The winding tunnel twisted like a snake's body, and the air carried a chilling coldness that was hard to describe.
Wet moss crept through the cracks in the stone. Water laced with minerals slid down the walls, leaving behind cloudy pale streaks.
Danzō stared darkly into the Mangekyō reflected in Orochimaru's eyes. The wrinkles at the corners of his own eye bunched together like a tiny fan, while his Mangekyō spun at high speed, releasing a faint crimson glow.
There was no need to explain the power of Kotoamatsukami.
He could sense the Yin Release power taking root in Orochimaru's mind, settling in, implanting, disturbing, and twisting his will little by little within his subconscious. It would not take long before Orochimaru became his puppet completely.
The plan had succeeded.
Getting Orochimaru to kill Konome Taketori and avenge him was only one excuse for contacting him.
Returning to Konoha and taking control of Root again had always been an unrealistic fantasy.
Using the subtlety of Kotoamatsukami to directly seize control of Orochimaru's subconscious had been his true goal from the very beginning.
Konome Taketori had to die. The Sharingan could be handed over to Orochimaru. But the price would be Orochimaru himself, along with the hidden village force he had built over so many years.
The damp cold air could not cool the burning heat in Danzō's heart. Greed filled his eyes like a starving wolf staring at a thick slab of meat.
On the way here, he had used Sharingan perception to roughly survey the place.
Orochimaru's Otogakure in the Land of Rice Fields had several hundred ninja. There were over a dozen at tokubetsu jōnin or jōnin level. Their quality was not equal to his Root, but it was still enough to qualify as a mid-tier ninja organization.
And if Orochimaru and Danzō himself were counted as Kage-level fighters, then aside from the Five Great Nations and that mysterious Akatsuki, Otogakure had already leapt into the ranks of the top powers in the shinobi world. It was even stronger than his old Root.
He could never go back.
No one understood better than Danzō how vile the things he had done truly were.
Every shinobi in Root, Kyouma, Chihaya Tōru, even Ryūma, had already betrayed him. Once Konome exposed everything he had done, there would be nowhere left for him in Konoha. Even if he returned and killed Konome Taketori, what then?
Would Root really return to his hands?
He would rather seize the magpie's nest and take Orochimaru and Otogakure for himself. If he could not become Hokage for now, then becoming Oto no Kage was not such a bad alternative.
But before that, he needed to make sure Kotoamatsukami was truly working on Orochimaru.
"You enter Konoha and kill Konome Taketori for me. After it is done, I will give you twenty pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan. Don't think I cannot produce them. We mastered the means of cultivating three-tomoe eyes years ago."
Leaning forward slightly, Danzō fixed Orochimaru with his single eye and continued throwing out this empty promise, testing whether Orochimaru's will had already been influenced.
If Orochimaru agreed, then it would prove that Kotoamatsukami was working well. At that point, he could use the opportunity to seize Otogakure for himself.
If he had to build a hidden village from scratch, it would take no less than ten years to reach this scale. He did not have that kind of time.
After being betrayed by Konome, he had learned his lesson. Building a power base from nothing with his own hands really was far less efficient than simply taking someone else's.
As Danzō spoke, strange static crept into his voice in the cave air. Orochimaru seemed completely unaware of it. He narrowed his eyes, making the chill in the cave feel three points heavier.
This old man really did not understand his situation.
He had already become a missing-nin from Konoha. In another two days, his wanted notice would probably be out. Yet he still acted as though he were the old head of Root.
If not for the fact that the Konoha Crush plan truly needed manpower, Orochimaru would already have thrown this useless old relic out of the Land of Rice Fields.
The moment he thought of the coming super Chūnin Exam that would be held in Konoha, Orochimaru rubbed his forehead and felt his head start to ache.
At the moment, there was one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that the Kazekage had already been assassinated by him and Kimimaro together.
His real body was currently in Sunagakure, mobilizing forces in preparation for the Konoha Crush. The one receiving Danzō right now was only a shadow clone.
The bad news was that besides the Kazekage, he might now have to face at least four Kage-level monsters.
No.
If Konome Taketori was included, then that made five.
The instant Orochimaru thought of that tiny figure at Raiko Mountain, wrapped in soaring violet chakra and bursting with bijū-level power, flames lit in his eyes.
The first time Danzō had contacted him and asked him to assassinate Konome Taketori, he had already provided all of her intelligence.
