[CH-297: The Smell of Conspiracy]
Why would Orochimaru want to harm Sasori? Yuji turned this over in his mind.
The Sand Village was currently at the height of its power. Even Konoha would not dare provoke it openly. And yet a rogue ninja like Orochimaru wanted to pick a fight with the Sand Village? Did he not fear retaliation? Who had given him this confidence?
Furthermore, in Yuji's assessment, Orochimaru was an intelligent man. He would not do something like this without a reason.
Fortunately Sasori's strength was not weak. If it had been someone else, like Rasa, they might genuinely have fallen victim to the attack.
As for how Orochimaru had managed to escape Konoha in this timeline, Yuji still found it strange. Unless, as in the original story, Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally confronted Orochimaru without revealing anything to Minato or anyone else beforehand. Otherwise the outcome should have been different.
"From what we can see, there is no particular enmity between our Sand Village and Orochimaru. You have no dealings with him either. Regardless of his reasons for attacking, if he dares to do this, he will certainly pay a heavy price," Yuji said in a low voice.
He continued thinking aloud.
"The Sand Village and Konoha have ceased hostilities. The only reason I can think of is this. Orochimaru and I had a confrontation before, so there is a small existing grudge there. Furthermore, Konoha was originally the strongest of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Because of the Sand Village's rise, Konoha is now weaker and its internal power structure has shifted.
Orochimaru, having once been a core Konoha member, may be blaming the Sand Village for this. And since I am the Kazekage and have spent years in the Sand Village, he could not bring himself to directly target me. So he set his sights on Sasori instead."
"But this kind of behavior is still too radical. There are many ways to harm the Sand Village. With Orochimaru's character, he would not be so reckless without a deeper purpose."
"This does not quite match his usual approach. Something is hidden within this. And do not be fooled by Orochimaru having become a rogue ninja. The more I look at it, the more I believe he definitely maintains some kind of connection with Danzo."
"You do not need to intervene."
Sasori's voice carried an unmistakable implied meaning.
Yuji laughed coldly upon hearing it.
"This matter is now between me and Orochimaru. It has nothing to do with the village. I intend to personally kill him and turn him into a puppet. You stay here in the village."
Sasori said this, then turned and departed with Hiruko.
Watching him leave, Yuji said nothing further.
He understood Sasori's character. He wanted to handle Orochimaru alone and make Orochimaru pay dearly for his recklessness. If Yuji intervened, Sasori would be very unhappy.
With Sasori's current strength, in a direct one-on-one confrontation, Yuji did not believe Orochimaru would be his match. The arsenal in Sasori's hands was formidable. The Third Kazekage puppet, the Third Raikage puppet, Hanzo of the Salamander, and his puppet army capable of rivaling an entire nation's military force. Against this kind of firepower, even Orochimaru would have to think carefully before acting.
And that level of strength was from some time ago. Sasori had been secretly refining his puppets and his art ever since, so his combat power had only grown stronger.
But what worried Yuji more was that in life-or-death battles between ninja, strength was never the only determining factor. Strategy and cunning played equally important roles. In this area, Orochimaru happened to excel. He could be considered among the most cunning figures in the entire ninja world.
Sasori's personality was somewhat too straightforward, making him potentially vulnerable to traps and schemes.
And beyond all of this, something about the whole situation gave Yuji an uneasy feeling. There was a hint of conspiracy underneath it all.
After Sasori left, only Yuji and Pakura remained in the office.
"With Sasori's strength, there should not be any real problem, right?" Pakura noticed his worry and stepped forward.
"Orochimaru cannot be judged by common sense. Every step he takes is certainly part of a larger plan," Yuji said, his mind still racing.
"But Orochimaru is now a rogue ninja. We cannot use this incident to demand an explanation from Konoha. And the ninja world is vast. Even now, if this matter becomes known publicly, finding Orochimaru's whereabouts would not be easy. That is probably why he feels bold enough to act recklessly without fear," Pakura said.
"Furthermore, Sasori has clearly made this personal with Orochimaru now. If you intervene and he finds out, I am afraid..."
"I understand," Yuji nodded.
"In the short term, Orochimaru should not act rashly again. This matter is not urgent."
"Besides, even if he hides himself extremely well, just because others cannot find him does not mean I cannot," Yuji said coldly.
"Calm down. You should have faith in Sasori. Even if Orochimaru is a genius whose fame rivals yours, I do not think Sasori would lose to him," Pakura offered, her tone genuinely reassuring.
"On the contrary, it is Orochimaru whose life is in danger."
She then looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.
"Are you not angry? After all, Sasori just described me as nothing more than a child-bearing tool."
"He has always been like that. I know it, everyone in the village knows it," Pakura replied simply.
"Besides, he is currently..."
Yuji understood what she meant without her finishing the sentence.
Sasori had even converted himself into a puppet. To outsiders, this kind of existence seemed somewhat pitiable. Sasori's background and the reasons behind his choices were unknown to most people, but Pakura knew them. Therefore she naturally would not argue with Sasori over something like this.
