Chapter 864: Jonin Instructor Candidates
Land of Rice Fields.
Otogakure.
The slightly tipsy morning sun awakened the village that had slept through the night, and countless villagers emerged from their homes to start their day.
Shinno, who lived in the northeast corner of the village, got up and brought Iwagakure’s Shinobi to Orochimaru’s research base for breakfast, just…
“Orochimaru, where is your left hand?”
In the small cafeteria of the base, Shinno stared at Orochimaru's empty left sleeve with a strange expression on his face, then furrowed his brows, noticing another anomaly, “And your height… You seem taller than yesterday, what's going on?”
“What do you think?” Orochimaru looked Shinno with a smile, and there was a hint of scarlet in his golden vertical pupil.
Shinno stared at Orochimaru with a piercing gaze, and after a moment, a certain figure flashed through his mind, and he subconsciously asked: “Uchiha Shin… Where’s Uchiha Shin?!”
“Well, who knows.” Orochimaru smirked, revealing a playful smile.
‘Could it be…’ Shinno’s heart skipped a beat.‘If my memory served me right, Uchiha Shin's height was exactly the same as Orochimaru's now, and his left hand…’
‘Is this a coincidence?’
Thinking of Shin's trembling fear from yesterday, Shinno’s expression gradually became solemn and gloomy, and a terrifying thought in his heart grew wildly, casting a large and deep shadow.
He stared at Orochimaru firmly and said solemnly: “How do you… do it?”
“Don’t worry, I'm not interested in old people's bodies.” Orochimaru grabbed two hot boiled eggs and swallowed them whole. The delicious eggs make him unconsciously stick out his tongue to lick his fingers.
Over the course of the night, Orochimaru had completed the preliminary soft tissue modification on this body.
Retracting his tongue, Orochimaru’s gaze shifted from Shinno to the Iwagakure’s Shinobi.
There are two reasons why he has not killed this Iwagakure’s Shinobi. First, it’s to use him as bait to lure Rogue Shinobi and hone Shin's skills. Secondly, it is naturally because of his Steel Release Kekkei Genkai!
Compared to the flashy Kekkei Genkai such as Sharingan, Byakugan, Ice Release and Explosion Release, the Steel Release Kekkei Genkai is indeed somewhat weak, but on Orochimaru, it was different.
After the soft tissue modification, his body now had the flexibility and elasticity of a snake, and if combined with Steel Release, it would be a perfect balance. Any part of his body could be long, soft, hard, and strong, just like liquid metal!
‘Add to that the Wood Release and Sharingan…’ Orochimaru excitedly stuck out his tongue to lick his face.
But he’s not in rush, as he had to complete the full-body soft tissue modification first, and then transplant the Hashirama’s cells… ‘No, no, good things should be saved for last. First, I’ll use the Chimera Technique to absorb the Steel Release Kekkei Genkai, only after that I will transplant Hashirama’s cells!’
‘In this way, I can own the three Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan, Wood Release, and Steel Release, all to myself!’
‘Moreover, the limit of Chimera Technique is far more than three kinds of Kekkei Genkai. In the future, I can also hunt down more Kekkei Genkai!’
‘Perfect!’
Orochimaru chuckled coldly.
……
In the underground base beneath the frozen soil of the Land of Iron.
Kanpū is still lying on the wooden bed, a day had passed since the first fetal movement. In quiet anticipation, the second fetal movement arrived without warning.
A sour and tingling pain suddenly spread crazily from within the Byakugan…
‘Hiss… hiss… hiss…’
‘This feeling…’
‘It's here~’
‘Ah! It's so intense, so uncomfortable!’
Kanpū covered his eyes with his hand, but the smile on his lips couldn't be suppressed.
After the second fetal movement ended, Kanpū took out the small mirror as usual. Upon inspection, he found that the pale blue radiance inside the Byakugan had spread out nearly a quarter. Kanpū estimated that with another three or four fetal movements, the entire Byakugan would be covered with blue radiance, and by then, the Byakugan would have completely evolved into the Tenseigan!
‘Aiya, I can’t be proud, I’m a humble Shinobi, I can’t laugh, I’m a strictly trained Shinobi…
‘Ahahahaha…’
‘So happy hahahaha……’
……
Land of Fire.
Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's Office, Minato looked at the list of candidates for Jonin Instructors with a slight frown.
Among the graduates of this year’s Academy, besides the average students with ordinary talents, there are also many exceptionally talented geniuses. Naturally, these geniuses required ‘special’ Jonin Instructors.
For example, the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, namely Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi, Minato chose Asuma as their Jonin Instructor.
Asuma is the son of Sandaime Hokage, and it was in the hands of the Sandaime Hokage that the first generation Ino-Shika-Cho became famous in the Shinobi World, so choosing Asuma as Jonin Instructor of the Ino–Shika–Cho was impeccable no matter how one looked at it!
Similarly, for the Jonin Instructor of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, Minato chose Yuhi Kurenai.
Yuhi Kurenai’s father, Yuhi Shinku, is the instructor of Genin in the village, with extensive teaching experience. As his daughter, even if Kurenai only learned 10% or 20% of the ability from her father, it was enough to guide Hinata and the others.
As for Namikaze Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Karin, the Jonin Instructor for these three people…
Minato had two preferred candidates in mind, one was Kanpū and the other is Kakashi.
Unfortunately, after Kanpū was taken away by Abyss, there was no news from him, and Kakashi was currently the Military Police Force’s Captain, so he can’t let Kakashi resign from such a high-ranking and important position as Military Police Force’s Captain to serve as the three Genin’s Jonin Instructor, right?
But if he finds other people to serve as the Jonin Instructor, Minato is not at ease.
After all, Naruto is a Jinchuriki!
Minato glanced at the list and didn't find anyone satisfactory, so he took out a piece of paper and wrote it himself.
The first name he wrote down was Shisui.
‘Shisui… No, Shisui needs to be crossed out, he must sit on the border to deter Kumogakure.’
The second name he wrote down was Shiranui Genma.
Genma is the captain of the Hokage's Guard Platoon, and he has been with Minato all these years. Although he seems to be guarding the door all day long, Minato often guided him in his training, so he was very strong. He was under consideration.
The third name is Gekko Hayate.
‘This guy is also a genius. Although he is only a Tokubetsu Jonin, he is extremely skilled in the Konoha-Style Kenjutsu, and he also trained the Body Revival Technique. Once he erupted, his killing power could rival that of Elite Jonin. He was also under consideration.’
The fourth name is Itachi.
‘But Itachi should be crossed out. Although he inherited the Will of Fire and was very powerful, he was usually silent and looked like he wasn't good at speaking. Letting him guide Genin… he wouldn't be able to utter any guidance, right?’
‘Moreover, he is also Sasuke’s brother, so having the two brothers together would hinder Naruto and Karin’s growth.’
The fifth name is Tenzo.
‘Tenzo is Wood Release Shinobi… Wood Release restrains Kyubi… um…’
Minato keeps drawing circles on the name of Tenzo, and finally slapped his hand on it decisively: ‘It's decided, it's you!’