Chapter 115: Pervert

Orochimaru bent down, lowering his head to approach the test subject. He extended his crimson, snake-like tongue and gently licked the subject’s beautiful face. As the emotions in the test subject’s eyes gradually shifted to fervor, Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction, then rose and stepped away from the operating table, returning to Kato Gofu’s side.

“Kato, she’s beautiful, isn’t she? I specifically selected her from the lower wards, hoping her beauty would set a good tone for today’s experiment.”

Orochimaru’s voice returned to its usual cold, hoarse tone as he spoke to Kato Gofu, who was idly observing nearby. While speaking, Orochimaru’s serpentine eyes remained fixed on the test subject lying on the table, as if admiring his prey, or perhaps appreciating a precious work of art.

There was a growing sense that since returning from the Earth Dragon Cave, Orochimaru had become increasingly perverse...

Kato Gofu, who was idly watching on the side, had witnessed Orochimaru’s somewhat twisted behavior the entire time.

“Just now, your voice, Orochimaru...” Kato Gofu couldn’t help but ask, still lingering on the memory of the snake woman’s voice.

“Oh? Heh heh, what’s strange about it? It’s just a side effect from learning new ninjutsu recently...” Orochimaru replied with the same gentle, magnetic female voice from before, all the while casting a satisfied glance toward the ordinary staff in the operating room who were still enamored with him.

“Hasn’t your gaze changed as well, Kato?” Orochimaru’s snake eyes finally landed on Kato Gofu’s tired, listless eyes.

Switching so effortlessly—could that really be a recent side effect?

It wasn’t an illusion... Orochimaru’s ability to manipulate minds had clearly improved again.

Kato Gofu mentally mocked Orochimaru’s snake woman voice while carefully examining the surroundings to confirm that no illusions were being used.

“My eyes? It’s just that my expression changed; I simply wanted to slack off a bit...” Kato Gofu candidly attributed the change in his eyes to his desire to relax and loaf around.

Whether Orochimaru believed him or not was beyond Gofu’s control. Kato Gofu himself wasn’t even sure what this “slacker’s power” truly was. If Orochimaru could detect it, that would be something supernatural indeed.

Kato Gofu wasn’t surprised at all that Orochimaru noticed the change in his eyes.

If Orochimaru lacked that level of observation, he wouldn’t be Orochimaru.

Using his listless eyes, Kato Gofu scanned the operating room once more, and his gaze finally settled on the test subject, still conscious but consumed by fervent emotion.

“That side effect seems to be working well. Aren’t you going to administer anesthesia, Orochimaru?”

“If we don’t, what about her screams?”

“Heh heh, no anesthesia this time. Having her conscious will make it easier to observe the effects of the new catalyst.”

“As for the screams, well, there are always screams at the end of each experiment anyway...” Orochimaru’s voice reverted to its usual cold, hoarse tone as he spoke with icy cruelty, deliberately avoiding the topic of side effects.

“Orochimaru... you’re becoming more perverse and more twisted in your tastes.”

Kato Gofu couldn’t help but voice his complaint directly.

“Heh heh, perverse? Maybe. Isn’t that what happens when a ninja’s path reaches its end?” Orochimaru extended his snake-like tongue again, licking his lips.

“Let’s begin.”

With that, Orochimaru ended the idle chat with Kato Gofu and gave the order to Ken, the operating room supervisor, to start the surgical experiment.

In Operating Room No. 1, orderly reports from the staff echoed one after another, soon followed by the long-missed screams—this time, from the very start, the screams were unusually agonizing and intense.

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After finishing his daily routine treatment, Kato Gofu went to the cell culture room.

He found an excuse to borrow the advanced equipment there and secretly conducted research on the White Zetsu clone cells.

Information about White Zetsu was connected to forbidden puppets and the Uchiha Madara, so Kato Gofu was not yet ready to disclose anything.

To maintain secrecy, he had to conduct the research on White Zetsu clone cells himself. Involving others at the base would inevitably compromise the information.

He couldn’t just fabricate a story that he, Kato Gofu, was cultivating Hashirama cells.

Although White Zetsu cells resembled Hashirama’s cells, there were significant differences. White Zetsu cells contained DNA from humans trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi during ancient times.

No one was a fool, and those who survived in the Spring Base were certainly not fools.

Researching White Zetsu cells, like researching Hashirama cells, was clearly a long-term endeavor. After a full day’s work, Kato Gofu couldn’t say there were no gains, but they were few and far between.

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Now, Kato Gofu had finished his work and returned to his office.

“Tapping... tapping...”

His hand rested on the desk, one finger tapping rhythmically on the surface, while the other hand pinched the bridge of his nose. His beautiful starry eyes were filled with deep contemplation as Kato Gofu pondered his thoughts.

Researching White Zetsu cells was a long and tedious task.

Due to confidentiality requirements, his slacker clone could assist, but its primary mission was to venture out and complete missions to accumulate attribute points.

Kato Gofu realized he urgently needed a trustworthy tool—someone to carry out the White Zetsu cell research for him.

Tsunade—Kato Gofu trusted her deeply, and her abilities suited the task perfectly. But Tsunade was not a tool; she was his wife. If she truly wanted to do this work, Kato Gofu would be reluctant to let her.

Tsunade was his one true love, his last sanctuary in this brutal ninja world. Kato Gofu was still fiercely protective of her and would never allow the filth and darkness of Spring Base to taint her vision.

Orochimaru’s abilities would certainly be sufficient for such a tool role, but Kato Gofu couldn’t handle that pervert right now—so that was out of the question.

After much thought, if he didn’t want to be stuck in tedious research for the long haul, the best candidate for a tool was Kang, the head of the cell culture department at Spring Base.

However, Kang was a trusted subordinate of Danzo Shimura.

If he could control Kang or turn him into a spy...

Controlling people seemed to be Kato Gofu’s forte. His Spirit Nurturing Technique could control people, though only for a short time.

What about the original story’s spy ninjutsu and secret-keeping techniques? Scorpion’s Puppet Brain Manipulation? Danzo Shimura’s Deadly Tongue Seal?...

Scorpion was still an infant, right? Sand Village... Danzo Shimura...

With these thoughts, Kato Gofu stopped tapping the desk and pinching his brow. His previously beautiful starry eyes shifted back to their listless state, rolling restlessly as he contemplated his next move.

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