Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 298 Orochimaru’s Situation

The torrent of time surged forward, unstoppable.

The Third Great Ninja War, which had lasted for several years and swept across the entire ninja world, finally came to an end amidst the exhaustion of all parties and a new balance.

The end of the war differed from the original course.

The Konoha side, thanks to the outstanding performances of new-generation talents like Sora who emerged out of nowhere, Namikaze Minato the "Yellow Flash" who shone on the battlefield, and Night Owl who possessed the giant summoning beast Shanjun, withstood immense pressure.

After suffering setbacks in the decisive battle against Konoha, the Kumogakure side, led by the Third Raikage, turned its military might towards Iwagakure.

Following the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Ōnoki, feeling threatened from both front and rear, had no choice but to withdraw his main forces from the entanglement with Konoha and focus entirely on dealing with the furious assault from the Land of Lightning.

The Konoha leadership, whether it was Sarutobi Hiruzen or Shimura Danzo, was happy to watch the tigers fight.

Konoha, having experienced nearly five years of war, urgently needed rest and recovery, and naturally would not intervene in this death struggle between the two major ninja villages.

Ultimately, with both Kumogakure and Iwagakure suffering heavy losses and neither having the strength to open a second front, the Third Great Ninja War came to a close.

Konoha became the winner in this war, suffering relatively smaller losses and even rising to greater heights of prestige through military achievements.

...

Deep within the dense forest near Kikyōyama.

Sora, wearing the Vermilion Bird mask, appeared near Orochimaru’s underground base.

According to information relayed back by his shadow clone, Orochimaru himself was currently inside this base.

Sora estimated that after such a long period of dedicated research, Orochimaru’s "Living Corpse Reincarnation" technique should be nearing completion, or might even have already succeeded.

But he needed confirmation, needed to see the crucial evidence with his own eyes.

Today was a special day.

Not long before, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, officially announced that he would step down to take responsibility for the war losses, citing his advanced age and the need to be held accountable.

Within Konoha Village, undercurrents suddenly grew turbulent.

The candidates for the Fourth Hokage were pushed into the spotlight.

Namikaze Minato, the "Yellow Flash," with outstanding achievements and extremely high prestige.

Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, with deep seniority and formidable power.

Tsunade, also one of the Sannin, possessing Senju lineage and renowned as a medical saint.

And...

Jiraiya, who had explicitly stated his disinterest but was still mentioned by some.

Even Sora’s epithet "Azure Dragon" was mentioned among a small number of young ninjas and minor clans.

After all, his deeds of standing firm against the Third Raikage and Ōnoki’s Dust Release, and saving his comrades, had long spread, and his strength was evident to all.

But everyone understood this was nearly impossible.

An orphan outsider, with shallow roots and only fifteen years old, wanting to ascend to the Hokage’s seat was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Tsunade had long left the village, her whereabouts a mystery.

Jiraiya was free-spirited and had explicitly refused.

In the end, the torch of competition fell between Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru.

However, due to the various "black materials" that Sora had spared no effort in disseminating through underground channels over the past year, Orochimaru’s situation was even more difficult than in the original.

Rumors of conducting human experiments and researching forbidden techniques were no longer baseless; they even had considerable traction among Konoha’s mid and lower-level ninjas.

This made Sarutobi Hiruzen, who already had doubts about Orochimaru’s methods, even more disapproving of him.

In Sarutobi Hiruzen’s heart, the Hokage’s seat required an inheritor of the "Will of Fire" who could protect the village openly and honorably.

Not a disciple obsessed with dangerous forbidden techniques and notorious.

In contrast, Namikaze Minato, who was bright, powerful, deeply loved, and almost represented the hope of Konoha’s new generation, was undoubtedly a more suitable candidate.

Konoha ninjas, especially those who had experienced the war, also tended to support Namikaze Minato more.

Today was the crucial day when Konoha’s high command would hold a formal meeting to discuss and preliminarily decide on the candidate for the Fourth Hokage.

Orochimaru had to be present.

Unless he intended to completely tear off the mask and defect from Konoha right now.

Sora, like the most patient hunter, waited quietly in the shadows.

Time passed minute by minute, from early morning until the sun was high in the sky.

Finally, a very subtle chakra fluctuation came from the entrance of the underground base.

A tall, slender figure walked out.

It was Orochimaru.

He wore loose traditional clothing, his pale face showing no expression, his golden serpentine pupils coldly scanning the surroundings.

But Sora keenly sensed that the aura emanating from Orochimaru was colder, deeper than a year ago, and carried a faint, barely perceptible...

sense of disharmony at the soul level.

’Living Corpse Reincarnation... It seems even if not completely successful, it’s at the final stage. Has the rejection between soul and body begun to show initial signs?’ Sora thought to himself.

Orochimaru did not linger. His figure blurred into an afterimage as he swiftly headed in the direction of Konoha Village.

He had to attend that meeting, which would decide whether he could legitimately obtain more resources and support.

Although the hope was growing increasingly slim.

Watching the direction where Orochimaru disappeared, Sora’s gaze remained unfluctuating.

He waited in place a while longer, confirming Orochimaru was far away, then emerged from his hiding place.

He approached the cave entrance and quickly formed several hand signs with his hands.

The vines and illusion before him rapidly dissipated, revealing a deep, dark cave mouth.

A cold breath, mixed with the smells of formaldehyde, medicinal herbs, and a faint trace of blood, rushed out from within the cave.

Sora slightly frowned, then stepped inside.

...

"Who?!"

A Special Jonin who was recording data was the first to notice something amiss. He sharply looked up and shouted.

However, before his words finished, a hand blade wreathed in lightning precisely chopped the back of his neck.

He didn’t even see the intruder’s appearance before collapsing softly to the ground.

The other few ninjas and lab personnel didn’t even have time to mount any effective response before being knocked unconscious one by one under Sora’s ghostly speed, collapsed to the ground, collapsed to the ground.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

Sora’s gaze swept across the entire stone chamber.

This place was less like a laboratory and more like a combination of a slaughterhouse and a library.

It was even more direct than what he had "seen" with his sensory perception.

Several huge glass cultivation tanks were placed around the room, containing various twisted biological tissues soaking inside.

Some vaguely resembled human forms but had grown extra limbs or organs.

Others had completely turned into indescribable lumps of flesh, covered in eerie blood vessels and sprouts.

An intense aura of life intertwined with the smell of death and decay, creating a hellish scene.

Sora’s eyes turned a few degrees colder.

Although he did not claim to be a good person, seeing such a scene of wanton trampling of life and twisted creations, twisted creations still stirred a sense of disgust within him.

His gaze finally settled on the experimental table, experimental table in the center of the stone chamber.

Sora quickly walked over, picked up the top few scrolls, and rapidly skimmed through them.

They recorded a large amount of data and analysis regarding soul energy extraction, the compatibility between mental power and the physical body, cellular activity, and rejection reactions.

The terminology was obscure, the experimental records shocking.

---

To make the relics a little easier it should be made when you get a dupe relic it should give you a free level just to help the grind a little