If you can't take down the mission target and there's danger, why wouldn't you retreat?
As a Ninja from the same era as the First Hokage, Kakuzu was an old fox; seeing things weren't right, he left quite decisively.
With his strength, if he insisted on leaving, it would be truly difficult to stop him.
Uchiha Gen and the others could have risked their lives to buy time to stall him, but it wasn't worth it.
Because that would truly cost lives.
In a situation where victory was already assured, there was no need to do that.
Kakuzu's withdrawal almost served as a signal.
Chiyo, who had pinned her hopes on Kakuzu changing the tide of battle, finally chose to give up as well, leading her remnants away with great effort.
"It's finally over!"
Amidst the continuous drizzle, Kome Aki used his foot to kick away a corpse soaking in bloody water, his face pale.
They had all sustained various injuries during the fight with Kakuzu.
"After this battle, Sunagakure shouldn't have any spare power left to try and open a breach. The next battle should be the time to completely clear them out of the Land of Rain."
Maruboshi Kosuke said while bandaging his leg, looking at the land baptized by the flames of war.
Kome Aki gave a light chuckle, showing both the relaxation after a major battle and mockery toward Sunagakure.
"It's no wonder they were willing to pay a heavy price to hire Kakuzu; they must be desperate."
Uchiha Gen didn't join the conversation. After giving himself some treatment, he went with Tsunade to treat the heavily injured Konoha Ninjas. Only after confirming they could stabilize those whose lives could be saved did they have some time to rest.
With great power comes great responsibility. Uchiha Gen sometimes felt like he was being worked like a donkey because he knew too many things.
However, once he finished his immediate tasks and Orochimaru approached him, the two inevitably talked about Kakuzu and the mastermind behind the scenes.
"Do you think those people were the ones who hired Kakuzu?"
Orochimaru examined the body of a Sunagakure Ninja on the ground and turned back to ask Uchiha Gen.
The latter didn't answer immediately but pointed at the Sunagakure Ninja.
"This guy isn't completely dead. To avoid accidents, we should destroy his eardrums first."
Orochimaru chuckled.
"It doesn't matter. He's already been hit by my snake venom. Except for his consciousness remaining clear, his five senses have been sealed. He can't hear us. Continue."
"Kakuzu came to capture me, not to kill me."
Hearing this, Orochimaru understood instantly.
"Their last operation failed, so this time they found a way to use Sunagakure's power and finances to hire Kakuzu. It's clear that none of them have strength at Kakuzu's level. That strange creature from last time was likely the strongest combat force they could command."
"With your current strength, you've likely exceeded their capabilities, otherwise they wouldn't have hired Kakuzu. However, they can't keep hiring experts of that caliber forever."
"But if this continues, you'll be too passive. It's best to find out their purpose so you can potentially get rid of them."
Uchiha Gen remained silent, only nodding slowly.
He naturally knew Madara's purpose, but he didn't know how to say it reasonably.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's analysis continued.
"We don't know exactly what that purpose is, but we can analyze it through the unique traits you show compared to others. Then it becomes very simple."
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Gen with burning eyes and uttered two words.
"Talent, and Bloodline."
Hmm?
"What do you mean, Orochimaru-sensei—?"
Uchiha Gen thought Orochimaru might have the wrong idea.
"You have extremely high talent. Even I didn't possess Jonin-level combat power at your age, and I had only mastered the Nature Transformation of one attribute."
"Your Ninja talent is a once-in-a-century rarity, yet you happen to be an Uchiha who has awakened the power in your bloodline."
"So think about it, who was the last Uchiha worthy of being called a once-in-a-century genius?"
"Are you trying to say—Uchiha Madara?"
Uchiha Gen's expression was a bit strange.
This had actually accidentally linked back to Madara again.
"Yes! The person behind the scenes must want to use you to research the limits of the Sharingan's power."
Orochimaru said in a convinced tone.
At his level, he had some knowledge.
Although the Mangekyo Sharingan hadn't appeared in many years, he still knew there was a level above the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Back then, Uchiha Madara relied on the power of those eyes to become a peerless expert on the same level as Senju Hashirama, dominating the Ninja World.
Even now, the Konoha higher-ups haven't given up on exploring Hashirama's Wood Release power, attempting to recreate the First Hokage's strength. So it's only logical that others are chasing Madara's power.
Uchiha Gen's talent was visible to the naked eye; he was the Uchiha most likely to reach that level.
"It's just that while those people saw your potential, they failed to respect the rapid speed of progress your potential brings. They misjudged your strength twice. Now that you have enough strength to protect yourself, they don't have many moves left. I think they will soon shift targets."
"At least, I think they will select other Uchiha with certain potential to carry out this plan."
"If other Uchiha truly encounter similar incidents in the future, it will prove that my guess is partially correct—at the very least, they need an Uchiha who is under their control and has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."
Uchiha Gen now somewhat admired Orochimaru's reasoning ability.
Without seeing the whole picture, he had caught a glimpse of the truth. Through just a few phenomena, he had analyzed these things, and they were all correct.
While it couldn't point directly to Uchiha Madara's ultimate plan, it at least matched Madara's current stage goals.
He needed a powerful Uchiha under his control who inherited his will. Someone to become the second Madara after his death.
To fully take over his legacy and have the ability to plot across the Ninja World, one would need at least a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan.
Thinking about it this way, he had been lucky to survive the two crises.
Last time, the Ninja Path Sasuke card he drew unexpectedly unlocked the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, causing his strength to soar so he could break through the encirclement.
And now, if it were the same version of himself that fought White Zetsu, he definitely wouldn't have lasted this long against Chiyo and Kakuzu. It was because of that ability transplant card, which effectively gave him an extra card slot and raised his strength another half-step, combined with knowing Kakuzu's intel and having abilities that countered Puppeteers, that he could hold out for so long against Kage-level Experts like Kakuzu and Chiyo.