Chapter 419: Hashirama's Journey Around the World
Unfortunate as it was, Amado and his daughter were still successfully received.
Sanzu Akebi was first sent to Yakushi Nono for a full-body examination.
After all, it was an incurable illness, so they followed the same process used for Kimimaro and Ringo Ameyuri.
First, determine exactly what was wrong.
If an organ was the issue, replace it. If it was genetic, modify it. If vitality was lacking, replenish it.
This approach could solve ninety-nine percent of problems.
Judging from the fact that Delta, who was later cloned during the 'Boruto' era, showed no signs of illness, there were only two possibilities.
Either the disease wasn't genetic.
Or it was genetic, but by that time Amado had already developed the technology to fix such defects.
Either way, it meant the illness wasn't particularly difficult to cure.
Thus, Akebi was placed into the treatment process, while Amado joined Orochimaru's team and was even given an independent laboratory he could freely use.
To be honest, his daughter's name was rather strange.
Akebi.
It kept making Shiromo think of a certain green, tight-suited individual.
Surely it wasn't just "Guy" with an extra syllable added to make it sound feminine?
"What are you thinking about? Still have questions?"
Orochimaru entered the lounge and saw Shiromo pausing and writing as he thought.
"I've already prepared some materials for him to study. Right now, he's still far from the level you described. But I do like his way of thinking. It's similar to mine and the Second Hokage's."
Shiromo stroked his chin.
"Amado's appearance reminded me of something. The reason Otsutsuki Isshiki sought him out was because his technology could create a perfect vessel for Karma, allowing Isshiki to reincarnate successfully."
"As for the Otsutsuki God's genes and the other cyborgs, those weren't essential to Isshiki. In the original timeline, at that time, only Amado met the requirements. Back then, you and Kabuto Yakushi were under constant surveillance by the Konohagakure, so even if Isshiki wanted to recruit you, he couldn't."
"Isshiki is like Black Zetsu. He would rather do nothing than risk making a mistake. So now that we've recruited Amado as well, who will he turn to? Will another person with the same talent conveniently appear, or will he grow impatient and come directly to us?"
Orochimaru answered with his usual logic and rationality: "Talent isn't innate; it's also shaped by the environment. Only a place like the Rain Village could coincidentally produce someone like him."
"As for other places?"
"The Kumogakure Village? If they had someone like that, the Raikage would have already recruited them into official service. So I don't think that's likely. As for the second possibility… I believe he will continue to lie low."
Otsutsuki Isshiki had lived for over a thousand years by parasitizing Jigen's body.
As long as he avoided combat, he could continue living for another thousand.
Like a phone with ultra-long standby time, if you don't run power-hungry apps, it can last far longer than expected.
Just like Black Zetsu, he could wait, but he couldn't afford mistakes.
If Black Zetsu failed, Kaguya would never be unsealed.
If Isshiki failed, he might die completely.
So by normal logic, Orochimaru was right, Isshiki wouldn't risk contacting them.
Even in the 'Boruto' era, when Isshiki acted, it was out of necessity, to reclaim the perfect vessel, Kawaki.
Not to mention that Kawaki hadn't even been born yet. Without a vessel, Isshiki wouldn't dare take risks.
After waiting a thousand years, another thousand would make little difference.
That was the logical conclusion.
But from Shiromo's perspective, there was another angle.
The reason Isshiki had remained inactive for so long before was simply because he "hadn't existed" in the narrative yet.
His backstory hadn't been written, so naturally he couldn't influence the true "past" or lay down foreshadowing.
Unless it was like shifting blame onto someone like Danzo, forcing unrelated events onto him as a scapegoat.
So Shiromo remained cautious.
Jigen's appearance had already been recorded. If any surveillance devices near the Rain Village detected someone matching that profile, it would be reported immediately.
"Actually, I still have another question."
"In the original timeline, Amado didn't seek help from the Konohagakure after the Fourth Great Ninja War. That can be explained by the fact that, as someone from the Land of Rain, he saw the true nature of the Konohagakure and held no goodwill toward it."
"But later? He still joined the protagonists. Why didn't he look for an opportunity to take Uchiha Sasuke's Rinnegan and revive his daughter? Don't tell me he thought he should first eliminate the Otsutsuki threat, in case his daughter was revived only to be killed again?"
Shiromo's question was sharp.
During the 'Boruto' era, Sasuke was often in a weakened state.
Later, his Rinnegan was even destroyed by a simple kunai strike.
In theory, taking his Rinnegan then would have been easier than what the masked man and Madara were attempting now.
Orochimaru nodded.
"That is indeed strange. The Rinnegan's ability to revive the dead should no longer have been a secret after Nagato used it to revive the people of the Konohagakure. Why didn't he pursue the Rinnegan, and instead focus on cloning? Even I knew that cloning can't replace true resurrection. The core difference lies in the soul."
After discussing it further, they arrived at a conclusion.
Amado's eventual betrayal of Isshiki likely wasn't just because he realized Isshiki would destroy the ninja world after reincarnating.
He may also have discovered that Isshiki had misled and deceived him on key concepts.
For example, members of the Otsutsuki clan couldn't be revived through Impure World Reincarnation or Rinne Rebirth. They either reincarnated through Karma or died permanently.
Amado's knowledge might have been deliberately limited in this way.
---
Iwagakure Village.
After traveling around, Hashirama finally arrived here.
His route had been: Kirigakure, Kumogakure, then Iwagakure.
He had already figured out how these villages treated their jinchūriki.
In the Kumogakure Village, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B, had been "bullied" as a child.
But it seemed he had brought it upon himself.
Villagers would return home after a long day, only to find him rapping noisily and disturbing the peace.
By comparison, Yugito Nii had never been bullied.
As for the Iwagakure Village, Hashirama had already learned that their two jinchūriki were more likely to bully the villagers instead.
Roshi would openly argue with Onoki, then leave before Onoki could even respond.
As for the Kirigakure Village, there was no need to mention it.
Bullying? Social exclusion?
They didn't play those games. They used blades.
And now?
Killer B's status in the Kumogakure was unquestioned.
The Kirigakure Village, under the Fifth Mizukage's rule, had undergone a complete transformation.
Although its past had been far worse than the Konohagakure's, that actually made reform easier.
When removing "tumors", there was no hesitation, those who needed to be killed were killed.
Now, its environment was arguably better than the Konohagakure's.
After learning all this, Senju Hashirama felt deeply discouraged.
Then, along the road, he encountered the retired Tsuchikage, Onoki.
"Hm? You are… Hashirama-sama?"
Onoki looked at him in surprise.
(End of this chapter)