chapter 112 part 1
Chapter 112: You're Useless to Me Now, Orochimaru
During this time, Orochimaru's life hadn't been easy. He tried his best to lower his presence, intentionally avoiding the Third Hokage. However, the laboratories where he conducted his experiments were limited, and he couldn't simply defect. In the end, he was cornered by the Third Hokage, half-willingly, half-reluctantly.
But in the Third Hokage's eyes, Orochimaru's secretive behavior only confirmed that he had something to hide.
"Me, control Tsukasa Kaede? The first thing you say after finding me is this? You have such faith in me, I'm truly flattered," Orochimaru said with a snide tone. Control Tsukasa Kaede? That was the last thing he wanted to hear right now. Tsukasa Kaede was completely beyond his control. Were Danzo and the Third Hokage really blaming him for everything Tsukasa Kaede had done?
The Third Hokage looked heartbroken. "Danzo has told me everything. I know you learned Impure World Reincarnation and controlled the deceased Tsukasa Kaede! I will investigate how Tsukasa Kaede truly died, but why are *you* the one using the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to control him?"
"...That damn Danzo, so easily shirked his responsibility. You're not foolish enough to actually believe him, are you?"
"All I care about now is whether Tsukasa Kaede is in your hands! The Village's Ninja should not be desecrated like this. You should know exactly where my bottom line is." The Third Hokage walked step by step towards Orochimaru. Although short in stature, he made beads of sweat appear on Orochimaru's forehead.
Orochimaru knew the old man was truly furious. But what could he say? Should he reveal that Tsukasa Kaede had mastered a method to break the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu? He absolutely couldn't tell the Third Hokage that, at least not before he understood the true weakness of Impure World Reincarnation from Tsukasa Kaede.
It had taken Orochimaru several years to finally obtain and learn the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. He still wanted to use this Forbidden Jutsu as his trump card. He couldn't just let the method to break it become common knowledge; that would be utterly useless.
"Hehe, you look like you're about to burst with anger, how rare... To some extent, I did carry out certain actions with Tsukasa Kaede, but it shouldn't be enough to make you this furious, should it? The operation to acquire the Rinnegan was beneficial to the Village. You must know by now that Nagato's parents were killed by people from our Hidden Leaf Village, right?"
Orochimaru said in a low voice, "Nagato has more reason than anyone to hate Konoha and seek revenge on Konoha after gaining immense power. Killing someone's parents was already a mistake; failing to nip it in the bud was an even greater one. What Danzo and I are doing is eliminating hidden dangers. Someone has to do these things."
The Third Hokage irritably puffed on his pipe, remaining silent for a moment.
As a proponent of the Will of Fire, he couldn't openly encourage assassinations or extermination, yet he also couldn't allow Nagato to act freely. If, years later, they were attacked by the Sage's Eyes, it would be a huge problem, and the Hidden Leaf Village would suffer unimaginable losses.
After a long while, the Third Hokage's expression gradually returned to calm, which made Orochimaru secretly sigh in relief—truth be told, he was a little intimidated by the Third Hokage in his current state.
In most situations, the Third Hokage was benevolent and kind, his words mostly warm encouragement. Even when displeased, he would only intensify his tone and look serious. To openly display anger with words and expressions was truly rare.
"Sunagakure sent an envoy to deliver a diplomatic letter, and the messenger has already handed it to me."
The Third Hokage stared intently into Orochimaru's eyes. "They are very certain that the strangely behaving Tsukasa Kaede allied with the Sand Rogue Ninja, Sasori of the Red Sand, to kill a Sand Shinobi, and then attacked and took the One-Tail Jinchuriki. It seems they know the truth can no longer be hidden and want to make the Hidden Leaf Village the culprit."
"Impossible, that's too fabricated. Sasori of the Red Sand, though Chiyo's grandson and a renowned Puppet Master, could never possess the ability to deal with a Tailed Beast. You know very well the characteristics of a Puppeteer like him."
"As for Tsukasa Kaede, he doesn't possess the ability to defeat and capture a Tailed Beast alive. Is he supposed to achieve that by blowing up countless Corpses? That's ridiculous. Even if he brought Hidan, at most he could only kill the One-Tail, it would be very difficult to capture the One-Tail alive."
"You're still feigning ignorance at a time like this? Tsukasa Kaede is an Impure World Reincarnation body; it's practically confirmed that he died and was controlled by you. I'm asking you now, what exactly did you intend to do by attacking the One-Tail? Directly attacking a Tailed Beast is only second in severity to assassinating an enemy Village's Kage! First it was the Eight-Tails, now it's the One-Tail. What do you plan to do with the Tailed Beasts?"
"..." Orochimaru was utterly stunned; he genuinely knew nothing about this! Tsukasa Kaede, that guy, went after the One-Tail without a word? And as an Impure World Reincarnation body, possessing a certain degree of Infinite Chakra? But even with Infinite Chakra, what then? The Corpses he controlled weren't Undying Bodies. Even if Roshi was included, could they really defeat the One-Tail?
"The Intel states that a vast forest appeared on the battlefield, which the people of the Hidden Sand Village concluded was Wood Release. It seems that while conducting Human Experimentation on your Village comrades, you never forgot to hold back secrets. I suspect you made Tsukasa Kaede, a dead man, possess the Wood Release Bloodline Limit! Orochimaru, how many things have you hidden from me?"
The Third Hokage realized that among his three disciples, only Tsunade truly gave him peace of mind. The other two were more rebellious than the last, doing things that were even worse than a Rogue Ninja! Jiraiya, for instance, believed in something called the Child of Prophecy from Mount Myōboku, unilaterally withdrew from the Second Great Ninja War, and went to teach Nagato, all without informing the Village of the crucial Intel that Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha Shinobi.
Orochimaru was no different. He used a Forbidden Art to Resurrect and control the Village's comrades, secretly carrying out Hashirama Cells Transplantation Experiments without the Village's knowledge, resulting in a second successful experiment subject capable of mastering the Wood Release Bloodline Limit! The Third Hokage suddenly felt that his control over this Village was not as perfect as he had imagined; there were still many loopholes that needed to be filled.
And first among them was Orochimaru, who tampered with the Corpses of his comrades! "Hehehe, this is quite reasonable, isn't it? If Senior Touka could acquire the Wood Release Bloodline Limit, then it's only natural for Tsukasa Kaede, as the person second only to me in charge of the Transplantation Experiments, to make some progress..."
Normal, my ass! Orochimaru himself found it inconceivable! He did indeed cultivate experiment subjects for Tsukasa Kaede, experiment subjects constructed from Hashirama Cells, to serve as Sacrifices for Impure World Reincarnation, bearing Tsukasa Kaede's Soul.
But that didn't mean Tsukasa Kaede could acquire the Wood Release Bloodline Limit, did it? He should only be able to use the Jutsu he had in life. How could he master the Bloodline Limit of the Sacrifice as well? How could Impure World Reincarnation possibly have such an ability?
Seeing the Third Hokage's face growing darker and darker, on the verge of erupting, Orochimaru still stammered, beginning to seriously consider for the first time whether he should break through the Third Hokage's encirclement, fight his way out of the Village, and defect—though he needed to carefully consider which was more important: the flaws of Impure World Reincarnation or his status as a Konoha Ninja.