Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 227: Orochimaru's Cause of Death: Possessing Lethal Skills

"Still no sign of the Three-Tails?"

Steam wafted up, the aroma of tea filled the air. Hanare leaned forward to pour, and Hagoromo Gengetsu, fresh from the research base, sipped from his cup, savoring the sweet taste mingling on his tongue, then asked.

Hanare put down the teapot and shook her head, "Not yet."

Hagoromo Gengetsu frowned slightly.

Of the five tailed beasts still in the wild, only the Three-Tails remained free, with no leads on its whereabouts.

The One-Tail was in the Sand Village, and its jinchūriki was the Fifth Kazekage, making escape impossible.

The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails were in the Cloud Village, with Samui as an informant. They could easily track the Eight-Tails' movements, and it was only a matter of time before they located the Two-Tails.

As for the Nine-Tails, they were too familiar with it to bother.

Hagoromo Gengetsu's plan for capturing the tailed beasts differed from Pain's sequential approach. He decided to do it all at once.

Just like dealing with the Akatsuki, he aimed to capture all the tailed beasts in one go, leaving the Shinobi World unable to react. He would then seal them into the Gedo Statue, becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi to achieve his Bloodline Encompassing advancement.

Of course, this was the ideal scenario. There could be complications, but as long as the overall plan remained unchanged, it was fine.

Currently, Hagoromo Gengetsu was working towards this plan. Thus, finding the wild Three-Tails and sealing it into the Gedo Statue was crucial. It would be a major problem if all the other beasts were captured and they couldn't locate the Three-Tails.

"By the way, how was the Three-Tails captured in the original story?"

Too much time had passed, and Hagoromo Gengetsu couldn't remember the storyline details unrelated to the main plot. What stood out were the Akatsuki's captures, such as Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage and One-Tail Jinchūriki, and Sasuke's failed attempt at capturing the Eight-Tails, as well as Pain's search for the Nine-Tails.

As for the Three-Tails, Hagoromo Gengetsu didn't have much information. He could only infer from the Three-Tails' turtle-like, aquatic nature and had sent Deidara, skilled in flight, and Kisame, who excelled underwater, to search for it. They even risked using squads with Sky Country flying devices to assist.

However, the ocean was vast, and finding it would take time.

Hagoromo Gengetsu shook his head. He decided to set aside the Three-Tails for now and focus on another matter: Orochimaru's whereabouts had been discovered.

"That snake has been hiding deep for the past two years without any news. How did the village find him?" Hagoromo Gengetsu asked curiously.

Hanare replied, "The village got the information from Konoha. It's said that it was from an ANBU operative's last message."

After hearing Hanare's explanation, Hagoromo Gengetsu nodded in understanding. It seemed that during his raid on the Root base, they had found incriminating evidence against key Konoha personnel, which Danzo had collected to control them. This had now become valuable leverage for their village. The village had not pressured these Konoha operatives too hard to prevent any desperate actions, but one had completely defected, providing this crucial information.

"Orochimaru, huh..." Hagoromo Gengetsu tapped his fingers on the desk. He didn't consider Orochimaru a major threat, despite his reputation for being hard to kill. But Hagoromo Gengetsu did remember Orochimaru's Reanimation technique and the powerful dead figures it could summon, which played a significant role in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

He had no desire to engage with those long-dead individuals.

Thus, he decided, Orochimaru had to die.

Possessing such a deadly technique was the downfall of one of the legendary Sannin.

Most shinobi trembled at the mere sight of Orochimaru, but to Hagoromo Gengetsu, he was just another obstacle.

Speed was of the essence. Hagoromo Gengetsu decided to act immediately. But first, there was something else he needed to take care of.

---

[Ding!]

[Main Quest: Chunin Exams (Completed)]

[The Chunin Exams have officially begun. In the first test, a written exam, the host used superior knowledge to easily answer all questions and pass. In the second stage, the Forest of Death, the host and teammates reached the tower without any incidents. In the preliminary matches, the host defeated Choji Akimichi. In the main matches, the host defeated Shikamaru Nara. The Chunin Exams were cut short due to the Konoha Crush.]

[Congratulations, host, on completing the Chunin Exams.]

[Rewards: Standard Jonin-level chakra reserves; mastery in one chosen chakra nature and form manipulation; Nintaijutsu: Lightning Release Chakra Mode]

Having completed the mission in Konoha and waited several days, equivalent to the entire duration of the Chunin Exams, Hagoromo Gengetsu finally received his rewards.

As expected, the rewards were abundant, given the importance of the Chunin Exams.

Choosing Yin release as his specified chakra nature, Hagoromo Gengetsu found that the mastery level didn't significantly enhance his abilities.

Unsurprised, he turned to the other rewards. If he had indeed been a regular Genin as the system seemed to assume, these rewards would have elevated his strength to a Jonin level.

Not bad.

As the missions progressed, the rewards became more valuable and advanced. Even if the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan failed, he still had a solid backup plan.

Hagoromo Gengetsu glanced at the new mission released upon completing the Chunin Exams. Before setting out, he decided to handle it swiftly.