Chapter 175: Orochimaru the Mantis, Obito the Oriole
Kabuto stared at the resurrected body lying in the coffin, momentarily surprised. "Lord Orochimaru, he is…"
"Oh, a very bold little fellow." Orochimaru cupped his chin and spoke in a low voice, "A small conjecture of mine. It seems my judgment has now been proven correct."
The person in the coffin was a young man named Yahiko. He possessed no particularly great strength or bloodline, only a heart full of passion and grand ideals.
As a scientist, Orochimaru had long been suspicious after several encounters with Pain. Konan had developed quite well, yet that Pain fellow showed no signs of growing up. No matter how powerful a person was, the problem of aging wasn't so easily solved.
And if his conjecture was wrong, if the man called Pain truly couldn't age or die, then his cells would certainly be very interesting.
"The leader of the Akatsuki… is also a puppet?" Kabuto was dumbfounded. He wasn't an official member of the Akatsuki, but he knew about Pain. This matter was too bizarre…
"Mm, it seems so now."
The corners of Orochimaru's eyes curved slightly as he looked at Kabuto and said softly, "Want to know the story behind it? A story about shattered bonds… Hehehehe… If I hadn't met those three children back then, I would never have been able to guess the truth."
"Then the true leader behind this organization is…"
"Humans… always want to make up for those useless and empty feelings they've lost…" Orochimaru tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "What a pity. This deceased person can't be of much use in my hands…"
"Indeed… It would be too much of a waste to let him sit idle!"
Kabuto nodded in understanding. No one wanted to see their relatives and friends awakened from their eternal sleep only to be controlled by others.
Even if he now had the ability to resurrect Nono Yakushi, the person he most longed to see, he was unwilling to disturb the dead in such a way. Even an orphanage director under Orochimaru's control would be a form of desecration.
The dead are only qualified to be enslaved.
"When I no longer wish to stay here, I can bring him out as a trigger to disrupt the Akatsuki…" Orochimaru waved his hand, dismissing the coffin, and chuckled softly. "In the entire ninja world, the only one who can withstand the full-blown wrath of the Rinnegan… is probably that crow, right?"
"Your meaning is?"
"The Edo Tensei has been nearly perfected through our improvements, and the specimen I've obtained happens to allow me to use Edo Tensei on him again. According to my conjecture, that crow's Edo Tensei is even more perfect."
Orochimaru's arm suddenly stretched, retrieving a box from a high drawer. "When we are about to leave, find an opportunity to give this to that crow."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, stepped forward to take the box, and said respectfully, "As expected of Lord Orochimaru… Our bases in the Land of Tea and the Land of Sea were destroyed by Hidden Mist ninja last time. Moreover, the Konoha ANBU have already begun searching the Land of Bears, so that base is not suitable for long-term use. Do you need me to check out the Land of Demons?"
"There's no hurry. We have a more suitable base."
Orochimaru shook his head, a smile gracing his face. "The research on the Living Corpse Reincarnation and Edo Tensei is already quite mature. We now need to hide ourselves and find a truly suitable vessel…"
"Furthermore, the Akatsuki's Tailed Beast plan will have to begin soon. The Hidden Sand Village, which possesses the One-Tail, will inevitably be the first target. I can use this as a pretext to leave temporarily and head to the Hidden Sand to gather intelligence on the Tailed Beast…"
"Coincidentally, I have a resurrected individual on hand who is a perfect counter for the Fourth Kazekage. At that time, I will kill the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and take up residence in the Hidden Sand Village to continue my experiments. I could even research the Tailed Beast…"
Orochimaru tightened his fist, the picture of a man with a master plan. "Once I have complete control of the Hidden Sand, Kabuto, you will send someone to deliver the box containing the Yahiko-kid's hair to the Uchiha clan grounds. That crow will be interested…"
"Yes!"
Kabuto slowly lowered his head, his eyes gleaming faintly.
According to Orochimaru's plan, there would be no loose ends tracing back to him. Even the Akatsuki would be unable to discover what role Orochimaru had played…
If everything went smoothly, not only could they escape the massive pit that was the Akatsuki, but they would also gain control of the Hidden Sand Village, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages… He had certainly thought it through.
Unfortunately for him, there were more than just the two of them in the Akatsuki's current base. There was also an idle intern and an official intelligence operative. And beneath the entire base, countless White Zetsu clones lay in hiding.
Black Zetsu repeated Orochimaru's plan in a low voice, then looked at the man who had just donned a swirl-patterned mask. "Obito, should we stop him?"
"Huh? Why stop him?" Obito Uchiha rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I never thought a senior from our village would have such a grand ambition! He wants to control the Hidden Sand Village, so just let him do it!"
"But…" Obito's voice suddenly turned sinister as he slowly caressed the mask over his eye. "When the Eye of the Moon Plan officially begins, he will hand over the Hidden Sand's One-Tail to us!"
"Orochimaru doesn't seem like the type to give in so easily, does he?"
Black Zetsu was a little doubtful. Based on his observations, unless there was some benefit involved, Orochimaru did not like being threatened. Besides, what they were planning was essentially blackmail…
Obito suddenly chuckled playfully, "Don't you have a lot of information on the remains of powerful individuals? You can just give that to Orochimaru as a trade at that time!"
The face beneath the mask became neurotically serious again. "After we get the One-Tail, we'll divert the disaster onto him, expose Orochimaru's identity, and preferably trigger a great war… Isn't that a happy outcome for everyone?"
"What about Nagato's side…" Black Zetsu felt a little uneasy. After all, he had only managed to produce this one pair of Rinnegan over a thousand years. What if something went wrong?
Obito Uchiha held up a finger and wagged it. "Haven't you realized it yet? If Nagato can't deal with Itachi Uchiha and that crow… then he no longer has any value!"
Black Zetsu: "…"
Whether Nagato could defeat Kitahara had always been a weight on Black Zetsu's mind. But it had truly seen how Obito's encounters with the crow were a complete wash every time…
Based on the Shapeshifting Technique puppet battle from a few years ago, if neither Nagato nor Obito Uchiha could defeat Kitahara, the Eye of the Moon Plan would be impossible to execute.
If it really came to that, Black Zetsu might actually have to pull out some of his trump cards from the bottom of the chest.
Fortunately, Tobirama Senju had invented the Edo Tensei, and fortunately, Orochimaru had already improved it to perfection. Without this forbidden jutsu, it would have had to remain dormant for who knows how much longer…
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