Simu had not expected Sasori's path to be so wild; he had only provided a fleshy core to facilitate puppet control, yet this fellow was already thinking about modifying his own body.
Naturally, even if he knew, he likely wouldn't feel much. After all, he himself was no longer human, so Sasori's plans were merely human body modification.
Regardless, under Simu's influence and the guidance of Lord Jashin, this genius Sasori finally opened up a new line of thinking, no longer restricting himself to the confines of a human shell.
After concluding matters with Sasori, three figures walked into the base.
They were Rie Uzumaki, Shana, and Jugo.
Due to the update in technology, Simu had specifically ordered this three-person team to end their mission in the Land of Wind and return to the base for an upgrade.
Overall, their mission in the Land of Wind had been completed quite well; within these six months, the Jashin Religion had heavily infiltrated the lower classes of the Land of Wind.
Although Rasa had begun taking precautions against the spread of the Jashin Religion throughout the Land of Wind, the natural barrier between ninjas and impoverished civilians made the lower-level Jashin Religion very difficult to truly eradicate.
After all, people in those destitute areas had no money to post missions at a hidden village; without missions, these ninjas naturally would not see those civilians.
Thus, a natural barrier existed between them.
Compared to those high-and-mighty ninja lords, Lord Jashin, who could prevent these civilians from suffering the predations of wind scorpions, seemed more worthy of trust.
Back at the base.
The moment Rie Uzumaki saw Simu, her eyes immediately became hazy. She knelt directly at Simu's feet and said respectfully, "Greetings, Master."
In contrast, although Shana also desired Simu's favor, she was a more composed individual and thus only knelt on one knee.
"Lord Kamizuki."
Jugo was the most normal of the three, greeting Simu respectfully, "Mr. Priest."
Three people, three titles.
Simu did not nitpick over such trivial matters, though the hot breath exhaled from Rie's mouth was indeed a bit too fervent.
Holding the thought that they would eventually enter the blood pool anyway, he directly controlled his tentacles to coil around Rie Uzumaki and toss her straight into the Blood Pool.
Immediately after, a moan that made even Simu feel a bit of a pulse-quickening heat drifted over.
Hearing this sound, Shana cursed with considerable displeasure, "Slut!"
However, Simu still saw a fleeting glint of... jealousy in the depths of her eyes.
He sighed in his heart.
"Shana, you go in too."
Shana first let out a confused "Huh?" and then immediately reacted, saying, "Yes, Lord Kamizuki."
With that, she quickly headed toward the Blood Pool, even breaking into a run at the end.
She certainly didn't want to lose to that wicked woman in the contest for Lord Kamizuki's favor!
Thus, only Jugo remained before Simu.
His expression was somewhat awkward, then remembering something, he pulled a small snake out from his trench coat with a sense of relief.
"Mr. Priest, I saw this when I was coming in just now. It seems to be a messenger from Orochimaru's side."
Upon seeing Simu, the small snake in Jugo's hand immediately flicked its tongue with a hiss.
"Does Mr. Orochimaru have something to say to me?"
After receiving Simu's permission, the small snake quickly opened its mouth and vomited out a scroll.
Seeing this, Simu's hand ignited with flame-like chakra. He lightly touched the scroll; the moment his finger made contact, high heat swept over the entire scroll, and the mucus adhering to the surface immediately dissipated into mist.
After cleaning the scroll, Simu finally opened it.
The moment it was unrolled, a surge of chakra carried a message into Simu's mind.
Simu's expression immediately turned to one of surprise.
While he had expected that Orochimaru would seek him out for cooperation, he never imagined that Orochimaru would drop such a massive bombshell in their first collaboration.
Hashirama cells!
Exactly; the specific content of this scroll was an invitation for Simu to join Orochimaru's research regarding Hashirama's cells!
That was the legendary figure who established the new order in the Shinobi World, personally ended the endless strife of the Warring States Period, and was the undisputed God of Shinobi: Hashirama Senju.
The current system of one country per village was precisely created by Hashirama's own hands.
Of course, in Simu's eyes, this system was full of loopholes and not particularly advanced.
But compared to the Warring States Period, one country per village still allowed many ordinary people to avoid cruel wars.
At least for the ordinary citizens in the capital cities, this was the case.
Regardless, this was something sufficient to pique Simu's interest.
Whether it was the power contained within the God of Shinobi or the Kekkei Genkai he possessed, Simu was looking forward to it immensely.
A flame ignited in Simu's hand, consuming the scroll entirely. He then instructed, "The base is left to you. If you have time, you can guide Gaara's training."
"Gaara?"
Jugo was full of confusion.
Simu pointed to the still-sleeping Gaara in the distance: "There, that's him."
"I understand."
Jugo didn't ask further questions. Since this was Simu's instruction, he would simply follow it.
With that, Simu vanished from the spot.
He went directly outside the base, spread the wings on his back, and flew straight toward the base address provided by Orochimaru.
It must be said that Orochimaru really had many strongholds, nearly half as many as Simu himself.
It took Simu half a day to appear in a forest on the border of the Land of Fire.
Likely having been instructed beforehand, two ninjas hidden in the forest quickly appeared before Simu.
"Lord Simu, Lord Orochimaru has been waiting for a long time. Please follow us inside."
Simu nodded slightly and followed them into the entrance hidden within the woods.
Entering the passage, oil lamps hung on the walls, and the walls and floor were carved with twisted patterns.
Orochimaru's strongholds all seemed to share this style; the two Simu had destroyed previously were also much like this.
Thinking this, Simu soon met Orochimaru under the guidance of the two ninjas.
At this time, Orochimaru was not wearing his Akatsuki uniform but was in casual clothes, with that large purple belt still tied around his waist.
Seeing Simu's arrival, a smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.
However, given Orochimaru's face, no matter how kind his smile was, it still gave off a cold and sinister feeling.
Unlike Simu, who looked amiable and approachable.
"Welcome, Mr. Simu."
Orochimaru once again extended his palm toward Simu.
"I am also glad to see you."
Simu reached out and shook Orochimaru's hand.
Orochimaru's palm was very cold!