For Danzo, watching Aoshi rise to fame once again was more painful than death itself.
It was that innately evil brat who had dragged the once-lofty Hokage's assistant down into the mud, reducing him to a mere prisoner.
Therefore, Danzo hated Aoshi to the marrow of his bones.
Every night, he dreamed of cutting the man into a thousand pieces. And every morning when he awoke, the fantasy still lingered vividly in his mind.
Yet reality was cruel. He remained trapped behind iron bars, while his enemy's reputation continued to soar higher and higher.
"Go and ask Orochimaru why nothing has happened yet." Unable to suppress his fury any longer, Danzo barked the order at Aburame Ryoma.
"Yes, sir!" The moment the words left his mouth, Aburame Ryoma hurried off, heading straight toward Orochimaru's research base.
He did not barge in recklessly.
Orochimaru had long since arranged traps around the facility. Anyone who entered without permission would be instantly swarmed by serpents.
Moments later, Orochimaru appeared.
"Lord Danzo wants to know why you still haven't made a move." Hearing Aburame Ryoma's message, Orochimaru let out a sinister chuckle.
Danzo truly had no patience at all. Without thorough preparation, how could they possibly deal with Hirakawa Aoshi?
But that was not the real reason. Although he had agreed to Danzo's bargain, Orochimaru always placed his own objectives first.
All this time, he had been immersed in studying the Impure World Reincarnation Technique.
Through it, he had glimpsed a feasible path toward immortality.
Abandon the flesh. Begin immortality at the level of the soul.
Once such an idea took root, he had to pursue it to the end. Unless he encountered an insurmountable wall, he would never stop.
For a researcher, inspiration was fleeting and had to be seized immediately.
Of course, he could not state such reasons outright.
"Impure World Reincarnation is a forbidden art. I haven't fully mastered it yet. I need to do so before I can confidently confront Hirakawa Aoshi."
"Besides, your intelligence on him is far too sparse. I still need to observe him and gather information before formulating a plan that targets his weaknesses."
That part, at least, was the truth.
Root's previous operation against Aoshi had ended in complete annihilation. Every operative involved had been killed.
They hadn't even managed to retrieve the bodies. As a result, Root had gained no usable intelligence on the target at all.
With that, Orochimaru turned and walked back into the research base without a backward glance.
He had given Danzo his answer. Whether Danzo believed it or not, he would have to accept it.
Unless Danzo could find someone else capable of killing Hirakawa Aoshi.
Events unfolded exactly as Orochimaru expected.
When Aburame Ryoma relayed the message, Danzo was furious yet helpless, forced to swallow the humiliation whole.
"Fine. Let Hirakawa Aoshi live a little longer."
"Consider it my final mercy toward him."
Had Aoshi heard those words, he would have laughed until he was out of breath.
Danzo—so weak, yet utterly addicted to scheming.
---
Meanwhile, after spending some time with Kushina, Aoshi arrived at the Secret Base.
As the original body, he could use Summoning Jutsu to call any Puppet from anywhere in the ninja world to his side.
Likewise, his Rinne Paths could use reverse summoning to bring him to them. This method allowed him to slip out of Konoha without leaving a trace.
Before leaving, he deliberately left a Shadow Clone behind at home. That way, if anyone came looking for him, he would know immediately and could return at once.
Inside the Secret Base, only Animal Path – Hiruko was present.
Puppet Kakuzu had already been dispatched to the Land of Rain, tasked with protecting Konan from the shadows.
He deliberately avoided direct contact so that she would not grow into a sheltered flower. The ninja world was never a gentle place.
Standing before Animal Path – Hiruko, Aoshi took out a sealing scroll and handed it over. Inside was a chakra sealed from the Nine-Tails.
Taking the scroll, Animal Path – Hiruko stepped up to a nutrient tank.
Inside it floated a massive wing. It was one of the Seven-Tails' wings.
Ever since Kakuzu had brought it back, it had been cultivated here.
Several months had passed, yet there had been no obvious changes.
Next, Animal Path – Hiruko opened the sealing scroll and infused the Nine-Tails' chakra into the tank.
The violent chakra was quickly absorbed by the wing.
After all, both originated from the Ten-Tails. Their source was the same.
After absorbing the Nine-Tails' chakra, the Seven-Tails' wings visibly grew larger.
Fortunately, the nutrient tank was spacious enough to avoid damage.
