"The Senior Toad Sage plans to ally with the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave to restore the Ninja World back onto its original historical path."
Jiraiya, who had been wearing a playful grin just moments ago, suddenly said, "And our enemy will be the Ninja Clan Capital Corporations led by the Hyuga Clan."
"Is that so?"
Orochimaru glanced at the newly organized experimental equipment scattered across the floor, showing no clear reaction.
The Ninja Clan Capital Corporation had been funding his research with over three hundred million ryo annually. Although using these funds came with certain restrictions, for Orochimaru, it was still irreplaceable support.
While ninjas are expected to remain detached from wealth and fame, there was simply no resisting when the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation offered too much. Even a verbal promise from Hyuga Soushu alone regarding future investment already exceeded twice the total research funding Orochimaru had ever received in his entire life!
Who could possibly refuse such an offer?!
"Oh, what is this?"
Jiraiya seemed to notice only belatedly, pointing at the boxes filled with experimental equipment sprawled on the ground, "What? Are you preparing to move out?"
"Precisely."
Orochimaru made no attempt to hide it.
"Where to? Need any help?"
A bright and friendly smile quickly spread across Jiraiya's face, "By the way, we haven't had a drink together in ages. How about we invite Tsunade and have a few rounds?"
"Forget about drinking. The Ninja's Three Taboos [the ban on alcohol, romantic attachments, and revealing secret techniques] are inviolable rules."
Orochimaru replied casually.
Though he might be murdering people and using live subjects for experiments, who could say he wasn't still a great ninja?
"Well then, how about just hanging out for a bit?"
Jiraiya refused to drop the matter, "Besides, it's been years since we last met. Are you going to act this cold towards me?"
"If you've got nothing better to do, maybe check up on Lord Sarutobi—he's currently in a difficult spot. If you're willing to stay here and lend him a hand, the position of the Fourth Hokage might still be within your reach."
Orochimaru shook his head, declining while offering Jiraiya an alternative suggestion.
Naturally, he had his own reasons.
Once consumed by his desire for the Hokage title, Orochimaru's ambition had quietly turned elsewhere—he now sought to unlock the infinite mysteries of chakra, capable of transcending death and granting immortality.
Moreover, the so-called Holy Places were secretly plotting their "restoration" activities in the shadows, aiming to overthrow the current world order. By encouraging Jiraiya to remain in Konoha under the pretense of pursuing the Fourth Hokage title, perhaps those outsiders' schemes could be delayed or even thwarted entirely.
"Do you really not understand what I mean?"
The forced smile slowly disappeared from Jiraiya's face, "Or perhaps... you just don't want to?"
"There's neither willingness nor unwillingness."
Orochimaru retrieved a sealing scroll, preparing to seal away the neatly packed experimental tools one by one.
"Pftt!"
A kunai shot straight into the very box Orochimaru was about to seal!
"Have you gone mad!"
Orochimaru immediately turned his glare toward Jiraiya, fury written all over his face.
To him, those experimental tools painstakingly gathered at great expense were the very foundation of his existence. For Jiraiya to act like this was an unforgivable provocation!
"You're planning to join forces with Hyuga Soushu?!"
Jiraiya dropped all pretense completely, speaking each word clearly and forcefully: "That's absolutely impossible!"
Orochimaru gently placed the sealing scroll down. Turning around, he faced Jiraiya with equal solemnity, his vertically slit pupils brimming with killing intent.
"Think of all the years we've been friends — I'm asking you personally, don't do this."
Jiraiya softened slightly. "Don't go, alright?"
"With the three of us — me, you, and Tsunade — we can definitely reshape the current order!"
"Hyuga Soushu is the root of all calamities in the ninja world! If you go to him, you'll become nothing more than a puppet, stripped of your freedom forever!"
"You know as well — once both holy places fully unite their strength, there will be nothing in the ninja world that can resist them!"
"Hehehe..."
Orochimaru twitched his face into a mocking smile. "You really think I'm completely ignorant about intelligence within the ninja world?"
"Huh?"
Jiraiya looked momentarily puzzled.
"Mount Myoboku hasn't just been watching from the sidelines either. Surely you, as the planner, understand better than me what the final outcomes were after two major battles?"
Orochimaru sneered. "And yet you still believe those so-called holy places can overthrow the ninja world?"
"The wisdom and might of the two Great Sages are beyond comprehension!"
