Orochimaru gritted his teeth, forcefully suppressing his anger, and pretended to smile indifferently, though the smile was a bit forced: "It seems I was really meddling too much back then..."
"This is Lord Orochimaru's genius."
Kabuto shook his head, taking the opportunity to praise Orochimaru: "Even if I knew the antidote beforehand, I might not have been able to quickly analyze all the materials, but Orochimaru guided me to develop the antidote without having the actual cure."
"..."
Orochimaru truly felt unable to feel happy.
Even though Kabuto praised him like that, Orochimaru still couldn't feel happy.
"As for the rest..."
Kabuto pretended to think it over, then shook his head again: "The rest...should be nothing."
This little matter...
Should be enough to account for something to Orochimaru.
If he didn't say something, Orochimaru would definitely suspect him of hiding something, so as long as he provided some excessive-sounding explanations, Orochimaru probably wouldn't be so suspicious.
"The information you gave me about Konoha..."
Orochimaru's gaze remained icy.
"It's all genuine."
Kabuto lowered his head and continued: "All the information given to Lord Orochimaru is true, Kagura did not mind Lord Orochimaru knowing these details either."
"..."
Orochimaru felt a sense of relief in his heart.
At least this guy Kabuto had done something for him.
"However..."
Kabuto looked at Orochimaru, bringing up the main matter: "Kagura plans to assign me to stay by your side, Lord Orochimaru, to assist you with the experiments, to prevent you from withholding your results or betraying the alliance between you two."
"You?"
Orochimaru's lips curled up into a smile.
"Yes."
Kabuto nodded, sincerely speaking: "Although my strength isn't great, escaping from Lord Orochimaru's side shouldn't be a problem, and the reanimated Katou Dan can report to Kagura if anything happens to me..."
Indeed.
Actually, Akihara Kagura has also prepared a backup plan.
Though there's no need to tell Orochimaru about that.
"..."
Orochimaru snorted coldly, saying nothing more.
"Let's go find Tsunade."
Orochimaru said no more, speaking coldly: "Once Tsunade finds out you've become a traitorous ninja, when she returns to Konoha, would she really not suspect Akihara Kagura?"
"No, she won't."
Kabuto shook his head, continuing indifferently: "Because I will be controlling Katou Dan from behind the scenes to assist Lord Orochimaru, and I won't appear in person..."
"..."
These two bastards have thought things through quite thoroughly!
But...
Even if Tsunade suspects, it won't be of any use.
Once other Hokages are given permission to be resurrected and appear in Konoha, Akihara Kagura will immediately use their influence to take over Konoha's political sphere, regardless of what Tsunade wishes to do, she won't be able to bypass Akihara Kagura.
"Lord Orochimaru."
Kabuto looked at Orochimaru, actively reminding him: "According to our plan, Lord Orochimaru might have to fight against Lord Jiraiya and Lord Tsunade at the same time, and only in critical moments will Katou Dan, the Jonin, be used. Isn't there a risk for you in facing two opponents?"
"Hmph..."
Orochimaru stood up, his lips curling into a cold smile: "No one knows Tsunade better than I do. Even if I am fighting both of them at the same time, if I don't hold back, I might not even have the chance to use Katou Dan..."
On the other side.
Tsunade and Shizune had just left the casino when they heard a familiar hoarse voice in their ears: "Tsunade, lost everything again?"
"You bastard!"
Tsunade cursed and turned to look at the speaker, even raising her purse triumphantly: "This time I won big!"
"Orochimaru?"
Shizune saw the person speaking and stepped in front of Tsunade warily, speaking coldly: "Didn't you just cause a riot in Konoha, leading to the death of the Third Hokage..."
"No need to worry."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, waving his hand: "I'm not here to kill you, Tsunade, I've come to negotiate a deal...to let me borrow your Katsuyu."
"What do you want to do?"
Tsunade frowned.
"I've mastered a special Jutsu..."
Orochimaru grinned, continuing: "This Jutsu requires the power of the Katsuyu Sage to be more potent..."
"What Jutsu?"
"A Jutsu you've dreamed of."
Orochimaru's smile instantly became more playful, and he spoke with interest: "This Jutsu can allow you to see the person you most want to see..."
"!!!"
Tsunade couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Orochimaru spread his palm, continuing: "As long as I borrow the Katsuyu Sage, I can make them just like they were when they were alive..."
This was Orochimaru's sincere thought.
It was also what Orochimaru learned from Akihara Kagura when he used the Reanimation Jutsu.
Because among the three Great Sages in the Ninja World, only the Katsuyu Sage was most likely to be used, and it might also have the strongest life force.
Akihara Kagura used only Manda as a sacrifice to bring the First Hokage's power to nearly its peak, and Orochimaru believed he could use the Katsuyu Sage as a sacrifice to ensure the reanimator had the same power they had in life.
"..."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
This guy Orochimaru resurrecting the First Hokage and Second Hokage wasn't a secret; he might really be able to resurrect the two people most important to her...