After leaving the Thousand Clan's territory, Lin Yu rushed home without delay. He wanted to hide in his covers and secretly read the Wood Release scroll, not letting anyone else discover it!
Ahem! Be serious.
Lin Yu returned home and first used Kagura Shingan to check for any Anbu presence. Although the Third Hokage had handed over his and Kushina's surveillance rights to Orochimaru, a check was always prudent.
Ten minutes later, Lin Yu opened his eyes and withdrew his focus. He detected no suspicious chakra in his vicinity.
Lin Yu took out the black scroll Tsunade had given him and unrolled it on the ground. He softly recited, "Kai!"
*Bang!*
A wooden box appeared on the scroll. It was ancient and rough, seemingly handcrafted, with a slightly yellowed bark circling its exterior, showing its age.
If it hadn't been placed within a sealing scroll, it would likely have rotted long ago. The wooden box had no lock, only a small clasp.
Lin Yu gently opened the wooden box. There was no dazzling golden light or spectacular aura. Within the box lay several dark green ninjutsu scrolls, each bearing the character "木" (Wood) on its cover!
Lin Yu's heart immediately burned with excitement. He carefully took out the scrolls and slowly began to examine the ninjutsu recorded within.
Birth of Verdant Forest, Blooming Forest, Wood Golem Technique, Wood Dragon Technique… True Several Thousand Hands!
He hadn't expected Hashirama Senju to have even recorded his ultimate move. What a… good person!
His daydreams of Susanoo clad in a giant Buddha could finally come true!
But… why were there no scrolls containing Sage Mode? Did he forget? Or was it impossible to record?
Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode was shrouded in mystery. Some theories suggested it was innate or self-learned, while others claimed he learned it from one of the three great sage regions, the Shikkotsu Forest.
However, Lin Yu didn't care how Hashirama learned it. What mattered was that he hadn't left any record of it! Dammit!
Did he have to go to Mount Myōboku or the Snake Sage's Cavern to learn it? Absolutely not! Sage Mode from either of those places was too aesthetically unpleasing, and what if he failed to master it, turning into a toad or a stone sculpture? The consequences were too severe. Lin Yu wouldn't gamble!
Then what about his Susanoo clad in a giant Buddha? Could it become Susanoo clad in a Wood Golem? Or Susanoo clad in a Wood Dragon?
It seemed… not impossible. He'd try it when he got the chance!
Lin Yu put away all the scrolls. Learning Wood Release ninjutsu was not a matter of a single day. Even though he had already mastered Wood Release, it wouldn't happen overnight.
The Susanoo clad in a giant Buddha was temporarily out of reach, leaving Lin Yu feeling somewhat gloomy and irritable. What should he do when he's in a bad mood?
Find someone to vent his frustrations on, of course!
Who should he find? Orochimaru, of course! Didn't he always want to meet members of the immortal organization? Then he would oblige him!
What kind of mask should he buy today…
…
Night. A dark and windy night, perfect for beating someone up.
Orochimaru, as usual, was exploring the mysteries of the human body in his laboratory! Of course, at this point, he hadn't descended into the madness of using humans as test subjects. His test subject was himself, though not through random experimentation, but with his own scientific basis!
"No! The structure of other species is still too different from humans. In normal situations, I can control it, but when it comes to cell-level technology, it's impossible to achieve 100% success."
"It seems I either have to cooperate with Danzō, or… I can only wait for this project to achieve a breakthrough."
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils were filled with obsession as he gazed at a petri dish containing an embryo, about the size of a fist, still in the experimental stage. He had created it using his own cells with the goal of completing a major project—cloning!
Lin Yu: Orochimaru, you can't create people by yourself! You can discuss it with Jiraiya, maybe it will work out!
*Crack! Ding!*
A kunai pierced through the door and flew towards Orochimaru's experimental table, lodging itself into the table. A strip of paper was tied to the ring on the kunai's handle.
Orochimaru first inspected the experimental table, and after confirming no glassware was damaged, he pulled out the kunai and looked at the note: Tonight, the third quarter of the hour of the rat, two hundred ri to the southwest. No waiting if you're late!
"They're finally here… the Immortal Organization!"
Orochimaru crushed the paper, his golden vertical pupils filled with desire and madness. He slightly composed himself, threw on a simple trench coat, exited the underground base, and his figure flickered, disappearing into the night.
Hopefully, it wasn't the Black-Robed Man himself who arrived this time. If it were another member… Hehehe!
The outer defenses of Konoha were like a sieve in Orochimaru's eyes, after all, he knew how the defenses were set up; he was one of the participants.
Orochimaru was fast. After leaving Konoha Village, he rapidly headed southwest. This direction… was it the Land of Wind? Could the person he was meeting this time be a Sand Shinobi?
Orochimaru frowned slightly. Besides the Third Kazekage, there weren't any particularly strong individuals in Sunagakure. Was it Chiyo or Ebizō? Unlikely. No matter! Perhaps this encounter would yield greater rewards!
…
Three hundred ri southwest of Konoha was a high slope resembling a cliff. The surrounding vegetation gradually thinned, but it didn't yet appear too desolate, as it was still a considerable distance from the Land of Wind.
On the cliff, Orochimaru appeared. He took off his dark hood and looked up at the sky, calculating the time. It was still two minutes until the third quarter of the hour of the rat.
Orochimaru stood with his back to the cliff, observing his surroundings, trying to find traces of the Immortal Organization members. He believed they would arrive before him!
Two minutes passed, and Orochimaru had found nothing. His expression gradually darkened: "Was I stood up?"
"You're quite punctual, Orochimaru!"
"What!"
Orochimaru's body trembled. He quickly turned around and saw a figure slowly approaching in the sky, his golden vertical pupils filled with disbelief: Impossible!
In the dark sky, only a half-moon cast faint light, illuminating the surroundings. And under this moonlight, a figure walked as if stepping on the moonlight, slowly approaching.
Orochimaru looked at the familiar black robe and felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. Was it the Black-Robed Man from the Land of Rain? No, that's not right! The mask pattern is different. The one from the Land of Rain had gold patterns; this one has crescent moons!
Orochimaru then recalled the Susanoo that flew away, and his cheek twitched. Could everyone in the Immortal Organization fly?
Flying ninjas were extremely rare in the ninja world, but Orochimaru wasn't surprised by that. What surprised him was that this Black-Robed Man could "walk freely" in the sky?
What kind of strength was required for that? To defy gravity? As a scientist, Orochimaru was determined to figure out how it was done! He wanted to fly too!
"Hehehe, you must be a member of the Immortal Organization. May I ask for your codename?"
Orochimaru suppressed all emotion and said with a sinister chuckle to the Black-Robed Man.
The Black-Robed Man was naturally Lin Yu, who had unfrozen his Tenseigan. To show off in front of Orochimaru, he had gone to great lengths to control repulsive forces applied to his feet, creating the illusion of walking in the air. Flying was easy! Walking was difficult!
Lin Yu landed on the ground from the air. The cyan light in the mask's pupils disappeared. He slightly altered his voice to make it sound more androgynous.
"Immortal Organization, Core Member, Codename: Lunar God!"