Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 304 Sudden Change

Land of Hot Water, a remote forest path.

"Cough cough..."

Asuma was half-kneeling on the ground, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as he breathed heavily.

Behind him, Kurenai and Uesugi Min had already fallen to the ground, unconscious, clearly having been hit by the enemy’s attack during the sudden ambush.

Surrounding them, six ninjas wearing animal masks and tight black clothing were closing in silently, forming an encirclement.

Their movements were uniform, their eyes cold.

"Bastards... who exactly are you people?"

Asuma gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand up.

He couldn’t recognize where these people came from, but their attacks were ruthless and vicious, obviously aiming to capture them alive.

The leading ninja made a hand signal, and the other five instantly pounced simultaneously.

...

Not far away, in the shadow of a large tree, a small, colorful snake was silently lurking, observing the battle happening nearby in its entirety.

Its tongue flickered slightly, then it slowly retracted into the depths of a tree hollow and disappeared.

...

Five days later.

Konoha Orphanage.

Sora put away the scroll recording "Living Corpse Reincarnation."

He sensed around and found that Tagitsuhime was not within the orphanage.

’Where has she gone off to again?’

Sora frowned slightly but didn’t pay it too much mind.

This beautiful snake was secretive in her movements and unfathomable in her thoughts. As long as she didn’t cause trouble for him, he couldn’t be bothered to keep tabs on her.

Sitting at the table, Sora began to think about his next plan.

’I have obtained Living Corpse Reincarnation, one of the most important puzzle pieces is now in hand. Next, it’s time to leave Konoha.’

’When Kurenai returns from this mission, I’ll bid her farewell.’

Based on the mission timeframe, Team Kurenai was expected to return to Konoha in about five days.

Thinking of this, Sora took out the "Living Corpse Reincarnation" scroll and slowly unrolled it again.

What he needed was not the evil path of continuously reincarnating one’s soul for immortality, but the core principles and techniques regarding "soul separation" and "possessing another’s body" contained within it.

According to Sora’s conception, he needed to first separate his own soul from his body, then enter a clone cultivated from his own cells.

This would not only deepen the compatibility between his soul and the clone body, but also allow him to become familiar with and fine-tune the process of his soul adapting to different "vessels" in advance.

This was the crucial foundation for the subsequent use of the "Kikaigaku no Jutsu" to fuse various Kekkei Genkai clones, ultimately achieving Kekkei Mora.

Otherwise, rashly attempting to fuse his soul with an unfamiliar body would likely result in terrifyingly high rejection rates and failure probabilities.

Orochimaru in the original story, and later those Otsutsuki who used "Kāma" to thaw, which of them didn’t suffer greatly from the lack of compatibility between soul and body?

Sora had no intention of following in their footsteps.

He calmed his mind and began to carefully study the complex techniques and soul theories recorded on the scroll.

...

Morning of the fifth day.

Hokage Building, top floor conference room.

The meeting regarding the candidate for the Fourth Hokage was convened again.

The attendees were still those familiar faces, but the atmosphere was completely different from last time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the main seat, his brow deeply furrowed.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sat on either side, their expressions grave.

Below, Minato Namikaze still wore a gentle smile, but a hint of seriousness was now deep in his eyes.

And Danzo sat there with an air of composed confidence, a trace of smugness visible in his eyes.

Sora sat in a seat towards the back, observing coldly.

’Oh? Interesting.’

He noticed that the number of clan representatives supporting Danzo seemed to have increased slightly compared to last time.

Although major clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho, the Hyuga, and the Uchiha still clearly supported Minato, the attitudes of some small and medium-sized clans had undergone subtle shifts.

’That old fox Danzo has clearly been busy behind the scenes. Was it through benefit exchanges, or by using some underhanded methods?’

Sora sneered inwardly.

In the original story, Danzo was able to win over a portion of people. Now, with Orochimaru’s downfall and Minato Namikaze’s foundation not yet solid, it wasn’t strange for him to stir up trouble.

"Regarding the candidate for the Fourth Hokage, does anyone else have any opinions?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke gravely, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

A murmur arose in the conference room, but the voices clearly expressing support for Minato Namikaze were not as unanimous and loud as last time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly.

His gaze turned to Sora, who had been silent.

"Sora, what is your view?"

Instantly, all eyes in the room focused on Sora.

This fifteen-year-old, who had already achieved illustrious military merits on the battlefield and possessed peak Kage-level strength, the "Konoha Azure Dragon." While his attitude could not decide the Hokage’s succession, his influence was not something to be underestimated.

Sora raised his head, his expression calm.

"Hokage-sama, I have no thoughts on the Hokage candidate. I only wish to improve my strength and protect those who need protecting."

His answer was the same as last time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. He had already known it would be like this.

Minato Namikaze also gave Sora a gentle, understanding smile.

But Danzo chose this moment to speak.

"Hiruzen, the Azure Dragon has rendered such great service to Konoha. Although young, his strength and contributions are obvious to all. I believe, on such an important issue as the Fourth Hokage candidate, he rightfully deserves the right to vote."

He paused, looking at Sora.

"Give the Azure Dragon one day to consider, how about it? Tomorrow at this time, we will hear his final opinion."

For a moment, various discussions broke out in the conference room, some even looking at Sora with expectation in their eyes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked deeply at Danzo, as if trying to discern what scheme he was plotting.

He didn’t really believe Danzo could win over Sora. The conflict between the two could practically be described as irreconcilable.

But Danzo’s proposal, on the surface, didn’t have any major flaws to pick at.

"...Alright."

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally nodded. "Sora, you have one day to consider. Meeting adjourned."

Everyone left with their own thoughts.

Sora stood up expressionlessly and left the Hokage Building directly.

Whatever scheme Danzo had, once he left Konoha, it would all be irrelevant to him.

He was only concerned with two things now. One was to continue studying Living Corpse Reincarnation. The other was to wait for Team Kurenai’s return.

...

Returning to the orphanage, Sora immersed himself again in studying the scroll.

Time passed minute by minute. As the sun set in the west, the expected time for Team Kurenai’s return had already passed, yet there was still no sign of them.

Sora frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

While mission delays were common, at this sensitive moment, he couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Just then, the shadows in the room twisted, and Tagitsuhime’s alluring figure quietly materialized.

Her face wore an uncharacteristically serious expression as she looked at Sora.

"Master, something has happened."

Sora turned to look at her. "What is it?"

Tagitsuhime took a deep breath and, without beating around the bush, spoke directly.

"Your young friends, Kurenai, Asuma Sarutobi, and Uesugi Min, have been captured in the Land of Hot Water."

---

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