chapter 90 part 1
Chapter 90: Tsukasa Kaede and I Advanced the Hashirama Cell Experiment; We've Contributed Too Much to the Village!
In the period that followed, Tsukasa Kaede became extremely busy, constantly rotating between Orochimaru's experiments and Madara's side.
This time, Madara revealed more information to him, including that the birth of the Rinnegan requires the Power of All Creation from both the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, but he did not impart the Kaedex Paths' Yin-Yang Release Jutsu to him.
This was a privilege only Obito would receive in the future.
Tsukasa Kaede was not surprised. He directly made a request to Madara, asking to learn Izanagi. After a moment of silence, Madara indeed agreed.
Izanagi was currently the technique that consumed the most of Tsukasa Kaede's time and energy.
"However, since Madara didn't seize the opportunity to attack me, that should be good news, making it convenient for me to fleece him."
While conducting experiments, Tsukasa Kaede sometimes pondered this—after this incident, his already fragile relationship with Madara became even more precarious. Even if Madara suddenly made a move against him, Tsukasa Kaede wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
And he had already prepared for it.
"For now, I still need to do some work. Should I approach Obito Uchiha already…?"
It wasn't impossible, really. A person's character throughout their life is largely determined by genes in the womb—although this is a physiological characteristic of people from Earth, in the Shinobi World, due to Chakra, some deviations would inevitably occur.
Chakra itself is a product of the fusion of Mental Energy and Life Force. Asura Chakra, for example, can powerfully suppress the darkness in a person's heart, causing the Reincarnation's personality to constantly shift towards the side of light, completely defying logic.
However, a person with a distinct, reckless, impulsive, and emotional personality like Obito has close ties to both genetics and family education. Although he was still very young, Tsukasa Kaede could try to approach him. Then, he'd find an opportunity to send him to Madara, letting Madara figure out how to guide his corruption and turn his deep love for this world into deep hatred.
"Tsukasa-kun, you're spacing out."
Orochimaru pushed open the door and entered the laboratory.
"You're back? What did Lord Hokage say?" Tsukasa Kaede asked without lifting his head.
"As expected, he reprimanded me, saying I shouldn't have taken you to act on our own. But it was just a reprimand, nothing more, just as I anticipated."
Orochimaru didn't mind taking the blame for Tsukasa Kaede at all. Although he was the one who first brought up the Eight-Tails Chakra and guided Tsukasa Kaede's actions, with Danzo having been demoted, his stepping forward to take the blame for Tsukasa Kaede and actively filling the void left by Danzo seemed… surprisingly fitting?
"But this can also be considered a merit, can't it? The two of us together dealt with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, preventing Hidden Cloud Village from deploying a Tailed Beast on the battlefield. Considering Hidden Cloud Village's pathetic Sealing Jutsu proficiency, finding a new Vessel won't be easy. This alone can hinder their development for at least several months."
Tsukasa Kaede grabbed a Corpse from the experimental table with one hand, then kicked it with a flying kick, sending it against the wall. A huge iron hook on the wall pierced the Corpse's chest, suspending it firmly.
There were many similar Corpses in the laboratory, all just the cheapest Consumables, purely for helping Orochimaru perfect his cell transplantation experiments. Their fate was already sealed.
"Lord Hokage's magnanimity is truly extraordinary," Tsukasa Kaede remarked.
It was fortunate that Orochimaru, a disciple of the Hokage, took the blame. If Tsukasa Kaede himself had taken such aggressive action without the Village's permission, the outcome would be uncertain, perhaps even leading to a direct loss of the Village's trust.
But with Orochimaru, it was different. The Third Hokage knew better than anyone what kind of person Orochimaru was, and he also knew that Orochimaru had always been close to Danzo and was already secretly conducting Forbidden Experiments.
The Third Hokage had never interfered. If there were results beneficial to the Village, it meant his leadership as Hokage was effective. If it was detrimental to the Village, he would step in to immediately halt all actions, successfully preventing harm to the Village.
And most importantly: Jiraiya's unauthorized departure from the Village to teach Nagato was what truly crossed a line.
If Mito Uzumaki hadn't died, and the Rinnegan hadn't been exposed, there would still be an argument. But now, the Third Hokage knew what had happened, and that Jiraiya had even hidden it from him, his own teacher.
Yet, the Third Hokage still said nothing.
He hadn't listed Jiraiya as a Rogue Ninja, so it was even less likely he would do anything to Orochimaru for attacking the Eight-Tails. Hence, Orochimaru was fearless—that guy Jiraiya had further lowered everyone's moral baseline. He really wanted to see if Jiraiya would dare return to the Village, and if so, how he would manage his relationship with the Third Hokage upon his return.
"Magnanimity… from a certain perspective, it doesn't seem wrong at all."
Orochimaru let out a scoff, his expression flickering in the dim light. "Tsukasa-kun, I believe we can now have a certain degree of trust in each other. So, there are some things I want to ask you. If I don't get clear answers, I'll be quite unwilling to accept it."
"You want the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu? It's useless to you even if I gave it to you; only I can maximize its value. And I wouldn't give it to you anyway. As for mere Eight-Tails Chakra, I could get my hands on it even without you," Tsukasa Kaede said casually.
"No, not that. While I strongly desire that Jutsu, it's not absolutely essential. I have my own path to follow regarding how to extend my Lifespan… though it would naturally be better if I could obtain that Jutsu."
Orochimaru continued, "You're willing to accept my invitation and assist me with these experiments, so you must have your own demands, which means you might also have something to ask of me… right? I think we can be a little more open with each other now."