Senshi was feeling rather vexed—he realized he'd been short-sighted before. He really should have taken Kakuzu with him all over the ninja world to do missions, spread his fame, and then, no matter where he went, he wouldn't have trouble finding work.
Just then, Karin tugged at his sleeve.
"Senshi, I can sense Orochimaru's presence somewhere nearby."
Hearing that, Senshi paused for a moment, then understood. For a long time now, the so-called "First Hokage of Pots and Kettles" (the 5.5th Hokage), aka Shimura Danzo, had secretly funded Orochimaru's experiments.
"Don't worry about it," Senshi said. "We don't need to bother with him."
Normally, Senshi wouldn't keep his Mantra ability active all the time. The barrage of information would be too noisy. Knowing Orochimaru was lurking didn't concern him. He already had a good idea of what Orochimaru was up to.
…
A short while earlier…
Orochimaru stood in the leafy path for a moment. Soon, a Konoha ninja leaning on a cane, one arm wrapped in bandages, approached from a distance. It was Shimura Danzo. Seeing Orochimaru show up in person, Danzo was somewhat surprised.
"I never expected you to come here yourself. That's unexpected. Since you've come in person, I take it there's been huge progress with those…projects I hired you for?"
Orochimaru gave a snakelike grin:
"Of course! We've made significant progress, but it's still incomplete. If I'm to continue my research, I need funds—lots of them."
Danzo's face instantly darkened.
"Orochimaru, I've heard that many times now! You should know how much I've already invested in these projects of yours. I need to see real results. Results that satisfy me. Otherwise, I won't be putting in another ryō until you present something worthwhile."
Orochimaru felt a twinge of frustration. One of Danzo's prime directives had been for him to cultivate Hashirama's cells. Orochimaru did have some success, but he wasn't about to hand it all over yet—so long as he withheld it, Danzo would keep the funds flowing. But now, with the matter of obtaining a perfect Uchiha vessel, he had no choice but to offer at least some tangible findings.
Finally, he decided to show part of his progress with Hashirama's cells. He gave a curt nod.
"Of course I have something that'll please you."
No sooner did he say that than a loud crack, crack noise echoed from afar.
"Crack-crack! Clack, clack!"
It was quite the ruckus. Both Orochimaru and Danzo turned at the commotion—only to see a massive, lavish wooden villa rising amidst the trees. Danzo was completely stunned.
"Wha—?! This…this scale of Wood Release…!"
"Have you developed the First Hokage's cells to that level now? Compared to those previous failures, this is on a whole different plane—marvelous! I'm very pleased!"
Elated, he made to hurry toward that giant wooden construct. Orochimaru, seeing the villa, froze momentarily and then quickly realized Danzo was misunderstanding. As far as Orochimaru knew, in the current ninja world, there was really only one person who could perform Wood Release on that scale—Uzumaki Senshi. Obviously, Senshi must be nearby building that "Wooden Mansion" for some reason…perhaps preparing to snatch the Sharingan from Konoha. So professional.
Observing Danzo's mistake, Orochimaru felt secretly delighted:
"Lucky me! This is the perfect chance to swindle him."
"A Wood Release of such magnitude is on par with the First Hokage's. And Senshi definitely has no idea what's going on here. Which means…he won't even know to claim a share of the research funding. Excellent."
Having been influenced by a certain mercenary, Orochimaru now excelled at "extortion tactics." Spotting this golden opportunity to empty Danzo's pockets, he suppressed a snicker while Danzo stared, intent on going closer.
Orochimaru quickly coughed.
"It's no use going over there. That individual is in an uncontrolled state. If you approach, you might get attacked."
Danzo stopped, frowning.
"What's going on?"
Orochimaru sighed in feigned helplessness:
"As I said, the results are still incomplete, so I can't fully control them."
Danzo's already grim face looked even darker now. He spoke coldly:
"Orochimaru, I've poured so much money into your research, and you're telling me now you can't control the subject?"
Orochimaru shrugged offhandedly:
"Danzo, research is research. As long as I produce results, that's good enough. Once we have a breakthrough, we refine it until the flaws are gone. Think of how ninjutsu is developed—once you have a prototype, you keep perfecting it until it becomes truly powerful."
Danzo didn't want to hear any of that. All he wanted was for Orochimaru to meet his demands. But he'd shelled out huge sums of money already, and for what? Dissatisfied, he grimaced. Orochimaru leaned in with a crafty tone:
"Look—you can see for yourself how great this achievement is. The Wood Release on display doesn't lose out to the First Hokage's. The one real drawback is its instability. With a bit more funding, I can perfect it. And then, I might even implant these new Hashirama cells into you, letting you wield Wood Release yourself."
