Chapter 533: Major Breakthrough

Chapter 533: Chapter 533: Major Breakthrough

Orochimaru smiled faintly at Danzo’s answer, not the least bit surprised.

Orochimaru understood Danzo better than anyone, for he had witnessed almost the entire process of Danzo’s transformation from an elder who maintained Konoha’s stability from the shadows into a slave to power.

It could be said that Orochimaru was the first person in the village to notice that Danzo had lost his way. And for Danzo, who had already lost himself in his pursuit of power, the opportunity before him was simply too rare to pass up.

For Konoha, the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the destruction of the village was unprecedented.

A disaster of this magnitude would plunge any incumbent Hokage into a storm of public criticism.

After all, no matter how brutal the previous three Great Shinobi Wars had been, none of them had reached the village itself, much less reduced the entire village to rubble in a single night.

Moreover, in the minds of the vast majority of Konoha shinobi, the deeply ingrained belief that Konoha was the strongest village in the shinobi world and the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages still remained.

Thus, although they could rationally understand the Third Hokage’s predicament and recognize that the village had suffered this calamity because the enemy was simply too powerful, emotionally, the destruction of their homes would still cause them to instinctively place the blame on the Third Hokage.

After all, the title of ’Hokage’ represented responsibility. No matter how many reasons or excuses there might be, the incumbent Hokage could not escape responsibility for the village’s destruction.

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru asked again, "If Kamigami really sides with the old man, our subsequent plans will be greatly affected."

Danzo shook his head and said with absolute certainty, "There’s no need to worry. I understand Hiruzen better than anyone. He can’t offer them a higher price. Kamigami won’t choose to cooperate with him. I now suspect that Kamigami sent Homura here merely to use Hiruzen to pressure me into making concessions, thereby maximizing their own interests. I’m afraid the Land of Water alone isn’t enough to satisfy them."

Orochimaru nodded. That possibility certainly existed.

Danzo glanced sideways at Orochimaru. "We must accelerate the improvement of the Chimera Technique!"

Orochimaru smiled proudly. "I’ve already made a major breakthrough on my end. What’s currently holding back our progress is the portion Furin was responsible for. Let’s hope Homura, who has replaced Furin, doesn’t disappoint us."

When it came to scientific research, Orochimaru had every reason to be proud.

Hearing Orochimaru mention ’Homura’ again, Danzo unconsciously furrowed his brows. He had always felt that allowing an Uchiha to participate in his core plan was highly inappropriate.

At that moment, Orochimaru’s gaze sharpened as he tentatively asked, "You can already begin selecting your targets. Which Kekkei Genkai are you planning to fuse?"

Danzo replied indifferently, "I haven’t decided yet."

Knowing that Danzo would not tell him the truth, Orochimaru did not press the matter any further. He turned and disappeared into the shadows...

...

Inside Root’s underground laboratory.

Kagami glanced at the progress report handed to him by a research assistant, and his pupils contracted slightly beneath his mask.

Judging from the report, during the days he had been absent, Orochimaru’s portion of the research had advanced considerably. Several major scientific obstacles had even been overcome one after another.

"Looks like Orochimaru and Danzo are still maintaining their partnership!"

It wasn’t difficult for Kagami to reach this conclusion. After all, on the night Akatsuki attacked the village, both he and Orochimaru had been in the laboratory, and each had been fully aware of the other’s research progress.

Now that Orochimaru’s portion of the research had achieved a major breakthrough, it undoubtedly meant that his partnership with Danzo had not been terminated by the previous battle. Throughout these past few days, Orochimaru had continued conducting experiments to improve the Chimera Technique.

At this thought, Kagami’s expression changed as a suspicion arose in his mind.

Orochimaru had abducted the village’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki without authorization. Logically speaking, even if Danzo did not completely fall out with him, he should at least have suspended their cooperation.

Yet that was not the case. Danzo was still maintaining his partnership with Orochimaru.

This suggested that Danzo and Orochimaru had very likely reached some sort of agreement in private. Considering that Danzo was actively seeking the position of Hokage within the village, Kagami suspected that Naruto and Hinata, who were currently in Orochimaru’s hands, might very well become bargaining chips in Danzo’s bid for the Hokage position.

Just imagine: if Danzo and Orochimaru conspired to stage a rescue operation for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family, Danzo’s reputation within the village would undoubtedly soar.

The Hyuga clan would also have little choice but to lean toward him on the matter of the Hokage succession. At that point, as long as he secured the support of a few other major shinobi clans, replacing the Third Hokage and taking the position for himself would not be impossible.

"Would Orochimaru really hand Naruto over to Danzo? Doesn’t he want to use Naruto to exchange for Sasuke, who’s in Akatsuki’s hands? Or has Danzo offered him something he simply can’t refuse?"

Previously, Kagami had always believed that a hostage exchange between Akatsuki and Orochimaru was inevitable.

After all, Naruto was of little use to Orochimaru, while Sasuke held little significance to Akatsuki.

But thinking about it now, that assumption seemed somewhat wishful.

Neither Akatsuki nor Orochimaru was the sort to honor fairness or keep their word. There was simply not enough mutual trust between them. Even if both sides agreed to exchange hostages, they would undoubtedly harbor ulterior motives.

Without betraying any change in his expression, Kagami set the research report aside and began his own experiments.

Although he had not conducted any experiments over the past few days, his mind had certainly not been idle.

Taking advantage of the time he spent on duty in the village, he had mentally devised several experimental plans. Thus, upon arriving at the laboratory, he skipped the usual process of familiarizing himself with the work and immediately plunged into the complicated experiments.

The breakthrough on Orochimaru’s end was primarily in the gelatinous material.

Orochimaru had discovered a special type of gelatinous substance that became extremely active at a temperature of 45°C, almost rivaling the material Hiruko had selected to create the Chimera Bud.

However, when the temperature dropped below 30°C, its activity would gradually decrease. If the temperature fell to 0°C, it would completely lose its activity.

To a certain extent, this temperature-sensitive substance was a naturally controllable gelatinous material. As long as its temperature was artificially regulated, the risk of it going berserk and spiraling out of control could be fundamentally eliminated.

And a breakthrough like this could be considered absolutely crucial.

Previously, Kagami had been unable to determine how much time or money would be required to improve the Chimera Technique. But with this breakthrough, both the time and financial investment required for the subsequent stages had become predictable.

"Heh, Orochimaru really does know his stuff when it comes to this!"

As Kagami accelerated his own portion of the experiments, he couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

Orochimaru’s breakthrough had made the path toward improving the Chimera Technique much clearer, putting Kagami in an excellent mood.