Orochimaru grew intrigued by Yato's words. "What devious scheme have you come up with now? Let's hear it." He had to be cautious with Yato—after all, this was someone who could casually destroy one of his hidden labs just by going to the bathroom.
Uchiha Yato said, "Right now, there's someone standing before you who shares the same bloodline as the First Hokage." He was, of course, referring to himself—a descendant of Hashirama Senju's lineage.
Then he added, "But shouldn't his granddaughter be an even closer candidate?"
At these words, Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly.
The Sannin's relationship was currently very strong. Previously, there had been some tension among them due to Tsunade, but now that her hemophobia was cured and she had returned, their bond wasn't something that could be broken with just a few words.
Just as Orochimaru was lost in thought, Yato's next statement nearly made him snap.
"Jiraiya happens to know Sage Mode. That means the two most crucial test subjects are already accounted for."
Orochimaru paused before replying, "You really do have the audacity, don't you? Now you're scheming against them too."
Watching Orochimaru's reaction, Yato couldn't help but mock him internally.
"Oh, please. Look how nervous you are. If you saw your original self in the story, you'd die laughing."
Not wanting to drag it out any longer, Yato finally said, "Why do you always assume test subjects have to be dead? I think spending too much time with the Hokage's advisor has made you cold-blooded—and not in a good way. If this is how you approach experiments, maybe our collaboration should end here."
Orochimaru understood then that Yato had been deliberately messing with him—just to gauge his stance on the other two Sannin.
Still, the results weren't bad. At the very least, Yato's words had subtly conveyed something important."I'm quite satisfied with your performance, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen to collaborate with you."
Uchiha Yato said, "It's not about sending them to their deaths, nor is it about doing anything to their bodies."
"Let me summarize for you—what you need now is to understand Wood Release."
"Tsunade possesses the direct bloodline of Hashirama Senju. If she can awaken Wood Release, it would verify whether it's related to the Senju genes."
"Jiraiya has mastered Sage Mode. If he can awaken Wood Release, it would prove the influence of senjutsu on Wood Release."
"Don't you think these two points alone are worth exploring and developing?"
Orochimaru still seemed puzzled and asked, "But what does that have to do with using them as test subjects?"
"You can't guarantee they'll definitely awaken Wood Release, can you?"
Uchiha Yato continued, "That's precisely why we need to investigate. If everyone could awaken Wood Release with power equal to Hashirama Senju's, then the shinobi world wouldn't hold Hashirama in such legendary regard."
Uchiha Yato's words sounded reasonable.
But they only sounded that way, because getting these two to cooperate with Wood Release experiments would be quite difficult.
Tsunade might be somewhat manageable, but Jiraiya would be much harder to convince.
Noticing Orochimaru's hesitation, Uchiha Yato added, "Tsunade's competitive nature is so strong—just provoke her a little and she'll come running."
"As for Jiraiya, he's practically Tsunade's free bonus. Wouldn't that make it even simpler?"
Orochimaru was still concerned that if Tsunade and Jiraiya found out about these experiments, it might create a rift between them.
At this point, Uchiha Yato was genuinely exasperated with Orochimaru. In the original story, he was such a formidable villain, yet here he was getting all hesitant over these trivial matters.
"Just don't tell Tsunade you're conducting human experiments or that you want to research Wood Release. Problem solved."
"As long as it falls within the scope of medical research, Tsunade would even support it enthusiastically."As he said this, Uchiha Yato looked at Orochimaru with undisguised, idiot-staring eyes—a look that carried no small amount of lethality for Orochimaru."
Orochimaru replied, "In that case, I understand."
Then, changing the subject:
"You'll come to assist when the time comes, right? After all, your bloodline is rather special too."
Uchiha Yato answered this part very casually.
"Of course. As long as it doesn't cost me my life, I'm completely fine with it."
Uchiha Yato genuinely admired Orochimaru as a person, setting aside certain objective facts.
Whether in the original story or now, Orochimaru's actions were always worth scrutinizing, and he was also quite decent as a person.
If not for the fact that Orochimaru wasn't a member of the Uchiha Clan, Yato would have considered telling him about the Mangekyo Sharingan. But in the future, there was still a chance he might come clean with Orochimaru.
After all, given the system's tendencies, after this upgrade, the places requiring emotional coins would likely multiply.
If Orochimaru's methods could help him evolve his Sharingan into the Eternal Mangekyo—or even the Rinnegan—without the system's help...
For Uchiha Yato, this would save a considerable amount of emotional coins.
And these saved coins could then be converted into various tools to "share" with the entire shinobi world.
As for how the test subjects would participate in the experiments—that wasn't something Uchiha Yato needed to worry about.One of the best aspects of collaborating with Orochimaru was that Orochimaru had his own considerations and didn't require much guidance from him.
Life afterward remained relatively uneventful.
Only minor incidents occurred.
For example, Shimura Danzo faced sanctions, and his home was bombed seven or eight times by bounty hunters.
If Uchiha Yato had any knowledge of civil engineering, he would have considered opening a construction company next to Danzo's residence.
After all, the repair costs each time were a small fortune in themselves.
A group of Sand ninja studied under Tsunade, and though there were occasional minor conflicts during this period, none were significant.
Our Hokage's advisor later clashed with the Sand ninja again, but it was merely a matter of conflicting interests between the two villages.
Since Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't afford to play the villain, Shimura Danzo had to take on that role.
Thus, our dear Danzo had his "good reputation" spread far and wide across the shinobi world by spies from various villages and the Sand ninja themselves.
These incidents only came to an end with the final mission of the Sand delegation.
...
Within the Sand delegation, Chiyo spoke to Rasa:
"In the last three days, we will engage in a sparring match with the Jonin of the Hidden Leaf."
"Our current plan is a three-on-three battle, divided into three rounds."
"This is a test of strength—you must give it your all."
Hearing Chiyo's purpose for summoning him, Rasa grew excited.
Even before arriving, he had hoped for a fierce battle against powerful shinobi like Uchiha Yato.
Meanwhile, on the other side, things were different.
...
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen addressed the Hidden Leaf's high-ranking officials:
"The Sand delegation will depart the Hidden Leaf in three days."
"Before they leave, we will hold a sparring match with them."
"There are three slots available, and I hope capable Jonin will volunteer."
After Hiruzen announced this, the major clans remained cautious, while some civilian Jonin began entertaining ideas.
After all, this was an opportunity to gain recognition from the Hokage's inner circle—something that could benefit their future careers.
But the clans were far more prudent. Matters brought up in such high-level meetings were usually already decided upon.
This was merely a formality, a superficial gesture to seek their approval.
Hiruzen already had his candidates in mind.
Sending out Jiraiya and the other two would be outright bullying, yet he still wanted to showcase the Hidden Leaf's might.
Uchiha Yato was one of his choices. Regardless of how troublesome the kid was, his strength was undeniable.
This was also a chance to see if the Sand ninja could force him to reveal a few more hidden cards. If conflicts arose, it would be the Uchiha Clan's problem, not his.
Another candidate was the young heir of the Hyuga main family—Hyuga Hiashi.
This would be a good opportunity to display the younger generation's talents while subtly showcasing the Hidden Leaf's Bloodline Limit prowess.
The final candidate would depend on the Sand's lineup.
If Chiyo herself took the field, then Hatake Sakumo would be the perfect opponent, hopefully turning hostility into friendship.
Just as everyone was preparing for the competition, our dear Uchiha Yato was already plotting his next mischief.