Chapter 30: Orochimaru’s Test Subject, Obito’s Mockery!
Chapter 30: Orochimaru's Test Subject, Obito’s Mockery!
"Exactly!" Ishihara nodded. Both Orochimaru and Mei Terumi were visibly excited. This discovery made Mei Terumi feel more exhilarated than when she had obtained the training methods for Boil and Lava Release.
“I’ll handle getting the Hozuki clan’s secret techniques!” Mei Terumi declared confidently. The prospect of enhancing her own power, potentially surpassing the traditional bloodline limit ninjas, filled her with excitement. She was determined to acquire the Hozuki clan’s closely guarded secrets.
As for whether Ishihara could achieve this, both she and Orochimaru had no doubts. Orochimaru, too, remained silent, seeing no need for further discussion.
“How is the research on the Sage Body going?” Orochimaru licked his lips in anticipation.
Although their immediate goal in coming to the Hidden Mist Village was to study bloodline limits, their true objective was to explore the secrets of immortal techniques. Hearing this, Mei Terumi perked up; after all, she now considered herself part of this exclusive circle, even if she hadn’t yet mastered any techniques for immortality.
Ishihara frowned. “This will require personal verification; I need more time.”
He then explained the conditions for training in bloodline limits to Orochimaru, who immediately broke into a smile. This was practically tailored for him. Despite not having a bloodline limit, Orochimaru had achieved Kage-level strength by developing all five chakra nature transformations to an extreme degree. He was well-suited to use the training methods to master two bloodline limits.
“I’ll get started right away!” Orochimaru grabbed the training methods from Ishihara’s hand and hurriedly left. After taking a few steps, he stopped and turned back to Mei Terumi, saying seriously, “She’s still weak. If you plan to share the Sage Body Refinement Method with her, make sure you take steps to keep it confidential.”
Without waiting for Ishihara’s response, he left. Ishihara smiled as he watched Orochimaru’s retreating figure. What a cooperative test subject! Without needing any prompting, Orochimaru had voluntarily gone to experiment. While Ishihara had hypothesized that bloodline limits could aid in training the Sage Body, the actual outcome was still unknown. Historically speaking, the Sage Body and bloodline limits seemed to follow two separate paths—one based on the Sage techniques of the Great Toad Sage and other summoned creatures, and the other stemming from the chakra training methods of the Otsutsuki clan. The combined results were uncertain without hands-on experimentation.
“That bastard Orochimaru!” Mei Terumi muttered under her breath.
Ishihara snapped back to attention, addressing her calmly, “Even if Orochimaru hadn’t reminded me, I’d have found a way to ensure your secrecy. These techniques are for your use only—don’t even think about using them to enhance your clan or village’s strength!”
In the future, Mei Terumi would become both a formidable ninja and a leader with a strong sense of responsibility towards the Hidden Mist Village. Whether it was breaking the Fourth Mizukage’s genjutsu or restoring the village, she was a driving force behind these efforts, always maintaining the village’s best interests. Since Ishihara wasn’t ready to make his discoveries public, he had no intention of letting Mei Terumi act on her own.
“Alright,” Mei Terumi accepted his conditions, albeit reluctantly.
Next, Ishihara sifted through Orochimaru’s database, searching for memory-sealing and confidentiality seals. After reading through several techniques, he was satisfied.
[You have studied numerous sealing and confidentiality techniques, creating the secret technique: Seal of Absolute Closure.]
[Seal of Absolute Closure: Upon activation, this seal can lock away specific memories. If someone attempts to forcefully retrieve these memories, they will be permanently erased, and the seal will retaliate against the intruder. If the retaliation fails, the sealed individual will die!]
Impressed with the technique’s effectiveness, which bore similarities to the Caged Bird seal used to protect the Byakugan, Ishihara promptly applied the seal to Mei Terumi. A small black pattern, consisting of three dots in a straight line, appeared on her right ear.
“Be careful. If someone tries to forcibly extract your memories, you could die,” Ishihara warned after explaining the seal’s effects.
“I understand,” Mei Terumi replied, touching her ear and nodding firmly.
Suddenly, Ishihara asked, “By the way, why didn’t you reach your mission location earlier?”
Mei Terumi’s expression turned dark with anger as she replied, “We were ambushed before we got there.”
Ishihara pondered this, suspecting that Obito had accelerated his plans for revenge against the Hidden Mist Village due to Orochimaru’s presence. After thinking it over, he said, “You don’t need to rush getting the Hozuki clan’s secret techniques. Let’s see how the situation in the Hidden Mist Village develops.”
Mei Terumi nodded but then suddenly looked alarmed. “I’ve been gone too long—something might have happened in the village! I need to leave right away!”
She looked at Ishihara with pleading eyes, knowing she couldn’t leave without his permission.
“Go ahead, but remember what I said,” Ishihara allowed her to leave, feeling she was no longer needed for the time being.
“Thank you!” Mei Terumi quickly turned and left without even asking about the Sage Body, her concern for the village outweighing everything else. Ishihara shook his head, noting how important the village was to her. But he wasn’t bothered; after a brief rest, he resumed his studies, revisiting foundational knowledge rather than learning anything new.
Meanwhile, in another part of the base, Orochimaru cautiously began experimenting with the Boil Release training method.
…
In the Hidden Mist Village’s Mizukage’s office, Zetsu appeared again.
“I’ve found out why Orochimaru came to the Hidden Mist Village!”
Obito was surprised, “So quickly?”
Zetsu replied coldly, “Orochimaru has established an intelligence network in the Hidden Mist Village with many agents, making it easier for me to gather information. It seems he came to collect the bodies of bloodline limit ninjas.”
Obito paused before chuckling. “Orochimaru still hasn’t given up on researching bloodline limits? What an idiot!”
Thinking of Ishihara, Obito hesitated briefly before continuing, “As long as he doesn’t interfere with our plans, let him do as he pleases. He won’t discover anything of value anyway. Meanwhile, increase our efforts to gather information on Ishihara!”
Obito was clearly wary of the mysterious Ishihara.