Akaba's purpose in setting up this trade route wasn't to make a profit. It was about expanding influence and earning more points.
Relying solely on Konoha's limited resources, income was simply too slow.
However,
To firmly establish themselves in the Land of Rivers, they had to build good relations with the local powers.
Conquering them by force, though, wasn't a bad option either.
Akaba followed closely behind Orochimaru while quietly observing the town streets.
There were many shops lining both sides of the road, and quite a bit of pedestrian traffic—no wonder this was considered one of the most prosperous towns in the Land of Rivers.
"The house ahead used to belong to Bajeen. Our Leader killed Bajeen this morning."
"Don't waste time talking. Lead the way."
Orochimaru gave him a cold stare, and several rogue ninja immediately fell silent from fear.
"Y-yes!"
Without another word, they quickly resumed leading the way.
As they reached the door, their legs were shaking like crazy.
They hadn't managed to extort much from the locals on this trip—instead, they brought outsiders back with them.
They could already imagine what kind of terrifying punishment awaited them.
"Hmph."
A soft chuckle—but instead of feeling relieved, they felt their entire bodies go cold.
Going inside might mean death.
Not going inside meant immediate death!
Creak~
The door pushed open, and a strong scent of blood rushed out.
Orochimaru sniffed slightly—fewer than ten bodies. Looks like these rogue ninja here had been relatively obedient.
"You're back so soon. Did someone dare defy you?"
A cold voice echoed from within.
"A-Ah? Ye-yes."
"Hmm?"
King Sand stepped out from the inner room, clearly irritated.
Orochimaru slightly frowned.
Judging by his appearance, this guy was a Suna ninja.
Wait, could this guy be a rogue ninja from Sunagakure?
Orochimaru's expression turned serious.
The several rogue ninja scrambled, practically crawling toward King Sand before pointing at Orochimaru and shouting, "Le-Leader! This is the guy!"
In the next second, those men dropped lifelessly.
King Sand glanced at them, then looked toward Orochimaru.
Poison expert!
"What are you?!"
"I'm the one who should be asking—you said it yourself, this Land of Rivers belongs to us rogue ninja. What are you doing coming here, you Suna ninja? Looking for your death?"
Orochimaru's killing intent flared.
"Heh. You said it yourself—this is rogue ninja territory. I came here because I'm also a rogue ninja."
King Sand coldly sneered.
In hiding,
Akaba saw a shadow emerge from the nearby wall.
A puppet?
Using words as a distraction while launching a sneak attack with a puppet—truly typical of Suna ninja tactics.
He sprang to his feet, prepared to crush the puppet.
Yet Orochimaru's hand behind his back secretly signaled him to hold position.
"That remains to be seen. You could also be a spy sent by Sunagakure, trying to take control over this rogue ninja paradise."
Orochimaru coldly snorted. His scarred facial features twisted grotesquely, intensifying his murderous aura!
"How could that be? It's precisely because I killed…"
As King Sand spoke, his lips curled into a slight smirk. The fingers hidden behind his back kept twitching subtly.
Dudu du~
Poison needles shot out simultaneously, while the puppet detached itself from the eaves and swooped forward.
Orochimaru's body bent in an impossible way, dodging the poison needles that whizzed past him.
With lightning speed, he hurled a kunai behind him.
Boom!
An unexpected attack. The puppet was already far away, and though King Sand's control of the sand threads was highly skilled, he still couldn't dodge completely. Orochimaru yanked the puppet's arm right off.
Soft Physique Modification?
Though it was only a basic flexible body modification, it clearly showed Orochimaru's research had made some progress.
"I didn't expect you to have some skill."
King Sand pulled the puppet back to guard in front of him, his expression becoming much more serious.
Compared to Bajeen, this guy was way stronger!
"I didn't expect you were this weak."
Orochimaru sighed.
A special jonin from Sunagakure—had he thought this person would be an expert? Unexpectedly...
"If you wanted to provoke me, then congratulations—you succeeded."
King Sand said indifferently.
While he spoke, the puppet suddenly turned back and lunged forward.
This time, the chakra threads were shorter, control more precise, and the puppet reached before him in an instant.
At the same time—
Boom!
Belowground, a strange small insect-like puppet burst out of the earth.
Two puppets?
Orochimaru was slightly shocked, his hands rapidly forming hand seals—
[Wind Release: Great Gust!]
The roar of wind cut through, slightly slowing the puppet's charge.
Just that split second, Orochimaru twisted his body, dodging the attack from the insect puppet while simultaneously making a gesture to attack!
Tora seal?
What technique is this!
Orochimaru quickly recalled in his mind, but couldn't remember any jutsu starting with the Tora seal.
Then,
He saw thick mist sweeping toward him.
Hiding in Mist Technique?
"This place...how could there be a Kirigakure ninja here!"
King paled, immediately turning to run.
However—
In the next moment, he felt multiple sword shadows appear around him.
Swords?
Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist!
As the thought flashed across his mind, the massive Cleaver Sword flew past his neck.
In reality—
The moment the mist began to rise, Orochimaru saw a flash of crimson light pierce the sky.
"Let's go."
Akaba's voice came from behind him.
Instant kill?
Orochimaru was slightly stunned, finding it hard to believe.
This guy could control two puppets at once—he deserved his title as a special jonin.
But what just happened…was it Genjutsu?
That kind of destructive Genjutsu defies logic!
"His mental strength is very weak. It was easier than dealing with a Chunin."
Mr. Akaba explained.
"You killed him—you might as well claim this territory as your own. It could become your new base."
Orochimaru curled his lips into a grin.
"If you're interested, go ahead. If not, I'll send a shadow clone later to clean up."
"No, I'm definitely interested."
Orochimaru immediately agreed. On the way here, countless thoughts had formed in his mind.
Now was the perfect chance to realize one of them.
"Then the condition is, you keep my Hiding in Mist Technique secret."
Mr. Akaba smiled faintly.
"That's obvious. And speaking of jutsu, would you like to learn some of mine?"
Orochimaru kindly smiled, though his transformed appearance looked rather terrifying.
"Soft Physique Modification? No thanks!"
Mr. Akaba immediately shook his head in refusal.
"You're Orochimaru—turning into some kind of serpent freak eventually. Thanks, but I'd rather stay human."
"A shame. I thought Mr. Akaba would be interested."
Orochimaru lightly sighed, lamenting his inability to share his research achievements with others.
He thought that if Akaba obtained this ability, using genjutsu would become even more subtle and terrifying.
Yet Akaba truly wasn't interested.
Why would he need to rely on such a frail body?
As for actually casting illusions,
Once he fully acquired the Uzumaki clan's physical traits later, using Multiple Shadow Clones would be enough.
He had more than enough chakra. Might as well indulge a little!
"By the way, just leave this to a shadow clone. It'll avoid suspicion afterward."
Previously, fearing tough battles ahead, he hadn't dared to split into two clones, not wanting to affect Orochimaru either.
Now that King Sand was dealt with, these concerns naturally disappeared.
"No problem."
Orochimaru nodded, performed the hand seals, and produced Multiple Shadow Clones.
Though his chakra reserves weren't as abundant as Akaba's, maintaining Multiple Shadow Clones for the duration would be more than sufficient to handle matters here.
He had plenty of experience dealing with rogue ninjas.
Some deterrence combined with a few perks will keep those rogue ninjas in line. As for deterrence, King Sand's death had already been shocking enough. All that remained was offering them incentives.
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