Shisui quickly understood Mokgetsu's intention, his eyes lit up.
It was clear that Mokgetsu wanted to expand the impact of the police squad reform and further sever the connection between the Uchiha Clan and the police squad.
"Yes, I will carefully investigate and select." Shisui nodded earnestly.
"Additionally, when you and Obito attend the Uchiha Clan gatherings, you can share some of your life-and-death experiences with your teammates during missions."
The Uchiha Clan ultimately reached the point of extinction, and they themselves were partly responsible.
Some Uchihas were extremely exclusive, as if their minds were still stuck in the Warring States period; others were not exclusive but were indifferent to matters outside the clan.
Now Shisui and Obito are quite popular within the Uchiha Clan, representing the new generation of Uchiha. Mokgetsu hopes the two can set an example and lead other Uchihas to become normal.
After discussing the Uchiha matters with Shisui, Mokgetsu's Shadow Clone went to the Hokage Assistant's office in the Hokage Building.
As one of the four high-ranking officials, he naturally had his own office in the Hokage Building.
Theoretically, the Hokage Assistant was also required to work regular hours.
However, Mokgetsu, the Hokage Assistant, had a situation similar to the previous Hokage Assistant, Shimura Danzo, who was concurrently the Leader of the Root, while Mokgetsu was concurrently the captain of the training squad.
Due to the special nature of their work, they did not need to be in the office every day.
Of course, only a small amount of time was allowed to be absent; they couldn't be unavailable all the time. Most of the time, they still had to be in the office, at least leaving a Shadow Clone or something.
Mokgetsu had just sat down in the office when the door was knocked.
"Come in," Mokgetsu said.
With Mokgetsu's permission, Orochimaru pushed the door open and entered Mokgetsu's office.
"Orochimaru, why have you come to see me?" Mokgetsu asked.
Although Orochimaru was not one of the high-ranking officials, he held a high rank in Konoha. Generally, things he needed to handle required the signature from Sarutobi Hiruzen, not Mokgetsu.
"Mokgetsu, you are currently the captain of the training squad, right?" Orochimaru said.
Mokgetsu nodded in affirmation.
"Before Root was disbanded, I had a position in Root and left some personal items in the Root Base. Now that it has become the training squad base, I would like to enter the training squad base to retrieve my personal belongings," Orochimaru explained.
The training squad was on par with the Anbu in terms of rank, so even Orochimaru could not freely enter such a confidential location.
"But I'm not in a hurry. Whenever you have time, Mokgetsu, you can take me there to get the items," Orochimaru continued.
He indeed had some items at the Root Base, but retrieving them was just an excuse; testing Mokgetsu was the main purpose.
Otherwise, he could easily ask Sarutobi Hiruzen with just a word.
"Then let's go now; I have some free time," Mokgetsu thought for a moment and said.
He roughly guessed Orochimaru's intention.
"Then I am in your debt, Mokgetsu."
Then the two left the Hokage Building and headed toward the training squad base.
"If it weren't for you, Mokgetsu, the night raid by Hidden Mist might have cost us dearly."
On the way, Orochimaru spoke about their joint efforts against Hidden Mist on the East Coast Battlefield, reminiscing about how their fates diverged after the battlefield.
"Looking back now, it's really incredible. In just a few short years, you've become part of Konoha's top ranks, while I seemingly haven't made any substantial progress."
This sentiment was not part of Orochimaru's premeditated words; it was genuinely heartfelt.
During the East Coast Battlefield, Orochimaru was in command, directing thousands of Konoha Ninja against the Hidden Mist.
At that time, Mokgetsu was not very well-known, and even his role as deputy commander was due to merits that led to a special promotion by Orochimaru.
Now, Mokgetsu was the hope for the next Hokage, serving as Hokage Assistant while also managing a special department like the training squad.
While Orochimaru had no chance for the Hokage position, he also had to worry about his experimental issues.
