Chapter 97: Madara's Dark Amusement, Hiruzen's Private Visit, Naraku's Compensation Demand, and the Teigu Deal
But after calming down, Uchiha Madara thought of one thing: In the past, Senju and Uchiha were mortal enemies. Inter-clan romance basically never happened between the two clans, let alone marriage between main-line members.
Now, if Uchiha Naraku and Tsunade were to unite, might some interesting things occur? Most people probably didn't know this secret, but Uchiha Madara remembered crystal clear how his own Rinnegan came to be.
However, Uchiha also recalled that Senju Hashirama and other Senju clansmen were practically two different species. Chakra comparable to the Nine-Tails, terrifying recovery ability, and Wood Release powerful to the point of eeriness— all of it showed how special Senju Hashirama truly was.
So Uchiha Madara felt there was no need to worry. He could even use their descendants as pawns to bring into the "boundless future" project of Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Unlike the usual situation where he was summoned to the Hokage's office, this time Sarutobi Hiruzen personally came to find Naraku.
Naraku looked at the fake-smiling old man in front of him and felt a bit speechless.
Sarutobi Hiruzen still went through the usual fake pleasantries: "Little Naraku, how have you been lately? Is there anything you need my help with?"
Hearing this, Naraku immediately felt anger rise. He and Tsunade had been getting closer and closer—you and me, eyes full of affection—and their relationship was about to take the next step. Then this old man issued an order and sent Tsunade straight to the front lines.
But right now he still needed to rely on Konoha's resources and manpower to quickly forge the Guardian Divine Machine [Supreme Throne], so flipping the table wasn't suitable.
Naraku could only shift focus to the project and said: "Lord Third, what about your earlier promise to help me with the sealing techniques?"
Only then did Sarutobi Hiruzen remember there had indeed been such a promise. But at the time he had planned to have the Sealing Team handle it.
So he explained the situation to Naraku. Naraku thought about it and didn't mind—anyway, he'd pack them up and take them when he left Konoha.
But he felt it necessary to emphasize: "I expect this new biological material to possess terrifying power—combat strength not inferior to the Nine-Tails. So it must be sealed at the fastest possible speed the instant it appears!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Naraku's serious expression and finally took it more seriously. People sometimes are like this—what's said once or twice isn't necessarily taken to heart.
Sarutobi Hiruzen then promised: "I will definitely arrange it properly, but this matter still needs careful planning. Naraku, the village has done something wrong to you!"
Hearing this, Naraku's heart sank.
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued: "During the previous Five Kage Summit, the other villages wanted to besiege Konoha together. To buy time for forging the new weapon, I could only promise that in one and a half years, Kumogakure and Kirigakure will each receive one Teigu! The village has wronged you in this matter. Tell me what compensation you want."
At first Naraku felt a bit angry—just selling me out like that. But then he thought: in that case, he no longer needed to hide giving Teigu to other villages.
Moreover, he could ask for some compensation from Sarutobi Hiruzen's side. But the act still had to be performed. Naraku's expression went from angry → disappointed → calm → understanding. Sometimes Naraku thought: coming to the ninja world, the thing that improved fastest and highest was actually his acting skill. He felt he could write "An Actor Prepares" in his spare time. Only after coming to the great stage of the ninja world did he realize—if you don't master peak Werewolf Game king-level acting and adaptability, you really might not live well.
Finally he said: "Lord Third, I don't actually want anything special right now. I'm just quite interested in some powerful ninjutsu. As for giving weapons to other villages, there's one thing I need to remind you: this will increase the combat power of enemy villages. There may be some unpredictable consequences later."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said naively: "Little Naraku, is there no way for you to control the strength of the Teigu?"
Naraku explained: "I summon whatever kekkei genkai appears, and I use whatever comes. But ordinary Teigu usually aren't too outrageous—they only make strong people a little stronger. Unless there's special compatibility or the weapon itself is unique, but something like Incursio has only appeared once so far."
Naraku thought inwardly: I want to see the ninja world drenched in blood! Anyway, they'll all reunite in his Hall of the Dead eventually. Perhaps one day when he becomes a god, the Hall of the Dead can transform into an Elysium. Then when he ascends, everyone in the Hall of the Dead can ascend with him—chickens and dogs to heaven.
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt slightly reassured and comforted Naraku: "Little Naraku, in the future I can open nearly all of the village's sealing techniques to you—except forbidden ones—as compensation."
Hearing this, Naraku could only think: Sarutobi Hiruzen! You really are a dog! One payment used multiple times. In the future, could he pay once and go several days in a row? If the lady found out, she'd definitely call the police.
Of course this was just a metaphor. Naraku felt he was different from Jiraiya—he would absolutely never go to such establishments.
After feeling he'd finished fooling the child in one minute, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly shifted to personal matters and said sadly: "Little Naraku, you say my life has been walking on thin ice—can I make it to the other shore?"
Naraku wondered what was wrong with this old man—suddenly playing the deep, emotional card. If he loved playing so much, he should go take care of more ragged-clothed young ladies like Cadillac owners do—why come here!
You know chakra, right? If the ice breaks, you can still walk!
Seeming to realize Naraku didn't understand his deeper meaning, he finally spoke plainly.
What he meant was: he felt Shimura Danzō harbored rebellious intentions. Last time when they went out together, Danzō even harbored killing intent toward him. Was there any good way to restrict him a little—or strengthen himself?
Naraku thought about it—there didn't seem to be much good wool to shear from Sarutobi Hiruzen. But that massive amount of basic elemental ninjutsu—Naraku was still a bit greedy for it.
If he could get his hands on them, he wouldn't need to waste time learning them himself.
Actually Sarutobi Hiruzen also had the forbidden technique Dead Demon Consuming Seal, but Naraku would rather die than use that technique.
Naraku thought about the materials he currently had available for forging: nothing but Dakkon, Stone Ghost Face, Demon Manifestation [Essence of the Demon], and Inspiring Armor.
These were either things that couldn't see the light of day or ones he was unwilling to give Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After thinking for a while, Naraku decided not to overthink it. Right now Sarutobi Hiruzen was begging him to forge—he had no need to rush! Although he did genuinely want Sarutobi Hiruzen's Five Release ninjutsu, it wasn't particularly urgent.
He told Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Lord Third, right now I'm short on precious biological materials. As long as you can bring me powerful biological materials, I can forge a suitable weapon for you. The stronger the materials you provide, the stronger the weapon I forge. As for Shimura Danzō—Hachifusa has a weakness: the more puppets the Hachifusa master controls at once, or the stronger the puppets controlled, the more the main body's combat power will be suppressed!"
Beneath Sarutobi Hiruzen's calm gaze flickered a trace of greed for power. After all, he wasn't someone completely free of desire—if he were, he wouldn't have reached his current position. He simply suppressed it very well usually.
Now that Naraku had given him such a good opportunity, he felt perhaps he could slightly cross a line—after all, it was all for the village!
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