Chapter 577: The Pursuit of Eternal Life

Chapter 577: Chapter 577: The Pursuit of Eternal Life

After Danzo left, Kagami and Orochimaru also departed the conference room together.

Walking side by side through the dim corridors of the Root base, neither spoke a word. Only the faint sound of their footsteps echoed through the silent, empty facility.

Before long, the two passed through a secret passage connecting the base to the outside of the village and arrived at a small forest beyond Konoha.

At this moment, Orochimaru chuckled. "Danzo has already gotten out of control. The Second Hokage certainly had a good eye for people. Danzo’s temperament and vision simply aren’t suited to bearing the title of Hokage."

Kagami turned his head slightly and glanced at Orochimaru. "He’s a dead man walking. Just put up with him for now."

Orochimaru stared at Kagami with great interest. "To think your Kamigami could tolerate Danzo to this extent. I’m genuinely surprised. Now I believe there really is someone among you who wants to become a god!"

Kagami did not deny it. "It’s no secret."

"Is it your leader, Yama?" After a brief pause, Orochimaru continued in puzzlement, "But can someone as powerful as him really not be considered a god already? I’m very curious. What exactly is he pursuing? Can the Chimera Technique truly give him what he wants?"

Kagami replied indifferently, "You ask too many questions."

Orochimaru smiled. "I’ve always had an insatiable thirst for knowledge!"

Kagami countered with a question. "Then why are you able to tolerate Danzo?"

"Being able to participate in this god-making project is already my greatest objective."

Looking back at Konoha in the distance, Orochimaru spoke with a hint of emotion.

"In the past, I once thought about destroying Konoha. I wanted to personally destroy the village that the old man cherished so dearly, right before his very eyes.

"But now, I no longer care about any of that.

"There’s only one thing I truly care about...

"Eternal life!"

"That’s my pursuit as well!"

Kagami silently echoed those words in his heart.

......

A few days later, inside the principal’s office at the Ninja Academy.

Kagami sat leisurely in his chair, studying the Hozuki clan’s secret Water Style techniques that he had obtained from Kirigakure’s secret technique archives. At times, his brows furrowed in concentration; at others, a smile spread across his face.

At present, all his plans were progressing steadily and in an orderly fashion.

Having ascended to the position of Hokage, Danzo trusted no one. Consequently, he had taken complete control of the preparations for the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual, personally overseeing every aspect of the process and leaving no room for anyone else to interfere. Naturally, Kagami had no need to concern himself with those matters.

As for Deidara, Kirigakure’s ANBU were still searching for him everywhere.

However, that fellow wandered aimlessly throughout the shinobi world, with no clear destination or objective. Coupled with his highly mobile flying abilities, tracking down his whereabouts was no easy task.

This was not something that could be rushed, so Kagami could only patiently await news from Kirigakure.

Thus, having obtained a brief period of free time, Kagami turned his attention to researching the Hozuki clan’s secret Water Style techniques.

This was also because his Wind Release clone, which possessed both the Shikotsumyaku and Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, had far exceeded his expectations in terms of strength.

Its exceptional strength had significantly raised the average strength of his clones, forcing him to revisit his original Water Release clone and further enhance its capabilities so that the strength of each clone could once again be brought into balance.

After thoroughly studying the Hozuki clan’s secret Water Style techniques, even Kagami, with his current level of knowledge and ability, had to admit that their techniques were truly remarkable!

Take, for instance, the Hydrification Technique, which allowed the user to partially or completely liquefy their own body.

In an environment abundant in water, this secret Water Style technique could practically double the combat strength of a Hozuki clan member.

The Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, had mastered techniques such as the Water Gun Technique, Oily Sliding Step, and Water Balloon Technique, which covered various aspects of combat, including offense, defense, and mobility.

His secret Water Style technique, Steaming Danger Tyranny, was even more formidable, proving troublesome even for the Second Tsuchikage, who possessed Dust Release.

It could be said that as long as Kagami mastered the Hozuki clan’s secret Water Style techniques, the strength of his Water Release clone would increase dramatically, allowing it to catch up with his Wind Release clone.

However, although the Hozuki clan was not a traditional Kekkei Genkai clan, its members possessed extraordinary constitutions. Without the Hozuki bloodline, cultivating their clan’s numerous strange and unconventional Water Style techniques was extremely difficult.

Fortunately, Kagami’s Water Release clone had been created using Haku’s cellular tissue.

The Yuki clan, to which Haku belonged, possessed Ice Release and had historically maintained close ties with the Hozuki clan. Intermarriage between the two clans had been extremely common.

Therefore, in theory, Kagami’s Water Release clone also possessed the necessary aptitude to cultivate the Hozuki clan’s secret Water Style techniques.

Knock, knock, knock...

Just as Kagami was engrossed in studying the Hozuki clan’s secret techniques, a series of knocks sounded from outside the principal’s office.

"Come in."

As Kagami spoke, he put away the secret technique scroll in his hands.

Soon, Iruka and Mizuki entered the principal’s office together.

Glancing at the troubled expression on Iruka’s face, Kagami asked, "What’s wrong?"

Iruka handed Kagami a report and said helplessly, "Principal, this is already the ninth time today. It’s all because I failed to supervise them properly, disrupting the school’s normal teaching activities. Please punish me!"

Kagami opened the report and glanced through it. He immediately chuckled.

"Naruto challenged Sasuke five times, Rock Lee challenged Sasuke twice, and Kiba challenged Sasuke once. Heh, even Choji challenged Sasuke once."

Undoubtedly, following Sasuke’s arrogant declaration that he was the ’strongest of his generation’ at the entrance ceremony, it was only natural that dissatisfied students would challenge him once classes began.

However, Sasuke had not been making empty boasts. Every student who challenged him was defeated with ease, with Naruto suffering the greatest number of defeats.

This only further convinced everyone that Naruto’s earlier claim of having mastered Senjutsu was nothing more than a boast he had made up on the spot.

However, Kagami knew that Naruto had genuinely entered Ryuchi Cave, one of the three great mystical regions of the shinobi world.

Not only had he signed a summoning contract with a giant snake named Garaga, but he had also received the recognition of Ichikishimahime, who served the White Snake Sage in Ryuchi Cave. She had acknowledged that Naruto had mastered Ryuchi Cave’s Senjutsu, so Naruto must have successfully entered Sage Mode before.

As for why Naruto could no longer enter Sage Mode, the reasons were actually quite easy to identify.

Firstly, the concentration of natural energy in the shinobi world was far lower than that within the mystical realm of Ryuchi Cave. Consequently, entering Sage Mode in the shinobi world was considerably more difficult than doing so inside Ryuchi Cave.

Secondly, Naruto was too eager to win and had lost the calm, peaceful state of mind necessary for the process, making it even harder for him to enter Sage Mode.

At this moment, Mizuki, who was standing nearby, spoke up.

"Principal, I’m also responsible for this matter. Please don’t punish Iruka!"

Kagami glanced at Mizuki and smiled.

Aside from Kabuto, this blue-haired fellow, who was somewhat handsome but possessed a gloomy disposition, was actually the real spy Orochimaru had planted inside the Ninja Academy...