Everything appeared peaceful and tranquil. Anyone who arrived here would be completely enchanted by the scenery. After all, aside from Konoha, it was nearly impossible to find another village with such beautiful surroundings.
"This country is far too content in its peace while other nations are rushing into arms races."
The speaker's voice was very flat, as if he were merely an outsider commenting on the situation.
The young ninja who had been kneeling before him also stood up and spoke in a similarly indifferent tone,
"Exactly the perfect opportunity to seize control."
At such a bright and serene location, the two individuals conversed in casual tones about matters of such gravity.
Yet aside from a few chirping birds, there wasn't a single other soul present.
But that could even be considered fortunate—anyone else nearby would probably have died.
"I wonder how enjoyable that old man's head will be," Orochimaru chuckled softly.
"However, from my perspective, you don't seem to have made a firm decision," Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses. Among the Otogakure ninja, probably only he could maintain such calmness in front of Orochimaru.
"Are you truly certain about this course of action?"
Orochimaru's expression became momentarily silent, seemingly pondering something because of Kabuto's words.
Kabuto thus continued, "In the future, the forces of the various ninja villages will collide intensely, and Otogakure will be no exception. So you're planning to use Konoha as the fuse to detonate it all?"
At this point, Kabuto suddenly looked at Orochimaru, "And that child, Sasuke Uchiha, he's the cannon fodder you'll use to ignite this explosion?"
"Hehehe," Orochimaru laughed softly, like a snake flicking its tongue. "Your keen intuition makes me somewhat uncomfortable."
However, upon hearing this, Kabuto remained completely calm, "On the contrary, there are still many things I don't know. For instance, I can only discover Sakon's group's true strength through direct confrontation."
As he spoke, Kabuto recalled the punch Sakon had thrown at him during the Chunin Exams, combined with strange sonic energy.
"Speaking of which, you still haven't completely trusted me, have you?"
Perhaps conversations between villains were always this unsettling and heavy.
Orochimaru replied in his usual ominous tone, "As my future right hand, you have no need to waste your attention on them."
"That just proves I trust you completely," Orochimaru said, crossing his arms while lowering his head, yet gazing at Kabuto with an upturned look.
"Therefore, I put Sasuke in your hands."
"My cursed seal was sealed by Kakashi, but that matters little. Bring him here before his inner darkness is completely gone."
Before Kabuto could even ask why there was such urgency, Orochimaru had already answered.
"Because there are some wild cards near Sasuke now."
"Shiki Uzumaki and Naruto Uzumaki."
Kabuto asked with slight confusion, "They're just two kids. How could they possibly make a difference?"
"Different this time. Because from Naruto, I see traces of my former mentor, Jiraiya."
From Shiki, there was something inexplicable that felt reminiscent of Minato.
Even he had to admit that Minato back then was an extraordinary genius whom everyone would acknowledge.
And just like that old man—the First Hokage—he firmly upheld the so-called Will of Fire, constantly inspiring those around him.
It seemed as though there was no obstacle in his life. Or perhaps more accurately, any challenge merely served as a stepping stone for him to rise even higher.
His life itself was like a knight's fairytale journey. Even being born into a relatively small clan, he still possessed talent envied by all.
Even his appearance, something not usually important to a ninja, was undeniably handsome.
He was a legend in the Ninja World.
Precisely because of this, back then Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane—those two immortal old men—chose to support him instead of claiming the position of Fourth Hokage themselves.
But it didn't really matter anyway. Becoming the Fourth Hokage would've only tied his hands. He wasn't Danzo's subordinate, after all, so he naturally didn't need to serve Danzo's interests or take on that role as the Fourth.
But this child named Shiki Uzumaki was indeed quite unsettling.
Still, it was fine. Although he bore an alarming resemblance to the Fourth, he lacked the stable room for growth that the Fourth once had.
Compared to the Fourth, Shiki had faced far too many hardships. His path had already been set, and therefore ensured he could never become a threat to himself.
But now, he must not allow him to influence Sasuke Uchiha.
"According to the intelligence you've gathered, these two individuals have had a huge influence on Uchiha Sasuke. We should bring Sasuke over sooner than later and place him under my influence."
Upon hearing this, Kabuto Yakushi turned away impassively, his figure remaining within the shadows of the pavilion, yet sunlight spilling through from outside reflected unusually brightly off his eyes.
"Then I'll proceed with—"
"Kabuto," Orochimaru suddenly interrupted, also halting his movements.
"If you truly wish to stop me…"
Orochimaru continued, his gaze suddenly sharpening, his serpentine pupils glaring.
"…then you should kill Sasuke right here, right now."
"You know you can't defeat me."
"Though you are strong, at best you're only on Kakashi's level."
A cold sweat instantly formed on Kabuto's forehead. In that moment, his prior calmness vanished completely.
"Hehe, just kidding!"
"You have my trust. Now go."
Kabuto finally pulled himself together and turned to leave.
But did Orochimaru truly believe him?
He couldn't afford to believe.
About fifteen minutes later, Konoha's hospital received an unexpected visitor.
No one knew why he went straight toward the heavily Anbu-guarded ward.
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