"Hiruzen-sensei, you called for me?"
Orochimaru pushed open the door and entered the Hokage Office. As soon as she returned to the Village, she was informed by an ANBU Ninja that Hokage-sama, her dear Hiruzen-sensei, wanted to see her, so she rushed over without delay.
"Orochimaru, you're not hurt, are you?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up from his chair, walked over, and after confirming that Orochimaru was not injured, a relieved smile appeared on his face.
"Hiruzen-sensei, that Cloud Ninja was too careless. Perhaps he didn't take me seriously from the beginning. His overconfidence in his own strength ultimately became the reason for his defeat against me."
Orochimaru was not being humble, but simply stating the truth.
It could be confirmed that the Cloud Ninja's strength surpassed that of an average Chunin, but had not yet reached Jonin level. If the opponent had been stronger or more vigilant, her Shadow Clone would not have been able to defeat him.
If she had fought with her true body, she would have had more means at her disposal, and she would still have been the victor.
Battles between Ninja are a constant unveiling of trump cards, and it all depends on who has more trump cards.
This is similar to playing poker. Some people can gain an advantage with a bad hand, while others mess up a good hand. It mainly depends on their skill.
"As a Ninja, you must never let your guard down, even when facing enemies weaker than yourself, you must not relax your vigilance."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was very satisfied with Orochimaru's performance.
"Hiruzen-sensei, when I found that Cloud Ninja, he had abducted a child from the Iburi Clan. It seems he wanted to take him back to Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning to study his Bloodline Limit."
Orochimaru recounted how she encountered the Cloud Ninja, adding her own conjectures.
"The Iburi Clan, you say?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice carried a hint of emotion and melancholy. The Iburi Clan's Bloodline Limit was very powerful, but its drawback was also extremely fatal. Such a drawback destined the Iburi Clan to only survive in the darkness, unable to live freely under the sun.
"Orochimaru, your conjecture is not without reason. The analysis team is currently gathering intelligence from that Cloud Ninja, and we will soon know Kumogakure's true objective. You have rendered a great service to the Village this time!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi found Orochimaru more and more pleasing to the eye. Since becoming the teacher of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, the Village had been getting better and better, and even the Uchiha Clan had undergone changes.
"Hiruzen-sensei, what level of mission does this count as for me? Is there a reward?"
Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with anticipation.
"I'll count it as a B-rank mission for you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi guessed that Orochimaru would bring it up and felt helpless about this little money-grubber. Judging by her contribution this time, a B-rank mission reward was reasonable.
"As expected of Hokage-sama, so generous!"
Orochimaru said with a beaming smile, very satisfied with the reward Hiruzen Sarutobi gave her.
"Oh, by the way, Hiruzen-sensei, please allow me to use the medical equipment at Konoha Hospital."
Orochimaru thought of the blood samples collected from the Iburi Clan members in her backpack. If they couldn't be analyzed soon, these blood samples would be useless.
"Medical equipment? Orochimaru, what do you need medical equipment for?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of Orochimaru's wide range of interests and then of the Iburi Clan's situation, and a guess formed in his mind.
During those few days she spent in the Akimichi Clan's territory, besides improving manufacturing processes, she always sought out members of the Ino–Shika–Chō three great families for sparring, seemingly wanting to improve her mastery of the nature transformation of Yin and Yang through personal experience.
"I collected blood samples from most of the Iburi Clan members. I want to know why their Bloodline Limit loses control as they age."
Orochimaru opened her backpack and took out the collected blood samples.
"Alright, the Medical Squad's medical equipment is very expensive, Orochimaru, please use it carefully!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his desk and sat down. Orochimaru's answer confirmed his guess. He took out a piece of paper and wrote down his permission, not forgetting to remind Orochimaru not to damage the Medical Squad's equipment.
"Hiruzen-sensei, in terms of medical knowledge, you are not as good as me."
Orochimaru walked over and took the permission. Her gaze was like that of someone looking at an amateur, but Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't refute it, because in the medical field, he truly was an amateur.
After Orochimaru left, Hiruzen Sarutobi remembered that the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had once researched the Iburi Clan's Bloodline Limit. He got up and went to the Second Hokage's archives to find a scroll recording Senju Tobirama's analysis of the Iburi Clan's Bloodline Limit, and ordered an Anbu to deliver it to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru went home, handed the herbs to her Shadow Clone, quickly packed up, and took the Iburi Clan's blood samples to Konoha Hospital. On the way, she encountered an ANBU Ninja.
"Hiruzen-sensei is looking for me?"
Orochimaru looked at the ANBU Ninja who appeared in front of her.
"No, Hokage-sama asked me to give this to you."
The ANBU Ninja respectfully presented a scroll with both hands.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Orochimaru reached out, took the scroll, opened it, and began to read.
This is… Senju Tobirama's analysis of the Iburi Clan's Bloodline Limit?
It made sense. How could Senju Tobirama not have researched the Iburi Clan's Bloodline Limit? Unfortunately, limited by his perspective and knowledge, his analysis wasn't entirely correct, but it still gave her many insights and saved her time on trial and error.
Thank you, dear Hiruzen-sensei.
Orochimaru thanked Hiruzen Sarutobi in her heart, put away the scroll, and headed to Konoha Hospital.