Jiraiya still firmly believed whatever he wanted to believe. "Once the timing matures and both Great Sages personally intervene, they will certainly transform the current state of the ninja world!"
"Enough. You'd better leave sooner rather than later."
Orochimaru shook his head, yanking a kunai embedded into a wooden crate. He gave it a quick toss to test its weight.
"Otherwise, you'll end up as nothing more than my lab rat."
With that, Orochimaru hurled the kunai straight at Jiraiya!
"Chii!"
Bare-handed, Jiraiya directly grabbed the sharp blade of the kunai — without even coating his palm with chakra. The keen edge sliced through his skin, letting blood steadily drip from the wound.
Orochimaru's eyelid twitched, his expression growing serious.
"Come on, let's go find Tsunade together."
Jiraiya casually put away the kunai, allowing the wound on his palm to continue bleeding freely. "It's been quite some time since we last met. We should really sit down and talk for a while!"
"My student Nawaki is dead."
Orochimaru suddenly stated.
"I know."
Jiraiya sighed. "This is the devastation brought by war. No one can escape unscathed from merciless battle."
"His death was extremely suspicious!"
Orochimaru interrupted.
"But wasn't there already an official investigation report from the village?!"
Jiraiya frowned, asking perplexedly. "Now that the war has ended, shouldn't our focus be preventing tragedies from recurring?"
"There's absolutely no possibility that my student could have perished simply because he accidentally triggered an explosive tag trap!"
Orochimaru coldly remarked. "Although my student Nawaki wasn't particularly strong, he was certainly far superior to an average Chunin. And let's not forget — Anko wouldn't have missed that kind of trap either!"
"You're seeing shadows everywhere!"
Jiraiya finally understood what Orochimaru meant.
Indeed, Nawaki's death had been extremely suspicious. Most bizarre of all, after his death his internal organs had been completely removed, leaving nothing but an empty shell—an incredibly gruesome scene. This clearly didn't match what you'd expect from someone accidentally setting off a trap and dying.
Even in the worst-case scenario, even if Nawaki had carelessly triggered an explosive tag, there was no way that would have completely blown out all his internal organs. That was common sense everyone understood.
However, back then they were in the middle of war—the most dangerous period for Konoha—so both Anbu and Root Division investigation teams quickly closed the case without thoroughly pursuing it, leaving many unresolved questions.
This was also one of the direct triggers causing Tsunade to cut off all contact with the village leadership and refuse to fight for the village ever again.
Jiraiya himself had always harbored doubts too, but he just hadn't wanted to believe this was intentional on the part of certain people within the village.
But now that Orochimaru had brought up the matter again, Jiraiya felt somewhat at a loss.
"You may leave."
Orochimaru pointed toward the exit of the lab: "I don't want to kill you."
"I understand."
From the look in Orochimaru's eyes, Jiraiya could read the resolve within them.
After giving his old friend another long look, Jiraiya chose to turn around and walk away.
Blood continued to drip steadily from his wounded palm, leaving a trail of dark red droplets stretching into the distance.
After returning from the Uchiha Clan shrine, Hiashi Hyuga tossed and turned restlessly throughout the night, unable to fall asleep.
It wasn't until the next morning that he finally dragged himself out of bed, slight dark circles under his eyes, continuing with his daily routine and fulfilling his mechanical, predictable policing duties.
Currently, due to the mass departure of ninja clans, Konoha's power had weakened considerably, reducing the likelihood of ninja-related incidents. Additionally, the western district he oversaw as head of the police force had the highest concentration of law enforcement personnel. As a result, many wealthy merchants kept flocking here thanks to its favorable security conditions. Although there weren't any major cases needing handling, trivial matters kept pouring in endlessly.
These small tasks were soul-crushing in how they chipped away at one's willpower.
Initially, Hiashi had thought he could endure all of this, but after viewing that stone tablet, he could no longer maintain his previously calm mindset.
"Captain Hiashi, here is today's patrol report."
As Hiashi drifted off in thought, the office door swung open suddenly, and a Hyuga ninja walked in carrying a document. He dropped the report onto Hiashi's desk, then casually glanced around the office before leaving.
He didn't even deign to close the door behind him.
Hiashi only realized by then that evening had already arrived. Outside his office, the regular patrol ninjas were already starting their shift change automatically, once again not consulting their nominal commander—not that they ever did.
Everything operated according to predefined procedures—orderly yet dull.
Hiashi felt like he could already see the rest of his life stretch out before him—predictable, unchanging, and utterly lifeless.
