"See? He's here already!"
Just outside Konoha's barrier, Black Zetsu and Obito stood quietly. The moment Orochimaru appeared, their lips curled into satisfied smirks.
"Well done!" Obito praised as he stepped forward.
Since Orochimaru saw them, they were naturally seen by him as well.
"Orochimaru, have you made your decision?"
Orochimaru glanced at Obito, his eyes slightly scrutinizing, then shifted to Black Zetsu. "Who is he?"
Back when Orochimaru was still in the organization, he had never interacted with Obito. Seeing him suddenly now, of course he would ask.
"This is Tobi, a new member of the organization," Black Zetsu casually introduced Obito's false identity as he stepped forward. "Can I now say, welcome to the team?"
"Before I agree, I need assurance. How do I know you won't immediately extract my chakra upon my return? Isn't it a bit premature to discuss membership now?" Orochimaru replied.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Obito stared at Orochimaru, the Mangekyō in his right eye spinning rapidly.
If Orochimaru dared to refuse, Obito was ready to cast a genjutsu—or even use Kamui.
Even if his genjutsu skills couldn't match Itachi's, with the Mangekyō's power he still ranked among the top in the shinobi world. Catching Orochimaru off guard and restraining him was entirely possible.
"Are you planning to refuse us?" Black Zetsu asked with a sinister tone.
"Not exactly."
Orochimaru keenly sensed their killing intent. He knew that if he said the wrong thing, these two would immediately hunt him down.
"However, you two are merely subordinates in Akatsuki. I need assurance directly from Pain-sama... Until I perfect the technique to isolate the Three-Tails' chakra, none of you shall lay a hand on me."
As Akatsuki's leader, Pain had to maintain credibility—otherwise, controlling his subordinates would prove impossible.
"Interesting condition," Obito said as he examined Orochimaru. "Considering your personal safety, it's reasonable. But how long? You can't just 'never finish' your research, leaving us unable to extract the Three-Tails forever, right?"
"Or are you telling me, Orochimaru, that separating chakra from your own body will take ten or twenty years?"
The latter part of his statement was clearly meant to provoke.
Orochimaru was, after all, a renowned scientist in the shinobi world. Speaking to him like this was a blatant mockery of his scientific abilities.
But Orochimaru was still Orochimaru, an odd genius who had survived for decades and had enemies all across the shinobi world. He could completely ignore Obito's taunts.
"Of course not. But you must give me some time to research."
"Besides, I only have the Three-Tails right now. Since the Akatsuki wants all the tailed beasts, don't you need the others as well?"
"Kamizuki Hikari's strength is formidable, right?"
"If he insists on interfering, are you not worried he'll kill another tailed beast while you're collecting them?"
A tailed beast's revival could take ten years—or several decades.
Akatsuki's current members wouldn't live long enough to wait.
They couldn't afford delays.
Hearing this, the Mangekyō in Obito's eye spun even faster.
Orochimaru had struck at his greatest concern.
If Kamizuki Hikari wanted to obstruct the Akatsuki, he had an easy method: kill one tailed beast before they gathered all of them. The plan would collapse instantly.
This was why Nagato had agreed to the peace agreement Hikari proposed.
And the reason Black Zetsu wanted to recruit Orochimaru was precisely to find a way to gather all tailed beasts while avoiding Kamizuki Hikari's overwhelming power.
"Good point. But you still need to give a timeframe."
"The Akatsuki's time is precious. We can't just wait around because you said so."
Orochimaru smiled. "Three years. How does that sound?"
Obito narrowed his eyes. "Three years? Why three?"
"You've already developed a method to extract and guide the Three-Tails' chakra. The structure of tailed beasts should be similar. Why would you need so long?"
Orochimaru explained, "I only gathered the Three-Tails' chakra so quickly because of this body's talent. It doesn't mean I already understand the essence of the Three-Tails. Now I need to study everything from scratch. Even with my talent, creating something from nothing takes time."
When it came to research, nothing was ever straightforward.
"And I also need to change bodies—three years from now. Even if my research is incomplete by then, I can still serve as combat power for the Akatsuki and help collect tailed beasts."
"In fact, I have a trump card that can help you deal with Kamizuki Hikari, and even Konoha. Interested?"
"Trump card?" Black Zetsu stared at him skeptically. "What trump card?"
Orochimaru smiled confidently. "Edo Tensei, of course. I have mastered the reanimation technique created by the Second Hokage. I can summon powerful dead shinobi to fight for me. I used it before—summoned the First and Second Hokage to send my teacher Sarutobi-sensei on his way."
Edo Tensei, huh?
Obito and Black Zetsu were far from ignorant.
They both knew of the technique—but questioned its power.
"If I recall correctly," Black Zetsu countered, "the First and Second Hokage you summoned in Konoha were flawed. Otherwise, the Third Hokage—despite his skill—couldn't have defeated them both."
He himself had once wanted to use Edo Tensei to resurrect Kaguya. But when he saw the required materials, he abandoned the idea.
The technique required cells of the deceased—Kaguya had been sealed by the Sage of Six Paths, and even if traces of her remained, those cells had long perished.
"Naturally."
"The version I used before was merely a stepping stone. I researched it because it touched upon the secrets between life and death, which helped me better understand mortality itself. It was the most basic form—weak control, limited numbers, and the revived were far weaker than in life."
"But I now have enhancement plans. While researching tailed beast cells, I will also refine Edo Tensei. Even if the tailed beast research fails, I can still create a full army of Edo Tensei shinobi to support the Akatsuki. Not bad right?"
For Orochimaru, it wasn't that he couldn't do something——he simply hadn't bothered trying before.
Take senjutsu, for example.
Who knew that when he studied it long ago, he hadn't failed the trials or been unsuited for it? In Orochimaru's eyes, the Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu simply wasn't right for him, so he walked away.
The curse seal was the fruit of his own senjutsu research, and Jūgo was a backup resource he had prepared.
Now that he combined tailed beast chakra into his studies, he had discovered flaws in the curse seal and gained better insights into natural energy and senjutsu.
What he needed most was time.
"Three years is long. You'll have to negotiate the specifics with Leader."
Obito didn't reject Orochimaru—he simply pushed the responsibility to Nagato.
Three years—he could afford to wait.