The Priestess's Plea

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Naoki had wanted to mention the Dragon Vein and Moryo to Orochimaru, but after considering how difficult it would be to explain how he knew such secrets, he hesitated and ultimately did not speak.

Besides, judging by Orochimaru's demeanor, he did not seem very interested in artificial Tailed Beasts.

That was normal. For Orochimaru, who had mastered secret techniques such as the Eight Branches Technique and Physical Regeneration and was currently developing Living Corpse Reincarnation, chakra was not a problem.

After weighing the matter, Naoki requested, "Lord Orochimaru, what price would I need to pay to obtain the data on artificial Tailed Beasts from you?"

Orochimaru examined Naoki with interest. "I am very curious. Why are you so obsessed with artificial Tailed Beasts? Is there another reason?"

Naoki asked in return, "Then why are you obsessed with forbidden techniques? You and I are the same kind of person. In research, we do not need a reason. Interest is enough."

"That explanation does not convince me." Orochimaru shook his head, then suddenly smiled. "Very well. I also want to see what kind of monster you can create."

Naoki brightened. "You agree?"

Orochimaru raised two fingers. "I will give you all the data, but I have two conditions."

"Please say them."

Orochimaru smiled. "First, your research results must be shared with me. Second, I want you to collect information on every ANBU member, including the old man's Hokage Guard Platoon."

Naoki had no room to bargain and could only nod in agreement.

That night, Naoki received all of Konoha's data on artificial Tailed Beasts from the one-eyed viper.

From this, it could be inferred that before defecting, Orochimaru had already stolen the vast majority of the village's forbidden techniques and research materials. That might have been one of the reasons the village leadership launched a bloody purge against Orochimaru's old subordinates.

Naoki spread open the scroll recording the artificial Tailed Beast experiments. After only a brief glance, his brows tightened.

The complexity of an artificial Tailed Beast far exceeded his previous expectations. There were more than seven hundred complex formulas alone, and many of the sealing formulas were so complicated that even jonin-level shinobi would struggle to perform them.

In addition, artificial Tailed Beasts had very high requirements for their vessel.

According to the data in the scroll, the village had once tested seventeen high-strength materials. In the end, only one material called Violet Mire Resin could barely carry an enormous amount of chakra.

Violet Mire Resin was a specialty of the Land of Swamps, a resinous clay found in the deepest parts of the marshes.

Because of that, Violet Mire Resin was difficult to mine and produced in small quantities. Its market price was almost equal to gold. It was an extremely rare and expensive material.

Naoki had originally thought the huge chakra source was the difficult part of creating an artificial Tailed Beast. Only after reading the data did he understand that almost everything was a problem, from formulas to vessel materials.

'No wonder Shinno, who controls the remnants of the Sky shinobi village, spent so many years and only managed to create a half-baked Zero-Tails.'

After sighing softly, Naoki put away the scroll.

At present, both his technical foundation and his material reserves were far from sufficient. In the short term, he had no ability to start the artificial Tailed Beast plan.

Early the next morning, Naoki arrived at the ANBU reporting location.

After replacing his ninja identification with a new one, he officially became a special jonin of Konoha. At the same time, he officially joined the ANBU directly under the Hokage.

In the equipment storeroom, Naoki saw Guy and Shisui.

After greeting one another, the three carefully selected their equipment.

At the mask rack, Naoki took interest in a hawk-faced mask. He tried it on and found that the size was just right, so he chose it.

Guy chose an ordinary dog-faced mask.

Shisui hesitated for a long time between a fox-faced mask and a cat-faced mask. In the end, he gave up the fox-faced mask, which looked too cunning, and chose the gentler-looking cat-faced mask.

In the Hokage's Office, Naoki, Guy, and Shisui, now dressed in ANBU gear, stood straight before the Hokage's desk.

The Third Hokage carefully looked the three of them over from head to toe. Satisfied, he nodded and said, "Good. You all look spirited. From now on, you will be added to ANBU Team Eleven."

With that, the Third Hokage lightly clapped his hands.

A figure landed beside the three.

The Third Hokage introduced him. "This is Kakashi. He will serve as the captain of Team Eleven."

Kakashi took off the fox mask on his face and said to the three of them indifferently, "I'm Kakashi. I look forward to working with you."

Naoki, Guy, and Shisui also removed their masks and politely returned the greeting.

"There is a very difficult mission at hand." The Third Hokage tapped his pipe against the desk and continued, "A few days ago, the priestess of the Land of Demons sent a request to Konoha. She hopes we can send people to assist them in sealing an otherworldly demon that threatens the shinobi world. This will be your first mission after joining ANBU. Mission rank: S."

Naoki's heart tightened as soon as he heard that.

Only yesterday, he had thought of the demon Moryo. Today, the Third Hokage assigned him a mission to seal the demon. He did not know whether this was a coincidence or whether the village had noticed something.

The Third Hokage stood and turned to look out over the village through the window. "We know none of the details of this mission. Therefore, you must hurry to the Land of Demons and meet with its priestess. The Land of Demons may have sent requests to other shinobi villages as well, so this mission may involve shinobi from other villages. Be careful. Avoid conflict with them as much as possible."

The four answered in unison, "Yes."

Time was tight and the mission urgent. The four did not dare delay. After leaving the Hokage's Office, they went directly out of the village and rushed toward the Land of Demons.

After leaving the village, Guy said excitedly to Kakashi, "Kakashi, I am a jonin too now! I finally caught up to you!"

Kakashi replied weakly, "Yes, yes."

Guy did not notice Kakashi's impatience at all and continued cheerfully, "Kakashi, chasing each other like this is true youth. Just thinking about it fills me with energy!"

Kakashi turned his head and glanced at Naoki and Shisui, who were slightly behind the team, while continuing to deal with Guy. "Yes, yes."

At the rear of the team, Shisui noticed that Naoki seemed somewhat unsettled and asked curiously, "Senior, what is wrong?"

Naoki shook his head. "Nothing."

At this moment, Naoki was indeed somewhat paranoid. Only yesterday, he had met Orochimaru and mentioned matters related to chakra sources. Today, he was sent to participate in a mission to seal Moryo. It was far too coincidental.

But after carefully recalling it again, Naoki remembered that the priestess of the Land of Demons seemed to die sealing the demon Moryo around this time, leaving behind the next priestess, Shion, who was similar in age to Naruto.

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