The intelligence regarding Uchiha Megumi's appearance in the Land of Iron spread widely.
Numerous Shinobis moved at the scent of it.
After many years, Megumai was walking this road again, and it was still filled with bloodshed.
The only difference was that before, she personally massacred with Shinso (Divine Spear), but now, her son did the chore with Mikoto-to (Mikoto Blade).
Megumai's Shinso extended incredibly fast and had a powerful 'first sight kill' effect.
Unless the target possessed nerve reaction speed that was unrivaled in the Shinobi world, they would absolutely be unable to dodge the Shinso's attack.
Of course, this technique was not flawless.
Firstly, its maximum extension length was only one hundred times the length of the blade.
Secondly, it was essentially a chakra Shinobi blade undergoing a shape transformation, and it could not have nature transformation added to it; thus, its penetration power was weak, relying only on the blade's sharpness.
In contrast, the Mikoto-to had comprehensive improvements in all aspects.
The extension speed after condensing into a blade shape was nearly the speed of light, leaving no time for a reaction; the extension length was tied to Seiya's chakra reserves, theoretically having no limit; the penetration effect was significant, capable of easily cutting the Eight-Tails' tail.
Furthermore, the Mikoto-to was not limited to the form of condensation; it could be water, fire, lightning, sand...
This technique had almost no flaws.
The only issue was the excessive chakra consumption.
With Seiya's current chakra reserves, he could only condense and instantly extend it for four hundred meters in a short time.
Of course, this problem was not a flaw of the Mikoto-to, but a flaw of Seiya.
To address this, Megumai had already found a solution for her son-in the future, Karin of the Uzumaki clan would assist her son, providing chakra and precise sensory positioning.
With the two complementing each other, they would be unrivaled in the Shinobi world.
...
Within the Land of Iron, countless Shinobis who coveted the Sharingan rushed forward, one after another, only to die by Seiya's Mikoto-to, staining the road with their blood.
Meanwhile, Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru appeared in the Land of Grass, a thousand miles away.
The outskirts of Emerald City.
A nameless low mountain.
Halfway up the mountain, the trees were lush and green. Nestled within them was a simple wooden house.
Inside, Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru sat across a table. Aburame Torune and Yakushi Kabuto stood silently beside their respective leaders.
Orochimaru said with a faux smile, "Danzo, you've gotten much bolder, daring to invite a Konoha rogue Shinobi like me to meet! Aren't you afraid Tsunade will strip you of your power?"
"My power has been stripped almost completely already!"
At the mention of this, Shimura Danzo was exceptionally angry.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, he took advantage of the village's leaderlessness to seize a lot of power, enjoying a moment of triumph.
However, as soon as Tsunade returned to the village, she initiated drastic reforms, taking away his administrative power as a high-ranking official and heavily squeezing his survival space.
As a result, he was now forced to retreat underground, barely maintaining Root.
Resist? There was no chance!
Tsunade was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama-the significance of this identity was self-evident.
In addition, Tsunade was one of the Sannin and had achieved brilliant military successes in past Shinobi wars.
Furthermore, the team configuration reform she championed effectively reduced casualties in small teams during battle, and major Shinobi villages followed suit.
Such prestige was unmatched in the village.
Konoha also needed a trustworthy and respected Kage to lead the village out of its weakened state and maintain its status as the pinnacle of the Shinobi world.
In front of the glorious and universally favored Tsunade, Shimura Danzo had no room to struggle. He could only lurk in the darkness and wait for his opportunity.
Orochimaru could roughly guess his predicament and couldn't help but sneer,
"Tsunade's personality is very forceful. Even when Sarutobi-sensei was alive, she dared to publicly refute him. Now that she's Hokage, it's best if you restrain yourself. Otherwise, you might not even be able to hold onto the small piece of land that is Root!"
Shimura Danzo snorted coldly, slamming his cane heavily onto the ground.
Seeing him on the verge of flying into a rage, Orochimaru secretly mocked him, then stopped adding fuel to the fire and got straight to the point.
"Speak. Why did you invite me to meet?"
"With your intelligence network, you can't figure out the purpose of my invitation?" Shimura Danzo was quite suspicious.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "I've been busy training Sasuke recently. With a young Uchiha body, I don't have much interest in other things."
Then, he looked up and swept a glance at Yakushi Kabuto beside him.
Yakushi Kabuto understood and reported, "If I'm not mistaken, Danzo-sama is likely referring to a piece of intelligence widely circulated in the black market recently-Uchiha Megumi and her son have appeared in the Land of Iron."
Orochimaru's eyes flickered, and he involuntarily leaned back slightly, surprised.
"Danzo, you aren't thinking of making a move against Uchiha Megumi, are you?"
Shimura Danzo nodded.
Seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, Orochimaru frowned, puzzled.
"Surely you remember that Uchiha Megumi survived the Battle of Takamagahara?"
Shimura Danzo nodded again.
"You should remember that Uchiha Megumi easily escaped the joint encirclement of me, Jiraiya, and Tsunade?"
Shimura Danzo still nodded.
Orochimaru couldn't help but sneer, "Then where does your confidence come from to make a move against Uchiha Megumi? Are you tired of living at your age and looking to die?"
Shimura Danzo's face was calm, and he coldly countered, "Do you think Uchiha Megumi is too strong, that we can't defeat her?"
"We?"
Orochimaru frowned slightly and waved his hand. "Don't rush to involve me. I only have one plan, and that's Sasuke's body!"
Shimura Danzo scoffed and retorted, "Isn't Uchiha Megumi's son's body superior to Sasuke's body?"
Orochimaru's eyes flickered, and his expression gradually became serious.
Undoubtedly, Seiya was more exceptional than Uchiha Sasuke.
After all, the two people's mothers were worlds apart.
One was a genius with a natural three-tomoe Sharingan, and the other was an ordinary Shinobi with mediocrity.
In the bloodline-centric Shinobi world, this determined almost everything.
Thinking of Seiya's young body, which held infinite possibilities, a trace of fanaticism surged in Orochimaru's eyes.
Moments later, he calmed down.
"Danzo, the picture you paint is nice, but you don't seem to have the ability to cut it. Leaving aside the tricky Uchiha Megumi, Seiya alone seems to have the ability to be immune to harm. Kabuto has tried to attack him, but it was in vain."
Shimura Danzo nodded slightly and said plainly, "Itachi once fought Seiya and provided intelligence that he is an 'Fusho no Karada', fearless of damage, but easily restrained by visible, non-damaging control, such as Earth Release. Compared to such a body, Sasuke's body is extremely mediocre!"
Orochimaru was quite tempted. He couldn't help but sit up straight, thought for a moment, and then leaned back again.
"It's certainly tempting, but I'm afraid I can't. My hands were sealed by that old man. I don't have the ability to snatch Seiya from right under Uchiha Megumi's nose."
"That's why I seek your cooperation!"
Shimura Danzo snorted coldly, slamming his cane heavily onto the ground.
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