One Piece: I am Imu-Chapter 370: The Village Moves, the Serpent Watches

Hearing Orochimaru’s long and detailed exposition, Minato couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration.

Even though Orochimaru hadn’t participated in the previous battles, he was able to deduce so much just from post-battle reports and a few interviews with the involved parties.

And most importantly—it all sounded well-reasoned. As far as Minato could tell, there weren’t any glaring flaws in his logic.

"Given that we don’t have any further intelligence, we can only make preparations based on two points."

Orochimaru gazed out the window. His eyes seemed to pierce through buildings and walls, staring toward the western side of Konoha.

"The first is to gather more ninja skilled in Yin Release chakra—such as those from the Nara clan, Uchiha clan, Kurama clan, and all genjutsu-type shinobi."

His idea was simple: if ten Nara shinobi weren’t enough, then try twenty. If twenty failed, try thirty.

At the same time, he wanted the genjutsu specialists from various clans to jointly research illusions capable of bypassing the mental barrier.

Orochimaru’s curiosity had been fully piqued by the various mysteries surrounding Aramaki, especially those two weapons he couldn’t decipher at all.

He intended to use Konoha’s people as pieces on the board to test whether his theories were correct.

Ideally, he hoped to capture Aramaki alive.

He had already shared these thoughts with Hiruzen and Jiraiya.

"The second point is to learn Sage Mode—like you and Jiraiya."

As he said this, Orochimaru’s gaze shifted back to Namikaze Minato.

Aramaki’s strength, along with the severed ties with Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku, left him feeling a strong sense of urgency.

Although he could withdraw at any time, just in case something went wrong, he felt it was necessary to first acquire the ability to use Sage Mode—or at the very least, obtain the method to train in senjutsu.

That way, no matter what happened in the future, he’d have an extra layer of protection.

It was just unfortunate that he currently had no means to learn Ryūchi Cave’s version of it.

However, if possible, he hoped to study Mount Myōboku’s training methods and develop a Sage Mode most suited to himself.

Truth be told, Orochimaru had previously looked down on Jiraiya’s Sage Mode.

Partly because Jiraiya had spent twelve full years learning a version of Sage Mode that was clearly incomplete.

And also because entering that mode required standing perfectly still for a long time—something Orochimaru considered completely impractical in combat.

"I see. So what you want is to learn Sage Mode."

Minato fell silent, thinking it over. If he hadn’t just heard Orochimaru’s earlier analysis, he would have refused outright. But now, he was hesitant.

"Orochimaru-sama, there are three main issues with Sage Mode."

"First, the training is extremely risky—carelessness can lead to petrification and death. Second, the training time is long. Even if you start now, you won’t be ready before the coming battles."

"And lastly, this is, after all, Mount Myōboku’s training method. I can’t just pass it on without permission—and besides, I don’t have any toad oil with me."

Orochimaru already knew all of this.

Jiraiya had boasted about these facts more than once in front of both him and Tsunade.

"The first issue doesn’t concern me. If that idiot Jiraiya can do it, I have nothing to worry about."

"And even if I don’t make it in time, that’s fine too. With our sensei and the others around, one Aramaki won’t be enough to destroy Konoha. Don’t you think so?"

Orochimaru smiled faintly.

"Yes, I believe everyone will defend the village to the end."

Minato nodded firmly, his eyes filled with resolve. But then he heard Orochimaru add: "So if I manage to learn Sage Mode quickly, it would help us protect the village even better, wouldn’t it?"

"Of course."

Minato nodded again. "With your strength, Orochimaru-sama, if you also had the boost from Sage Mode, you’d be a tremendous asset to Konoha."

He already understood what Orochimaru was implying.

The hospital room quieted as Minato sank into thought. Orochimaru, unhurried, simply waited in silence.

The reason he hadn’t gone to Jiraiya for this was simple—he knew that man far too well.

No matter what he said, Jiraiya would never agree. That fool treated Mount Myōboku as sacred.

But Namikaze Minato was different.

At most, he respected Mount Myōboku—but his heart placed Konoha above all else.

"Very well, I’ll give you the training method for Sage Mode!"

As expected, Namikaze Minato agreed.

Had he been able to contact Mount Myōboku, he absolutely would have summoned a toad first to consult them.

But with communication cut off from Mount Myōboku’s side, he had no choice but to adapt to the situation.

He was even beginning to hope that the Third Hokage could also learn Sage Mode.

"Thank you. Truly."

Receiving the training method for Sage Mode was certainly gratifying, but Orochimaru wasn’t the type to lose composure over it—not enough to display anything like wild elation.

"There’s still the matter of the First Hokage’s cells. Give it a bit more thought."

Just as he was about to press the matter further, the door to the hospital room was suddenly flung open.

