Shinji arranging Haku to attempt practicing 'Sage Arts' at this time was not a whim, but something he had considered for a long time.
With the improvement of his own strength, his horizons and knowledge had made considerable progress, and his understanding of chakra and natural energy became deeper and more thorough!
In his opinion, to master 'Sage Arts' smoothly, several points must be met.
First, one must possess a massive amount of chakra. This is the prerequisite for mastering 'Sage Arts'. Because only with a sufficiently massive amount of chakra is it possible to harmonize with natural energy and successfully fuse the foundation of 'Sage Arts'—Senjutsu Chakra!
Second, willpower must be tenacious.
Those who mastered 'Sage Arts' in the Ninja World, such as the First Hokage, Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya, and Yakushi Kabuto, counting one by one, were all people with firm will.
Otherwise, even a genius like Jugo who was born with the ability to absorb natural energy would often lose control and fall into a berserk state due to insufficient willpower.
Third, was the indescribable 'Sage Arts' talent.
Over so many years, the ninjas who mastered 'Sage Arts' in the Ninja World could be counted on one's fingers. The reason could only be attributed to insufficient talent.
And Shinji arranged for Haku to practice 'Sage Arts' because he felt Haku at least met the two points of chakra volume and willpower. As for the third point, talent, Shinji felt that a person who could cultivate 'Breathing Styles' to the extreme, unlocking 'Mark' and 'Transparent World', must have talent that wasn't bad.
Of course, Shinji's arrangement did contain elements of gambling.
At this stage, the enemies Shinji faced had changed from enemies below 'Six Paths Level' like Nagato, Obito, and Danzo initially, to formidable enemies like Hegemons and Isshiki Otsutsuki who were at least 'Six Paths Level'.
So he must strengthen his side's power as much as possible to keep up with the changes in the situation.
Among his subordinates, Haku, not being of the Otsutsuki bloodline, couldn't improve strength logically through transplanting and completing bloodlines, so he could only find another way, looking for other paths to break through the upper limit of strength.
And practicing 'Sage Arts' was undoubtedly an excellent choice.
Looking at everyone, Haku was the best candidate to practice 'Sage Arts', so Shinji decided to let Haku attempt practicing 'Sage Arts' first.
Once Haku succeeded, Haku could teach others the experience and skills of practicing 'Sage Arts'. By then, 'Sage Arts' could be popularized in his team, improving the overall strength of his team.
At this time, Orochimaru clapped his hands. With a 'swish', Yakushi Kabuto flashed out from the forest.
Orochimaru instructed Yakushi Kabuto: "Send 'C' to Ryūchi Cave!"
"Yes!"
Yakushi Kabuto responded.
Haku said to Shinji at this time: "Please rest assured, My Lord, I will definitely do my best!"
He obviously understood Shinji's painstaking efforts, knowing Shinji wanted to improve everyone's strength and increase the odds of winning against the Hegemon through his contact with 'Sage Arts'.
Shinji patted Haku's shoulder: "I won't let anything happen to you!"
Hearing this, Yakushi Kabuto grinned, thinking to himself: "This is not up to you. No matter how strong you are, you can't guarantee 'C' won't be corroded by natural energy, right!"
Shinji saw the fleeting playfulness in Yakushi Kabuto's expression.
But he didn't point it out, because the other party didn't know he mastered 'Wazunagi'. Even if Haku really lost control of natural energy and suffered backlash from natural energy, he could also draw away this part of backlashing natural energy through 'Wazunagi'. So his guarantee wasn't simple comfort.
After Yakushi Kabuto and Haku left, Shinji asked Orochimaru: "Has anything special happened in the Ninja World recently?"
Orochimaru chuckled: "Like what?"
Shinji said lightly: "Things that make you feel abnormal!"
"That, no!" Shaking his head, Orochimaru said: "The Ninja War just ended, the five great ninja villages are all recuperating. Nagato's gang was also defeated by you and chose to lie low. The entire Ninja World is so plain that it makes one unaccustomed! If there is really something worth noting, it should be the matter of you looking for a monk named 'Jigen'!"
Shinji frowned: "You know all about it?"
Orochimaru shrugged: "With such big moves, it's hard for people paying attention to you not to discover! By the way, who exactly is that Jigen? To actually attract your attention?"
Shinji said: "This is the reason I came to find you today."
"Oh?"
Orochimaru suddenly became interested.
For people like him, exploring secrets was a kind of fun. And the more dangerous the secret, the more interested he often was.
Shinji said: "Jigen is just the body he inhabits. His real name is 'Isshiki Otsutsuki', an Otsutsuki who arrived in the Ninja World at the same time as Kaguya Otsutsuki."
"What!?"
Orochimaru was shocked, but his eyes lit up.
Shinji continued: "Due to some unknown reasons, a conflict broke out between Kaguya Otsutsuki and Isshiki Otsutsuki. In the end, Isshiki Otsutsuki was defeated and forced to parasitize the monk named 'Jigen', quietly dormant in the Ninja World."
Orochimaru's mouth curled up: "So he hid in the Ninja World for over a thousand years?"
"Pretty much." Nodding, Shinji continued: "He has been active recently. I suspect he finally found a 'vessel' that can accommodate him and recovered to his peak state."
Orochimaru smiled faintly: "Tsk tsk, so the Ninja World is about to welcome a real Otsutsuki soon?"
Shinji said: "The other party has already targeted me. This is the reason I'm looking for him!"
Realizing that the Ninja World was about to welcome a new Ninja War that might surpass the scale of the Fourth Great Ninja War that just ended, Orochimaru wiped the smile from his face: "What do you plan to do?"
Shinji remained calm: "I control the Ten-Tails, he is not my opponent!"
Orochimaru reacted: "So... he will look for other help to deal with you together?"
Shinji nodded gently: "Yes, and you have Kage-level powerhouses like Yakushi Kabuto under your command, and control the four Hokages through 'Edo Tensei', as well as powerful undead like Madara Uchiha. He might come to find you!"
Orochimaru smiled: "Understood. Pretend to agree to cooperate first, then set an ambush to finish him off, right?"
Shinji saved his breath: "Hmm!"
Orochimaru suddenly said: "I can cooperate with you to finish him off, but I have a condition!"
Shinji asked: "What condition?"
"That is a real Otsutsuki. I want his corpse for research!"
While speaking, Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a gleam.
Shinji thought for a moment and said: "No, I still have use for his corpse. Can only lend it to you for research for a period of time."
Orochimaru smiled: "Deal!"