Chapter 210 202 War Resumes

Their wedding was not particularly grand—simple yet warm—but looking at the guests alone, the scale was by no means small.

The solemnizer was the Great Elder acting as the clan head, the best man was Uchiha Gen serving as the family's top expert, and even the Third Hokage, considering that Uchiha Sumi was the descendant of an old friend, sent an Anbu member to deliver a wedding gift.

On the second day after the wedding, Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru set off once again before dawn, returning to the Land of Hot Springs.

In the Land of Hot Springs, Orochimaru was indispensable; being absent for a few days was fine, but after a long time, with many high-ranking officials not subordinate to one another, without a presence capable of convincing all parties in terms of strength, prestige, and intelligence, some trouble would definitely arise.

In the jungle, two speeding figures were conversing with each other as they hurried along.

"Did you choose the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique from the Scroll of Seals?"

Stepping on a treetop, Orochimaru leaped forward, the scenery behind him constantly receding at a blistering speed.

Uchiha Gen slightly slowed his pace by a fraction, keeping close to Orochimaru's side. He nodded in response, and after introducing the range of available options he had on the Scroll of Seals to Orochimaru, he said, "The Phantom Clone is inherently a compromised product derived from the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique. If the two can be combined, it should be able to elevate the Phantom Body Flicker Technique to the next level."

"Viewed this way, this technique is indeed suited for you. Compared to you, my harvest is somewhat lackluster. On the Scroll of Seals, the First Hokage's records regarding senjutsu are far too vague and uncertain, offering no real help to my study of the senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave."

Orochimaru slowly shook his head, a hint of regret on his face.

"Senjutsu?"

Uchiha Gen's heart stirred.

In the original timeline, Orochimaru indeed had profound research into senjutsu. Although he never learned senjutsu himself, he used Jugo as a test subject to research and develop the Curse Mark.

Aside from making one look a bit uglier, the Curse Mark of Heaven, as long as one's willpower was sufficiently firm, provided a boost after adaptation that was hardly any worse than senjutsu.

Moreover, Kabuto learned senjutsu only by successfully taking a gamble inheriting Orochimaru's legacy. By the Boruto era, Mitsuki, cultivated by Orochimaru, could likewise learn the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave.

This showed that in the original timeline, Orochimaru was not far away from fully figuring out Sage Mode.

If he himself could also provide some assistance, then would it truly be possible for Orochimaru to research and understand senjutsu?

However, he himself did not understand senjutsu well either. He would first need to gain some understanding before considering such matters.

"That's right."

A trace of solemnity and a trace of unwillingness carried within Orochimaru's tone.

"That guy Jiraiya has already started practicing senjutsu at Mount Myōboku."

"And as for me, in Ryūchi Cave, I have also contacted the inheritance of senjutsu, but the senjutsu there has an extremely high cultivation difficulty and risk. It requires enduring the natural energy within the White Snake Sage's venom."

"A moment of carelessness would result in being swallowed by natural energy, turning forever into a stone statue, and falling as a meal in the bellies of those giant snakes."

"Even for me, I have zero certainty."

"That's why I wanted to see if I could find any clues from the First Hokage's records, searching for the possibility of analyzing the mysteries of senjutsu through a scientific method, but unfortunately—"

Orochimaru shook his head.

"Even the most basic sensing of natural energy has stuck me."

"This is just like the Flying Thunder God; it has no direct relationship with a person's talent for learning Ninjutsu, depending solely on the body's innate compatibility with natural energy."

"The First Hokage's situation is far too special; his experiences cannot be learned from by later generations, and to me, they have almost no reference value."

"If you also want to learn senjutsu, you must be extremely cautious and absolutely must not do those dangerous things."

"I understand, Teacher Orochimaru."

It seemed that Orochimaru currently lacked sufficient research materials on Sage Mode.

If he wanted to understand it further, he would likely have to make a trip to Ryūchi Cave when the time came.

He just didn't know how much effect his Sage Body—combining Tsunade's and Karin's traits—would have on learning Sage Mode, and whether there was a direct relationship between the two.

Both Hashirama and Naruto possessed powerful Sage Bodies, boasting immensely massive Chakra reserves and impressive self-healing capabilities.

As Hashirama Senju's granddaughter, Tsunade also inherited a portion of Hashirama's physique, and surely had channels to learn Hashirama's Sage Mode, yet she had not succeeded.

If a Sage Body truly helped in learning Sage Mode, then building upon Tsunade's foundation along with Karin's physique, perhaps he really had a good chance.

And if it provided no help, he would mostly find it difficult to learn senjutsu as well, and would only be able to wait and see in the future whether he could draw a character card related to mastering senjutsu, thereby achieving it indirectly while also gaining an extra research subject.

Two days later, Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru returned to the Asuka Fortress together.

From this moment on, Konoha's war machine was fully operational.

On Konoha's side, eight thousand troops were now gathered in the Land of Hot Springs, and their high-tier combat strength was unprecedentedly formidable.

Orochimaru, Uchiha Gen, and Danzo were each genuine Kage-level experts, and the older-generation Ino–Shika–Chō trio teaming up did not fear any top expert in the Shinobi World. There was also Akimichi Torifu, whose strength approached Kage-level. Such a lineup, pulled out individually, was already no worse than a major ninja village.

Having repeatedly proven his extraordinary command ability and strategic vision, and having proven his capability, Orochimaru earned the trust of the Third Hokage, which was why the latter would commit so much power into the Land of Hot Springs battlefield.

Even though Konoha was the strongest ninja village, nearly half of its elite forces and high-level combat strength had already been thrown into the battlefield of the Land of Hot Springs.

The Third Hokage hoped that Orochimaru could achieve victory in the war against Kumogakure as soon as possible.

As long as they secured victory in the battle against Kumogakure, they would only have Hidden Sand left as an enemy. By then, given Konoha's current flourishing state, it was not something Hidden Sand could defeat with the strength of a single village.

No matter how thick Konoha's foundation was, having experienced so many years of cruel warfare, even if the foundation was still there, it had already suffered a heavy blow to its muscles and bones.

No one understood Konoha's situation better than Sarutobi Hiruzen as the Hokage. At this moment, throughout all of Konoha, the person most urgently wishing to end the war was him.

And Orochimaru did not fail Sarutobi Hiruzen's trust. In the following months, Konoha's large army engaged in successive fierce battles with Kumogakure within the territory of the Land of Hot Springs with an unstoppable momentum.

Advancing triumphantly, the battle results were brilliant!

By the beginning of the second year, the frontline had already been pushed to the border between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost.

The Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning were separated by only two small countries: the Land of Hot Springs was close to the southern Land of Fire, and the Land of Frost was close to the northeastern Land of Lightning.

The Land of Frost's national territory was even smaller than that of the Land of Hot Springs. Once its border defense line was breached, the interior would be completely flat with no perilous terrain to defend.

By then, Konoha's military prowess could strike out in all directions, pointing directly at the homeland of the Land of Lightning, leaving the latter unable to guard against it.