"Orochimaru-sama, Namikaze Minato—this is an S-rank classified document, personally ordered to be delivered by the Hokage!"

An ANBU stepped inside, holding a sealed file folder.

He handed two letter-sized documents from the folder to Orochimaru and Minato, then silently stood by the door, watching.

S-rank classified documents had to be read in the presence of the ANBU or burned by them personally afterward.

Neither Orochimaru nor Minato paid much attention to the man’s gaze. They each opened their document and began reading quickly.

But the further they read, the more their expressions converged into one emotion—

Shock. Shock. And more shock.

Even Orochimaru, who was normally calm and indifferent, could no longer keep a straight face—his worldview was being violently shaken.

At the same time—

Roughly 50 kilometers west of Konohagakure, a colossal wooden ox, standing nearly 70 to 80 meters tall, was lumbering through the endless sea of trees.

Every step it took shattered the ground beneath and snapped thick trees like twigs.

Each impact triggered thunderous crashes that sent flocks of birds and herds of wild animals fleeing in terror.

"Huh?"

Standing atop the ox’s head, Aramaki peered into the distance and noticed that, about 10 kilometers ahead, there was no greenery in sight.

On that dry and barren land, he saw countless temporary structures—clearly makeshift encampments—as well as an uncountable mass of tiny black dots crawling like ants.

"What a grand reception. Is this all for me?"

Spreading his arms wide, Aramaki laughed wildly into the roaring wind.

At this moment—

Whether it was the howling gusts or the force of his overflowing aura—

His long, curly black hair and the black Justice Cloak he wore began whipping violently in the wind, snapping and fluttering with a deafening rustle.

"Come then! Come! Let’s give them a show to remember!"

"A battle worthy of rising to the rank of general should be nothing less than earth-shattering! Rawawa!"

...

"Is he finally here?"

Jiraiya stood atop the rooftop of a four-story stone building shaped with Earth Release.

Gazing into the distance at the wooden ox—easily several times larger than Gamabunta by rough estimation—he muttered to himself.

Seeing it made him miss Gamabunta even more.

Unfortunately—

No matter how many times he had attempted Summoning Jutsu earlier, he hadn’t even managed to summon a tadpole, let alone a toad.

Which led him to believe something must have happened at Mount Myōboku as well.

Perhaps it too had been attacked by a powerful force like Aramaki... or Crocodile before him.

After all, if it’s happened once and then twice, a third time seems inevitable.

What truly concerned Jiraiya was the S-Class intelligence report delivered by Sarutobi Hiruzen’s men.

After the initial shock wore off, he had developed a rough understanding of the World Government.

With a cross-world organization like that, it was beyond question that even more powerful individuals existed.

As for Mount Myōboku being a place that’s supposedly hard to access—

Heh.

If these people could open Dimensional Gates to travel across worlds, who’s to say they couldn’t open a gateway to Mount Myōboku as well?

"That thing is already on par with a Tailed Beast... and they just casually created it?"

At that moment, the newly appointed Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, let out a sigh of astonishment.

Behind Jiraiya, gathered on the rooftop with him, were the heads of nearly all the major shinobi clans—excluding only the Hyūga, Inuzuka, and Akimichi, who had each sent an elder in place of their fallen leaders.

Joining them were more than a dozen seasoned jōnin.

As for the remaining 200-plus jōnin, they were all down below, leading their squads.

They were preparing to enact the battle strategy devised to confront Aramaki.

"Speaking of Tailed Beasts... don’t we have one too?"

The head of the Shimura clan suddenly interjected, his words laced with implication.

"I’ll decide when to deploy Kushina. You don’t need to concern yourself, Clan Head Shimura."

Jiraiya turned around with a displeased expression upon hearing the comment.

Kushina was his student’s wife. These people clearly felt emboldened now that Namikaze Minato had lost the use of his legs—talking like they had no filter anymore.

"Just don’t forget the true purpose of the Nine-Tails."

The Shimura clan head snorted coldly.

In his view, with an enemy this powerful, the correct move was to immediately send out the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki to wipe out the threat.

Then they could just reseal the beast into a new host afterward.

That would keep the number of Konoha casualties to a minimum.

"There’s no need for your reminders. Remember—I am the supreme commander of this operation."

Just as Jiraiya was about to argue back with growing impatience—

Suddenly, a rumbling shook the earth in front of them.

The enemy had made their move!

At the far end of the massive clearing they had painstakingly cleared—

The black, fertile earth began to churn toward them in great, wave-like surges.

And right before their eyes, vast swathes of lush green grass rapidly sprouted from the ground.

Among them bloomed multicolored flowers, bursting with life.

Yet—

The massive trees that followed—so thick and twisted they defied description—shot up from the soil like a horde of writhing serpents, breaking through the earth in a terrifyingly grotesque display.

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