"Chao Yanqian, what do you think of the forbidden technique? What do you think of these things in the house now?" Orochimaru's eyes scanned the three experimental subjects, nodded in satisfaction, and then asked Misaki.
"I don't have any particular prejudice against human research. To gain strength, you must pay some price. This is the rule!" Chao Yanqian shrugged indifferently and said casually: "Although the forbidden technique is very powerful, researching forbidden techniques requires a lot of effort. Too many people in the ninja world have died in the war. If they can die for the purpose of researching forbidden techniques, it's still somewhat worthwhile."
Asakunami must cater to the ideas of Orochimaru. Now that Asakunami has seen the secret side of Orochimaru, if she stands up and questions what Orochimaru is doing, the end would be very miserable.
As early as when she decided to follow Orochimaru, Hae Chinye was prepared to see all of this. Although she was still shocked when she first saw it, Hae Chinye had completely calmed down by this time.
"Hehe! Qianming, it seems that choosing you to be my assistant was indeed the right decision!" A satisfied smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.
"I would also like to follow someone strong like Orochimaru-sama," Chao Yanqian said respectfully.
Orochimaru glanced at Chao Yanqian and said lightly, "It's getting late. Let's go back."
"Yes!" Chao Yanqian nodded and replied.
Walking out of the cave, the warm sunlight slightly warmed Mizuno China's body, but standing next to Orochimaru, the chill in her heart couldn't be driven away.
They left the laboratory. Chao Yanqian and Orochimaru went back to their respective camps, returning to the previous state of 'not acquainted with each other.'
But before they parted, Orochimaru gave Chao Yanqian a scroll, which recorded some of his experiences on the qualitative change of Earth Release chakra, as well as some high-level Earth-style ninjutsu.
These materials were exactly what Chao Yanqian needed most at the moment. It seems Orochimaru wasn't unprepared, but had noticed the current progress of Chao Yanqian's training early on.
With these materials, her usage of Earth Release would inevitably rise to a higher level. The next step for her was to accumulate chakra to a certain level, then gain some combat experience. It is believed she would soon reach the strength of a Jōnin.
The decision to follow Orochimaru was not wrong. Looking back on the experiences during this period—first, learning Tsunade's training methods, and then gaining knowledge about ninjutsu practice—these two alone had already allowed Asano Dennis' strength to leap forward.
Although she would inevitably be under Orochimaru's control in the future, doing some unpleasant things for him—
But how can one expect to gain without giving?
If you want to gain strength, you must give something in return.
What Asakunami had to do now was improve her medical ninjutsu level as soon as possible, along with her research on ninjutsu, and strive to participate in Orochimaru's experiments as soon as possible to obtain their results.
There was one more thing that made Chao Yanqian very vigilant.
Orochimaru seemed to know the progress of her training very well. This might be fine now, but as her strength deepened especially if Chao Yanqian became stronger and stronger if Orochimaru continued to fully grasp her abilities, it would definitely be an unfortunate situation.
"It seems that some things need to be done in secret," Chao Yanqian thought.
---
The time for the decisive battle was getting closer and closer. Especially since Konoha and Sunagakure had gathered a large number of ninja at the border. In the Konoha camp alone, 10,000 ninjas had assembled, and everyone was doing final preparations before the war.
During this period, Chao Yanqian also reduced the amount of training and usually tried to keep herself in peak condition to deal with the upcoming battle.
From the scroll given by Orochimaru, Chao Yanqian had mastered three usable ninjutsu: [Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet], [Earth Release: Earth Hardening Technique], and [Earth Release: Dungeon Hall of Nothingness].
An offensive technique, a defensive technique, and a control technique.
Especially [Dungeon Hall of Nothingness], which not only traps enemies using earth walls to form a prison but also absorbs the chakra of the ninja caught inside. Even if those trapped attack the wall, unless they destroy the prison all at once, it would instantly regenerate.
With this ninjutsu, Asuka Chinya could now deal with weaker ninjas more confidently. Once hit by the technique, escape was almost impossible.
Konoha Camp – Orochimaru's Tent
The decisive battle with Sunagakure was about to begin. As the primary commander in this war, Orochimaru also convened a meeting with all the Jōnin in the camp.
Although all the Jōnin were summoned, the only ones who could truly make decisions were Minato Namikaze and Konoha's strategist, Shikaku Nara.
"Although we and Suna are restraining each other, waiting for the other to act first, if we keep dragging it out, Suna definitely won't be able to keep up," Tsunade said first, suggesting that if Suna didn't initiate a decisive battle, Konoha should continue to wear them down.
For ninja, having intel is equivalent to victory. No matter which side made the first move, the other would immediately know and respond accordingly.
Wars of attrition were Konoha's strength. In this respect, Konoha held an advantage that the other four great villages couldn't match.
Orochimaru chuckled softly and said calmly, "If we keep dragging this out with Sunagakure, it'll be hard to prevent Iwagakure and Kirigakure from taking the opportunity to attack. Though those two villages have their differences, compared to Konoha, it's clear which side they would lean toward."
"I agree with Orochimaru-sama's opinion," Shikaku Nara added. "Even though Sunagakure is short on supplies, their foundation is solid. Even if we drag it out for half a year, they won't collapse. But if we waste too much time with them, it's very disadvantageous to us."
Being contradicted by two people in a row, Tsunade was visibly displeased. She snorted and stopped speaking.
Tsunade knew the situation in the ninja world was unfavorable to Konoha, but she cared deeply for the lives of Konoha's ninja and didn't want to rush into war with Sunagakure.
After giving Tsunade an apologetic look, Shikaku continued, "The high-ranking officials of Sunagakure have likely thought of this too, which is why they're willing to drag this out. Haiichi just got intel: Sunagakure has already sent people to both Iwagakure and Kirigakure. It seems they intend to form an alliance with the two villages."
"If that's the case, then tomorrow morning, gather all the ninja and launch a surprise raid on the Sunagakure camp," Orochimaru said in his hoarse voice, shocking everyone present.
"So soon?" Tsunade asked with a frown.
"I agree!" Shikaku said. "Konoha no longer has time to wait. Once Sunagakure allies with Iwagakure and Kirigakure, we'll be forced into a three-front war. That would be a disaster."
"Lujiu, what do you think?" Orochimaru asked with interest.