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Orochimaru laid his heart bare, hoping Jiraiya would halt his investigation into Kara.
"To hear something so sentimental from you is truly eye-opening," Jiraiya replied, deeply moved but not swayed. "If you're so worried about me, clean up your own mess out there quickly, and we'll join forces. How about it?"
Orochimaru simply smiled, offering no answer.
Jiraiya pressed on, turning the tables. "Difficulties, my friend?"
Orochimaru sighed. "I have my own rhythm and pace. For Sasuke-kun's… more robust development, it is necessary, to a certain extent, to allow 'promising enemies' to grow. A targeted cultivation…"
Jiraiya laughed. "So you finally admit it. Yes, this is the classic 'nurture the enemy to strengthen oneself.' You let threats develop, all so Sasuke can harvest them for growth! Even if it disrupts the world's current order, you won't hesitate."
"Correct. That is my method. I will not defend or explain it. Satisfied?" Orochimaru's gaze was steady. "Now, will you consider my proposal?"
"You have your way. I won't interfere." Jiraiya's voice hardened, resolve ironclad. "I have mine. Don't interfere with me. The destination is the same, only the paths differ. Let's change the future our own ways."
No room for compromise. None.
Orochimaru shrugged, a gesture of weary acceptance. "Fine. Understood."
A faint, lonely shadow crossed his old friend's expression, and Jiraiya's heart softened.
Ah, Orochimaru… if you'd shown even half this concern back when I was chasing your shadow, would I have grown so disheartened?
"Relax. I know what I'm doing. More importantly, I know my life has purpose now. So I cherish it more than anyone. I won't act recklessly." To ease Orochimaru's mind, Jiraiya revealed his plan. "I have a strategy."
"Since Nagato and Konan withdrew from Amegakure, the village has had no real leader. It's become a true no-man's-land. Perfect for fringe elements. Add to that, the people of Ame have a… piety. A belief in 'deities.' Many outside cults are trying to infiltrate."
"Konan and I know this. Yet we haven't intervened. Why?"
"Because 'Kara' has cult-like branches. In fact… in the previous timeline, they infiltrated Ame."
"We're waiting. Waiting for Kara's hounds to enter Ame. Then we close the net."
"Our justification won't be attacking Kara. It will be retaking sovereignty over Ame as its former masters. With Kara's style, they'll discard the expendable pawns."
"Then, through those discarded pawns, we find our entry point for a deeper investigation."
"Kara's members are divided into 'Outers' and 'Inners,' correct?"
"I'm not greedy. This plan aims to lure out one 'Outer.' Start from there, try to contact an 'Inner.' Step by step, extract Kara's core intel."
"That's my 'Shell-Cracking' plan. Worthy of your discerning eyes?"
Orochimaru listened, chin resting on his knuckles as he weighed every word. "If you can restrain yourself from overreaching… it is a solid plan. For your intellect."
Jiraiya grinned. "I admit I'm no master strategist. This is the most practical approach I could devise."
Orochimaru lowered his hand. "Then we proceed with your scheme for now. When necessary, I will provide assistance. Someone you're familiar with. And it's his own wish~"
Jiraiya knew. He meant Nagato.
Nagato stayed with Orochimaru instead of returning to Jiraiya and Konan. The fate that had orchestrated half his life wasn't over. That karmic thread remained uncut. It wasn't yet time to let everything go for the sake of their teacher-student bond.
With that, Orochimaru bid farewell and left the sacred land of Shikkotsu Forest.
The geography of Shikkotsu Forest was unique among the sage realms. Lady Katsuyu prized solitude and had established a barrier. Within a certain radius, spatial ninjutsu was blocked.
So, after exiting the forest proper, Orochimaru had to walk some distance before he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to Pale Moon Island.
Yet… he walked the path he had taken for a long time, never leaving the barrier's influence.
He sensed the dissonance. As he walked, he planted kunai as markers.
Half an hour later… he saw his own marker ahead.
"Indeed. I'm walking in circles."
The barrier of Shikkotsu Forest didn't cause disorientation. Even if Lady Katsuyu could alter it—which she could—she was meticulous and serious. Without compelling reason, she never would.
Meaning… someone else was behind this.
A smile of genuine interest touched Orochimaru's lips as he gazed into the thickening mist ahead. "To ensnare me in a 'labyrinth' without my notice… Who are you? Care to show yourself?"
Chirrrrp…
A long, melancholic cry echoed from the mist.
A prompt. A lure.
Orochimaru looked up. A flicker of light, like a golden eye, swayed in the mid-air haze, drifting away into the distance.
A silent taunt.
—Dare you follow?
Heh.
Orochimaru's smile widened. He surged forward, becoming a flash in the mist.
His mind raced.
To catch even me off guard now… their origins cannot be trivial. An unforeseen 'Ōtsutsuki'… lying in wait?
But he quickly dismissed the thought.
"No… if it were such a variable, their methods would be far more brazen."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Fox-fire orbs ignited within the mist, streaking toward him.
"!?"
Orochimaru's eyes sharpened.
—Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ghostly flames scattered.
Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp!
The cry came again, urgent now.
Hurry up! Stop dawdling!
"An impatient one, are you?" Orochimaru mused aloud.
Fwoom!
A cloak of chakra, blazing vermillion, erupted around him. He became a streak of crimson light, giving chase.
The power of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode was sensing malice.
"This peculiar resonance… could it be…?"
A suspicion took root in his mind, not yet fully formed.
He stopped at the foot of a mountain.
A winding stone staircase led up to a shrine at its peak.
Fushimi Inari Shrine.
Orochimaru's smile returned, deeper, knowing.
"Ah. I see."
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