"This is?"
Orochimaru walked around the wooden stake twice, observing the busy Tsunade and Kagetsu with a puzzled expression.
He was sure there was nothing like this in his lab.
"It's a gift from the Slug Sage. Also, do you have any other business?" Tsunade asked impatiently, hands on her hips as she looked at the uninvited Orochimaru.
"The mission orders you requested have arrived. Until the war ends, Kagetsu's squad will act as assistants and protection, staying under your command to help with the modification and improvement of the Healing Tags."
Orochimaru took out the Hokage's mission scroll. As long as this order was in place, Kagetsu would have to stay obediently by Tsunade's side.
"Does it have any special properties?"
Orochimaru didn't recklessly touch the wooden stake to test it. Instead, he cautiously asked Kagetsu and Tsunade.
He had always been careful about unknown things appearing in his lab. Something given as a gift by a Sage could have unknown properties—or hidden dangers.
"Tsunade-san can explain that to you." Kagetsu continued sorting through his belongings without even looking up.
As Orochimaru shifted his gaze to her, Tsunade didn't hold anything back. She explained everything she had learned from the Shikkotsu Forest, including the wooden stake's origins.
When she finished, she noticed the same gleam in Orochimaru's eyes that she had previously seen on Kagetsu's face back in the Shikkotsu Forest—a look of excitement.
"So this world still holds so many mysteries! This is wonderful!" Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly, his gaze filled with fervor as he stared at the wooden stake, eager to join Kagetsu in researching it.
However, while Kagetsu could stay by Tsunade's side, Orochimaru couldn't stay. If he did, Konoha's currently tense but relatively stable war situation would be thrown into complete chaos.
Especially in the war against Iwagakure, Konoha was already at a disadvantage due to a shortage of ninja forces.
If no one could stop Ōnoki and Iwagakure's Jinchūriki, the already fragile battlefield between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth would immediately collapse.
In fact, the only reason Konoha was still holding on was because of Namikaze Minato, who was running everywhere like a firefighter, putting out flames.
He was so good at it that Iwagakure had gone beyond simply abandoning missions when they encountered the Yellow Flash. Now, just hearing reports of his presence in an area was enough for them to avoid it entirely.
Because they had no way to deal with the Yellow Flash.
Encirclements, ambushes, and even Iwagakure's barrier techniques were useless against Namikaze Minato.
With the Flying Thunder God, he could move freely through any trap, retreat from battle at any time, and re-enter the battlefield whenever he wanted.
Under the Flying Thunder God, it didn't matter whether you were a Chūnin or a Jōnin—Minato treated them all the same. At most, powerful Jōnin might struggle and resist a little, but that was it.
Iwagakure's fear and hatred of the Yellow Flash had already surpassed that of the actual commander of the Konoha-Iwagakure battlefield—Orochimaru, who was the one holding back the Tsuchikage, the Jinchūriki, and Iwagakure's main forces.
Orochimaru glanced at a wooden stake with some regret. Until the war ended, he wouldn't have the time to get involved. At best, he could take some time to check on Kagetsu's experiment progress and data.
"What is this? Natural energy?"
Suddenly, Orochimaru sensed a strong surge of natural energy spreading around him. This energy was rapidly merging with the surrounding space, dissipating as it spread.
Following the source, Orochimaru saw a sealed jar appear on a storage scroll.
"Even after all the preparation, you still can't stop it from leaking?"
Kagetsu watched as the liquid inside the jar—known as the Spring of Vitality—quickly turned into ordinary water. He seemed deep in thought.
The speed at which the energy dissipated was beyond his expectations. He had assumed that, with this storage method, the energy loss would be slow enough for him to conduct experiments and tests.
"If it were possible, I would have taken it out long ago."
Seeing Kagetsu lost in thought, Tsunade grinned. She was quite pleased to see him struggle a little.
After all, Kagetsu had been growing at an astonishing rate in recent years, and with the Slug Sage backing him, even she couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy.
Of course, this kind of jealousy was rather mild. It was more like the unwillingness of being surpassed by a young one in a certain aspect, mixed with a competitive spirit.
But she wasn't just joking.
After learning about the existence of the Fountain of Living Fluid and experiencing its power firsthand, she had once considered using it to contribute an important piece to Konoha's medical ninjutsu system.
However, as a unique product of Shikkotsu Forest, the properties of the Fountain of Living Fluid seemed to only remain stable and effective within that environment.
Once removed from Shikkotsu Forest, it would undergo a violent energy dissipation reaction with the external environment.
This dissipation would rapidly weaken its properties, to the point of complete disappearance in a very short time.
After several attempts, Tsunade eventually gave up on the idea.
When she saw that Kagetsu had the same thought upon arriving at Shikkotsu Forest, she had been looking forward to this moment. She wanted to see whether Kagetsu would also be helpless or if he could find another way to accomplish what she couldn't.
In any case, the Fountain of Living Fluid was abundant in Shikkotsu Forest. If not infinite, at least the Slug Sage didn't mind the consumption.
"Then just leave it for now. If the medicinal properties in the scroll also dissipate, then when the time comes, I'll trouble you, Tsunade-san, to bring out another batch from Shikkotsu Forest."
Even after trying several methods, Kagetsu still couldn't prevent the Fountain of Living Fluid from turning into ordinary water with only a weak ability to improve physical constitution. Instead of persisting, he chose to set it aside for now.
"Suit yourself! I thought you would keep at it."
Seeing how easily Kagetsu abandoned the Fountain of Living Fluid, Tsunade felt a bit disappointed. Back then, she had stubbornly persisted for quite some time before finally giving up.
"Because I have higher-priority research at hand! In terms of importance, this will have to wait."
Kagetsu shifted his gaze toward the wooden stake.
This was his greatest gain from this trip to Shikkotsu Forest!
However, before he could begin his research, Kagetsu felt he needed to obtain an important tool first.
****
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