At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, in an extremely secluded mountain ravine, a clandestine meeting was taking place.
"Raikage, you've made the right decision." Orochimaru looked at the Fourth Raikage before him, then let out a raspy chuckle.
Behind Orochimaru stood Fugaku Uchiha to his left, pale-faced and silent. To his right, a young man with silver hair smiled, gently pushing up his glasses. This was none other than Kabuto Yakushi — a young Kabuto who had already become his capable assistant.
Orochimaru had brought Kabuto along to assist with transplanting an arm for the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure. The process would be too slow for him to handle alone.
"When can we begin?" A's expression was rigid, his displeasure at collaborating with Orochimaru evident. He had provided vast research resources for this, or else the Snake Man wouldn't have agreed to such a thankless task.
Behind A stood C and Darui, ever vigilant.
"We can start right away." Orochimaru replied, clapping his hands, "Ordinary people couldn't withstand this kind of powerful force. However, for you, Raikage, it's not a problem."
He then began to lead the way.
Ten minutes later, the group arrived at an underground base.
A slowly lay down on the operating table, giving a meaningful look to Darui and C nearby. If Orochimaru showed any suspicious behavior, they would counterattack immediately.
Orochimaru, of course, understood his intentions.
"Bring it up." He said, turning to Kabuto behind him.
The boy nodded slightly, then brought out the box in his hands.
Click—
As the box opened, a thick arm glowing with a lush green color was revealed. Just from the box being opened, A could feel its wild power from the operating table.
"This thing..." His eyes narrowed slowly.
It seemed Orochimaru really hadn't deceived him. Good.
"Raikage, we're going to anesthetize you now." Orochimaru said with a slow smile.
"No need." A said firmly, "Just transplant it directly. This bit of pain is nothing."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. As expected of the Fourth Raikage! His cautious personality meant he'd rather endure excruciating pain than allow himself to be in an anesthetized state.
"Kabuto, prepare. Begin the transplant." He nodded.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto replied, approaching with the thick arm in hand.
The transplant surgery commenced.
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The surgery lasted a full four hours. As the sky began to lighten, the transplant was finally complete.
A had endured four hours of torment!
The improved version of Hashirama cells still possessed immense power. It viciously destroyed his body, then repaired it — over and over again. This cycle of destruction and repair tortured him for the entire duration.
"Huff... Huff..." A now supported himself, gulping down fresh air. He stared at his right arm in disbelief.
He could easily sense the terrifying power contained within this new limb. This power!
Whoosh—
He leapt up!
Bang!!!
A smashed through the ceiling of the underground base, bursting out through a tunnel!
Witnessing such astonishing destructive power, Darui and C exchanged shocked glances before hurriedly following him outside.
"Ah!!" A's entire body surged with incredibly violent chakra, "This kind of power...!!"
Lightning Release: Lariat!
In an instant, extremely powerful Lightning Release chakra erupted from all over the Fourth Raikage's body. His entire being blazed with dazzling light!
"Huff!"A glared at the rock beneath his feet and let out a thunderous roar, "Haah!"
He fiercely slammed down his fist!
Bang——!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The mountain shattered and the earth split! Rocks pulverized into powder instantly. In a radius of nearly one kilometer around A, the ground overturned completely, revealing brown rocks underneath crisscrossed with radial cracks.
At the Fourth Raikage's feet, rocks had turned to powder, scattering as ash in the wind.
Darui and C rushed over, stunned by the sight of the enormous crater — thirty meters deep and a hundred meters in diameter. They couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Such terrifying destructive power! This casual punch rivaled an S-rank jutsu, with force comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball!
Orochimaru approached the edge of the deep pit with Kabuto and Fugaku.
A leapt out of the crater, laughing maniacally.
"Hahahahaha! Orochimaru, you're a true genius! Aren't you afraid that with this power, I might kill you all?"
That punch had only used about 30% of his strength, yet its destructive force matched a Tailed Beast Ball. His power had increased dozens of times over!
"Raikage, you're a smart man." Orochimaru replied with a hoarse chuckle, "We all want Yūsuke Kamizuki dead. The enemy of my enemy is my friend — you understand this better than anyone. Besides..."
