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"An S-rank bounty? 40 million ryo?" Danzo stared in disbelief at the wanted poster handed to him by Orochimaru. "Are you saying… I'm being hunted!?"
"Correct." Orochimaru produced another bounty notice. "I've also been marked."
Danzo immediately snatched Orochimaru's poster and quickly scanned the reward amount—30 million ryo. Only then did he let out a slight sigh of relief.
Good, it's less than mine…
Wait, now wasn't the time to compare such things.
"I should be the most wanted shinobi right now, shouldn't I? To think Konoha would go this far, actually wanting me dead this badly!" Danzo seethed.
"They do want you dead, but you're not the highest-valued target. If I recall correctly, someone from Kirigakure has a higher bounty. But it doesn't matter—it's irrelevant to us," Orochimaru said with a shrug.
Danzo frowned, not responding. His eyes swept their surroundings. "Where is this place?"
"One of my secret hideouts. Very few know of it," Orochimaru replied with a smirk.
"Hmph. That Uchiha brat—you were the one who took him, weren't you? You really have too much free time, wasting it on something like that. He hasn't even awakened his Sharingan yet, has he?"
"He's Uchiha Itachi's younger brother. His potential can't be that low," Orochimaru chuckled. "As long as I have him, Itachi will come for me. Once I'm fully prepared, I'll use the boy as bait to 'fish' Itachi out. And then… I'll have my new vessel."
"Heh, congratulations. Your trip to Konoha was quite fruitful," Danzo sneered, his voice dripping with bitterness. "Unlike me—I lost Shisui's eye. All I got were a few worthless scraps to graft onto myself…"
"Shisui still has one eye left, doesn't he?"
"You do realize I didn't kill Shisui, right? He escaped! I only managed to take one of his eyes," Danzo snapped.
"So that means the other eye is still unaccounted for?" Orochimaru mused. "Well, there's no way to find another Sharingan of that caliber now. However… I do know of a Byakugan that's fallen outside Konoha's hands."
"Hah? A Byakugan? Impossible." Danzo thought Orochimaru was mocking him.
It was true that members of the Hyūga clan had died unexpectedly before, but due to the "Caged Bird Seal," the Byakugan of any branch family member would be destroyed upon death.
The only way a Byakugan could end up outside the clan was if it belonged to the main family. But the main family had very few members, and they were all heavily guarded. Unless a major war broke out, main family Hyūga would never even set foot on a battlefield—let alone lose an eye.
"This particular eye was obtained by the Akatsuki from Kirigakure. They've hidden it away for now," Orochimaru said with a sly grin.
Danzo's expression shifted several times before settling into one of righteous indignation. "The Byakugan belongs to Konoha! Why should some so-called 'Akatsuki' keep it? It's my duty to retrieve it!"
"Oh? Even after being falsely accused by the Hokage, you still care so deeply for the village. How… touching," Orochimaru remarked, feigning surprise.
"Tch. No matter how they wrong me, I will always be a shinobi of Konoha. That Byakugan will be ours." Danzo clenched his fist, his voice filled with conviction.
Orochimaru nodded. "Since Lord Danzo is so concerned about recovering the village's lost treasures, I'll naturally do everything in my power to assist."
"Still… there's one more thing I'd like to confirm."
"Hm?"
"I recall there was another young shinobi with you when you arrived. Where is he now? Don't tell me he's already dead?" Danzo's eyes narrowed coldly.
"Him?" Orochimaru recalled what Kimimaro had mentioned. "He… well, he escaped."
"So tell me—do you think he might be the one stirring up trouble behind the scenes?" Danzo countered.
"Unlikely. He should have fled Konoha long ago… Staying would've been suicide," Orochimaru said dismissively.
"Don't be so sure. If I could hide you two, someone else could've hidden him. Either Tsunade or the Uchiha clan must be involved. Otherwise, how would Tsunade have known about the Sharingan in my right eye?" Danzo pressed.
"Ah…" Orochimaru had no immediate rebuttal.
Now that he thought about it, if Midorima had managed to escape Konoha, his opinion of the young man would rise considerably.
"Orochimaru, mark my words—if I ever see that brat again, I'll kill him," Danzo spat.
"Of course. But first, we'd have to find him, wouldn't we?" Orochimaru wasn't particularly worried about Midorima dying by Danzo's hand.
If the boy was that easy to kill, he wouldn't be worth considering as a vessel.
Still… where was he right now?
That was a question worth pondering.
…
"Ah—ah-choo!" Midorima sneezed, then pulled his clothes tighter around himself.
Strange. Even sitting by the fire, he'd suddenly felt a chill—as if someone were cursing him…
After leaving Konoha, Midorima had finally regained his freedom.
First, he used [Assimilation] to completely dismantle the "Heavenly Curse Mark" and the "Evil Sealing Method," mastering both techniques in the process. Then, he headed straight for the "Bounty Exchange."
Admittedly, while the Bounty Exchange was primarily a business, it also provided plenty of free intel. For instance, he'd learned from the posted bounties that Danzo had escaped.
Forty million ryo… Tsk tsk. Konoha really was loaded.
That said, very few shinobi would actually be able to claim that reward. Danzo wasn't exactly an easy target.
Alongside Danzo's bounty was Orochimaru's—a comparatively meager 30 million ryo.
Probably a budget constraint.
After all, 70 million ryo combined was no small sum.
Did Konoha issuing these two bounties simultaneously imply some connection between them?
Was Orochimaru the one who helped Danzo escape?
But why would Orochimaru make that choice?
Danzo was desperate for allies right now, so he might've sought Orochimaru's cooperation. But wouldn't Orochimaru see Danzo as dead weight? Unless… Orochimaru had his own agenda?
Back in Konoha, Orochimaru had played a masterful game, deceiving everyone—including Midorima.
So if he'd risked rescuing Danzo, he must have been planning something. Midorima just couldn't figure out what yet.
Aside from those two, another bounty had caught Midorima's eye—Momochi Zabuza, S-rank rogue-nin, failed assassination attempt on Kirigakure, escaped. Reward: 10 million ryo.
Now that's a pitiful sum.
Still, Zabuza's defection at this point surprised him.
He'd assumed Zabuza would've turned traitor later. Things in Kirigakure must've been worse than he thought.
But Midorima didn't have time to dwell on that.
Whether it was Danzo's escape and alliance with Orochimaru or Zabuza's betrayal of Kirigakure, one thing was clear—major events were on the horizon.
Which meant his time was running short.
He needed to delve deeper into the [Cell Research Lab] as soon as possible.
Only then would he stand a chance of surviving what was to come.