Orochimaru had never imagined that the monster he met at Raiko Mountain under the name Yato was actually the shared final disciple of both Hiruzen and Danzō. She was even a Taketori clan orphan just like Kimimaro, and very likely a shinobi who had awakened Shikotsumyaku as well.
At six years old, she had already possessed elite jōnin-level strength. She had joined him in defeating Kisame Hoshigaki at Raiko Mountain, and even taken the weapon that could devour chakra.
Later, Orochimaru had thrown the Taketori clan treasure to her in order to redirect disaster, then escaped using reverse summoning. He had assumed she must have been killed by that mysterious space-time shinobi and that the treasure had fallen into the other man's hands.
Yet she was still alive. And after five years, she had not only managed to usurp Root and drive Danzō out, but had clearly reached Kage level.
It was absurd.
At that thought, Orochimaru suddenly found himself thinking of his own past.
He too had been renowned as a genius in Konoha from childhood. Upon graduating from the Academy, he already had chūnin-level strength.
Later, through reverse summoning, he was accidentally sent to Ryūchi Cave. After surviving a near-death trial, he gained the White Snake Sage's recognition and signed a contract, finally becoming a tokubetsu jōnin.
From there, he had risen swiftly.
At fifteen, after studying the Five Element techniques under Hiruzen, he stepped into jōnin rank.
At twenty, he joined Root and mastered Konoha's secret arts and forbidden techniques.
At twenty-five, he developed his own combat system and used body modification to make up for his lack of chakra, finally crossing the threshold into Kage level.
Only after countless life-and-death battles, endless nights of ninjutsu research, and abandoning emotion, bonds, morality, restraint, even gender and human flesh itself, had he become what he was today.
And what about her?
At twelve, the age when most would still be genin, she already stood at the peak of the shinobi world, commanding Root's countless elites and looking down on the world.
Even Orochimaru, who had always been called a genius, could not help feeling ashamed in comparison.
If not for the fact that she was Kimimaro's clanswoman, and thus highly likely to develop the clan's fatal bloodline illness in the future, making her unsuitable as a vessel for Living Corpse Reincarnation, he would have abandoned the Konoha Crush plan already and rewritten it into a Capture Konome Plan.
That was right.
Even knowing he might soon be facing five Kage-level opponents, he still had no intention of giving up on attacking Konoha. Danzō was without question the best helper for carrying out that plan.
"So? Are you agreeing or not?"
Watching Orochimaru clutch his forehead in thought, Danzō kept his face cold, but inwardly even his toes had curled with tension.
Under normal circumstances, once Kotoamatsukami entered the target's brain, the recipient's eyes would briefly take on the shape of the Mangekyō before the effect sank deeper into the subconscious.
But Orochimaru's eyes had remained in the four-bladed pattern the whole time. Combined with that troubled expression, it was clear he was resisting Kotoamatsukami with sheer willpower.
Danzō had not expected Orochimaru's will to be so stubborn that he could resist even the power of the Mangekyō.
His body quietly tightened. If Orochimaru realized what had happened, then not only would the deal collapse, but a brutal fight between them would likely follow.
"Fine then."
Just as Danzō was about to run out of patience and make a move, Orochimaru finally spoke with obvious reluctance.
He agreed to something this outrageous?
Danzō's heart leapt. Orochimaru really had been controlled by Kotoamatsukami. His plan to take Otogakure was finally about to begin.
"One month from now, during the Five Great Nations' joint exam, while all five Kage are gathered, I will lead Otogakure in attacking Konoha. You will mingle in with the force and wait for the right moment. At that time, we kill Konome first, then cut down Hiruzen."
Eyes glowing red with the spinning pinwheel, Orochimaru spread his arms and calmly laid out his plan, a savage grin stretching across his pale, handsome face, as though Konoha had already fallen.
Only Danzō fell into silence.
The flesh on his face twitched as he stared at Orochimaru, who kept speaking with growing confidence. His narrow eyes were full of horror.
When he used Kotoamatsukami just now, had he accidentally poured in too much eye power? Why was Orochimaru suddenly spouting utter nonsense?
Lead Otogakure in attacking Konoha?
Without my help, your rabble would not even make it into the Root base. And you want to kill Hiruzen while the Five Kage are gathered?
Why not go ahead and declare yourself the God of Shinobi while you are at it?
"Why don't we think this through one more time?"
For the first time in this whole exchange, Danzō, the instigator of everything, actually found himself trying to calm Orochimaru down.
