"Sasori,"
"I advise you to follow the leader's orders."
"This person is not someone you can handle alone."
Seeing Sasori's discontent, White Zetsu laughed while Black Zetsu continued in a sinister tone:
"Of course, if you want to be absent from the next meeting like Kisame,"
"then good luck to you."
"Hopefully, I'll be able to find your remains."
"Hmph!" Sasori glanced at Black and White Zetsu, then looked at the masked Obito:
"The shinobi world rumors say that the Birth of the Trees outside the Hidden Mist Village was caused by a mysterious man with a single-eyed mask."
"And this person's companion happened to be Kisame wearing the Akatsuki cloak."
"Could this person be you?"
Every Akatsuki member had their own intelligence channels.
They had all heard about the recent events outside the Hidden Mist Village.
Hearing Sasori's question, Uchiha Itachi also turned his gaze towards Obito.
He did not believe Obito could use the Birth of the Trees.
Otherwise, Obito would not have agreed to his condition of not attacking Konoha.
"It wasn't me."
"The Birth of the Trees was used by this person. Don't be misled by the people of the Hidden Mist Village."
"That's why Kisame was severely injured."
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Kakuzu."
Uchiha Obito spoke up himself, pointing to Shishou's photo.
"Is that so."
Sasori turned to Kakuzu, who nodded. Sasori muttered to himself and said no more.
He and Kakuzu were both subordinates of Pain and Konan, and he trusted him.
If this person could indeed use the Birth of the Trees,
then Sasori would not be his opponent unless he could catch him off guard.
Just like he did when he ambushed the Third Kazekage.
Such a person, aside from the leader,
no one could handle him.
Uchiha Itachi narrowed his eyes at Shishou's photo, remaining silent.
Something about the man's appearance felt familiar...
...
Land of Rice Fields.
Orochimaru's secret base.
"Hahaha."
"Hahahahaha."
Orochimaru held the information scroll, laughing maniacally.
Seeing that the masked man from the Akatsuki could use the Birth of the Trees, Orochimaru was now certain that the transplantation of Hashirama's cells could not only succeed but also grant him the power of the First Hokage.
This filled Orochimaru with excitement.
In scientific research, the most feared thing is uncertainty about the experiment's success.
However, once it is confirmed that the experiment can succeed, all that remains is to keep trying until it works.
Thus, Orochimaru was confident he would one day successfully transplant Hashirama's cells.
At that time, he would not only gain the power of the First Hokage,
but also trade with that person to further obtain the secrets of evolving the Sharingan into the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Once he mastered these two powers, Orochimaru could prove to his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, that he was right.
Thinking about this, Orochimaru laughed heartily once more.
"Orochimaru-sama,"
"the Uchiha cell cloning experiment failed."
Yamato approached Orochimaru, speaking softly.
"Hmm?"
"What went wrong?"
Orochimaru frowned, turning to look at Yamato.
Though his primary focus was now on the Hashirama cell transplantation,
he had not given up on his pursuit of the Sharingan.
Since the Uchiha clan had been wiped out, he planned to clone and cultivate one himself.
Fortunately, he had studied the Sharingan extensively while in Konoha and had plenty of samples, so he was not lacking in experimental material.
This idea came to him when Danzo requested cloning technology from him.
"It seems the cell samples lacked sufficient vitality,"
"and the cloning technology isn't yet perfected."
Yamato responded cautiously.
"Is that so?"
"Then perfect the cloning technology first."
"You will oversee this project."
"Use Kimimaro's cells as experimental samples."
Orochimaru made his decision casually. His main goal was now the Hashirama cell transplantation experiment.
Other matters did not concern him much.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."
Yamato responded respectfully and withdrew.
In the lab dedicated to the Hashirama cell transplantation experiment, Orochimaru looked at the dead experimental subjects with some frustration.
Then, he composed himself and continued his experiments.
For Orochimaru, failure was frequent; success was rare.
Without the resilience to handle repeated failures, one could not pursue a path of scientific research.
"I wonder if I can get that man named Shishou to help me obtain some of Uchiha Itachi's cells."
"Once I perfect the cloning technology, using Uchiha Itachi's cells for experiments would be ideal."
"But this person has already given sufficient compensation upfront."
"If I want his help, I must offer something of equal value."
"I wonder what he might be interested in..."
Orochimaru thought as he worked on his experiments.
...
Three days later.
Land of Demons, Priestess's Palace.
Tsunade and Shizune had already left, leaving only Miroku and Eri with their daughters in the palace.
"How do you feel?"
Shishou asked as he looked at Uzumaki Eri in front of him.
"Um..."
Eri's cheeks turned red as she whispered, "It feels very comfortable..."
"Is that so."
"That's good."
Shishou glanced at the almost healed bite marks on Eri's arm, satisfied, and withdrew his finger.
He estimated that after one or two more treatments, the bite marks on Eri's arm would completely disappear.
During the last treatment, Shishou had noticed the residual bite marks on Eri's arm.
So, for the past few days, he had been using the destructive insects to devour animals in the forests of the Land of Demons, the Land of Bears, and the Land of Birds, and then channeling the absorbed life force back to Eri.
Of course, if he encountered any bandits, thugs, rogue samurai, or rogue ninja, Shishou would not hesitate to use them to breed his destructive insects.
He had no mercy for those who had committed countless atrocities.
As Eri dressed, she glanced shyly at Shishou.
She was very grateful for Shishou's treatment.
However, each time he treated her, he would remove all her clothes, making her feel embarrassed.
Fortunately, she was gradually getting used to it.
"Eri, how is your study of sealing techniques coming along?"
Shishou asked with a smile, enjoying Eri's shy expression.
"Shishou-sama, I have basically mastered the foundational sealing techniques."
Eri kneeled in front of Shishou, her face red with embarrassment.
Because Shishou was holding her lower leg.
"Then keep up the good work."
Shishou stood up, leaving a final comment as he walked out.
He had other matters to discuss with Miroku and couldn't stay long.
"Yes, Shishou-sama."
Eri kneeled on the tatami mat, respectfully seeing him off.
Watching Shishou leave, Eri felt a bit lost and murmured to herself.
"Am I really that unattractive?"