Land of Rice Fields.
With the efforts of Orochimaru and his subordinates, Otogakure was finally officially established. The Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo was responsible for informing various Great Countries and Great Shinobi Villages about this matter.
Land of Fire, Land of Iron, Land of Lightning, Land of Wind, Land of Grass…
The daimyos of various countries and the leaders of various Shinobi Villages all received a letter from Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo.
While these leaders didn't pay much attention to the sudden emergence of Otogakure, they all responded positively on the surface.
Even the neighboring Konoha, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato replied to himself in the letter, and surprisingly, the letter even mentioned the proposal for a Joint Chunin Exam!
Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo felt that he had reached the pinnacle of life at that moment.
No, this was not the pinnacle yet!
When Otogakure grows, the reputation of Land of Rice Fields will become louder and louder. By then, they might be able to annex neighboring countries. and gradually develop and become the sixth strongest country in the Shinobi World!
This was not just daydreaming, as the leader of Otogakure is Orochimaru, one of the Konoha's legendary Sannin!
Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo happily indulged in daydreams until a short statured Shinobi walked in.
Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo instinctively wanted to shout, but when he saw the eight-note symbol on the forehead protector of the Shinobi, he heaved a sigh of relief and then revealed a sacred and inviolable expression.
"Did Orochimaru send you?" Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo asked.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama sent me to replace you." The short Shinobi wearing the Otogakure's headband replied expressionlessly.
Hearing this, Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo was taken aback: "Replace me? What do you mean?"
"Yes, what does that mean?"
A cold and hoarse voice suddenly came from behind, and Land of Rice Fields Daimyo turned around abruptly, "Orochi… Urgh!"
A cold smile appeared on Orochimaru's lips, and he stretched out his hand to cover the Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo's face, directly removing his 'face', and then swiftly used a kunai to cut his throat.
"From now on, you'll be in control of the Daimyo's mansion."
Orochimaru personally placed the human skin mask he held onto the short Shinobi's face, and said, "Change your clothes."
"Yes!"
After the short Shinobi changed into the clothes of Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo, because the two of them were similar in figure, with the addition of the face, he looked exactly like the Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo!
Having settled everything, Orochimaru originally wanted to leave, but his attention was quickly drawn to the letter on the ground.
"Joint Chunin Exam… interesting… but it's still too early."
Orochimaru pondered and said, "Send a reply to Minato. Tell him that Otogakure has just been established, so we cannot participate in this Chunin Exam. We'll consider joining the next one."
"Yes!"
...
Leaving the Daimyo's mansion, Orochimaru went straight to Otogakure.
Otogakure was established fifty kilometers away from the Daimyo's mansion. Because it was just established, there are only dozens of villagers, who are forcibly arranged by the Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo in the past few days.
As for the Shinobi, it mainly consisted of over a dozen Rogue Shinobi that Orochimaru has recruited, and the remaining five are Genin, who were around ten years old.
Orochimaru doesn't trust Rogue Shinobi, but rather favored the younger Genin.
Because these Genins are orphans Orochimaru had collected from various places!
These orphans were arranged by Orochimaru to undergo rigorous training since they were young. At the same time, he kept instilling in them the ideology of loyalty to him, and let them kill each other every once in a while, so as to select the most outstanding talents.
The ones who could join Otogakure were the cream of the crop from these orphans!
Given time, Orochimaru believes that Otogakure will be full of talents, vibrant enough to support his ambitions!
As he approached Otogakure, the two Genin responsible for guarding the entrance rushed forward.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
"Orochimaru-sama!"
The two Genin, whether in terms of their faces, builds, or expressions, were exactly the same. They are twin brothers, named Sakon and Ukon.
They were the most outstanding talents selected from Orochimaru's army of orphans!
Orochimaru admires the fanatical admiration for him on their faces, but frowned slightly at the fist injuries on their faces… Orochimaru then said softly: "Get up."
"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama!"
Excitedly, Sakon and Ukon stood up, their heads held high, welcoming Orochimaru on both sides of the path.
Orochimaru passed between the two and entered Otogakure.
Because Otogakure is not big, the village is relatively quiet. Orochimaru turned left and right, arriving at a secluded hut.