"With your abilities, Orochimaru, as long as you don't falter on principle issues, progress is only a matter of time," Mokgetsu replied with a gentle smile.
Orochimaru maintained a nonchalant exterior, but internally he repeatedly contemplated Mokgetsu's previous words.
"Principle issues... so he knows?"
Orochimaru probed a few more times, but Mokgetsu's answers were different from what Orochimaru imagined, making him uncertain again.
Upon reaching the training squad base, Mokgetsu took Orochimaru into the squad's laboratory.
"These should be your personal belongings, Orochimaru. You may check them. If anything is missing, I'll arrange for a ninja to investigate and locate them."
Orochimaru glanced around and said, "No problem, they match my memory."
"Since there's no issue with the personal belongings, shall we talk about something else? Such as your involvement in unauthorized human experiments with Shimura Danzo?" Mokgetsu said calmly, as if he were asking Orochimaru whether he wanted a drink of water.
If it were the old Mokgetsu, he might have pretended and argued with Orochimaru for a while, but with his current strength, there was no need for such trouble.
When Orochimaru first heard this, his pupils slightly contracted but quickly returned to normal.
"Mokgetsu, as expected, you know. So what are you planning to do, report me to Teacher Sarutobi? Lock me away in prison forever?" Orochimaru calmly asked.
Knowing that Mokgetsu was aware, he was actually more at ease.
Because this indicated the possibility of cooperation with Mokgetsu. Otherwise, Mokgetsu would have already brought him to justice.
"There's no need for such pointless talk. You know that if I had that intention, you wouldn't be able to stand in front of me talking now," Mokgetsu replied.
"So, Mokgetsu, are you suggesting a collaboration like the one with Danzo?"
At this moment, Orochimaru truly wished Mokgetsu weren't so competent, as Mokgetsu's competency made it uncertain whether his research could attract him.
The ultimate goal of studying Hashirama Cells was merely to recreate Senju Hashirama's vitality and Wood Release power. Mokgetsu, on his own, could grow into the next Hashirama Senju, so he might not even be interested in Hashirama Cells.
"I'm open to discussion about collaboration, but I do have some conditions," Mokgetsu said.
Mokgetsu was slightly wary of Orochimaru, as he was exceptionally troublesome and had a tenacious life force.
He had a significant share of blame for causing the Fourth Great Ninja War.
If Orochimaru hadn't taken the Reanimation Jutsu out of Konoha, Kabuto wouldn't have become the master of fulfilling dreams.
Now, if Mokgetsu wanted to kill Orochimaru, he certainly had the capability, but there was no need.
Orochimaru was not yet as extreme and cold-blooded as in later years, and they had no substantial conflicts of interest, so Mokgetsu preferred cooperation and reform.
In essence, Orochimaru just wanted immortality, so Mokgetsu would give him some assistance to help him avoid detours.
During the Fourth War, when no one else could use Mouth Release to redeem themselves, Mokgetsu could hardly believe he couldn't suppress Orochimaru.
"What are your conditions?" Orochimaru curiously asked.
As long as it didn't affect his plans for immortality, Orochimaru didn't mind. He'd even support Mokgetsu in becoming Hokage.
"Your experiments must be known to me, and you cannot capture civilians as test subjects."
Resources shouldn't be wasted; until Obito and Shisui were done with their cultivation, the Hashirama Cells research was important.
"Just these two?"
Orochimaru was somewhat surprised; he thought Mokgetsu had strict conditions, but it was just this.
In this way, Mokgetsu was indeed a better collaboration partner than Shimura Danzo, not only having a promising future but also being low maintenance.
"For now, only these two," Mokgetsu nodded.
He didn't want to interfere too much with Orochimaru's affairs. He only had one requirement of Orochimaru: don't cause trouble, focus on research.
Should Orochimaru remain dedicated to his research, his future contributions to Konoha might surpass even Jiraiya's.
A ninja at the Sannin Level—while Mokgetsu found it easy to eliminate, finding a talented scientific researcher of equal caliber was not an easy feat.