The white snake opposite was, naturally, Orochimaru.
At this moment, although Aburame Shibi's face still showed no expression, his heart was actually extremely serious.
The Root and Danzo Shimura, who were attacking their Shinobi Clans outside, were certainly not good people, but was Orochimaru someone easy to get along with?
Aburame Shibi had personally experienced the Second and Third Ninja Wars and had become a Clan Head. During the war, he had witnessed Orochimaru's various cruel methods many times, so he obviously couldn't harbor such naive thoughts.
Moreover, in Konoha's official narrative, Orochimaru was now a Rogue Ninja.
If the situation hadn't become utterly dire, Aburame Shibi would probably have continued to feign cooperation with him as before, as much as possible.
Unfortunately, he had no choice.
This always silent man bowed deeply before the white snake: "The current situation in Konoha is becoming increasingly severe. For many days, Root has continuously harassed the people of various Clans, and countless individuals have been inexplicably arrested and accused. Even within my own Clan, many tried to resist but were all defeated, and the Shinobi Clans Alliance is nothing but a loose sand."
"If this continues, and the Ninja of various Clans are pushed to their limits, Konoha might repeat the Hidden Mist's mistakes."
"By then, I'm afraid I won't have the opportunity to help you, sir."
"I hope Lord Orochimaru can point out a path to survival for the major Shinobi Clans."
His voice was soft yet firm.
Unfortunately, even after spending many days with the other party, Orochimaru had only ordered him to help find some not-so-important information, and his targets were very scattered. Even Aburame Shibi couldn't determine what the Rogue Ninja's purpose was in returning to the Village.
Therefore, he had no room for negotiation.
However, no matter what, it was at least better than waiting for death, wasn't it?
"Heh…"
Listening to his words, Orochimaru's voice showed no annoyance. He merely looked at him with his snake eyes, full of interest, his slender snake body twisting slightly, causing the candlelight reflected on his white scales to shimmer dazzlingly.
His voice was hoarse and steady, with a hint of unintentional mockery: "It has already come to this, Shibi-kun, are you still merely seeking to 'live'?"
"Root's actions are tacitly approved by my dear teacher. I presume both you and Shikaku-kun must have realized this by now, haven't you?"
"The Hokage faction has completely torn off its disguise."
"Your only choices are submission or… resistance."
The moment those words fell, Aburame Shibi's heart involuntarily skipped a beat, and even the gaze hidden beneath his shadows and sunglasses flickered.
His voice sounded a little difficult: "We are, after all, Konoha Ninja."
"But who truly represents 'Konoha'?"
Orochimaru's tone was light and seductive: "If you lack such resolve, then you don't need to ponder resistance or anything else."
"After all, ever since Lord Tobirama's generation, haven't you already grown accustomed to living under this system?"
"Now, what's the big deal if you take another step back?"
Listening to Orochimaru's words, Aburame Shibi involuntarily clenched his fists but didn't speak immediately. He pondered for a moment before saying, "Lord Orochimaru should know."
"Our… current strength is really limited."
"Moreover, Root has now used small benefits to win over a large number of civilian Ninja to work for them, while our Shinobi Clans are disunited, truly powerless to act."
"This is really…"
Aburame Shibi was speaking from the heart.
If their Shinobi Clans still possessed the power to mobilize the entire Clan with absolute authority, like in the Sengoku period, they would have rebelled long ago.
However, nowadays, most Ninja Clan members also grew up in the Ninja Academy, received comprehensive instruction in the Will of Fire, and were accustomed to life in the Village.
The distribution of benefits within the Shinobi Clans, however, mostly favored the high-ranking members of the Clan. Although not as strict as the Hyuga Clan, the class divisions were still clear.
At such a time, seeing so many high-ranking officials and their children, who once benefited, suffer, who knows how much these lower-ranking Shinobi Clans secretly rejoiced.
It was precisely because he was so clear about this that Aburame Shibi had never seriously considered directly confronting the Hokage faction. Even when his Clan members tried to resist, he forcibly suppressed them.
"What does that matter?"
As if seeing through his little thoughts, Orochimaru's tone from within his snake body became even more composed: "Can your goal only be achieved by directly defeating the Hokage faction?"
"Root can now besiege the Shinobi Clans because they wield great power, their targets do not involve the civilians who make up the majority of the Village's population, and they can also feed the civilian Ninja by cutting away the Shinobi Clans' interests, creating large gaps."
"But the premise for all of this is that the overall stability of the Village can be maintained."
Aburame Shibi roughly understood what he meant, furrowed his brow slightly, and whispered, "Lord Orochimaru's idea is… to create chaos?"
"But, ever since this operation began, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has been under heavy protection. We also tried methods to contact him, but all failed."
As he said this, when he looked up, he seemed to see a mocking smile on the white snake's face, and he said hoarsely, "It is precisely because I know this that I appear before you."
Aburame Shibi's heart skipped a beat: "Does Lord mean…?"
"In a base about thirty kilometers from the Village, I have prepared a substantial gift for you."
"All you need to do is organize your remaining strength, break through the encirclement, and bring that gift to the center of the Village."
"Then, open it."
The smile in Orochimaru's voice grew richer, as if he was anticipating the scene at that moment.
Aburame Shibi's heart rate also accelerated, and the scenes of constant suppression over the past few days flashed through his mind, but he couldn't settle down for a moment.
