Shimura Danzo, who failed to gain anything, did not gain nothing. A complete clone had enough genetic material for Danzo to squander. It would be fine if Orochimaru stayed alive, but as long as he died, Danzo would have enough resources to make him "die and come back to life".

Losing two three-magatama Sharingan was a huge loss, but the most painful thing was the wasted opportunity to use Kotoamatsukami.

"If I had a physical clone with complete flesh and blood, I wouldn't have to endure this humiliation this time."

Danzo, who reaffirmed his determination, would never give up. Those coveted secret techniques all looked like they were tailor-made for him. The technology to make clones was fine, and there were ways to make all kinds of replicas, but it was a little more troublesome. The key was the secret technique of extending the will of the original body, breaking the bottleneck of the chakra time limit of the general clone technique. Any expert with a little knowledge would understand what this meant. In a sense, this was already a degraded version of the death-substitution technique or the immortality technique. As long as the two bottlenecks of insufficient vitality of the clone and the inability to synchronize the will were overcome, the immortality of the soul would be realized. If this technology could be developed to extend the will to anyone at will, then he would truly become a "god" with countless incarnations.

Although each step seems so difficult, it is not unimaginable. At least, Danzo, who has been in charge of Konoha's darkness for many years and knows many secrets, understands that all of this is possible.

Not only that, judging from the few words uttered by the awakened Yuhi Kurenai and the strange behavior of the Hyuga family, there might be something even more valuable. The information obtained indirectly from the Sand Ninja also indicated that he seemed to have underestimated the little guy who was afraid of him.

Unfortunately, this operation failed. If we want to uncover the secrets hidden beneath the water and gain the greatest benefit, we still have to find a way in the village.

…

When Shimura Danzo was about to withdraw, the fight between Orochimaru and Jiraiya was getting louder and louder. From the initial probing to the current fight, it had been going on for quite some time. Except that both sides had tacitly not used their trump cards, their strengths were almost fully revealed. Jiraiya had not used the Sage Mode, and Orochimaru naturally had not used the Eight-Headed Technique tacitly. With both sides holding back, it would eventually turn into a ninjutsu exchange, and neither could do anything to the other.

In the end, Orochimaru, who was not in good condition, gradually fell into a disadvantage. During the interval of the battle, Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru, who was obviously in a more embarrassed state, and said breathlessly:

"Your counterattacks are becoming increasingly weak. As expected, you are seriously injured."

Orochimaru frowned, looked at Jiraiya and said, "After all that nonsense, is that the game over?" In this meaningless battle, the winner is actually irrelevant, since no one can kill anyone anyway. "Since you need my help, don't waste your time."

"You are so rude, Orochimaru." Jiraiya put away his fighting spirit, "Rather than asking you for anything, I am here to warn you, the orphan of the Uchiha, you must let go."

Hearing Jiraiya's words, Orochimaru's pupils shrank.

"Uchiha Sasuke? This person should have nothing to do with you. Don't you dislike this kind of genius? I thought that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would be more to your liking!"

If it was something else that was insignificant, it would be fine if he just agreed casually, but not Uchiha Sasuke. The long-cherished wish, the humiliation of Uchiha Itachi's defeat, and the forbearance for so many years, all had to turn over on Uchiha Sasuke.

Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru with a serious expression and said seriously, "These are two different things. Naruto will be the hope of the ninja world and the son of destiny who will save the world. I like him very much and will accept him as my disciple soon. But Uchiha Sasuke, I think your methods are too despicable."

"Despicable? I just gave him hope."

"It is definitely not a good thing to be able to make a resentful avenger feel hopeful. It is really too ugly to plant the curse seal and still go on to rob people. Orochimaru, you have completed your reincarnation, so you don't need him so urgently."

"Indeed, the Konoha ninja did a good job in preventing my Sasuke from arriving in time, but it was all meaningless in the end. As an avenger, he will come to me for power sooner or later."

"That's not necessarily true, Orochimaru. Don't think you're the only smart person in this world."

"Hmm?" Jiraiya's words reminded Orochimaru of Danzo's words.

"Could it be that someone really appeared in Konoha who made Danzo feel difficult and made Jiraiya feel that he could be compared with himself?"

Ignoring Orochimaru's doubts, Jiraiya continued:

"I think what the little guy said makes some sense. Let the young people choose their own future."

"Choose for yourself? What do you mean?"

Having said that, Jiraiya no longer wanted to keep the secret and offered his own advice: "Stop all your attempts to coerce, coerce and deceive Uchiha Sasuke. Any actions that lead him to betray the village are not allowed."

"Are you crazy, Jiraiya? What good will this do me?"

Once the meat is in your mouth, you will never spit it out.

"You must agree, Orochimaru, otherwise, this boy will never be able to walk out of Konoha Village alive." Jiraiya said firmly.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm not threatening you, I'm talking about reason, Orochimaru." Jiraiya said in a deep voice, "Do you think Danzo will let Sasuke see you alive? Although he is greedy, he is not incompetent..."

Orochimaru lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "What does this have to do with the choice you mentioned?"

"We will give him the opportunity to choose his own path. If he chooses you in the end, as long as he can walk out of Konoha alive, I will let Danzo stop."

"Why are you doing this?" Orochimaru was very confused by Jiraiya's elaborate actions. "I understand that you are indifferent to a rebel who abandoned Konoha, but what good will it do for you to stop Danzo?"

"The boy who decides the fate of the world needs to be stronger and work harder."

"Child of Destiny?" The clever Orochimaru understood Jiraiya's plan instantly, "It seems that your mind is not as dull as your appearance, Jiraiya..."