Chapter 48: Will You Be Sending It via Email?
"You used that kind of jutsu to blow away my Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique. You must be running low on chakra too, right?"
If Gray Wolf had used a third of his chakra for the shuriken clones, then Orochimaru had burned through half of his chakra to blow them away with Great Breakthrough.
The ranking of a jutsu isn't just based on power and difficulty—it also considers how efficiently it uses chakra.
"You're underestimating me. Even though I've spent years engrossed in research, that doesn't mean my strength hasn't grown," Orochimaru said with a smirk.
"Is that so…"
As Gray Wolf finished speaking, he and Orochimaru lunged at each other once more. In perfect sync, they each grabbed one of the other's hands, then used their free hands to form hand seals together.
Just then, the last two green giants arrived.
Seeing their arrival, Yamato, Suigetsu, and Jūgo's expressions changed dramatically.
Only those who had actually fought the green giants understood just how terrifying these monsters were.
Not only were their regeneration and defense astonishing, they also didn't tire. While most chūnin and higher-ranked ninja could dodge their attacks with ease, the green giants could simply grind you down over time.
Everyone who'd fought them felt the same: it was like encountering a pile of poop in the middle of the road—you either step on it to take a shortcut, or go far out of your way to avoid it.
"Looks like you're able to control these creatures…" Hearing Orochimaru's words, Gray Wolf instantly became alert. After all, this was his future self—he had to take it seriously. Orochimaru continued, "Naraku's Mirror."
"Genjutsu: Release!"
Gray Wolf was intimately familiar with Naraku's Mirror. Back in the second round of the Chūnin Exams in the Forest of Death—just before the Konoha Crush plan began—he had used this very genjutsu on Sakura and the others.
Although he dispelled the genjutsu in time, even a momentary lapse was enough for Orochimaru to close the distance. Gray Wolf hadn't expected that he'd be this strong at this point in time.
"Binding Snake Glare."
This was one of Orochimaru's signature summoning techniques—he summoned two large snakes from his sleeves without needing a blood-based summoning seal.
The snakes shot out from his sleeves, coiling around Gray Wolf and suddenly biting into his neck.
The venom was designed to disrupt chakra flow.
Orochimaru had to tread carefully. The person in front of him possessed the same jutsu he did—and Orochimaru's forte was escape-style techniques.
Being unable to use his escape jutsu left Gray Wolf feeling deeply uneasy.
"What are you trying to—"
As Orochimaru finished the last hand seal, Gray Wolf watched in horror as Orochimaru activated the White Snake Possession Technique, transforming into a white python and diving straight into Gray Wolf's mouth mid-sentence.
Gray Wolf immediately sensed something was wrong—his control over his own body was slipping.
"Heh heh…"
Now controlling Gray Wolf's body, Orochimaru cleared his throat and continued, "All green giants, cease combat."
Shunhi, who truly controlled the green giants, instantly noticed what had happened—Orochimaru had taken over Gray Wolf's body. But he still obeyed the command and stopped the giants.
Seeing the now-motionless green giants, Yamato, Suigetsu, and Jūgo cautiously approached Gray Wolf.
"Orochimaru… sir?" Suigetsu asked.
"Yes, it's me. I can't maintain this state for long. The moment I exit this body, you need to kill him."
As Orochimaru spoke, Gray Wolf's body began forming hand seals. Forming the seals in order allowed entry into a host body; reversing the order would allow him to exit.
"No—we should capture him alive. Konoha needs intel on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Umbrella Organization," Yamato said firmly.
Suigetsu's lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing. After all, they were under Konoha's jurisdiction—he couldn't argue.
"..."
"Orochimaru-sama, what's wrong?" Suigetsu stepped forward, seeing that the hand seals had suddenly stopped mid-sequence.
Yamato quickly pulled Suigetsu away and said, "Be careful—something's wrong with Orochimaru."
If the seals weren't completed, Orochimaru could never exit Gray Wolf's body. But the problem was, Shunhi could control Gray Wolf's body—and his control had higher priority than Orochimaru's.
Even Shunhi hadn't expected this unexpected bonus: he might have lost an Orochimaru from the Konoha Crush plan, but he'd gained one who had survived the Fourth Great Ninja War.
It was like losing a helpless little loli you had to feed and clothe, only to gain a bossy but rich MILF who could work to support your NEET lifestyle.
"This body is being controlled by someone else… Damn it, this guy's just a puppet of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
To think Orochimaru, cautious throughout his entire life, would fall into a trap like this.
In the end, the Gray Wolf now controlled by Shunhi retreated with five green giants.
"Orochimaru-sama, where are you going?!"
Yamato stopped Suigetsu and shook his head. "That's no longer the Orochimaru you know. We shouldn't rush in. Konoha's reinforcements will be here soon. We'll deal with Orochimaru later."
...
"S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy Director, we meet again."
In a forest clearing, Shunhi, still in control of Gray Wolf's body, appeared before his own physical body.
Orochimaru, although outwardly calm, was internally panicking. After all, the other party could override his control of this body at any moment.
"Looks like you've taken control of Gray Wolf's body. Then from now on, you'll take his place in the Umbrella Organization's Bio-Ghost Project," Shunhi said with a tone that left no room for negotiation.
"Well, what an honor. In that case, may I meet the other researchers in the Umbrella Organization?"
Anyone who could create monsters like the green giants was definitely worth meeting in Orochimaru's eyes.
"The researchers have no interest in wasting time meeting you. Your task is to study the results of the Bio-Ghost Project and ensure their safety. I don't want another viral leak turning into a biohazard incident."
Shunhi said this with a deadly serious expression, though his husky dog head made it hard to take him seriously.
"Biohazard… what's that?"
Ask when you don't understand—it's the mark of a true scientist.
"At the start of the Bio-Ghost Project, an error in research direction led to a virus leak. An entire village turned into something like Reanimation Jutsu monsters—we call them zombies. Zombies lack consciousness, crave human flesh, and are infectious. Anyone wounded by them eventually turns into the same kind of monster."
"In the end, Umbrella reached out to S.H.I.E.L.D. for cooperation. We handled the incident in secret, and Umbrella became a nominal subordinate organization under us. The Bio-Ghost Project was ultimately shut down."
"But now, for some unknown reason, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director has restarted the Bio-Ghost Project and even made major breakthroughs. That green giant you saw—that's one of the project's results."
"Even so, I still don't feel safe. Orochimaru, your task is to analyze all the project's outcomes and ensure no future outbreaks."
Shunhi rattled off nonsense so smoothly that Orochimaru was left stunned.
It all sounded ridiculous—yet the green giants were real.
It might've been nonsense—but then again, it might not.
In truth, Shunhi was simply guiding Orochimaru to draw conclusions that worked in his favor.
For instance—
The Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was actually a good guy, always thinking of the greater good of the ninja world, while the Director, for some mysterious reason, was the one causing trouble.
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