Chapter 207 Shikamaru's Speculation
Orochimaru is dead, at least that's how Sarutobi sees it.
He hadn't expected his traitorous disciple to have such a strong ability to survive, able to live under Hashirama's full-force attacks.
He thought for a moment, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, then took out an envelope and began to write.
The recipient of this letter was Jiraiya.
About half an hour later, Sarutobi looked at the letter he had written and smiled bitterly, wondering if Jiraiya would think he was lying to him when he saw it.
After thinking for a long time, he erased the part about Orochimaru's death, and only stated that Orochimaru had appeared in the village and asked him to return quickly.
Time passed day by day, and apart from the food being a little worse, daily life in the Death Forest was pretty much the same as outside.
Due to the changes in terrain caused by the battle with Orochimaru a few days ago, many teams rushed over to investigate what had happened. After seeing the shattered land and the rampant trees, they all silently turned away and left.
Two teams even exchanged glances, and after a brief silence, reached a consensus to quietly slip away from the area.
Holy crap, what kind of team did Konoha send? Is this really something humans could do?!
That's ridiculous. The key point is that crows would come over every day to tell them the location of Naruto's team.
Haha, do you think we can't see that ravaged land?
However, with the crows reminding them every day, the other teams don't need to worry about Naruto's team coming out to cause trouble for them.
Listening to the daily updates on Naruto's team's peaceful location makes me feel a little more carefree.
It really comes down to what you feel in your heart.
However, in the past few days, Sakura, Kiba, and Shino successfully wiped out three teams and obtained the scrolls they needed.
The basic process is that Akamaru searches for the location, Kiba translates, and Shino controls the insects to launch a sneak attack in the middle of the night.
Because Shino and Karin learned a lot about sealing techniques, they cultivated a kind of insect with sealing abilities. Each insect carries a sealing rune, and a group of them form a strong seal.
If you hear insects crawling on your body in the middle of the night, take immediate action, or you will face the consequences of having your chakra sealed, your body enveloped by insects, and losing all your strength and abilities.
Anyway, the teeth look pretty scary, but thankfully Shino is his companion.
Sakura, on the other hand, is responsible for using illusion magic to kill (or subdue) the awakened team members.
However, few of the three teams had strong sensory abilities, and the few who managed to escape were subdued by Sakura using illusion magic.
Okay, first subdue him with illusion magic, then knock him unconscious with your fists.
After all, illusions can be broken, but not fists.
They were just unlucky; they didn't get the scroll they needed until the third squad.
The Ino-Shika-Cho team had it much easier than Sakura's group; a relatively weak team provided them with the scrolls they needed.
In fact, the teams that made it to the second round of the first exam were all quite strong, but unfortunately, they were facing the next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, one of the three great ninja clans of Konoha.
They might know a few C-rank ninjutsu, but the Ino-Shika-Cho trio uses a combination of traditional ninjutsu and family-inherited techniques.
With their teamwork already established, the opponent was no match for them. After a simple victory, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio decided to go on vacation with Naruto and the others.
After all, the challenge is over, and utilizing resources is also part of one's strength.
So, on the fifth day of the exam, all of the Konoha 12 except for Team 3 came to Naruto's cabin.
"So, you mean Orochimaru disguised himself as a Grass Ninja and infiltrated this exam, with Karin as his target?"
Shikamaru stroked his chin, unusually focusing intently on his thoughts.
"Yes, and he even disguised himself as a woman."
Naruto nodded and took a sip of the boiled and cooled river water.
"I rolled my eyes and saw that his body was that of a girl."
Hinata raised her hand and said weakly.
"There are two possibilities. One is that she is not actually Orochimaru, but one of his subordinates, using Orochimaru's identity as a double disguise."
Shikamaru squinted and slowly spoke.
"But he's very strong, so strong that I can't beat him."
Naruto added, then thought for a moment and continued, "He also knows Wood Release and can summon snakes."
Although those giant snakes were crushed to death by the tree waves, this does not prevent the proof of Orochimaru's identity.
"Don't worry, there's still a second possibility."
Shikamaru rubbed his temples and then said, "Orochimaru, as one of the original Sannin of Konoha, defected because his human experiments were discovered."
"The question is, what kind of human experiments could have led Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, to defect?"
"I know that. It seems like they used their own partners for human experiments."
Naruto raised his hand and spoke.
"What kind of experiment would be worth Orochimaru killing his comrades for research?"
Shikamaru thought for a moment, then uttered two words.
"Bloodline inheritance".
Only by studying bloodline inheritance would so many human subjects be needed for experiments.
"This explains why Orochimaru, like Naruto, can use Wood Release."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto's slightly dazed face, sighed speechlessly, and continued speaking under Naruto's expectant gaze.
"Then here is my speculation: that person is Orochimaru, but he transformed himself into a woman."
Naruto: ∑(O_O;)
What the hell?! Shikamaru, don't you even look at what you're saying?!
"Can gender be changed?!"
Naruto said in surprise.
"This is speculation, but it's pretty close."
Shikamaru explained to Naruto, "Based on the information Hinata saw with her Byakugan, Naruto recognized the other party as Orochimaru."
"Then there are only two possibilities: either he is Orochimaru, or he is not."
Gender is fixed, so if the other person really is Orochimaru, then he must have undergone gender modification.
"But... why would one of the legendary Sannin transform himself into a woman?"
Shikamaru doesn't mean to be sexist, but everyone should at least have self-awareness.
Generally speaking, once a person has a solid understanding of themselves, they will not easily change their underlying understanding of themselves.
So, what exactly is the reason?
Knowing too little information, Shikamaru gave up trying to think about it.
"So how did you manage to drive him away?"
Ino raised her hand and asked.
"Woof woof".
Akamaru also wagged his tail curiously, looking at Naruto with his black pearl-like eyes.
"Well, Kurama gave me enough chakra, and then I unleashed a big one."
Naruto omitted Hashirama's presence. Although Tobirama has bugged that screen now, it's best if fewer people know about this.
Sasuke and the others knew about Naruto's situation; they also had their own secrets and could understand Naruto's thoughts.
________________________________________
Can't wait for the next chapter?
30+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Tanji_Fanfics
________________________________________
End of this chapter...