Orochimaru once believed he had uncovered Aoba's secret.
Why could Aoba suddenly grow so powerful? Why did he know so many secrets? Orochimaru assumed Aoba must have inherited the Sage of Six Paths' legacy.
But Aoba's response was the complete opposite.
Orochimaru remained silent for a long time. The body using Sasuke's face gradually began to dissipate.
"Though much still remains unclear, I think I now understand what you're trying to do, Aoba-kun. I must admit, you are truly unique. Compared to you, my ambitions seem almost trivial."
"But that's fine. It's precisely because there are people like you that this world is so interesting. It's truly fascinating, hahaha!"
After his characteristic laugh, Orochimaru left a final remark.
"Tell Sasuke that this is my gift to him."
Sasuke felt as if he had woken up from a dream. A dream filled with vast, complex, and simultaneously unfamiliar yet familiar sensations.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Aoba, Sakura, and Karin standing by the window.
"Aoba-sensei, what happened to me?"
"Feel for yourself. You should notice something," Aoba replied.
Sasuke closed his eyes and focused on his body. He felt no discomfort, no injuries. On the contrary, his chakra felt stronger.
More significantly, the Curse Mark chakra seemed to have fully fused with his own, making his chakra far more potent than before.
But that wasn't all. The biggest change was in his mind, he now possessed a trove of knowledge: techniques, forbidden jutsu, swordsmanship, and even combat experience.
"What happened? I feel... different," Sasuke murmured.
"You are different. The power of the Curse Mark has now fully merged with you, and you no longer need to worry about its backlash," Aoba explained.
"But why? I don't remember defeating Orochimaru," Sasuke asked, confused.
"Correct, there was no battle. Orochimaru voluntarily relinquished this part of himself, gifting you his skills and experience."
"Why would he do that?"
"You could think of it as an early investment," Aoba said with a smirk.
The skills Orochimaru left behind were from his prime during the Chūnin Exams era. His combat experience and jutsu were from that time as well. By Aoba's standards, it wasn't particularly impressive. But even so, it was still the legacy of a Kage-level ninja.
While Sasuke might not be able to fully integrate all of it, even accepting half would be a significant boost to his growth.
Sasuke had always had the talent. What he lacked was experience and time. With Orochimaru's "gift," he now had no bottleneck in his path forward.
After examining his changes, Sasuke fell silent for a while, then made a surprising statement.
"Aoba-sensei, I feel like my Sharingan is about to awaken."
"Awaken?"
Aoba was taken aback for a moment before recalling Orochimaru's gift. With the fusion of the Curse Mark, Sasuke's physical and mental strength had seen a significant boost.
Aoba reasoned that Sasuke's Sharingan had been previously suppressed as a protective mechanism. Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan placed immense strain on the body, and as the reincarnation of Indra, Sasuke's body had a strong self-regulation system. It automatically suppressed the awakening.
Now, with his enhanced physical condition, that suppression seemed to be lifting.
"This should be a natural phenomenon. But to be safe, you'll stay in the lab for now. Sakura will monitor your condition closely."
"Understood. Thank you, Sakura."
Aoba nodded, leaving the younger generation to themselves. He exited the lab and headed for the Hokage's office, responding to a summons.
In the Hokage's office, Tsunade, Kakashi, Shikaku, and Hiashi were already waiting.
"Now that everyone is here, let's begin the meeting," Tsunade said, tossing a document toward Aoba.
"This is intel from the Anbu. Take a look."
Aoba opened the file and read its contents. A few minutes later, he set it down.
"The report is straightforward: the Hidden Cloud has been attacked by the Akatsuki."
The Hidden Cloud was currently at its weakest since the Third Great Ninja War. With the Raikage maimed, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki dead, and significant losses during the recent battle against Konoha, the village was a shadow of its former self.
The Cloud had been keeping a low profile, knowing their vulnerabilities, but even that wasn't enough to avoid the Akatsuki's attention.
Normally, the Akatsuki wouldn't target the Hidden Cloud so early. It was unusual for them to escalate their plans like this, akin to how Mukade tested the Sand.
But now, it was clearly about kicking someone when they're down.
"The Akatsuki going after the Hidden Cloud seems perfectly aligned with Konoha's interests. And according to the intel, the Akatsuki has only conducted a probe; they haven't actually started a full-scale war. Why are we in a hurry to get involved?"
"It's not us, it's the daimyo," Tsunade explained, handing over another document. "This is an official order from the Fire Country's daimyo. He's demanding that we assist the Hidden Cloud and eliminate the Akatsuki."
Aoba glanced at the document and casually tossed it onto the table.
"Is the Fire Country daimyo out of his mind? The Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire are adversaries, and now we're supposed to help our enemies?"
"The order seems unreasonable, but if you think about it more deeply, it's not entirely implausible. I believe the Fire Country daimyo might be testing us," Shikaku speculated. "Many of Konoha's actions recently have either ignored or directly defied the daimyo's orders.
"They've likely noticed something, which is why they issued this order. To gauge our loyalty and obedience."
Shikaku's analysis made sense. Aoba picked up the document again, scanned it more carefully, and then casually set it down.
"Honestly, if they hadn't pulled this stunt, I might've forgotten about them altogether. But since they've jumped out now, let's deal with this problem first. After all, before dealing with external threats, one must secure the home front."
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Currently on Chapter 252 - The Missing Hashirama