeatedly, gradually increasing the Chakra intensity of Earth Flow Spears.
Ten at a time, then a rest period, then continue.
By the time the sun shone on the training ground, Earth Flow Spears could already pierce the tree stump.
Looking at the holes pierced through the tree stump, Night Light nodded repeatedly; this power could be used in actual combat.
Next was the meticulous work, making this Jutsu faster and stronger.
Ninjutsu is about quality, not quantity.
Kakashi, who claimed to have mastered over a thousand Ninjutsu, only regularly used three to five.
At night, the Black Gorilla Squad set out to complete the mission of capturing prisoners.
Leaving the forest on the border of the Land of Fire, they entered the vast grasslands of the Land of Grass.
Konoha Ninja were accustomed to operating in forests; suddenly seeing a flat plain felt like running naked without clothes, making them uncomfortable all over.
Black Gorilla instructed the three Squad Leaders:
"Advisor Homura Mitokado has achieved good results negotiating with Hidden Cloud Village. Hidden Cloud Village has decided to take advantage of Iwagakure's weakness to attack the Land of Waterfalls, declaring war on Iwagakure.
The Iwagakure Ninja in the Land of Grass might retreat.
We need to move quickly, or we won't catch any prisoners."
The Battle of Mt. Niuhe became the turning point in the war between Konoha Village and Iwagakure, with Konoha shifting from defense to offense.
Bai Yang used his Byakugan to search for enemy traces for the company and quickly found an Iwagakure Squad by a river.
Bai Yang said, "A four-person Iwagakure Squad just fetched water from the small river and is now moving in the 2 o'clock direction."
Black Gorilla said, "Good! Before they discover us, the White Sheep Squad and I will push through the middle, while the Fox Squad and Leaf Monkey Squad will outflank them from both sides and surround them!"
Captain Huang Quan had specifically come to assess Black Gorilla's recovery status, and Black Gorilla had to prove with concrete actions that he was capable of completing Anbu missions.
Night Light led his squad to the small river and jumped.
In mid-air, Night Light suddenly felt a slight discomfort in his nostrils.
After gaining the Senju Bloodline Limit, Night Light's physique strengthened, making him highly sensitive to all stimuli.
Just now, his nose seemed to have inhaled something unpleasant.
The smell came from the water.
But at a glance, the river water appeared completely normal.
Seeing the Leaf Monkey Squad in the distance moving very fast, Night Light maintained his speed and continued forward.
How strange, why would the river water emit an irritating smell?
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Night Light prepared to complete the mission first.
The four Iwagakure Ninja quickly discovered three Konoha ANBU Squads appearing from three directions around them!
The Iwagakure Squad immediately tried to break through.
The strength of this Iwagakure Squad was formidable; even the weakest among them were Chunin level, and they were very fast.
Night Light infused Chakra into his arm and threw a Kunai with all his might.
After his physical enhancement, his Taijutsu and Ninja tool throwing skills had generally improved by a notch.
The Kunai flew incredibly fast, skimming the grass, and hit the last Iwagakure Ninja's calf.
The Iwagakure Ninja let out a scream and rolled on the ground.
The other Iwagakure Ninja ignored him and continued to sprint forward.
Black Gorilla couldn't help but praise, "Fox! Well done!"
After some time, Fox's strength had grown again.
Purple Cat immediately followed up, controlling the fallen Iwagakure Ninja with her Mind Body Switch Technique, while Antelope poured poison into the Iwagakure Ninja.
The Iwagakure Ninja lost resistance and became a prisoner of the Fox Squad.
Next was a tedious chase; two members of the Iwagakure Squad successively covered their retreat, buying time for their Captain.
Black Gorilla Squad's mission was to capture prisoners, and capturing them alive was much more troublesome than killing the retreating Iwagakure Ninja, taking a lot of time.
After making a large arc, the Iwagakure Squad Leader ran back towards the small river.
Bai Yang suddenly shouted, "Something's wrong! It's an ambush!"
The Black Gorilla Squad had been chasing for half an hour, moving far from the small river and beyond the Byakugan's observation limit; the enemy had set up an ambush by the small river.
Over thirty Ninja leaped out of the small river; their distinctive gas masks confirmed they were Amegakure Ninja.
After Konoha and Kumogakure decided to ally against Iwagakure, Iwagakure must have ceded some interests to persuade Hanzo of Hidden Rain Village, and Iwagakure and Hidden Rain Village had formed an alliance!
Amegakure Ninja entered the Land of Grass, interfering.
Night Light suddenly remembered the faint pungent smell when he crossed the small river; could that have been Amegakure Ninja's poison?
"Be careful! It's poison!"