`Two weeks later, inside the Hokage's Office.
A cold-tempered, pale-skinned middle-aged ninja stood before the desk. "Sensei," he said, "the Raikage's stance is very aggressive. He threatened us with an equal retaliation if we don't hand over the culprit."
The Third Hokage rubbed his temples and sighed. "It was indeed unwise to try and reason with those barbarians."
After a moment of thought, the Third Hokage asked, "Orochimaru, how did you feel about the Cloud Village during your diplomatic mission?"
Orochimaru answered without hesitation: "They are full of fighting spirit. Everyone is pumped for war, and the entire village is steeped in the smell of gunpowder."
The Third Hokage continued, "I heard the Third Raikage has already allowed his son to take the title 'A,' making him the Raikage candidate. Are the Cloud ninja complaining about this?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "That young man is incredibly strong. He has perfectly inherited the Third Raikage's power and prestige. The shinobi of the Cloud Village are very accepting of him."
The Third Hokage sighed, feeling a pang of envy. While his two sons were decent, neither of them had the charisma to inherit his authority.
Orochimaru added, "I noticed that the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki in the Cloud Village seems to have an emptiness in his heart. The Cloud ninja aren't sensitive enough, and none of them have noticed the problem with him."
"Oh? Killer B, you mean?" The Third Hokage's eyes lit up. "The intelligence reports I read previously said he was excellent in ninjutsu, bloodline, ability, and character, and was considered a ninja who could potentially become a perfect Jinchūriki."
Orochimaru smiled. "People change, especially after they become a Jinchūriki. Most people's attitudes toward them shift. Without a pillar to fill that inner void, even the most exceptional ninja will fade."
The Third Hokage's expression became cold. "If the Cloud Village truly dares to retaliate, find an opportunity to infiltrate and undo the Iron Armor Seal on Killer B, letting the Eight-Tails go berserk."
Orochimaru nodded, then looked confused. "Isn't a matter like this usually assigned to Elder Danzō?"
The Third Hokage looked complicated. "I'm starting to question his loyalty."
Orochimaru was very surprised. No matter how outrageous Elder Danzō's actions were in the past, his Sensei would always cover for him. Now he was suspicious? What exactly happened during his time away on the mission to the Cloud Village?
Although he wanted to know the answer, the Third Hokage clearly didn't want to dwell on the issue, so he changed the subject: "After the Wood Release human experiments ended all those years ago, did you secretly restart them?"
Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive. "Of course not, Sensei. Why would you ask that?"
The Third Hokage spoke gravely. "Danzō told me that among the volunteers who died back then, he found a child who had been conceived before their deaths, and that child successfully integrated the Wood Release. I just feel like something isn't quite right."
'Wood Release! That was the secret experiment he and I performed!' Orochimaru was shocked inside, but also confused. If Danzō even told the Third Hokage about the Wood Release, wasn't he quite loyal?
Orochimaru suppressed his astonishment and asked, "Sensei, is that Wood Release ninja named Senju Setsuna?"
Now it was the Third Hokage's turn to be puzzled. "Why are you suddenly asking about Setsuna? Also, his name isn't Senju Setsuna, it's Chiyū Setsuna."
Orochimaru laughed. "Jiraiya told me. I ran into him in the Village of Hot Springs while I was on my way back from the Land of Lightning."
The Third Hokage couldn't help but smile wryly. Since the Village of Hot Springs is famous for its hot springs, it wasn't surprising to run into Jiraiya there.
Orochimaru continued, "He had some bruises on his face at the time. When I asked him if Tsunade hit him, he said he wasn't punched by Tsunade, but rather by what he suspected was Tsunade's illegitimate child! He even told me that the young ninja named Senju Setsuna was even more of a genius than me."
The Third Hokage was speechless. Jiraiya was even spreading rumors about Tsunade—did he not want to return to the Leaf Village alive?
The Third Hokage shook his head helplessly. "Don't listen to his provocations. That fool is up to no good. Setsuna tripped him up, so he's trying to get you embarrassed too."
Orochimaru was slightly surprised. From his Sensei's tone, it seemed he genuinely believed there was a possibility of him being tripped up. But if it wasn't Wood Release, he couldn't imagine how a mere Genin could possess such power.
"That Chiyū Setsuna..." Just as Orochimaru was about to ask further, a child's voice came from outside the door: "Don't stop me, I need to see the Old Man!"
The Third Hokage smiled bitterly and sighed. "Orochimaru, you should go rest."
"Yes, Sensei."
At Training Ground 3, Setsuna looked at Guy with a slight surprise. "You mastered the Leaf Dragon God? You really are a Taijutsu genius."
He wasn't surprised that Guy was being recognized. At this stage, Guy's Sensei hadn't yet experienced the pain of losing a student, so he was likely still happy to pass on Taijutsu techniques.
What surprised him was that Guy had learned this incredibly advanced Taijutsu Secret Technique in less than two weeks. He truly was a genius of hard work.
"M-hm, m-hm!" Guy nodded excitedly, but then looked shy. "Sensei's Leaf Dragon God is just too amazing. I can only use about twenty or thirty percent of its power at most."
"That's still impressive. How about we try it out?" Setsuna suggested, instantly thinking about stealing the technique.
He had personally encountered the Divine Dragon (Shenlong in the original context, translated as Divine Dragon for a greater sense of power than a regular dragon). If he could modify the Leaf Dragon God into the Leaf Divine Dragon, its power might become even stronger.
"Yes, yes!" Guy naturally wouldn't refuse Setsuna's offer. He got into an attack stance. "Setsuna Big Brother, here I come!"
As his voice faded, Guy kicked out with a spin. A fierce wind rose around him, forming a fifteen-meter-tall emerald-green tornado. Guy rode the furious wind as it enveloped Setsuna.
'So, this is the Leaf Dragon God?' Setsuna calmly observed the nascent dragon-shaped whirlwind, understanding its nature. 'Just as I thought. This is a kicking technique similar to the 'Tempest Kick' (Rankyaku) from One Piece, and it's a large-scale area-of-effect attack. No wonder Rock Lee could break it in the future; the single-point damage of a group skill is obviously weaker than a single-target skill.'
While the move wasn't as powerful as he imagined, it was exactly what Setsuna wanted. Taijutsu lacked large-scale area-of-effect techniques. Although he had the Energy Cannon (Kikōhō, a group-killing ultimate move), his stamina wouldn't allow him to use it many times. The Leaf Dragon God, being a pure Taijutsu skill, had far fewer restrictions.
"Let me experience it firsthand." Instead of retreating, Setsuna charged forward, walking straight into the "Dragon God's" body.
"Setsuna Big Brother!" Guy was worried and prepared to stop the fight, but he saw Setsuna moving through the violent vortex as if taking a stroll in a garden, with every step landing perfectly in the eye of the tornado.
Setsuna wasn't looking for punishment; the basic training for "Ki" (or Chakra/Life Force) involved sensing the subtle changes in the surrounding airflow and using that to track the enemy's presence and movement. The tornado Guy kicked out was too unrefined, and Setsuna accurately pinpointed every single air current node.
"As long as I understand the internal structure of the 'Dragon God,' replicating this move won't be too difficult." Setsuna stood in the eye of the storm, kicked out, and a "Divine Dragon" many times larger than Guy's Leaf "Dragon God" shot toward the sky, instantly swallowing the smaller one.