"You have truly grown up. I remember you used to dislike him quite a lot when you were little," Yuji said, giving her a thumbs up.
Pakura glanced at him.
This kind of relaxed and intimate expression and attitude was something she only ever showed in front of Yuji.
It could only come out around him.
It was undeniable that since the two of them had begun spending time together, Pakura's personality had undergone a significant transformation. She had become considerably gentler.
She had even joined what was apparently a well-known informal gathering among the Sand Village's women. With Karura, Mei, and Ayame in the group, these women were practically all mothers at this point. Pakura had essentially become something of a domestic presence among them, frequently seeking advice from these more experienced women on matters of family and household life.
Their influence on her had been considerable.
Knock
At this moment there was a knock at the door.
Pakura straightened her composure. Baki entered and reported.
"Lord Kazekage, the hospital preparations are nearly complete."
"Good."
Hearing this, Yuji stood and led Pakura to the hospital.
Half a day later, upon arriving, they saw a long line of people had already formed outside. Looking around, they were all Sand Village members. The people were laughing and chatting amongst themselves, and upon seeing Yuji they bowed and greeted him warmly.
News of Yuji's upcoming marriage had already spread throughout the entire village. Lately whenever he encountered someone on the street he would be met with joyful congratulations. Yuji responded with a wave of acknowledgment and then walked down the corridor into the hospital, where he saw Saori and Yashamaru, both dressed in white medical robes, leading a group of medical staff in administering the prepared gene-modifying medicines to Sand Village ninja one by one.
Yuji had already explained the advantages and considerations of both the bone cell medicine and the vitality medicine to the village. How each individual ninja chose was up to them.
"We have just begun the vaccinations. So far a small number have been done and there have been no abnormalities," Saori first smiled and nodded toward Pakura standing beside Yuji, then continued her report.
"Right now we are working through the village's active ninja roster. To complete vaccinations for everyone will take at least two days. We will need to wait for those currently away on missions to return before we can vaccinate them one by one. I have already coordinated the timing with Shimizu, so vaccinating all the village's ninja will take approximately two months."
"Then there is the question of quantity and production rate. After the ninja are all vaccinated, we will move on to the ninja academy students and certain staff members."
"Finally, the ordinary villagers."
"Based on the current situation, it will take at least several years to complete the enhancement medicine vaccinations for everyone from ninja down to civilians. The main constraints are production volume and speed," Saori said with a sigh at this point.
"Furthermore, we cannot satisfy the entire village's needs at once, even though Lord Kazekage..."
"My lord, you seem to have no hesitation about collecting money from outside parties. But the village has already entered into numerous cooperation agreements with outside forces, and our partners are urgently pressing for delivery of goods. We cannot simply ignore them. Lady Chiyo has said that even if you personally do not mind, the village's reputation is still very important."
"Ha ha," Yuji chuckled softly.
"That is correct. We must maintain the spirit of cooperation."
...
[CH-298: The Grand Wedding]
"Because this involves cellular material, after you receive the injection the effects will not be immediately apparent. The body requires a certain amount of time to digest and process it," Yuji reminded the line of people assembled.
"If your body adapts quickly, you will notice changes within a month. If it takes longer, it may be three or four months. The effect of the medicine increases gradually alongside the body's own development and growth, so generally speaking, the younger the recipient, the more pronounced the effect."
"However, the medicine's effects have a ceiling. Even after completely absorbing and integrating the cellular genes, it is not possible to fundamentally transform one's physique. The enhancement is not as dramatic as you might imagine. So to become truly stronger, personal training remain essential."
"Understood," the assembled Sand Village ninja responded in unison.
This type of gene-modifying medicine showed, from a certain perspective, that the weaker the recipient's baseline, the more pronounced the improvement would be. For example, an ordinary person after receiving the bone cell medicine could shatter tree bark with a single punch. For ninja whose physical aptitude was already considerably higher, the enhancement was less immediately dramatic.
However, combined with taijutsu training, the compounded effect would be a different matter entirely.
Similarly, the vitality enhancement medicine increased chakra levels by approximately one tenth. Physical strength, chakra capacity, and chakra recovery rate were all enhanced at this approximate level.
These figures had all been compiled from data gathered from the first group of test subjects.
Gene-modifying medicines were fundamentally different from the Sand Village's pharmaceutical resources.
Pharmaceutical production was based on pharmacological research and experimentation, integrating knowledge and capabilities through rapid combination.
Theoretically, as long as sufficient resources were available, the Sand Village could continuously produce new medicines.
But gene-modifying medicines were completely different.
Because the mysteries of the human body were far more complex than pharmacology. Not every gene could be injected into another person's body. Not every bloodline limit could be turned into a medicine.
Different types of cellular genes had distinct characteristics. Some were highly destructive, some caused disease, some lacked fusion compatibility with ordinary human physiology.