Pushing open the door, he saw a pair of scarlet 2-Tomoe Sharingan in the pitch-black room.
"Orochimaru-sama!" Uchiha Shin got up from the tatami, then ran over excitedly, "Orochimaru-sama, this pair of Sharingan are amazing!"
After being transplanted with the Sharingan, Uchiha Shin felt like he had undergone a transformation. Whether it was refining Chakra, training Taijutsu or Ninjutsu, it felt like he was playing with cheat codes. In a short period, he had grown into an outstanding… Genin!
Orochimaru asked, "Are you the one who injured Sakon and Ukon?"
"Yes!"
Uchiha Shin excitedly said, "Those two couldn't accept Orochimaru-sama's favoritism towards me, so they had come to trouble me several times. After some time, I can't hold back anymore, so I fought with them. Moreover, I won!"
Orochimaru narrowed his golden vertical pupils: "Did you use the Cursed Seal of Heaven?"
"I…"
Even with Sharingan, it was challenging to defeat the well-coordinated twin Genin without the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
Shin wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Orochimaru.
"I've said it before, unless it's a life-threatening situation, you are prohibited from using the Cursed Seal of Heaven, you… must cherish your body!" Orochimaru's words carried deep concern, but his eyes gleamed with a cold light.
Using Cursed Seal of Heaven would allow one to obtain power far beyond their own in a short time, but it will greatly damage one's own body.
Orochimaru wouldn't allow Shin to ruin his body!
That's right, Orochimaru already regarded Shin's body as his own!
"I, I understand, Orochimaru-sama!" Shin was deeply moved, tears almost falling!
To possess the Cursed Seal of Heaven, Kekkei Genkai of Konoha's Noble Clan, Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, and have Orochimaru gifted these eyes to him without hesitation, and now, to receive such care from Orochimaru himself, Shin trembled with emotion, ready to dedicate himself to Orochimaru even more than before.
After chatting with him for a while, Orochimaru turned and left.
However, Orochimaru didn't go far. He quietly hid in the shadows, coldly watching Shin continue his training in the room.
Cursed Seal of Heaven contains Jugo and Orochimaru's own cells, and Sharingan is Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai. These two distinct things contain the DNA of three people, but there was no sign of rejection in Shin's body. It is simply a freak!
No, this is a divine physique!
The ability to perfectly fuse any organ, tissue, and even Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan— this body was custom-made for Orochimaru!
'Cursed Seal of Heaven, Sharingan… Next would be Hashirama's cells.'
Orochimaru still had a small amount of the Hashirama's cells, but he couldn't transplant them to Shin's body just yet.
Although Shin had shown great loyalty just now, he was still an untested convert, so Orochimaru could not completely trust him. And when he observed Shin in secret, he found that Shin had a kind of rays of light called ambition in his eyes.
So, giving Shin the Sharingan was already the limit, and it is impossible to transplant the Hashirama's cells into his body, letting him awakened Wood Release Kekkei Genkai!
However…
When Shin become a Jonin and when he trains the Sharingan to 3-Tomoe, Orochimaru planned to harvest the crop and use the Living Corpse Reincarnation body to take his body!
At that time, he can just transplant Hashirama's cells for himself!
Orochimaru couldn't help but anticipate it.
Having the Sharingan and awakening the Wood Release from the Hashirama's cells, possessing the most potent forces of the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan… How strong would he be at that time?
Of course, Orochimaru is a humble person, thinking that it would be better if he could transplant more Kekkei Genkai.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru thought of his childhood friend, Hiruko.
This guy is a lunatic like Orochimaru. In order to become stronger, in order to catch up with Sannin, Hiruko actually wanted to develop a Forbidden Technique that can seize others' Kekkei Genkai!
Orochimaru used to think that Hiruko was a fool, but now, he hoped that this fool would succeed!
For this reason, Orochimaru specially sent offer a reward for information about Hiruko in the black market. Unfortunately, there were no leads so far.
However, Orochimaru wasn't in a hurry, as he believes that he can find Hiruko eventually!
If Hiruko really developed the Forbidden Technique he wanted at that time, it would be interesting …