At that, Danzo's scowl remained, but inwardly he was reeling.
"You mean…your newly cultivated Hashirama cells could be transplanted into me? Then I could have this level of Wood Release…?"
Orochimaru laughed internally—if he really had cells that gave people "First Hokage–level" Wood Release, he would've used them on himself already. Still, when Danzo asked, he solemnly nodded.
"Yes, these cells are nearly perfect, fully transplantable. Once implanted, you'd gain incredible Wood Release power. Of course, like I said, the process is incomplete, so the research must continue."
He was basically bamboozling Danzo, who was out of his depth when it came to scientific research. Staring at the giant wooden villa in the distance, Danzo was deeply tempted. Heh, he thought, I've told Hiruzen countless times that sacrifices are unavoidable for the sake of 'the Will of Fire.' Remember the era of the First Hokage, when Konoha was unbeatable? That was thanks to Wood Release. Being able to harness that again would be phenomenal. People might die? Well, that's the price we pay. Hiruzen, you're too soft. If you saw this scale of Wood Release, you'd realize I was right all along.
He grew more and more excited, picturing how he would soon prove himself right to the Sandaime, and how Konoha would grow stronger with the mass production of Wood Release wielders. His heart pounded at the thought, and he looked to Orochimaru:
"How much funding are we talking about?"
Orochimaru answered blandly:
"One billion ryō."
Danzo's lone eye bulged in disbelief.
"How much?!"
Folding his arms, Orochimaru repeated decisively:
"One billion."
In past dealings, Orochimaru had adopted a "steady drip" approach, asking for modest sums over time, occasionally throwing Danzo a few small successes. But this time, since he had no real way to produce such a massive Wood Release for Danzo, why not go big or go home? A one-off, sky-high demand.
An eerie hush fell upon the forest, only broken by the faint rustle of the breeze tousling Orochimaru's long hair and Danzo's robe. Although Orochimaru was a missing-nin, his scientific expertise was nearly unmatched. Danzo needed him. Their relationship was never exactly "pleasant cooperation," but both had found it mutually beneficial. Orochimaru was no entrepreneur; if Danzo refused to pay, Orochimaru would have to waste time scraping funds from elsewhere, which he didn't want. Likewise, Danzo's "Root" needed Orochimaru's inventions.
Finally Danzo spoke, his eye cold:
"One billion?! Orochimaru, do you know what that kind of money represents in the shinobi world? Nobody can just whip that out of nowhere! Are you messing with me? Why do you suddenly need so much?"
Danzo wasn't sure what Orochimaru was scheming. Usually he only asked for relatively modest amounts, showing some progress each time. Today he wanted an astronomical sum. Yes, certain bounties in the exchange houses might be listed at insane figures (like 7 billion), but that was all theoretical—no one ever actually got it. Danzo, being ruthless, could still gather a fair chunk of money if it wasn't too huge, but this was too much.
Orochimaru's golden eyes stared back, as if expecting Danzo's pushback. No matter—he knew Danzo's weak point. With a sly grin, he responded:
"Well, in that case, there's nothing for it. If you can't provide the necessary funding, we'll have to suspend the project."
Danzo's eyes went bloodshot.
"Suspend the project?! Don't be ridiculous!"
There was no way Danzo would allow that. He'd dumped so much capital into Orochimaru's research—money, secret test subjects, all sorts of shady deals—and now at the brink of success, Orochimaru threatened to abandon it? Never. Orochimaru smiled inwardly; Danzo's reaction was exactly as he expected. All the time and resources Danzo had already put in were a sunk cost. Although Orochimaru occasionally gave Danzo some moderate results, he never turned over a definitive breakthrough. And now that Danzo glimpsed such a powerful Wood Release, or so he believed, there was no turning back.
Even a cunning fox like Danzo, Orochimaru thought, is just like a gambler who's put in too many chips to back out now.
Danzo stood silent for a long while, torn. He cursed Orochimaru for daring to extort him like this—yet what choice did he have? Finally, he asked:
"If I give you enough funds, how long before you finish? How long until I can fully master a Wood Release rivaling the First Hokage's?"
Orochimaru answered without hesitation:
"It's already in the final stage. I'd estimate two months. You've seen with your own eyes that Wood Release out there. No need for me to say more. Just think—if Root gets ahold of a technique to mass-produce Wood Release users, imagine what that means for Konoha…and for you."
~~~
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