Konohagakure Village, Hokage Office.
Trees! Trees! Trees!
"Come in."
The door opened, and Orochimaru walked in.
"Teacher, you called for me?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and said, "Yes, Orochimaru. I wanted to ask, after studying Wood Release for so long, when do you think the Wood Dragon Jutsu will completely absorb the White Zetsu?"
Orochimaru paused for a moment and said, "White Zetsu? Are you talking about the white, foreign being we captured five years ago?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and said, "Yes, that creature attacked Takayama Haru today."
Orochimaru's eyes suddenly lit up with interest. "You mean, Takayama Haru's Wood Dragon Jutsu has already completely absorbed White Zetsu?"
"Yes, that's what the Intelligence Department reported, and they even took some photos."
With that, Sarutobi pushed the photos toward Orochimaru.
In the photos, White Zetsu's body could clearly be seen shrinking.
"White Zetsu absorption... Could it be that White Zetsu's body is made of the cells of the First Hokage?" Orochimaru said excitedly. "That would explain why it could hide in the land and trees to escape."
"Such a pity, it's gone?" Sarutobi asked.
Orochimaru felt that there was still a lot of research value in White Zetsu.
"It might still be around," Sarutobi said.
Orochimaru looked at the earliest photo again. Although it wasn't very clear, it could still be seen that there were three white, perfect samples.
"A group of the same species?" Orochimaru asked, shocked.
Then, Sarutobi tapped on a transparent beaker beside him. "This is the last bit of liquid left by White Zetsu."
Orochimaru's eyes brightened, and he reached for it.
Clink!
Orochimaru's hand was suddenly stopped.
Sarutobi smiled and said, "Orochimaru, go take care of some things, and come back later. I'll give this to you."
"What's going on?"
"Go to Kumogakure and bring back Danzo."
Orochimaru squinted his eyes and said, "Teacher, are you in some kind of trouble?"
Sarutobi smiled. "According to our plan, Danzo should bring back some spoils, like the Rinnegan."
Orochimaru's pupils contracted. "Two-tailed beasts?! Isn't Raikage going to come after us again?"
Not long ago, he had been struck by Raikage's decisive blow, and Orochimaru didn't want to try that again.
Sarutobi smiled and said, "You don't need to feel too much pressure. Just support Danzo this time. I'll deal with Raikage, and I haven't been active for years."
Orochimaru's mind was still in turmoil. "Teacher, doesn't this mean we're deceiving Kumogakure?"
"Deceiving? This is their lesson for infiltrating Konohagakure to steal the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Sarutobi said with a smile, shaking his head. "We do whatever we want. They can come and go as they please."
"Teacher, should I leave now?"
"No rush. It'll be three days soon, one week at most. For now, stay with me."
Orochimaru nodded. He understood that after learning this information, he would be under Sarutobi's watch.
This was the rule.
"Teacher, can you let me study that thing?" Orochimaru asked.
"No, you can't study it. You'll miss the important event day and night if you do," Sarutobi said.
Orochimaru was frustrated.
Meanwhile, in a misty water region…
The damp sea breeze hit them as they entered.
Tobi excitedly said, "Teacher, what do we do next? Should we attack Kirigakure?"
Takayama Haru glanced at Tobi and said, "Can you kill a chicken or a duck? Go ahead and attack Kirigakure, but only if you can do it yourself."
Tobi, suddenly doubtful, said, "Teacher, I'm a genius Uchiha with the Sharingan!"
Takayama Haru glanced at the trees in front of them and said, "Alright, genius of the Uchiha clan, go ahead. Someone's coming."
"Eh, we've been discovered?"
Suddenly, a large blade cut through the grass, revealing a figure.
It was a man with a ferocious face, shark-like features, and sharp teeth.
A nearby Mist ninja pointed at Takayama Haru and said, "Lord Kisame, it's them. One of these kids is an Uchiha with the Sharingan!"
Takayama Haru blinked and said, "Kisame Hoshigaki!"
Looking at his large sword, it was just a regular large blade, not the bandage-wrapped sword of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Moreover, the man was still very young. It seemed he wasn't yet part of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Kisame glared at Takayama Haru and asked, "Konoha ninja, do you recognize me?"
"I certainly do, the infamous Shark Man."
Tobi looked at Takayama Haru, then back at Kisame, his legs instinctively trembling.
Takayama Haru ruffled Tobi's hair and said, "Good luck, genius of the Uchiha clan."
Tobi's legs were shaking, and he was on the verge of shouting, "I can do it!"
His Sharingan saw that the chakra on the man opposite was ten times stronger than the previous ninjas they had encountered!
He looked so fierce, wasn't going up going to get him killed by the blade?
Kakashi also took out his kunai, eyes locked on Kisame, sensing the heavy atmosphere.
Takayama Haru continued, "You all go out and hide your true strength. Don't show off too much. Look, Tobi was recognized right away. If people know you're Uchiha, they might try to kill you and take your eyes."
Rin couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "Teacher Takayama, you're good at everything, but you just love playing tricks on Tobi!"