Chapter 67: He Hates Tobirama Even More Than Madara
Seeing the atmosphere, which had been on the verge of exploding, suddenly turn into something resembling a "warm" family ethics drama, Senju Hashirama relaxed quite a bit.
When Orochimaru momentarily lost focus and loosened his control after seeing the photograph, Hashirama took the opportunity to turn slightly and glance at it as well.
"Tobirama, that kid looks a bit like you."
"Big brother, say one more word of nonsense and I'll slap you right now!"
"He really does look a bit like you. If you don't believe me, look for yourself!"
Hashirama sounded a little wronged.
"That Orochimaru fellow, hand the photo over and let this old man take a look."
"Of course, my most respected Second Hokage-sama."
Orochimaru let out a sinister chuckle, flipped the photo around, and brought it up in front of Tobirama.
"What?! Orochimaru, why does your child look so much like me?! What did you do to me?!"
Tobirama's eyes widened.
Although the child in the photo was still young, Tobirama felt as if he could already see what the boy would look like when he grew up.
He had devoted his entire life to Konoha and never married. Could it be that even after death, he still had to suffer through this kind of calamity?
"What?! Orochimaru, you traitorous disciple! Not only are you defiling the souls of the dead, you're even defiling their bodies!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, hearing the exchange, was utterly shocked as well.
What kind of ultimate taboo was this? His disciple… with his sensei?
Orochimaru, however, ignored the murderous glares from the Second and Third Hokage and instead looked at Shiromo.
"Since you appeared in Konoha today and even helped Sarutobi-sensei, I assume the organization's original plans have changed."
"So, what do you want me to do after returning? And what can you offer me?"
"To bring you back into the organization is, naturally, to make use of your talent and methods, to continue research and confront enemies that will threaten the entire shinobi world in the future…"
"And on a personal level, I need you to help me find a path of cultivation."
As Shiromo answered Orochimaru, he had already, without anyone noticing, stepped into the Four Violet Flames Formation.
By the time everyone reacted, none of them could remember how Shiromo had entered.
"A path of cultivation? I see. No wonder, it does feel familiar."
The moment Orochimaru received the photograph, he had already formed a vague guess.
Now that Shiromo had entered the barrier, the aura he gave off felt even more familiar.
It was somewhat similar to the senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave, yet clearly different.
No matter what, one thing was certain: this man was connected to Ryūchi Cave.
"Enemies that threaten the entire shinobi world?"
"What exactly is going on here?"
Hashirama and Tobirama were both confused at this point.
They had thought that being summoned through Impure World Reincarnation meant they were about to become criminals who would bring disaster to Konoha.
And the Orochimaru who summoned them was clearly beyond vile.
So how did things suddenly turn into Orochimaru being invited to save the shinobi world?
"Orochimaru, I know one of your reasons for coming to Konoha was Uchiha Sasuke. I hope you abandon that idea."
"Putting everything else aside, there is a special power within him. Trying to take over his body is no different from wanting to challenge one of the Sage of Six Paths' sons head-on."
"As for Itachi's body, the one you desire even more, you can forget that as well."
"You were defeated by Itachi, which gave rise to your obsession. You want the Sharingan, the bloodline of the Uchiha."
"But Itachi is already terminally ill. Even if you somehow succeeded in taking his body, you'd be incontinent and dead within days."
"Moreover, if your current research continues to develop, obtaining what you want won't actually be difficult."
As soon as Shiromo finished speaking, Orochimaru fell into deep thought.
The certainty in Shiromo's tone only reinforced Orochimaru's earlier suspicions.
At the same time, Orochimaru wasn't surprised by the content of what Shiromo said.
Whether it was researching Hashirama's cells, cultivating a tentacle from the Eight-Tails, or conducting all kinds of experiments, they all pointed in the same direction.
Creating shadow clones that would never disappear, or in other words, clones.
Then further optimizing them, making the clones superior to the original body, and finally using that technology to elevate the original body itself.
While Orochimaru was thinking, the Second Hokage suddenly felt a sense of clarity after hearing Shiromo's words.
As if clouds had parted, revealing a clear blue sky.
"So it's because of the Uchiha again. Then it's no surprise. No surprise at all."
What kind of people were the Uchiha?
They were inherently evil beings.
With just a bit of external stimulation, they could even be driven to kill their own fathers and mothers.
"Tobirama, don't be prejudiced against the Uchiha! As for those jutsu of yours, I've said long ago they should've been banned…"
Seeing Tobirama's expression, Hashirama immediately spoke up to refute him.
"Big brother, you're the one who's prejudiced against my jutsu!"
"The ninja who learn the techniques I created are all good kids. This Orochimaru here only went astray because of the Uchiha."
"Monkey, tell big brother, after we died, how did the kids who learned my other jutsu turn out? Someone learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, right? And the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique?"
Tobirama looked toward Hiruzen.
"Uh… the Fourth Hokage mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. Minato was a good child, kind and sunny. It's just a shame he sacrificed himself to protect the village."
"As for the one who learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto is also a good child. Since he was young, his goal has been to become Hokage."
"But, Tobirama-sensei, Orochimaru, he…"
"Idiot big brother, did you hear that?!"
The Second Hokage cut Hiruzen off directly, snorted coldly, and glared at Hashirama.
While the First, Second, and Third Hokage were reminiscing and bickering, Shiromo was also discussing matters with the now-recovered Orochimaru.
"Even with your improvements, Impure World Reincarnation still brings back targets that are too weak. But Orochimaru, you've overlooked one thing."
"What is it?"
"They may be weak, but their consciousness and memories are complete. You could have the Second Hokage help you continue developing and optimizing Impure World Reincarnation and other techniques."
"Heh. I'm a rogue ninja. Even if I return to the organization and prepare to 'save the shinobi world' as you say, I'm still a traitor to Konoha. Why would the Second Hokage help us instead of Konoha?"
Orochimaru rejected Shiromo's idea.
"Wouldn't you threaten him?"
"Threaten him? Do you think someone like the Second Hokage would be threatened? Besides, what is there to threaten in an Impure World Reincarnation body?"
Orochimaru shook his head again.
"If he refuses to help, you can just control him and have him use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, then use Transformation Jutsu to turn into hundreds of shapely women and go work in the red-light district."
"Granted, the Impure World Reincarnation body doesn't have physical sensation, which is a pity, but the visuals and memories are still there."
"And since chakra is unlimited, you can let him 'enjoy' himself as much as possible. If quality doesn't work, then quantity will."
"Once the shadow clones are released, the Second Hokage will definitely never want to see those images again, and he'll surely understand how hard we've had it."
Senju Hashirama: "..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."
Just moments ago, Senju Tobirama had been basking in the satisfaction of successfully shutting his brother up with facts and logic, forcing him to admit that the Uchiha were the problem.
Then he heard Shiromo's voice.
In an instant, his smile vanished.
What kind of evil organization was this? Were there even any humans left in it?!
Was this organization founded by Madara?
No… even Madara didn't hate him this much, did he?
(End of this chapter)