Shinju couldn't be bothered to waste words on a villain.
"Whoosh!"
In one swift motion, he slapped his palm straight onto Doto's forehead!
Very quickly, he obtained all of Doto's memories—and finally found the reason Doto had been able to successfully develop the chakra armor.
More than ten years ago, in order to give the frail Land of Snow the power to contend with the great nations, Doto began developing chakra armor. He failed countless times along the way, even hitting long periods where he couldn't make any progress at all.
Three years ago, the development of the chakra armor reached a bottleneck. Doto received help from a mysterious person, who helped him complete the final step of the chakra armor… After that, Doto cut off all contact with this mysterious person, until a few months ago, when, under that person's guidance, he sent Ice Release ninja to join the Byakuya Gang…
Just like in Gekkō's memories, the mysterious person in Doto's memories was equally vague and indistinct!
Things that seemed completely unrelated were all tied together by this mysterious person!
That alone was enough to make Shinju wary of this never-once-appearing figure!
"Who exactly is he, and what is his real goal?"
Questions arose in Shinju's mind.
He had started laying out his plans three years ago—back when Shinju himself had only just begun to make a name for himself…
It was also possible that, back then, he hadn't anticipated how things would turn out now.
But having someone lurking in the shadows, secretly stirring up trouble like this, was deeply unsettling no matter how you looked at it!!
After getting to the bottom of this matter, a heavy-hearted Shinju returned to the Hokage's office.
...
Inside the office, Shikamaru happened to be organizing documents.
So Shinju told him everything he had uncovered over the past few days, from start to finish.
After hearing Shinju's speculation, Shikamaru froze as well.
"The Akatsuki have long since been wiped out, Orochimaru is under our control, and Danzō is already in the ground. So who exactly is pulling the strings behind all of this…?"
Shinju said, "We'll investigate it slowly. The enemy is in the shadows, we're in the open—it won't be easy to deal with. ┐(´-｀)┌"
Shikamaru sighed at that.
"For now, that's all we can do—take it one step at a time… We've only had peace for half a year, and it looks like things are about to get turbulent again. --003d_--003d"
By the time he finished speaking, Shikamaru had already sorted through the piles of documents on the desk and was getting ready to carry them out.
"Thanks. It's really a relief having you in the village," Shinju said without thinking.
Shikamaru smiled.
"No need to thank me for something this small. We're all doing it for the village. (＾ワ＾)"
"Oh, right. While you were gone, Yamato from ANBU came by. Something might have happened on Orochimaru's side—maybe you should go take a look."
Shinju nodded.
"Alright, I got it."
After Shikamaru left, Shinju stuffed a few soldier pills into his mouth, then used Flying Thunder God to teleport straight to Orochimaru's laboratory. 눈_눈
...
When Yamato saw Shinju arrive, he immediately stepped forward to greet him.
"Sixth-sama."
Shinju looked utterly exhausted.
"Yamato-sensei, you can just call me by my name…"
Yamato didn't respond to that and instead reported the results of his surveillance on Orochimaru.
"Recently, Orochimaru has started a new research project."
Shinju's expression turned serious.
"Go into detail."
Yamato said, "Orochimaru has started cultivating babies…"
Shinju: (꒪⌓꒪)
"Is it with someone else, or—"
The moment the words left his mouth, Shinju realized he'd misspoken. With someone like Orochimaru, who would be willing to have a child with him…
"Cloned babies?" Shinju asked instead.
Yamato shook his head.
"I can't really explain it clearly either. I don't know what word to use… splicing together, or manufacturing?"
The more Shinju listened, the more confused he became. He decided to stop listening altogether and walked straight into Orochimaru's laboratory.
...
Inside the lab, Orochimaru was dressed exactly the same as ever. Seeing Shinju arrive, he showed neither surprise nor panic—he even greeted him familiarly.
"You're here."
Calm, as if Shinju were just a neighbor from next door…
Shinju said, "I heard you've started cultivating babies?"
"You should know that, being confined in Konoha as you are now, there are many projects you're not allowed to research."
Orochimaru nodded.
"Of course I know that. Respect for life, right? ┐(´-｀)┌"
Shinju asked, "Then what exactly are you doing now?"
Orochimaru laid it all out.
"Combining multiple superior genes to create a perfect child. (￣▽￣)"
Shinju was speechless.
"This is what you call respecting life? Which part of what you're doing has anything to do with respecting life?"
Orochimaru didn't think he was in the wrong at all.
"There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing. I'm not harming anyone. (╯ε╰)"
Shinju: -_-||
"Creating a child this way violates the laws of nature, and children cultivated through such methods are extremely likely to have genetic defects. Even if the child manages to grow up… how are they supposed to integrate into today's society? Are you their father, or their mother? --003d_--003d"
Orochimaru couldn't be bothered to think about—or care about—such questions.
"Shinju, you should know that what I seek is nothing more than the truth of this world. The child I cultivate is simply my research into 'life' and my yearning for it…"
Shinju said coldly, "I won't allow this kind of irresponsible behavior."
Hearing Shinju's outright prohibition, Orochimaru had nothing to say. He spread his hands.
"Fine… If that lets you uphold justice, then I'll do as you say. ┑(￣Д ￣)┍"
Shinju ignored Orochimaru's sarcasm and slowly stepped closer, speaking sternly.
"You'd better behave. I value your research ability, but I will never raise a predator only to invite disaster. (」°ヘ°)」"
Orochimaru lifted his head, meeting Shinju's gaze head-on.
The next second, his expression froze—he fell straight into Shinju's genjutsu!
Within the illusion, Shinju repeatedly lectured Orochimaru about the laws of life and Konoha's regulations…
...
After finishing all this, Shinju walked out of Orochimaru's laboratory and instructed Yamato.
"Orochimaru should be quiet for a few days now. Once he wakes up, keep a close eye on him. Any research related to new human life is strictly forbidden!"
Yamato nodded.
"Mission guaranteed, Sixth-sama! ＜(｀^´)＞"
Shinju didn't bother correcting Yamato anymore and disappeared.
...
Nighttime, Shinju's home.
Shinju was slumped on the sofa, while Sasuke sat beside him, massaging his head.
Shinju said, "A little higher… yeah, yeah, right there… a bit more strength… what, didn't you eat today…?"
Sasuke immediately quit.
"I'm not doing this anymore. (;′⌒`)"
Shinju: "..."
"I'll tell Sakura about how Kakashi-sensei used the Thousand Years of Death on you back then… no, I'll announce it to the whole world! I'll use genjutsu to show everyone!"
Sasuke instantly returned to position, gently pressing his fingers against Shinju's temples.
"How about this level of force? (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎"
Shinju curled his lips.
"It'll do. ╮(﹀_﹀")╭"
Sasuke forced a smile.
"That happened so long ago already—can't you just forget it?"
Shinju dug at his ear.
"You know, I'm busy dealing with official matters every day. My memory's good one moment and bad the next. If only there were someone who could help me handle government affairs. (o´Д`o)ノ"
Sasuke said, "Naruto and Shikamaru can help you with that."
Shinju replied, "Shikamaru has his own work, Naruto's out on his honeymoon, and you're the only one who's hanging around the village doing nothing every day."
"Help me fill in for a few days. Handling official work is really simple, and Shikamaru will be there to assist you. You've got the brains for it too. (•̀⌄•́)"
Sasuke said, "Shinju, don't push it too far…"
Shinju said, "After you fill in, that incident gets completely deleted from my memory."
Sasuke replied, "Work starts at six-thirty tomorrow morning, right?"