He glanced at Fugaku behind him.
"How can you be sure we don't possess this kind of power ourselves?"
A fell silent, his gaze shifting between the pale-faced Fugaku and the composed Orochimaru. Suddenly, he erupted in laughter.
"Orochimaru! Here's to a fruitful partnership! Tell me, can this power be transplanted to my people?" He glanced at C and Darui before fixing his eyes on Orochimaru.
"Such power isn't easily cultivated." Orochimaru replied, shaking his head, "Two or three at most would be the limit."
His response was cleverly ambiguous — neither a refusal nor an agreement.
"I see." A nodded, his voice low and measured, "As for Sunagakure, they've responded. They've agreed to temporarily set aside their hostility towards Konoha and Kumo. We're preparing to confront Yūsuke Kamizuki together. We've also initiated talks with Iwagakure, though we're still awaiting their response."
"Very well. I'll inform the Hokage." Orochimaru said with a slight smile.
With that, the Fourth Raikage departed, C and Darui in tow.
Minutes later, Fugaku, standing behind Orochimaru, spoke gravely.
"What if... what if the Raikage had attacked just now? After all..." He glanced at his empty sleeve, currently lacking a transplanted arm.
"Don't fret. The Raikage isn't foolish." Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely, "Besides, had he dared to attack, I would've triggered the curse seal on his arm before he could move! He'd have been the first to fall!"
A flash of cold ruthlessness gleamed in his snake-like eyes.
"Moreover…" Orochimaru said, looking mockingly at the deep pit at his feet, "This power is consuming his life force! With his body... two years at most! It might not even take that long before the cellular power of his arm completely drains all the life force from his body! Does he really think such powerful strength is so easy to obtain?"
Orochimaru laughed coldly.
"However, within these two years, he will still be very useful to us in restraining Yūsuke Kamizuki."
Hearing this, Fugaku furrowed his brows.
Orochimaru truly would stop at nothing! Even the Raikage was being used by him! In fact, wasn't he himself also being used?
But both parties had their own objectives. Orochimaru wanted to use the Uchiha clan for his experiments, while Fugaku wanted to use him to become even stronger!
"Lord Orochimaru, the data is ready." At this moment, Kabuto quickly emerged from the underground base behind them, a document in hand.
"Excellent!" Orochimaru nodded with a smile, "We've obtained the human body data we needed from the Raikage. We've also acquired muscle tissue from his body. With this, we can now minimize the deterioration! Soon, we'll be able to arrange your transplant. And it won't drain your life force."
"Hmm." Fugaku responded silently.
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Night fell on the outskirts of Kirigakure. In a dense forest thicket, a feminine figure moved swiftly.
She carried a critical mission on her shoulders — one she had to complete and return to Suna with vital intelligence.
Under the moonlight, her appearance was finally revealed: a delicate face with a curvaceous figure. Her hair, tied in a bun, gradated from dark green to light yellow. Her eyes blazed with intense determination — the mark of an elite ninja from Sunagakure.
This was Pakura, possessor of the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai!
The Kazekage, Rasa, had dispatched her on an extremely important S-rank mission: to infiltrate Kirigakure, investigate its current state, and return immediately to the Sand Village with the gathered intelligence.
Under the cover of night, Pakura took a deep breath. She stored all her ninja tools in a storage scroll, then extracted a light red kimono from it. After donning the kimono, she tucked the sealing scroll into her bosom.
This mission was a matter of life and death. To enter Kiri, she had to disguise herself as an ordinary villager from the surrounding area. Infiltration by disguise was safer than direct intrusion.
Pakura waited there for an entire night, until the sky began to brighten dimly. As the guards at the Mist Village's gate changed shifts, she gracefully approached the main gate.
Her false identity had been prepared long ago — a woman from a nearby small village with a similar build and appearance. Using this woman's image and information, she officially began her infiltration.
Upon entering the village, Pakura was stunned.
The magnificent buildings and streets before her left her in disbelief. Was this truly the historically backward Kirigakure? Could this be the same Mist Village described in the intelligence she had received?
Pakura stood completely dumbfounded. The transformation far exceeded her expectations.
She realized she needed to thoroughly investigate Kiri's current state.
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