"If it can truly devour the chakra of every Tailed Beast, this wing might eventually evolve into a pseudo Ten-Tails."
Sensing the increasingly dense chakra emanating from the wing, Aoshi murmured softly.
He observed it for a while longer. Aside from growing larger and stronger, the wing showed no other changes.
After recording the data, Animal Path – Hiruko summoned a very bizarre creature.
It looked grotesque, as though it had been stitched together from the body parts of different beasts.
And that was exactly what it was. The summoning beast was the product of combining ninjutsu with the Chimera Technique.
Initially, what Aoshi had extracted from Hiruko's memories was only an incomplete and flawed version of the Chimera Technique.
However, after acquiring top-tier scientific research capability from Orochimaru, the problems that once stumped him were quickly resolved.
Thus, the forbidden technique was perfected.
In the original timeline, Hiruko had used the Chimera Technique on himself. But Aoshi could not accept turning himself into something neither human nor ghost.
Besides, there was no need to use it on himself at all.
Under Aoshi's gaze, Animal Path – Hiruko lifted the enlarged Seven-Tails' wing from the nutrient tank.
Once preparations were complete, he activated the Chimera Technique. The Seven-Tails' wing began to merge into the strange summoning beast.
At first, the fusion proceeded smoothly. The wing settled into the creature as though it had always belonged there.
But soon, the summoning beast let out a shrill, agonized roar. It was as if it were enduring unbearable torment.
Before Pain – Hiruko could react, the creature's body suddenly exploded.
It died instantly. A miserable end.
The fusion of the Seven-Tails' wings had failed.
Watching the scene, Aoshi pondered the reason for the failure.
"It seems the summoning beast was too weak to withstand the immense power contained within the Seven-Tails' wing."
Although the creature was created through the Chimera Technique, because the technique had only just been perfected, ordinary animals had been used as materials.
They were weak in every aspect. After all, the wing had fallen from a Tailed Beast and had just absorbed Nine-Tails chakra.
"We'll need stronger summoning beasts if we want the fusion to succeed."
---
…Several days later.
Aoshi returned to the Ninja Academy.
Today marked the beginning of the second phase of instruction for the Medical Special Training Class.
Theoretically, this phase should have delved deeper into medical theory.
But considering that the students were still children, Aoshi instead designated the second phase as chakra-control training.
A reward for those who had passed the first stage.
The Ninja Academy itself offered nothing of the sort. Even if someone failed the second phase, the training would still greatly improve their chakra control.
An enormous benefit.
"Starting today, we begin phase two. Follow me."
Chakra-control training couldn't be conducted indoors. As his words fell, excitement rippled through the group.
Even Kurenai, Rin, and Shizune were no exception. They were at an age brimming with energy.
Outdoor lessons were far more appealing than dull theory.
Aoshi led the twenty-three students who had passed phase one out of the classroom and toward the edge of the academy's training grounds.
A row of decorative trees stood there. Perfect tools for today's lesson.
"Today, I'm going to teach you tree-climbing." As he spoke, Aoshi walked toward the middle tree.
Under the gazes of twenty-three astonished students, he stepped onto the trunk and walked upward as if strolling across flat ground.
He stood parallel to the ground, gravity seemingly meaningless.
"Amazing!" Students seeing this technique for the first time gasped in awe.
Only Kurenai and Shizune remained relatively composed.
After demonstrating, Aoshi stepped back down to face them.
"This exercise sharpens chakra control. Even if you never become Medical Ninja, you'll still benefit from it." He then explained the underlying principles of tree-climbing.
"After mastering this, we'll move on to water-walking."
With a wave of his hand, he used Water Release to create a large pond, then walked across its surface as casually as if it were solid ground.
This time, however, he offered no immediate explanation.
"There's no shortcut. Only relentless practice. We have one month left and four more classes. Ask me anything you don't understand."
According to Aoshi's plan, those four lessons would cover tree-climbing, disturbed tree-climbing, water-walking, and disturbed water-walking.
The so-called "disturbed" versions meant performing the techniques while he actively interfered.
Only by maintaining chakra control under all conditions could one become an outstanding ninja.
Of course, the standard for passing phase two was not that high. Successfully performing water-walking would be enough to advance to phase three.
"In the first class of the next term, I'll hold an assessment. Anyone whose chakra control is insufficient will be eliminated.
If you don't want that to happen, don't spend the entire break playing around."