Chapter 87

T/N-

Hahaha Sunday!

Two more chapters coming in a bit!

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Hokage's Office!

"Sasuke obtained tailed beast chakra and defeated Orochimaru?!"

"Kaze can actually use the Eight Inner Gates and even open the Fourth Gate?!"

The face of Sarutobi Hiruzen turned pale as he stared at the images in the crystal ball.

His mind was filled with doubt, fear, and a touch of regret.

As a master of ninjutsu, even if he didn't hear what everyone was saying, he could easily identify the ninjutsu in the images based on his vision and experience.

But what he completely didn't expect was that Kaze could actually use the Eight Inner Gates!

Could it be that the forbidden scroll that was stolen that time contained the knowledge of this technique?

Although it had been three months since then, he distinctly remembered that the forbidden scroll he prepared for Naruto contained four ninjutsu and no taijutsu!

Even if he was mistaken and the scroll did indeed contain the Eight Inner Gates, achieving the Fourth Gate in just three months was beyond the scope of talent and should be labeled as a monster, a freak, or inhuman!

Or perhaps, Kaze's persona had already existed since Naruto's childhood!

He could emerge at any time without Naruto's knowledge!

He had been hiding all along, practicing various ninjutsu, and mastering the Nine-Tails chakra!

After all, he didn't always use the telescope technique to observe Naruto.

The ANBU's surveillance was mainly for protection, and there could have been some oversights and lapses in monitoring.

All this time could have been used for training!

And since Might Guy usually practiced taijutsu throughout the village, it was easy to learn!

This could explain how Kaze displayed such incredible taijutsu, Nine-Tails chakra, and the Eight Inner Gates.

The more Sarutobi Hiruzen thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

Although he couldn't understand why Naruto, who shared the same body, had such poor taijutsu skills.

But this was the most reasonable explanation he could come up with.

"If only I hadn't been so greedy three months ago!"

"I should have immediately sent Yamashiro Aoi with the Sealing Team to work on sealing Naruto!"

"Now he has completely gained Naruto's trust and established himself firmly!"

Regretful and frustrated, Sarutobi Hiruzen wished he could give Danzo a few slaps in the face!

If it weren't for him insisting on bringing Naruto to the main office with an indifferent attitude, he wouldn't have acted the same way, leading to the current situation!

Now, even if he wanted to seal Kaze, Naruto probably wouldn't cooperate!

(Danzo, hiding in a certain base, sneezed and felt an inexplicable heaviness on his back.)

"We can only take it step by step."

If it came to it, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only try to persuade Naruto through deceit.

Or find a way to make Kaze go on a rampage in the village to force Naruto to agree to sealing.

Of course, if Kaze could become more restrained and obedient in the future, he wouldn't have to go to this extent.

After thinking about this matter, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Sasuke, and a barely noticeable trace of greed appeared in his eyes.

If he could obtain this tailed beast chakra, he wouldn't have to worry about Orochimaru, and his body might even return to its peak!

Unfortunately, he had been so focused on Naruto that he hadn't seen what happened between Sasuke and Orochimaru.

Sighing and shaking his head, Sarutobi Hiruzen put away his greed, tapped the desk, and began pondering.

"Just who gave Sasuke this tailed beast chakra, and what's the underlying principle?"

Other than the legendary Jinchuriki like Naruto, he had never heard of anyone else being able to use tailed beast chakra!

Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was lost in thought while staring at the crystal ball, Yamato, who had just come out of the Forest of Death, entered the room respectfully.

"Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and noticed the remains of Orochimaru brought by Yamato.

"Ah, I never expected that he would ultimately use those experiments to turn himself into something neither human nor ghost."

After expressing his thoughts, Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned forward and said,

"We don't need to talk about Naruto's information. Tell me about Sasuke and that tailed beast chakra."

"Yes," facing Sarutobi Hiruzen's inquiry, Yamato quickly recounted the information he had learned after questioning Sakura.

"A Shinobi from the Four-Star Village, given by a mysterious masked figure?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows and reached for a file about the Four-Star Village from a drawer.

"They joined the alliance with the Fire Country, using high-yield rice seeds as an entry token, and sent someone to participate in the exams."

"They also recruited several S-rank criminals, using the rice seeds as leverage to offer them protection!"

"Now, numerous bounty hunters, a large Mist Village pursuit force, elite scouts from various villages have disappeared in the Four-Star Village, and there's a suspicion of the presence of Jonin-level strong individuals and a Kage-level individual!?"

"A newly established shinobi village with such depth. This is troublesome."

The suspected Kage-level strength of the Four-Star Village could secure a position in the ninja world. Additionally, with high-yield rice seeds as their trump card, the Fire Country's Daimyo wouldn't dare to threaten the destruction of the Wave Country.

It was highly likely that Konoha would have to solve this issue by themselves. But now, the confirmed presence of Kage-level strength was a significant concern.

It was certainly a powerful Jinchuriki who had gone rogue and possessed the ability to share tailed beast chakra with others.

Given the capabilities of his current subordinates, they wouldn't stand a chance against such an opponent.

The good news was that the Four-Star Village hadn't shown any malicious intent, and their target seemed to be Sasuke.

Furthermore, among the candidates who arrived were a member of the Yuki Clan and one from the Uzumaki Clan. Their purpose was likely related to collecting kekkei genkai!

Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly pieced together relevant information from the limited data.

"In that case," Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his head and looked at Yamato. "Relay the information about what happened to Sasuke to Danzo and have him pass this information to the relevant parties."

For now, he couldn't provoke them directly.

However, he could send Itachi, who had been undercover, to investigate and gather more information.

After all, Danzo had used the threat of wiping out his family and under pressure Itachi had sacrificed his clan to protect Sasuke's life.

Although there hadn't been any reports from undercover Itachi so far, Sarutobi Hiruzen believed that Danzo had a way to transmit messages.

With Itachi's abilities, they could stir things up in the Four-Star Village. He could also send spies during the chaos.

"I understand," Yamato nodded and didn't inquire further. He then swiftly disappeared from the location.

...

At the resting place in the Sound Village, Orochimaru, in his half-snake form, emerged from the earth.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

"What's happened to you?!"

The four cursed seal bearers who were resting there disguised as ordinary shinobi surrounded him when they saw Orochimaru in this state.

"I'm fine," Orochimaru finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his subordinates.

Using the last of his chakra, he dispelled the White Snake True Form.

A lower half of his body, which was a snake, slipped out from his gaping mouth. He then instructed the four bearers.

"Kidomaru, inform the Sand Village of our plan's acceleration and tell them that if Gaara doesn't arrive before the end of the second stage of the exams, the plan will be deemed a failure."

"Tayuya, go back to the Hidden Sound Village and bring Jirobo here."

"Sakon, keep an eye on the Sand Village. As soon as they set out, bring back the news."

"Kimimaro, infiltrate the exam arena and relay the message to Dosu."

While Orochimaru's primary goal, seducing Sasuke, hadn't been entirely successful, he didn't want to allow Naruto and Sasuke's power to surpass his expectations.

To thwart the second objective, the collapse of Konoha, Orochimaru had to take a risk and advance his plans during the two candidates' exams.

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