After Suigetsu Hozuki finished speaking, he suddenly felt the atmosphere turn a bit cold. He cautiously glanced at the expressionless Orochimaru.
At the same time, he raised his head to look at Yūto beside him, a strong curiosity flashing in his eyes.
Towards Orochimaru, Suigetsu Hozuki felt a genuine sense of fear.
Precisely because of this, Suigetsu Hozuki was quite interested in Yūto, who seemed able to converse with Orochimaru as an equal.
"Let me go with you, where to?" Suigetsu Hozuki asked Yūto in a low voice.
"Naturally, back to Mist Ninja Village. Otherwise, did you think someone else would come looking for you?"
Yūto looked at Suigetsu Hozuki with an expression like he was looking at an idiot.
Of course, those words weren't entirely true. In three or four years, a certain 'Second Pillar' would also take Suigetsu Hozuki out.
Back to Mist Ninja Village?!
Suigetsu Hozuki froze, then his face darkened. Compared to being kept in Orochimaru's tank, he was even more unwilling to return to Mist Ninja Village.
He had taken the clan's scrolls back then and snuck out. Now, if he went back, Suigetsu Hozuki feared he would be beaten to death by the other members of the Hozuki Clan.
Just as Suigetsu Hozuki was about to speak, a faint voice came from Yūto's mouth:
"You have no right to refuse."
Hearing Yūto's words, Suigetsu Hozuki pouted and didn't speak again.
Although Suigetsu Hozuki's personality was a bit impulsive, it didn't mean he was stupid. For someone to converse with Orochimaru as an equal, besides being powerful, there should be no other reason.
As for status, no matter how high, in the eyes of a Ninja like Orochimaru, it probably wouldn't be of any use.
"I have fulfilled Yūto-sama's request. I wonder if you are interested in participating in one of my plans?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes flickering as he suddenly spoke.
"A plan?" A sharp glint flashed in Yūto's eyes, but he spoke with a calm expression.
"A plan concerning Konoha."
Orochimaru's tone carried a hint of excitement.
Yūto smiled: "I am very interested."
Yūto originally came to Orochimaru, besides wanting to take Kimimaro and Suigetsu Hozuki, also for the Konoha Destruction Plan from the original story.
With such a good opportunity to weaken Konoha, Yūto naturally wouldn't miss it.
However, the Konoha Destruction Plan in the original story was too weak. Besides the Third Hokage's death and the destruction of some Konoha buildings, it didn't cause much damage to Konoha at all.
This Orochimaru even tricked the Sand Ninja Village, not only losing a Kazekage but also signing agreements and paying compensation; it was just short of ceding territory.
But as for the Sand Ninja Village's territory, even if it were given to Konoha, Konoha might not necessarily want it.
The Konoha Destruction Plan, Yūto thought with a cold smile. Without revealing his identity, even if he couldn't destroy Konoha, he would cripple it.
As for when Yūto's identity spread throughout the Ninja World, that would signify the start of war.
Orochimaru and Yūto didn't talk for long before Yūto left with Kimimaro and Suigetsu Hozuki.
Neither Yūto nor Orochimaru needed to discuss the plan in such detail.
In Yūto's opinion, there was never a flawless plan in this world, so the two of them only needed to outline the general direction.
Yūto was very satisfied with coming to Sound Ninja Village himself this time; at least it was much smoother than he had anticipated.
Orochimaru had many good things, but they were only for ordinary Ninja.
Besides the Edo Tensei Ninjutsu, which was somewhat useful to Yūto, Yūto didn't even glance at the things Orochimaru had.
Unfortunately, Edo Tensei was like Orochimaru's lifeline at the moment. It was the basis for his negotiations with Yūto and his trump card, so he naturally wouldn't teach it to Yūto.
On a not-so-smooth small road.
Yūto walked ahead with a bored expression. Following closely behind Yūto were the expressionless Kimimaro and Suigetsu Hozuki, whose eyes kept darting around as if he was thinking of some bad idea.
"So... are we really going back to Mist Ninja Village?"
Suigetsu Hozuki cautiously looked at Yūto ahead and spoke softly.
Yūto didn't even turn his head, too lazy to speak. Suigetsu Hozuki was a chatterbox; he had asked this question countless times along the way.
Seeing that Yūto didn't reply, Suigetsu Hozuki didn't mind. His peripheral vision occasionally glanced towards the sides of the road, seemingly looking for a spot where it would be easy to escape.
"I advise you not to think about escaping, otherwise, you probably won't keep your two legs."
Yūto's faint voice entered Suigetsu Hozuki's ears, sending a chill down his spine.
Compared to Suigetsu Hozuki, Kimimaro was much quieter. He hadn't spoken a single word so far.
"Without a master, do you think a weapon still has a reason to exist, Kimimaro?"
Yūto spoke without stopping his steps or turning his head.
Still has a reason to exist?
Kimimaro was slightly startled, his eyes filled with confusion. From the moment Orochimaru took him, he lived for Orochimaru; he was Orochimaru-sama's strongest weapon.
And now, Orochimaru didn't need him anymore, so what could he do now?
"As a weapon, do I still have a reason to exist?"
Kimimaro's expression was lost as he muttered to himself.
"There really are fools in this world who see themselves as weapons. Do they not even have a friend or family?"
Suigetsu Hozuki glanced at Kimimaro and muttered softly. Although it wasn't the first time he had seen Kimimaro, the two weren't close.
After all, Suigetsu Hozuki was kept imprisoned by Orochimaru most of the time.
Although Suigetsu Hozuki only muttered softly, both Yūto and Kimimaro could naturally hear him.
Friend?
Kimimaro softly repeated these two words in his mouth, a figure couldn't help but appear in his mind.
"Jūgo..." Kimimaro said softly.
"If you have friends, then you can't be considered a weapon." Suigetsu Hozuki said casually, wearing a troubled expression.
Yūto glanced at Suigetsu Hozuki with some surprise. This guy had accidentally helped him out.
Yūto suddenly stopped his steps and turned around to look at Kimimaro.
As Kimimaro wore a bewildered expression, Yūto chuckled and said:
"Who says you don't have family? Speaking of which, you are also the descendant of an old friend of mine, so you can be considered my junior. Therefore, you were never a weapon, from beginning to end."
Kimimaro was stunned for a moment, clearly processing the information Yūto had just said.
The word 'family' was both unfamiliar and distant to Kimimaro.
Although Yūto's words were a bit far-fetched, Kimimaro didn't feel that Yūto was lying.
Yūto chuckled lightly and reached out to touch the top of Kimimaro's head. Kimimaro's body stiffened, and reflexively, he drew a bone blade and thrust it forward fiercely.
The bone blade directly struck Yūto's chest area, but unfortunately, just like during their last battle, it didn't even pierce the surface of his clothes.
At this moment, Yūto's hand also landed on top of Kimimaro's head.
Gently ruffling Kimimaro's off-white hair, Yūto chuckled: "I'll take you home."
Kimimaro's body was a bit stiff, and he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.
It was like the feeling he had the first time he met Orochimaru-sama, when Orochimaru held his hand and took him away.
An inexplicable sense of peace.
However, this feeling now was even stronger than the feeling he had when he was with Orochimaru-sama.