Everything he once took for granted had naturally changed after gaining a new perspective last night.
Hiashi Hyuga's thoughts began to stir.
As the security squad rotated shifts, Hiashi walked out of his office with a blank expression. Although some Hyuga ninja greeted him with nods, that was all there ever was.
After leaving the Konoha Western District Security Squad base and walking through the streets, Hiashi felt increasingly estranged from the village—and even from the entire world.
Everyone appeared polite, yet cold, distant, and completely oblivious.
"This is not a place I should linger in."
A sudden thought surfaced in his mind.
His heart, already somewhat restless before, now burned with even greater unease.
When he returned home, Hiashi went to his room as usual after dinner, silently waiting for something to happen.
"I'm back again."
True to his expectations, about ten minutes after closing his eyes to meditate, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his ear.
"It's you again."
Hiashi slowly opened his eyes and looked toward Black Zetsu, who seeped up from beneath the tatami mats.
"One day apart, and I've missed you dearly."
Black Zetsu replied politely, "I took a good look around this village today. It really is quite dull."
"Why?"
Hiashi's heart stirred slightly.
"It's like a windmill with no breeze—quietly serene on the outside, yet utterly lifeless within."
Black Zetsu spoke almost poetically: "This isn't a place for any ninja to stay, let alone for a noble descendant of the Hyuga Main House to waste his youth."
"So what then?"
Hiashi raised his tone slightly.
"Leave this meaningless place. Let us rebuild the former glory of the Hyuga Clan together."
Black Zetsu said sincerely, "There's nothing here worth staying for, right?"
"Let's go."
Hiashi sighed, then shifted tone: "What should I call you?"
"Black. Just Black."
Black replied simply.
"But why leave at all? What could we really accomplish by leaving?"
Hiashi didn't dwell on whether the name 'Black' made sense but instead asked, "Rather than drawing attention by moving too soon, wouldn't it be better to prepare in secret?"
"What do you mean?"
Black hesitated for a moment.
Then it realized—it had fallen into a mental blind spot.
From a strategic standpoint, if there was an opportunity to infiltrate from within, there would be no need to leave outright.
After all, hiding inside the enemy while developing one's own strength, combined with the powerful intelligence network provided by White Zetsu, could allow the creation of an unknown secret organization—one that wouldn't risk being wiped out entirely once exposed.
In other words, remaining hidden within Konoha might actually be more beneficial for expansion.
"You're right."
Black Zetsu accepted the suggestion readily.
"So how far exactly can you go?"
Hiashi Hyuga calmly brushed his immaculate sleeves and asked composedly, "Funds and manpower are essential for any endeavor."
"I will gradually hand over to you the forgotten gold reserves of the Hyuga Clan regarding financial matters, but for manpower, you'll have to rely on yourself."
Black Zetsu remained equally calm as he added, "However, aside from that, the most important thing is that from now on, the Hyuga Clan's most ancient intelligence system will supply you with any information you desire!"
"Oh?"
Hiashi leaned back slightly, clearly taken aback.
Could the ancient Hyuga Clan truly have been this powerful?
They even had a forgotten golden treasure trove and an intelligence system that had been operating continuously for over a thousand years?
If they possessed such capabilities, how could the Hyuga Clan have been overshadowed by the Uchiha Clan during the Warring States era?
"I know you don't believe me," Black Zetsu said, noticing Hiashi's doubts. His body then squirmed slightly.
In response, White Zetsus obeying the command emerged from all directions within the room, bowing simultaneously to Hiashi.
Then, just as suddenly, they vanished without a trace.
Even with Hiashi's Byakugan, he couldn't detect the slightest indication of their movement in the walls or ceiling where they appeared and disappeared!
Observing Hiashi's finally-changing expression, Black Zetsu felt quite pleased inside.
Teaching these mindless White Zetsus to do that had cost him a lot of effort!
"Intelligence... Gold..."
Hiashi sighed deeply.
Truthfully speaking, the prerequisites for establishing a powerful covert organization were already in place now.
After all, what Konoha currently had no shortage of were ninja who felt unrecognized and languished in unfulfilled ambitions.
And exactly those individuals would make ideal targets!
"Since that's the case," although fully aware that Black Zetsu—whose origins remained unknown—might harbor some hidden ulterior motives, Hiashi still clenched his teeth and made his decision: "Then let's do it!"
Frankly speaking, he'd had enough of his current predicament! And the offer was just too good to pass up!
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