Overcoming these technological challenges was extraordinarily difficult, requiring far more time, effort, and resources than pharmaceutical development. Researching and documenting the differences between various gene types was even more demanding.
This was something even Yuji himself could not rush.
Before injecting anything into another person's body, one first needed to thoroughly understand the gene itself. And this was not simply a matter of mixing and experimenting.
In short, these two types of medicine essentially represented the entirety of the Sand Village's creations in this new market.
The only candidate for future research would be a Hashirama-cell based medicine. But this was extraordinarily difficult. It would likely require a very long time, because the potency of Hashirama's cells was incomparable to either the Kaguya clan's or the Uzumaki clan's.
To neutralize its side effects and make it broadly safe for general use would require an unimaginable investmen. Therefore, even if Yuji had the theoretical ability to develop more medicines in the future, he had no intention of pursuing it further. The exhaustion and time cost were too great.
Relying on the existing pharmaceuticals and the two gene-modifying medicines was sufficient to ensure the Sand Village's healthy economic development. There was no need to push further.
He made a brief inspection tour of the hospital and left after less than an hour.
This year, due to the butterfly effect, the Hyuga clan of Konoha did not experience any major upheaval. Hinata was not kidnapped by the Hidden Cloud Village, and Neji's father Hyuga Hizashi did not sacrifice himself in place of his elder brother.
In the original story, this year had been when Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village signed an alliance treaty with a grand ceremony. But now, peace agreements between those two villages had already been reached before the Third Great Ninja War even ended. Neji not losing his father would likely bring meaningful changes to his future path.
In short, this year in the ninja world, apart from the Sand Village becoming the center of economic and academic exchange, other nations and villages also showed positive momentum. Several major hidden villages were reforming, rebuilding, and restructuring, all influenced to varying degrees by what the Sand Village had established.
Even smaller isolated villages found it difficult to remain entirely outside the new diplomatic currents. The Hidden Stone Village and Hidden Mist Village, and the Hidden Cloud Village and Konoha all had ongoing interactions.
However, some enmities ran too deep to be easily transformed. The Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Cloud Village and Konoha, and Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village all still carried conflicts where the tensions remained present but had room to maneuver rather than immediately erupting.
This was nonetheless the most peaceful and prosperous period since the First Great Ninja War. And naturally, this owed a great deal to the Sand Village's influence.
Taking advantage of Sasori's return to the village, and with large numbers of Sand Village ninja receiving their gene-modifying medicine injections, the senior figures of the village had also stepped back from their regular duties temporarily.
They were preparing to hold a wedding ceremony for Yuji and Pakura before a large assembled crowd.
Just like Konoha's Tsunade and the Hidden Stone Village's Kitsuchi, many people from various villages attended the wedding.
Tsunade had come to the Sand Village to study and was already residing there. Kitsuchi, considered the Hidden Stone Village's representative, although not there for medical studies, had been temporarily staying in the Sand Village to oversee his village's study group members and ensure no incidents occurred.
Given the current relationship between their respective villages and the Fourth Kazekage's wedding, both would naturally attend.
Beyond them, the managers of the Hidden Mist Village's study group and representatives from various other countries also showed up, bringing gifts.
On this day, the Sand Village could be described as celebrating everywhere. From the Sand Village's senior officials down to ordinary civilians, everyone was caught up in the festive atmosphere. The wedding was extraordinarily grand and boisterous.
Although Yuji and Pakura personally did not particularly care about the scale of the wedding, Chiyo had arranged everything to be as grand and elaborate as possible. According to Chiyo, this was a matter of the Sand Village's reputation and standing.
Furthermore, all the businesses and establishments outside the Sand Village were offering free food and drink for three days. Outside visitors could also receive complimentary gifts.
This had not been directed by Chiyo or any senior official. It was a spontaneous activity organized by the villagers and shop owners themselves. It demonstrated the depth of genuine respect and affection the Sand Village's people held for their Kazekage.
The wedding itself, while not exactly a thunderous military spectacle, was incredibly lively and warm.
The officiants were naturally Chiyo and the Wind Daimyo himself.
Although Sasori was extremely reluctant, Yuji had dragged him along to serve as a groomsman regardless.
"Only he could create a scene like this. Only he could pull this off," Tsunade murmured, watching the couple walking hand in hand down the red carpet.
"Exactly. Although he is the village's Kage, he has never..."
"Everyone I met here genuinely felt this way. It came from the heart. And we outsiders from other villages witnessed it ourselves," Kitsuchi standing beside Tsunade said with a faint smile.
"I simply did not expect him to actually get married. To be honest, I am a little surprised," someone else said.
"Before this, based on our Mizukage's description, the Fourth Kazekage did not seem like the type to enter into marriage," two representatives from the Hidden Mist Village chimed in.
"That is just the surface. Behind the scenes, I heard that many Daimyo from various countries personally sent gifts and letters in advance," someone with inside knowledge revealed.
"That is really something," another person could not help but exclaim.