Naruto: I Have a Gravity Training Room-Chapter 438 - 437

Just looking at Hiruzen and Tsunade made it obvious: as Hokage, the amount of tedious work you have to handle is enormous—assigning shinobi teams, arranging missions, mediating internal disputes, dealing with foreign affairs, bargaining with the daimyō, and so on. In short, you're busy to the point of madness.

Even in wartime, the Hokage usually doesn't have to go to the battlefield.

So the "real" Hokage and the Hokage Naruto imagines are two completely different things.

That's why in Boruto, after Naruto becomes Hokage, he looks so unhappy—and ends up neglecting his family because he's buried under work.

Maybe… he actually isn't suited to being Hokage.

Anyway, back on topic.

Natsuki didn't stop speaking. "Development is each nation's own business. I won't say too much about that. What I really want to talk about is how we deal with future powerful enemies. There's a saying: those who love war will perish, but those who forget war will be in danger. After the shinobi world achieves peace, even without wars, we can't slack off in terms of military strength—otherwise we won't be able to face whatever threats come next.

"So I propose that, in addition to the annual Chūnin Exams, every few years we also hold ninjutsu tournaments and military exercises.

"The ninjutsu tournaments are meant to let shinobi from every village spar and exchange techniques, to identify talented seedlings, then focus on training them—ideally producing more Kage-level and Super Kage-level fighters. That's the baseline combat power we need against the Ōtsutsuki threat. And if we can cultivate a few Six Paths–level fighters, then the future of the shinobi world becomes far less worrying.

"As for the military exercises, the goal is to build coordination and synergy among the nations' shinobi—so if we need to form an allied army again in the future, we won't waste time on 'breaking in' and can form combat power instantly. And military exercises also spur competition between villages, pushing them to strengthen their forces. For the future, that can only be a good thing."

The flood of words had everyone nodding again and again.

It was a simple idea, but it made perfect sense—there was no reason to oppose it.

And compared to actual war, ninjutsu tournaments and military exercises were obviously far better: they preserved peace while still maintaining military strength. Why wouldn't you do it?

Of course, the specifics would still need to be discussed in depth later.

In any case, everyone was going to be busy from now on.

After a few more additions from others, the atmosphere grew even more harmonious.

But in the end, it was Orochimaru who finally spoke. "Then, members of the alliance—how do you plan to deal with a criminal like me?"

A criminal—Orochimaru really was, by definition, exactly that.

Even if he'd "woken up" at the end and switched sides, the trouble he'd caused was still immense. And with the sheer scale of his atrocities, there were many things that simply couldn't be waved away. Deciding what to do with him was bound to be a headache.

Instinctively, everyone looked to Natsuki again, hoping to hear his take.

Natsuki looked exasperated. "Why are you all staring at me? I've said everything I needed to say. You should speak freely!"

Gaara smiled. "Everyone just wants to hear your opinion. You usually have unique insights. If you say it well, then nobody else has to strain their brain."

Everyone chuckled, because honestly, they didn't want to wrestle with it.

Orochimaru was curious too. "I also want to know your thoughts on how to handle me, Natsuki-kun."

Natsuki sighed, choosing his words carefully. "If we go by Orochimaru's crimes, killing him dozens or even hundreds of times wouldn't be excessive. He really has done an incredible amount of evil."

Orochimaru smiled. "How ruthless. So… is there any room for leniency?"

Natsuki nodded. "But killing him would be letting him off too easily. He should make amends through merit."

Jiraiya immediately asked, "How does he make amends?"

Jiraiya was the one who least wanted Orochimaru to die, so the moment he heard there was a path to atonement, he was desperate to know what it was.

Natsuki said, "To be honest? I think Orochimaru is the shinobi world's greatest scientist—the most formidable researcher alive. Look at the modified people in Otogakure. Look at his research results. Everything proves he's basically unbeatable in the research field.

"We're going to face powerful enemies in the future, so we can't afford not to use Orochimaru's capabilities. Have Orochimaru research the Ōtsutsuki's power—use Ōtsutsuki to fight Ōtsutsuki. That might be the optimal solution. After all, our chakra—even our bloodlines—ultimately trace back to the Ōtsutsuki. So we need to deeply research their power, grasp their power, and then defeat them."

"Oh hoh, now that's an interesting idea!"

Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked his face. "My dream was always to master all ninjutsu and pursue the secrets of immortality—and now it seems the source of everything lies with the Ōtsutsuki. If you assign me to study that, I'll give everything I have to help. Hehehe… how exciting."

People exchanged looks. They agreed with Natsuki's logic, but Orochimaru's danger still made them hesitate.

Because that man really was a venomous snake.

And venomous snakes aren't trustworthy. (For the most exhilarating novels, go to Faloo Novel Network!)

Neji spoke up. "Natsuki, you have a point. But Orochimaru is dangerous. Can we really trust him?"

Everyone: Yeah, yeah—can't trust Orochimaru!

Natsuki said, "I never said we should trust him. Assigning him research is 'making amends through merit'—he's earning redemption while serving his sentence. That means every project must be approved by us. His experiments must be supervised, we do spot inspections whenever we feel like it, and he's absolutely not allowed to conduct unethical experiments. In exchange, we provide the research conditions and materials he needs. Any unreasonable requests get rejected and he gets warned. Doesn't that solve it?"

So that was the plan.

Then there was no problem.

Neji nodded. "In that case, nothing should go wrong."

Orochimaru didn't seem to mind. Instead, he asked, "So, Natsuki-kun—did you specifically collect samples from Kaguya? Blood, hair… even her eyes?!"

Everyone looked at Natsuki too, full of anticipation.

Kaguya had been unbelievably powerful—her eyes had to be priceless, the most valuable research treasure of all!

Natsuki rolled his eyes. "What are you thinking? Not a single thing."

Orochimaru immediately grew anxious. "How can you have none? Without samples, how am I supposed to research anything?!"

Natsuki said, "Did you forget Black Zetsu? Black Zetsu was nothing more than a puddle of Kaguya's leftover black blood, and it still carried her will—enough to play that whole 'save Mom' scheme with us. If we'd kept Kaguya's blood, or even her eyes, can you imagine how huge the risk would be? Maybe you transplant her eyes and instantly become her. Who the hell could handle that?"

Uh…

Everyone scratched their heads. That… really did sound plausible.

So it wasn't lack of foresight—it was the danger of the material itself.

Orochimaru spread his hands. "Then how do you expect me to do research?"

Natsuki clearly already had an answer. "We have plenty of material. You should know: many of us are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths. The Senju and the Uzumaki inherited the Sage's body. The Hyūga and the Uchiha inherited the Sage's eyes. The Shikotsumyaku inherited the Sage's bones. Tell me—are we lacking research material?"

Orochimaru smiled. "By that logic, we have abundant material. And compared to my old methods of scheming to steal what I needed… having you provide it yourselves is far more convenient."

(End of Chapter)

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