"Jie, don't be so impatient."
Orochimaru wasn't in a hurry to draw the Kusanagi Sword. Instead, he spoke to Jie Uchiha in a smooth, seductive tone. "I have a plan. I wonder if you might be interested in participating?"
"What plan?"
Having just obtained the Ryuchi Cave summoning scroll, Jie was in a remarkably good mood. He was genuinely curious to hear what kind of amusing scheme Orochimaru had brewing.
"Jie, why don't we head to my laboratory so we can sit down and discuss this at length?" Orochimaru suggested, licking his pale lips with a faint smile.
"Fine," Jie said coolly. "This crowd is getting irritating. I wasn't sure how long I'd keep my patience."
Jie wasn't the least bit afraid of whatever conspiracy Orochimaru might be plotting. With his current strength, unless the Sannin somehow managed to use Edo Tensei to summon the Sage of Six Paths, Orochimaru posed absolutely zero threat to him.
Even poison wasn't much of a concern. His Intermediate Sage Body, strengthened by his Toughness trait, could handle most toxins with ease. Even the deadliest ones would be weakened. And in a worst-case scenario, he still had Setsuna to pull himself back from the edge.
With overwhelming strength came absolute fearlessness.
Upon entering Orochimaru's base, Jie couldn't help but frown at the dark, oppressively damp atmosphere. Orochimaru truly saw himself as a snake, going so far as to design his headquarters to mimic a serpent's natural, subterranean habitat.
After walking past one grotesque laboratory after another, Orochimaru finally led Jie into a space that vaguely resembled a reception room.
"I wonder, what are your views on life?" Orochimaru asked, a flicker of fanaticism flashing in his serpentine eyes as he licked his lips.
However, without waiting for Jie to answer, Orochimaru plowed ahead, lost in his own ideology. "I feel that a ninja's life is far too fragile. A single stray shuriken or a well-placed kunai can easily claim the life of even the most powerful shinobi. Even someone as legendary as the First Hokage couldn't escape the merciless ravages of time."
He leaned in closer. "So, Jie, have you ever considered immortality? Never having to worry about aging, sickness, or death. Never having to fear that a sudden ambush will end your existence. To live on, forever, until you master the ultimate secrets of every jutsu in this world. Do you truly not desire such an existence?"
Orochimaru's eyes were ablaze with zeal, his face twisting into an expression of barely contained madness as he stared excitedly at the Uchiha prodigy.
"Are you talking about your flawed Living Corpse Reincarnation?" Jie mocked, his tone dripping with disdain. "To turn into some half-human, half-ghost monstrosity like you, saddled with a soul so mottled and fragile it couldn't withstand a single solid blow?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru froze. Disbelief washed over his pale features.
The Living Corpse Reincarnation was a forbidden immortality jutsu he had developed after leaving Konoha, born from his darkest research into the human soul. Aside from himself and his most deeply trusted subordinates, no one else knew of its existence. Where on earth had Jie Uchiha heard of it?
Furthermore, the jutsu was incomplete. The fact that the user's soul would become fragmented and vulnerable after switching vessels was a terrifying flaw Orochimaru had only discovered after performing his first reincarnation. He hadn't breathed a word of that flaw to a single living soul. How did Jie know?
"It seems you are hiding quite a few secrets," Orochimaru said, forcing himself to recover from his fanatic stupor and slipping back into his cold, calculating persona. "It makes me look forward to this more and more."
"What's the plan? Spit it out," Jie demanded impatiently. "If you keep trying to string me along with this so-called immortality nonsense, you aren't going to like the consequences."
Orochimaru's gaze turned probing. "I wonder if you have any interest in destroying the Hidden Leaf?"
"Destroying Konoha?" A flash of genuine surprise crossed Jie's face.
'Was Orochimaru already talking about the Konoha Crush Plan?' That event was still nearly a decade away from happening. 'Was the snake really starting his preparations this early?'
Misinterpreting Jie's surprise as interest, Orochimaru began to explain with renewed vigor. "The current Konoha, suffering under that old man's rule, has become completely rotten. A village that has decayed from its very roots has no right to exist...Why not join me? We could tear it down and build something better in its place."
Hearing the pitch, Jie fell silent, his mind racing.
This plan was virtually identical to the future Konoha Crush Plan he knew from canon. The only variable was his own existence.
It was true that once the Konoha higher-ups were eradicated, the village would inevitably fall into the hands of the Uchiha clan, allowing them to usher in a new era of prosperity. In a way, Orochimaru's proposal aligned perfectly with Jie's own ultimate goals. Both paths led to the destruction of the current leadership and an Uchiha takeover.
The difference lay in the execution. Jie's original intent was for the Uchiha clan to act directly—forcing Hiruzen Sarutobi to abdicate the Hokage seat. Then, once Fugaku Uchiha took power, they would systematically purge the two parasites remaining in the elder council.
But under Orochimaru's framework, the Sannin himself would strike the fatal blow, killing Hiruzen and annihilating the higher-ups. Finally, the Uchiha clan would dramatically step out of the shadows to turn the tide, appearing as the village's saviors and legitimately seizing control with the full support of the people.
Comparing the two options, Jie had to admit he was tempted.
If they played it Orochimaru's way, the snake would bear the entirety of the village's hatred. Hiruzen and the elders would die by his hands. The Uchiha, meanwhile, would emerge as spotless heroes, making their ascent to power utterly unopposed.
But there was a glaring flaw in that logic. 'What did Orochimaru get out of it?' Why would he do the dirtiest, most grueling work, attract all the hatred, and paint a massive target on his own back? 'Was his ultimate goal merely to kill his old teacher to vent his personal grudges?'
Even a fool could tell things wouldn't be that simple.
"What do you want out of this?" Jie asked directly, cutting to the core of the issue.
Hearing the blunt question, Orochimaru licked his lips. He subconsciously glanced at Jie's eyes, his throat suddenly dry. "Once the plan is complete... I want a pair of eyes exactly like yours."
Boom!
Before Orochimaru could even finish his sentence, a terrifying, suffocating aura erupted from Jie's body. The immense pressure slammed into the room, causing all the hairs on Orochimaru's body to stand on end as his instincts screamed at him to go on the defensive.
"What did you say you want?"
Jie's eyes locked onto him, his tone calm but cold.
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