Chapter 576: The Restless Guinea Pig

Chapter 576: Chapter 576: The Restless Guinea Pig

At this moment, Danzo seemed to have completely immersed himself in his new identity as Hokage. Speaking with the authority of a superior, he began issuing orders to Orochimaru, who was supposed to be his partner in a cooperative relationship. He even cast a provocative glance at Kagami, who was attending the meeting under his Kamigami identity of ’Homura.’

Almost simultaneously, the expressions of Kagami and Orochimaru darkened.

Although they had long anticipated that Danzo’s ego would swell after becoming Acting Hokage, neither of them had expected the man to become this arrogant!

It was simply unreasonable!

"I am the Hokage now. You should understand what that means!"

Danzo paid no attention to their reactions. As he spoke, his face took on a repulsive expression that practically screamed, ’I am the center of everything, and everything must revolve around me!’

Kagami looked at Danzo and thought, "Tch, looks like getting this fool, whose ambitions far exceed his abilities, to obediently serve as a guinea pig is going to be impossible. I’ll have to accelerate the experiments. Otherwise, if this guy remains Acting Hokage for much longer, who knows what kind of trouble he’ll stir up!"

Kagami had a vague feeling that Danzo was beginning to slip out of control. He needed to accelerate the experiments and dispose of this troublesome fellow as soon as possible.

At that moment, Orochimaru, his expression dark, met Danzo’s gaze without the slightest intention of backing down. He let out a soft chuckle.

"Danzo, have you forgotten? I’ve been a rogue shinobi for quite some time now. The Hokage has no authority over me."

Danzo abruptly rose to his feet and shouted, "Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru remained seated, the corners of his mouth curling into a grin.

"What? Do you want to fight me right here?"

Kagami was utterly speechless. Left with no choice, he spoke in the tone of a Kamigami member and warned Danzo:

"Danzo, I know that defeating the Third Hokage, who has kept you suppressed all these years, has given you some inexplicable confidence. But I hope you understand that the people sitting in this conference room are neither your enemies nor your subordinates.

"We are partners. So please put away that Hokage attitude of yours. Besides, in the shinobi world, the title of Hokage stopped carrying much weight a long time ago!"

"You!"

Danzo glared furiously at Kagami. However, upon seeing the flame-patterned mask on Kagami’s face and remembering the incomparably powerful Kamigami standing behind this ’Homura,’ he ultimately suppressed his anger.

"Whether it’s Kamigami, Akatsuki, or Orochimaru, just you wait! I’ll crush every last one of you damned bastards like insects!"

After silently making this vow, Danzo sat back down, the aura surrounding him growing increasingly sinister.

Ignoring the chilling killing intent emanating from Danzo, Kagami asked, "Let’s get back to the main topic. Have you finished capturing the kekkei genkai shinobi?"

Danzo replied, "How could such a trivial matter possibly trouble me?"

Kagami nodded lightly. "Very good. With that, all the preliminary preparations are complete. The next step is to select a location for the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual."

Since this concerned his own fusion ritual, Danzo reluctantly set aside his hostility and asked, "Do you have any suggestions regarding the location?"

Kagami answered directly, "Because the Kekkei Genkai you’ve selected contain an excessively high proportion of Water Release chakra, we don’t have many suitable locations to choose from if we want to balance it out.

"Either a volcanic cavern or a vast desert. If we choose a volcanic cavern, it will provide the strongest suppression of Water Release chakra, but it will be difficult to harness the power of the celestial alignment as Hiruko did.

"If we choose a vast desert, provided the elevation is sufficiently high, we should still be able to draw upon some of the celestial alignment’s power. However, the environment’s suppression of Water Release chakra will be correspondingly weaker."

Danzo’s eyes flickered. "Which option is safer?"

"The volcanic cavern!" After a brief pause, Kagami explained, "During the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual, maintaining the balance between the various chakra natures is always the key!"

Orochimaru also chimed in, "Hiruko only needed to borrow the power of the celestial alignment because he lacked sufficient chakra. You’re the Hokage. Chakra supply won’t be a problem for you."

Chakra transfer technology between shinobi was by no means an advanced technology for the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

According to intelligence reports, Kumogakure was secretly developing a massive chakra-powered cannon supplied by over a hundred shinobi. Therefore, even if Danzo’s own chakra reserves were insufficient, his position as Acting Hokage would allow him to easily mobilize hundreds or even thousands of Konoha shinobi and have them continuously supply him with chakra through specialized equipment.

As Danzo nodded, he took out a map of the shinobi world.

Every volcanic cavern on the map had been marked in red, making it clear that Danzo had long since begun researching and screening potential locations for the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual.

Pointing to a volcanic cavern in the northern part of the Land of Fire, near the Land of Lightning, Danzo said, "I’ve already sent people to survey this volcanic cavern. Everything meets our requirements. Furthermore, it’s located within the Land of Fire, making it convenient for us to mobilize personnel and easier to keep the operation hidden from prying eyes."

Kagami thought to himself, "So Danzo had already chosen a location! Hmph, looks like he hasn’t let down his guard against Orochimaru and me for even a moment!"

Orochimaru had evidently realized this as well, and a disdainful expression appeared on his face.

In reality, neither Kagami nor Orochimaru had any intention of deliberately sabotaging Danzo during the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual.

After all, even if they devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the ritual and gave it everything they had, the probability of Danzo surviving the fusion would still be extremely low. There was simply no need for them to resort to underhanded tricks.

What they truly needed was the various data generated during Danzo’s Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual.

Furthermore, they intended to use Danzo’s ritual to verify whether the improvements they had made to the Chimera Technique during this period were effective, whether the arrangements for the ritual were reasonable, and so on.

Danzo continued, "Within two weeks, I’ll be able to complete the preparations at the ritual site."

Orochimaru smiled. "If you want to further increase your chances of success, I suggest you accept my body modifications. Also, that very interesting arm you recently acquired could improve the strength of your body. I recommend replacing your current arm with it before conducting the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual."

Danzo hesitated slightly. "I’ll have to think about it."

"Then you’d better make up your mind as soon as possible." After a brief pause, Orochimaru explained, "Your body will need a period of recovery after undergoing the modifications. So the sooner you undergo them, the sooner you’ll be able to conduct the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual."

Kagami didn’t want Danzo to keep dragging things out either, so he said, "You’d better complete the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual before Akatsuki makes its next move. Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t be sitting in that Hokage seat for very long."

Danzo stood up and headed toward the conference room’s exit.

"I’ll give you my answer as soon as possible!"