"I just have some questions I'd like to ask you, Mokgetsu." Orochimaru got up, a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, and said with a faint smile.
In front of a large crowd, Orochimaru naturally wouldn't directly discuss Root matters with Mokgetsu, and indeed Orochimaru had some questions he wanted to ask Mokgetsu.
Mokgetsu nodded and followed Orochimaru, walking with him to a secluded spot beside a camp.
"Danzo should have briefed you on what needs to be done here." After reaching a large tree, Orochimaru stopped and turned to look at Mokgetsu.
Orochimaru's relationship with Shimura Danzo was somewhat complex.
Officially, Orochimaru could even be considered a subordinate of Shimura Danzo, as he held a position in Root.
But in reality, Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo's relationship was equal, and they could be considered collaborators.
They had multiple collaborations, including human experimentation with Hashirama Cells and research on Kinjutsu.
However, their most important collaboration at present was concerning the position of the Fourth Hokage.
Although Shimura Danzo really wished to become the Fourth Hokage himself, he wasn't foolish. Given the current situation, it was almost impossible for him to become the Fourth Hokage.
Shimura Danzo had control of a Wood Release Ninja, but the Wood Release Ninja was too young and hadn't yet matured, and the Rinnegan and Ninja Sect heritage hadn't been acquired.
For Shimura Danzo, becoming Hokage himself would be the best outcome, but if that path was blocked, the only choice left for him was his collaborator, Orochimaru.
The other two popular candidates for Hokage didn't have a great relationship with Shimura Danzo. If they became Hokage, it might affect Danzo's existing power in Konoha.
But Orochimaru was different. He had a deep cooperative relationship with Shimura Danzo. If what they were doing were exposed, it would be enough to disgrace them both in Konoha.
In other words, they were tied together; neither dared to easily betray the other because they both held too much evidence against each other.
Therefore, Shimura Danzo could confidently support Orochimaru with all his might in becoming the Fourth Hokage.
Once Orochimaru ascends, given their relationship, Shimura Danzo would undoubtedly gain even greater power than now.
After all, if Orochimaru dared to claim the title of Hokage, then Shimura Danzo genuinely had the means to make Orochimaru regret it.
"I will do my utmost to aid Lord Orochimaru in gaining military achievements," Mokgetsu calmly replied.
"To receive the assistance of such an outstanding ninja as you, Mokgetsu, the harvest this time should be considerable," Orochimaru generously praised.
"But it's truly surprising that there's a genius like you, Mokgetsu, within Root," Orochimaru remarked with a curious glance at Mokgetsu.
It wasn't that Orochimaru looked down on Root; it was simply the truth. There were only talents in Root, not geniuses.
Because Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't allow true geniuses to join Root, Orochimaru could see that Sarutobi Hiruzen was consciously controlling the overall power of Root.
"Lord Orochimaru, you're too kind. When it comes to geniuses, one of the Sannin, like yourself, is the real genius," Mokgetsu replied in the spirit of mutual flattery.
Mokgetsu always had a clear understanding of his abilities. Apart from the Fuinjutsu, most of which he cultivated himself, his other abilities were essentially achieved through his special tools.
He could develop the Fire Dragon Dance, this Secret Technique Fire Release, not because Mokgetsu had an innate talent for Fire Release, but because Mokgetsu obtained a perfect-level Fire Attribute Chakra Nature Changes and numerous master-level Fire Releases from the system. The memories in Mokgetsu's mind about Fire Release cultivation were countless.
The same applied to the Breathing Technique. Mokgetsu could develop a new Breathing Technique because he was already incredibly adept at Breathing Techniques. As long as he was willing to put in the effort, developing similar Breathing Techniques wasn't very difficult.
"I don't quite agree with that. At least in the development of bloodline limits, you surpass me, as I have not successfully cultivated a bloodline limit," Orochimaru shook his head slightly and said.
Orochimaru was willing to spend a lot of time researching various ninjutsu and Kinjutsu, and he had, of course, researched bloodline limits, especially Wood Release, where he spent much time.
But rather than saying Orochimaru was researching Wood Release, it was more accurate to say he was researching the life force of Hashirama Cells.
More than the power of Wood Release, Orochimaru hoped to obtain the vast life force within the Hashirama Cells, as ninjas were inherently fragile.
"Mokgetsu, would you mind if I witnessed your Ice Release?" Orochimaru pondered and asked.
While Orochimaru wasn't particularly interested in Ice Release, he was quite interested in Mokgetsu, who had cultivated Ice Release.
Mokgetsu nodded in agreement, focusing his chakra into his palm, then converting it into Ice Attribute Chakra and releasing it entirely.
"Ice Beam!"
A blue-and-white beam shot out, instantly freezing a small area beside Orochimaru.
Clap clap.
Orochimaru clapped his hands twice, "I'm looking forward to witnessing your performance on the battlefield, Mokgetsu."
Orochimaru recalled that Mokgetsu's intel mentioned his proficiency in the Five Elements Ninjutsu, capable of combining various jutsu to amplify their power. Even his recently acquired Ice Release had reached such a level. Orochimaru was somewhat curious about the potential power of Mokgetsu's proficient ninjutsu.
...
To help his disciples get used to operating without a teacher leading them, Mokgetsu quickly assigned them a B-rank war mission: investigating a village suspected of being visited by a three-person Hidden Mist Squad.
Since his primary self was free, Mokgetsu didn't deploy a Shadow Clone to follow them. Instead, his main body followed them, leaving the Shadow Clone back at the camp.