In the evening, the sun set, and the sky burned with fiery clouds.
Tsunade walked into Orochimaru's house, smelled a rich fragrance of herbs, and saw two Orochimarus, guessing that one of them must be a Shadow Clone.
"Tsunade, we are both Shadow Clones, no need for testing. The main body is at Konoha Hospital."
The two Shadow Clones glanced at Tsunade, and one of them spoke before Tsunade could, revealing the main body's location.
"Hospital?!"
Tsunade's pupils suddenly contracted, and she turned to run out, only to hear Orochimaru's Shadow Clone's voice from behind her.
"The main body isn't injured."
"Then what are you doing at the hospital?"
Tsunade put one hand on her hip and pointed at Orochimaru's Shadow Clone, asking. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had just thought Orochimaru was injured and sent to the hospital, and was about to rush to Konoha Hospital as fast as possible.
"Using the hospital's medical facilities. If you go find the main body, you should be able to see what she's doing."
The Shadow Clone unhesitatingly sold out its main body. The other Shadow Clone, who was tinkering with herbs, showed a look of approval.
What did the main body do? What did it have to do with them? As long as it didn't disturb their research, that was fine.
What was Orochimaru doing that required the hospital's medical equipment?
Tsunade left Orochimaru's house full of questions and rushed to Konoha Hospital.
Konoha Hospital, Analysis Room.
Hmm?
Orochimaru, analyzing the blood samples with precise instruments, suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Orochimaru thought of Tsunade, who often came to her house for meals, and knew why she had an ominous premonition.
No, this is bad! I need to record it quickly!
Orochimaru looked at the almost fully analyzed blood samples and began writing furiously in her notebook.
The Iburi Clan's Bloodline Limit is a type of Yin Release Ninjutsu inherited through their bloodline, innate from birth. As they age, the power of their Bloodline Limit gradually increases, and their bodies slowly transform into Yin Release creations, similar to the shadows controlled by the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Jutsu.
The overly powerful Yin Release Chakra twists the nature of the body. This is the fundamental reason why members of the Iburi Clan, at a certain age, experience abnormally unstable cells under the influence of Yin Release Chakra, causing them to uncontrollably dissipate into smoke and die, even in a sealed environment with no wind.
This situation can also be understood as an imbalance of Yin and Yang; the balance maintaining the body is broken, leading to the Bloodline Limit spiraling out of control.
Based on Senju Tobirama's analysis of the Iburi Clan's Bloodline Limit, changing this might require external intervention.
Either suppressing the Bloodline Limit or enhancing the body's strength, which means Yang Release Chakra, to bring the Iburi Clan members from an imbalance of Yin and Yang to a state of Yin and Yang balance.
Orochimaru took out Chiriu's blood sample, pushed the blood from the syringe, and a wind created by Wind Release Chakra blew over it, causing Chiriu's blood sample to dissipate into smoke.
"Orochimaru, what are you busy with?"
Tsunade pushed open the door and entered the analysis room. Seeing Orochimaru holding a syringe and deep in thought, she walked over quickly.
"Nothing, I've finished analyzing what I needed to."
Orochimaru threw the syringe into the trash can, put her notebook in her backpack, and asked curiously, "Tsunade, how did you know I was at the hospital?"
"Hehe, your Shadow Clone told me!"
Tsunade put her hands on her hips, baring her teeth and smiling slyly. She laughed even harder when she saw Orochimaru's dejected expression.
I must be unique in the Ninja World, right?
Orochimaru looked dejectedly at Tsunade, who was laughing even harder. No one would believe it if she told them she was betrayed by her own Shadow Clone, right?
"Are you done with the soldier pill business?"
Tsunade naturally took Orochimaru's hand and pulled her out.
"There's nothing left for me to do."
"For dinner, I want Kung Pao Chicken. My grandma's isn't as good as yours."
Tsunade looked at Orochimaru with anticipation, her expression exactly like Orochimaru's when she looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi earlier.
"So you came to find me just for food."
Orochimaru knew Tsunade always looked for her at such times to freeload a meal.
No, this wasn't just freeloading anymore. Who freeloads and orders a specific dish?
She was treating her home like a free restaurant.
"Hehe, speaking of which, why is it called Kung Pao Chicken?"
Tsunade asked with interest.
"Why is sushi called sushi? Why are deep-fried dishes made with batter called tempura? Why is the fish cake in ramen called Narutomaki?"
Orochimaru countered.
"Uh... pretend I didn't ask."
Tsunade, having been asked about her blind spots, no longer wanted to know the origin of the name of Kung Pao Chicken.
"Hey, Orochimaru, Tsunade!"
Just as they walked out of Konoha Hospital, Tsunade heard Jiraiya's voice. Seeing Jiraiya waving and running over, she wanted to punch him away.
"Orochimaru, what are you doing tonight?"
Jiraiya walked up to them with his hands behind his head, baring his big white teeth, his intention to freeload a meal too obvious.
Tsunade glared fiercely at Jiraiya, who glared back defiantly.
"Let's go to the convenience store first..."
Orochimaru looked at the two clashing individuals, considering that there weren't enough ingredients at home and they needed to go to a convenience store.
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