The Hokage, having traveled here, of course he'd unify the ninja world!

Chapter 604 The Unexplained Matters

Not long after, Orochimaru arrived at the conference room and met the contemporary artist, Deidara the Explosive Boy.

"Huh? You...you're Orochimaru!?"

Deidara looked Orochimaru up and down and recognized him.

Orochimaru was already famous when he first started doing art.

Even more legendary is that Orochimaru once betrayed Konoha, but later returned to his homeland at the invitation of the Uchiha clan.

After Chiyo drove Sarutobi's forces out of Konoha, Orochimaru naturally became the one who truly held power in Konoha.

However, the outside world knows almost nothing about Orochimaru's latest activities.

The reason for this is not hard to understand: Orochimaru is now fully committed to many cutting-edge and complex research topics.

His involvement is extensive and profound, including experiments on the perfect resurrection of Hashirama Senju and bloodline fusion experiments;

In addition, creating a near-perfect physique for himself is also one of his important goals;

Furthermore, he also began to improve the Sage Mode, hoping to tap into its deeper potential.

At the same time, he is also pushing forward with in-depth research and development of cloning technology, striving to achieve breakthrough progress;

He also did not neglect the study of knowledge about the soul;

He even included the development of civilian chakra mechanical devices in his research scope.

Faced with such numerous and highly challenging research projects, if Orochimaru had to personally find every single material required, even with all his energy, he would likely struggle to keep up.

Fortunately, Orochimaru, who is currently in Konoha Village, has ample resources and no longer needs to worry about these trivial matters.

Even so, he could not complete all the work by himself, so a large number of outstanding talents came to assist him.

Whether it's Kabuto Yakushi, Nono Yakushi, Guren, Suigetsu, Jugo, or the four members of the Otogakure group he transferred over, they're all in Konoha.

They have all gathered in Konoha Village, contributing their efforts to Orochimaru's research.

It was thanks to their concerted efforts that Orochimaru was able to manage his precious time effectively and ensure that all research projects proceeded in an orderly manner as planned.

As for Otogakure, which was once an important stronghold of Orochimaru, it has now become an obscure small ninja village.

Although some highly skilled individuals still remain there, it is no longer Orochimaru's core base for conducting various experiments.

The outside world only knows that Orochimaru is in Konoha Village, but they know nothing about the specific things he does there.

Orochimaru is currently using Chiyo's clones, and his body is transformed using transformation techniques.

Orochimaru's appearance remained unchanged from before.

She still had long black hair, long, golden pupils, purple eyeshadow that extended to her nose, pale skin, and blue magatama-shaped earrings.

His unique appearance makes him highly recognizable, and detailed information about Orochimaru is preserved in the black market.

Over the past six months, Deidara and Sasori have been going out on missions together.

I've also occasionally glimpsed some commissioned tasks, such as investigating Orochimaru.

However, these tasks were simply ignored.

Orochimaru had no habit of exchanging pleasantries and went straight to the point:

"Qianyao is not in Konoha Village right now, you won't be able to find him."

Deidara was a little annoyed by this:

"Where did he go? Could he really be missing?"

Orochimaru slightly raised his eyes, subtly observing Deidara, and thought to himself:

Orochimaru glanced at Deidara briefly. This familiar tone suggested they were good friends.

Orochimaru himself was an extremely shrewd person, and he knew almost instantly that Chiyo and Deidara had a good relationship.

So he softened his tone slightly and replied:

"How could he be missing? He's just gone to a far place and won't be back for a while."

Deidara sighed in disappointment.

You should know that in his eyes, there are very few people in the entire ninja world who truly understand art.

Now, the loss of another like-minded partner is an unbearable burden for Deidara, who considers art his life.

More importantly, Qianyao also introduced him to Brother Scorpion beforehand.

After spending so much time together, he grew to like Brother Scorpion even more from the bottom of his heart.

It is no exaggeration to say that Qianyao was essentially introducing him to a lifelong friend.

This is why Deidara's favorability towards Chiyo has skyrocketed.

He accompanied Brother Scorpion here to visit Qianyao.

Therefore, Deidara eagerly asked Orochimaru:

"How long will it take for him to return?"

Orochimaru thought for a moment before speaking, then blurted out:

"As far as I know, he will probably not be back for several years after this mission."

"So, you should focus on figuring out how to fulfill the agreement between you and him."

Upon hearing this, Deidara showed no doubt about the truthfulness of Orochimaru's words, and instead responded earnestly:

"Combining Dust Release and Clay Bomb is no easy task; I've only just mastered it so far."

Orochimaru was somewhat surprised, after all, Deidara was not even 15 years old yet.

After learning about the agreement between Chiyo and Deidara, Orochimaru naturally picked up the conversation and continued:

"If we can't even handle such a small matter properly, then the follow-up plans that Qianyao entrusted to us will simply not be able to proceed smoothly!"

Upon hearing this, Deidara assumed that Chiyo had already told Orochimaru everything in detail.

So, somewhat embarrassed, he scratched his hair and replied:

"Well... well, the old man's health is still pretty good. In my opinion, he can at least sit on the throne of Tsuchikage for a few more years."

Then, as if to encourage himself, Deidara added:

"However, this is good too, it gives me plenty of time to carefully study and develop brand new ninjutsu!"

As he said this, a barely perceptible glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he pondered to himself:

Is this guy, Chiyo, actually planning to promote Deidara to the position of Tsuchikage?

Upon closer examination, the reason is not difficult to guess.

Today, Iwagakure is in a predicament of talent shortage and a lack of successors.

Although Huang Tu possesses considerable strength, it's clear to anyone with eyes that he's simply not cut out to be the Earth Shadow.

At the very least, Onoki didn't intend to be a Tsuchikage, otherwise he would have passed the position to him long ago.

At present, Onoki is already over seventy years old.

It would be strange if he weren't anxious to find a suitable successor.

On the other hand, Deidara, who was not even fifteen years old, was able to successfully master the powerful ninjutsu Dust Release.

Judging solely from his talent and aptitude, who could be more suitable to be Onoki's best successor?

However, Deidara's personality is currently too unconventional and he still needs to grow.

However, personality can be improved through nurturing and correction.

However, talents are traits that a person is born with and cannot change.

It seems that Chiyo's plan before leaving was to help Deidara ascend to the throne of Tsuchikage.

As for the extent of power wielded by the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, that goes without saying.

If this matter can be successfully accomplished, the benefits it will bring are immeasurable.

……