บท 650: Chapter – 643 Commencing the Ritual

Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!

Following the sound of crutches on the ground, Homusubi turned around to find Danzo approaching them, still costumed as a sickly old man with a bandage wrapped over his body and a cane in his hand.

She sneered, "Stinky old man!"

Danzo has totally transformed after undergoing the body modification operation at the hands of Orochimaru. His current body outperforms 99 percent of the shinobi world's ninjas. Not only does he no longer have any disabilities in his body, but his cells have also gained a tremendous amount of vigor.

Danzo's current physique is far more powerful than it was when he was younger... Furthermore, his strength has surpassed both his and Sarutobi Hiruzen's peak... So, in terms of strength, it wouldn't be inaccurate to state that the present Danzo has the qualifications to be the Hokage of Konoha in the genuine sense.

"He is really careful," Orochimaru remarked with a sarcastic smirk when he saw Danzo's appearance.

Despite the presence of hundreds of Root Shinobi in the area, Danzo continues to portray himself as a frail and handicapped elderly man... From this, it is clear that Danzo trusts no one but himself.

Danzo approached Homusubi and Orochimaru a few seconds later and inquired, "How are the ritual arrangements?"

"All of the arrangements inside the cave are nearly finished."

"As for the arrangements outside the cave... the basic arrangements were designed by us, the rest was all up to you… in that matter, we can't help," Orochimaru replied after a brief pause.

Homusubi and Orochimaru's ritual is broken into two parts: 'Inside the Cave and Outside the Cave.'

The ritual altar and related Fuinjutsu Arrangements are located inside the cave, while the Chakra Conveying Array is located outside.

The 'Kekkei Genkai Absorption Ritual' necessitates a massive quantity of Chakra, which a normal shinobi will never have in his entire life.

To overcome the difficulty, Hiruko devised an amazing plan to relocate the ceremony to the top of a mountain, utilizing the celestial phenomenon's power.

Because Danzo needs to use the unique environment of a volcanic cave to suppress the presence of excessive water chakra in his body, therefore, he couldn't copy Hiruko's method, thus he chose to mobilize a large number of Konoha shinobi to serve as temporary chakra batteries for his rituals.

"There wouldn't be a problem in that respect," Danzo stated indifferently. "I've brought around 1500 shinobi and Kunoichi..."

With a shocked expression on his face, Orochimaru whispered, "There are more than 1500 people outside? Bringing such a large group is no laughing matter...!"

It's important to recognize that surreptitiously gathering nearly 1500 ninjas, even for a strong shinobi village, is no easy task.

Not to mention the fact that these ninjas have been brought in as 'Chakra Batteries'... As a result, the fraction of ninjas with a small chakra reserve should be low, implying that among the 1,500 Konoha ninjas present outside the volcanic cave, a considerable proportion is ranked higher than or equivalent to a high-class Chunin, which isn't a joke.

This is a full-fledged army... An army capable of easily annihilating a small nation!

Even Homusubi was taken aback when she heard Danzo's statement...

Only Danzo, Konoha's current temporary leader, is capable of drawing such a formation. Anyone else, at least in Konoha, doesn't have that kind of power... And it's for this reason that Homusubi is delighted she chose Shimura Danzo as her 'pawn'... Homusubi would have had a significant problem if someone else had been used instead of Danzo.

"Of course, this subject concerns the life and death of their commander, as well as the destiny of the entire shinobi world," Danzo said with a nod, much to Orochimaru's amazement, "It's a privilege for them to be allowed to take part in this ritual!"

Orochimaru was taken aback and couldn't help but think to himself with a sigh, 'What an idiot.'

"Although building a Chakra Transport Array is not a difficult task, it is quite impossible to guarantee stability without repeated testing in advance, h "Have you taken this into consideration?" Homusubi said at the time.

"The Chakra Transport Array outside the cave was set up after forty-seven trial runs, everything is in line with the specifications set by you," Danzo said nonchalantly. "Nothing should go wrong as long as there isn't an issue on your end."

"As long as the Chakra conveyance array remains steady, a total of 1,500 Konoha Shinobi should be enough to meet the chakra needs during the Kekkei Genkai Absorption Ritual," Homusubi said lightly, then questioned, "When will you begin?"

Danzo glanced at Orochimaru.

"Anytime, you want," Orochimaru said with a smile.

When Danzo heard Orochimaru's comments, he slammed his crutch to the ground and said, "In that case, let's get started!"

Five gaps erupted in the ritual altar as a result of Danzo's remarks, and five people who had been caught by the Root Shinobi were extracted from those gaps.

Danzo had never shown the captured targets to Homusubi and Orochimaru before, so both of them were intrigued and glanced over.

These victims were tethered to the five crosses, and it was clear that they had been horribly tortured based on their appearance.

Because they appeared to be administered with hefty sleeping doses, all five targets tied to the torture frame were in a coma.

Based on their clothes, it can be seen the three of them appear to be civilians, while the other two are Shinobi from Kumogakure and Kirigakure.

Homusubi was able to roughly recognize each of their 'Kekkei Genkai' with just a single glance.

Danzo turned back and proceeded slowly towards the alter as the five crosses came to a halt.

With a dismal and chilly smile, he first stared at the five targets tied to the crosses, then turned around and looked at Orochimaru and Homusubi.

Danzo has covertly arranged for labor to bury the exploding tags on the molten cave's supporting points. He'll detonate these exploding tags once the ritual rite is completely finished, erasing all evidence of his crime.

Danzo also intends to dispose of Homusubi and Orochimaru in addition to all of the evidence of his crime.

As for the follow-up inquiries from Amatsukami?

Danzo is unconcerned about it... He believes that once the ritual is completed, he will have sufficient strength and will no longer be terrified of Amatsukami, therefore he intends to blame Homusubi's death on an accident.

Of course, Homusubi and Orochimaru also sensed Danzo's coldness, but they opted to ignore it and didn't give it any thought.

Danzo, in Homusubi's opinion, is nothing more than a lousy pawn who will not live for very long, thus she doesn't give a damn about Danzo's intentions.

The same can be said for Orochimaru, who seemed fully oblivious to Danzo's murderous intent.

With such complex thoughts running through their heads, the three gazed at each other and waited for the ceremony to begin.

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