A dark and damp cave, this was the dwelling place of the Iburi Clan. Orochimaru was stunned upon arriving here.
Can people live in this place?
How can you stand it?
Orochimaru's inner change happened in just a few breaths. She looked at the Iburi Clan members as if they were primitive people.
"Yusuke!"
The boy's mother, excitedly embracing her son, shed tears.
"Mom!"
The boy, looking terrified, hugged his mother.
Orochimaru looked at the mother and son, then at the gathered members of the Iburi Clan. Everyone was very young, the oldest being only in their twenties.
"Thank you very much. Could you please tell us your name?"
The leader of the Iburi Clan stepped forward, looking gratefully at Orochimaru, his gaze falling on the Cloud Ninja she was dragging by one leg.
If it weren't for the superhuman average physical fitness of people in this world, this Cloud Ninja would have already gone to the other world just from the bumps and scrapes along the way.
"I am Orochimaru. You don't need to worry about this Cloud Ninja; I will hand him over to the Konoha Ninja."
Orochimaru handed the Cloud Ninja to a Shadow Clone, who would then give him to the Konoha patrol team. What happened to this Cloud Ninja afterward was no longer her concern.
"That puts my mind at ease."
The Iburi Clan leader watched Orochimaru's Shadow Clone leave. The reason the Iburi Clan chose to settle so close to Konoha was partly for safety, and partly because the Iburi Clan originally intended to join Konoha and become a member of Konoha's great families.
However, Konoha had no solution for the Iburi Clan's uncontrollable Bloodline Limit of smoke transformation; even Senju Tobirama himself had personally examined them.
"Thank you for saving Yusuke."
"Thank you, big sister!"
The mother and son came over, looking gratefully at Orochimaru.
"It's nothing, just a small matter."
Orochimaru smiled slightly, observing the crowd, and then looked at the Iburi Clan leader, saying, "I've seen information about the Iburi Clan in books related to Ninja clans."
"Does your clan's Bloodline Limit become increasingly difficult to control as you age?"
Orochimaru stated her guess.
Hearing Orochimaru's words, the Iburi Clan members seemed to recall something, some with sad expressions, others with numb ones.
"As you said, our clan members have very short lifespans. At a certain age, we lose control of our abilities and die, turning into smoke, leaving no corpse behind."
The Iburi Clan's patriarch forced a smile and said, "You saw it earlier; if not for your help, Chiriu would have already died."
Saying this, the Iburi Clan's patriarch looked at Chiriu, who was still shaken and hadn't recovered from the feeling of being on the verge of death.
"May I examine your bodies? I am a Medical Ninja, and I might be able to find a way to help you."
Orochimaru looked at the Iburi Clan living in the cave, feeling a pang of compassion, but more so for her grand money-making scheme. Once she successfully developed skincare products, she would need people to sell them to various countries.
If she could solve the Iburi Clan's physical problems, they would become her most loyal subordinates.
"You… you're not joking, are you?"
After a brief shock, the Iburi Clan's patriarch looked at Orochimaru with a hint of suspicion. It wasn't that he didn't want to believe Orochimaru, but she was too young, making her words difficult to trust.
"I know my words aren't convincing, but how will you know if I can solve your problems if you don't try? If things continue as they are, how much longer can the Iburi Clan exist?"
Seeing the Iburi Clan's patriarch still hesitating, Orochimaru continued, "From a genetic perspective, your Bloodline Limit is flawed. Most likely, it's a genetic defect, and as you reproduce generation after generation, the genetic defect will only worsen. This is not an exaggeration."
Families like the Iburi Clan were probably the product of inbreeding. It was already fortunate that there were no deformities or intellectual disabilities.
"Then we'll leave it to you."
The Iburi Clan's patriarch looked at the surrounding clan members and agreed to Orochimaru's proposal. Rather than continue living a hopeless life awaiting death, it was better to try.
"Chiriu, please come here."
Orochimaru looked at Chiriu, who had almost dissipated into the wind not long ago.
"Yes, yes."
Chiriu walked up to Orochimaru. Facing Orochimaru, who appeared as a little girl, he felt very reserved and anxious.
"Don't be nervous, nothing will happen."
Orochimaru smiled at the tense Chiriu and used Medical Ninjutsu to examine his body.
This is… A hint of astonishment flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. Chiriu's body was between smoke and solid. At this moment, he didn't look like a human, but rather like a creation of Yin-Yang Release.
It was as if the Six Paths Sage had played a cruel joke, bestowing life upon smoke with Yin-Yang Release.
"May I collect a little of your blood? If possible, I'll need more blood samples."
Orochimaru's request was met with the full agreement of the Iburi Clan. The syringes, originally used to collect juice from special herbs, were now used to collect their blood.
Unfortunately, due to the limited number of syringes, not all clan members' blood samples could be collected.
"In the short term, I may not be able to come up with a solution to the problems you face, but I do have an emergency method."
Orochimaru put away the blood samples. There was a way to alleviate the Iburi Clan's immediate crisis.
"What method? Orochimaru-sama, please tell us!"
The Iburi Clan's patriarch changed his address for Orochimaru. After witnessing her professionalism, his attitude towards her became respectful.
"Since the body uncontrollably dissipates into smoke and dies, wouldn't it be better to keep your bodies in a state isolated from the outside world?"
The method Orochimaru thought of was airtight protective suits. It wouldn't be difficult to manufacture protective suits with the craftsmanship of this world. Although it wasn't a long-term solution, it was sufficient for the current Iburi Clan.
And the Laboratory she planned to build could be constructed underground in the cave where the Iburi Clan lived. She didn't like overly dark environments, but a Laboratory was better off being discreet.
Having the Iburi Clan as a cover would be even safer, and once the Iburi Clan's physical problems were solved, this clan would become loyal to her, and all her plans could be implemented ahead of schedule.
For example, opening a shop in Whirlpool Hidden Village in Land of Whirlpools. When Whirlpool Hidden Village was attacked by the Allied Shinobi Forces, she could take the opportunity to help the Uzumaki Clan members escape.
And for those Uzumaki Clan members to become her subordinates to repay her life-saving kindness, wouldn't that be perfectly reasonable?
However, there was a prerequisite: she had to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique developed by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju.
In the original story, Minato Namikaze's three guards could all learn a rudimentary version of the Flying Thunder God Formation Technique. With her talent, even if she couldn't use Flying Thunder God in combat, it should be fine for travel, right?
Assuming she couldn't learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, there were other ways to transport the Uzumaki Clan members, which was through the giant snakes of Ryūchi Cave, using them as transportation.
In the original story, Suigetsu Hozuki used Uchiha Sasuke's blood to summon Manda, who was summoned by Uchiha Sasuke to block Deidara's self-destruction.
The premise was that not-so-fresh blood could also be used to perform the Summoning Technique. Even Edo Tensei zombies could perform the Summoning Technique, so blood stored for a period should be fine, right?
The Iburi Clan members watched Orochimaru, who was writing furiously in a notebook on her lap, holding their breath, afraid of disturbing her thoughts.
Perhaps it was desperation, or perhaps Orochimaru's words and professionalism moved them.
At this moment, Orochimaru was their hope for the Iburi Clan to leave the dark, damp underground cave and live freely under the sun.
Author's Note
PS:
The Iburi Clan is a Ninja clan that appeared in the Kakashi Anbu Arc. Their Bloodline Limit ability is very powerful, but their weakness is also very obvious.
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