Now that he had finally escaped, he truly had no wish to return to Konoha, least of all in the role of a missing-nin attacking it.
If he really agreed to this, then everything he had stood for all his life would lose its meaning.
But if he and Orochimaru fought here and now, then whatever the outcome, his chance for revenge would likely disappear forever.
His wooden sandals scraped over the slick moss of the cave floor. Danzō stared at Orochimaru, who had already formed the opening seal for a summoning technique, and found himself trapped between two impossible choices.
Meanwhile, time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, seven days were gone.
Team 7, which had been resting ever since returning from the Land of Waves, finally gathered again under Kakashi's summons.
At Training Ground Three, the old scarred wooden posts stood quietly in the center of the circular field.
Crackle. Crackle.
Sasuke sat cross-legged on the ground with a chakra short blade strapped to his back, his whole body wreathed in lightning as he trained his control.
Naruto, dressed in a black fitted short-sleeved shirt, was covered in sweat. Long hours of training had left his muscles engorged with blood. The bulging biceps in his arms stretched the sleeves tight, yet even so, his body still blurred from side to side as he hammered the training posts with a flurry of punches.
"Hiss, hiss…"
His exhalations sounded like the hiss of a cobra. The crackling of thunder was constant.
Leaves rustled in the trees. A faint breeze carried sunlight into the field and gave the air a dry warmth.
Konome leaned against a tree trunk that creaked under her weight, holding a skewer of tri-colored dango bought from a roadside stall. As she ate leisurely, she watched her teammates train with satisfaction.
"Slurp."
Pulling another dango into her mouth, Konome narrowed the eyes hidden beneath her blindfold in contentment. The corners of her lips lifted like a cat smiling.
This was the meaning of her training.
So cute.
Damn it.
Though their feelings were completely different, Naruto and Sasuke both caught the tiny sound with their sharp hearing and stole glances toward Konome.
A faint flush crept over Naruto's cheeks. After all these years together, he had basically given up on the fantasy he once held.
The sheer reality of her existence had shattered it. Her weight was like a heavy freight ship. Her body temperature was hotter than boiling water in a steamer.
And yet the lethality of a first love was still extraordinary. Every time he saw her, his heart still stirred in secret.
Sasuke's feelings, on the other hand, were pure hatred.
Not hatred toward Konome, but hatred toward his own weakness and helplessness.
Konome could lounge there so casually because she possessed monstrous strength beyond ordinary people.
But in the Land of Waves mission, he had essentially done nothing. His own lightning had burned the skin off his legs, while Naruto had stumbled into opening the Gate of Life and grown stronger. He, on the other hand, had not improved at all.
If he had even half of Konome's combat ability, then perhaps he could already be on the road to revenge.
The more clearly he realized his own weakness, the more violent the current around his body became. It crackled and snapped, leaving black scorch marks across his skin.
It did not matter.
As long as he could become stronger, pain meant nothing.
Sasuke's eyes burned red. He was training his Lightning Release control while simultaneously using the pain to push his Sharingan toward evolution.
He had already made up his mind. The moment his Sharingan reached three tomoe, he would go to Konome and sell himself if necessary in exchange for the right to use the Thunder Sword, Kiba.
"It looks like everyone's been working hard."
At that moment, Kakashi strolled out of the woods, holding a yellow-covered copy of Icha Icha Paradise. His dead fish eyes deliberately skipped right over Konome.
"You're late again, huff huff… Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto stopped in place and roared between breaths.
"Sorry. Today I had a very important reason for being late."
Squinting in a smile, Kakashi pointed lazily at Konome and the others with the book in his hand.
"Just now, the Hokage personally issued notice. Konoha will be holding a super Chūnin Exam jointly with the Five Great Nations. As exceptionally outstanding genin of the village, the three of you are required to participate.
That means that for the next two months, Team 7 will not be taking any more missions."
"What!?"
Naruto and Sasuke both straightened at once.
Konome, Chief Proctor herself, calmly pulled the last dango off the skewer and slid it into her mouth.
This joint exam was completely unlike the original. Even the timeline now seemed to be accelerating. The genin in the village with real potential had all been ordered to stop missions and focus entirely on preparing.
It seemed Hiruzen-sensei did not just want first place.
He wanted Konoha to sweep the top three.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to add this story to your Library, drop a review, and leave a Power Stone if you enjoyed it!
Craving more chapters? Join my Patron to unlock advance releases and dive deeper into the story!
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"