"Alright, go out."
Orochimaru's snake body coiled back into its original position, looking at him calmly: "This is not something you alone can decide."
"I have already pointed out the clear path for you all."
"Now, it depends on whether your Shinobi Clans can make up your minds."
Upon hearing this, Aburame Shibi bowed his head deeply: "Yes."
"Thank you for your mercy, sir."
After these words fell, Aburame Shibi quickly walked out of the basement, a hint of eagerness inadvertently flickering in his eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses.
Indeed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, represented the overall situation of Konoha.
But before he became Hokage, wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi merely a Ninja Clan Ninja?
He didn't notice.
After he turned around, a hint of disdain inadvertently appeared in Orochimaru's vertical pupils.
Not until the basement door closed.
Only then did Orochimaru retract his gaze and begin to ponder in secret.
However, what he was thinking about was not the boring political struggle between the Shinobi Clans and the Village, but the young man who had once appeared before him, toying with him in the palm of his hand.
"Aizen Sōsuke…" Under the flickering candlelight, a hint of thought flashed in his golden vertical pupils.
Several months had passed since the night he was "killed" by Aizen, but what happened that night still clung to his mind like a persistent illness, not daring to forget a single detail.
From planning and observation to guiding him to discover "A" and restart his research on Wood Release, and finally resolving everything with lightning speed, completely erasing his existence.
This young man's methods were like a poisonous snake hidden beneath humus, striking with deadly precision.
Even his survival to this day was purely due to a bit of luck.
That night, the reason he wasn't completely engulfed by the Wood Release cells wasn't due to any contingency plan. Instead, that massive amount of Wood Release cells, guided by some power, attached themselves to his body. After coming into contact with his Cursed Seal and soul, they suddenly changed, transforming into Chakra and implanting themselves into his soul.
Even now, Orochimaru still hasn't figured out what Aizen truly did to his body and soul. He can only carefully store his main body and act cautiously, relying entirely on these backup bodies, which are split across various vessels.
Compared to his previous methods, he was being extremely careful.
However, misfortune and fortune are intertwined.
After the Wood Release cells completely invaded his body, he unexpectedly gained a "contingency plan" with extremely high Wood Release affinity as a result.
Although it was highly unlikely to surpass Senju Hashirama of yesteryear, it was already a significant improvement compared to his original methods.
Clearly, anyone with absolutely overwhelming power would never choose schemes and tricks.
However, without having figured out Aizen Sōsuke's trump card, Orochimaru still cautiously chose to act discreetly.
In these short few months, too many changes had occurred in the Village.
The Uchiha suffered heavy losses, the Hyuga Main Family was wiped out, and even the Nine-Tailed was released once, used to fight who knows what, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, that brat, actually survived…
All of this forced Orochimaru to begin to revere the powers hidden in the "unknown."
"Hiss hiss…"
The white snake's eyes stared at the gradually steady candlelight before him, as if recalling the words the young man had said to him during their last meeting, his gaze distant: "Changing this world, huh…"
"Aizen Sōsuke."
"What kind of world do you envision?"
Days later, many Clan Heads, summoned urgently, gathered once again.
However, compared to their previous composure, the atmosphere in the hall this time was clearly much more tense and serious. Many of the smaller Clan Heads even bore injuries, and their faces were incredibly pale.
Although Root and several large Shinobi Clans maintained a tacit understanding, not arresting their top leaders to maintain stability, these smaller Clans, totaling only dozens of people and with few Ninja, were not included in that agreement.
Many among them had previously made discriminatory remarks and had followed Orochimaru for many years.
Being injured, having part of their property confiscated, having their secret techniques collected, and even being forced to provide their own blood for research were all very common occurrences.
Ever since the Internal Affairs Department began its cleansing operation, Konoha's attitude towards the Shinobi Clans has become increasingly hostile.
However, most of the people present at the moment were not in the mood to pay attention to their situation, with their gazes largely fixed on the few individuals seated at the front.
Nara Shikaku, the strategist with no bad habits, was now frowning as he lit a cigarette. Most of those beside him also wore solemn expressions, seemingly finding it difficult to make a decision, listening quietly to Aburame Shibi's words.
Aburame Shibi did not embellish anything, but truthfully explained to everyone the commands Orochimaru had successively given him since his appearance, as well as the plan discussed today.
After revealing everything, he quietly closed his mouth as usual.
"Hmph…"
Nara Shikaku let out a long breath, thin smoke drifting in the slightly cramped secret room. He raised his hand to extinguish the light on the cigarette butt and turned to look at everyone.
"What do you all think?"
"What's there to think about?! Of course, we should do it!"
Moonlight Clan Head's expression was indignant, as aggressive as last time. He looked at the people around him and loudly declared, "The situation has reached this point, do you still harbor any illusions?"
"I've said it before, for Ninja, destructive power is our greatest value!"
"If economic pressure could make that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi change his mind, then it wouldn't have been Senju and Uchiha dominating everything during the Sengoku period!"
As soon as he spoke, many people secretly glanced in Nara Shikaku's direction.
The previous plan of economic pressure and political defense could now be said to have completely failed. For this Shinobi Clans strategist, it was clearly no small blow to his prestige.
However, Nara Shikaku remained silent, just listening quietly.
"Exactly!"
"I couldn't stand it anymore!"
"Yeah, what's there to discuss?"
"If we knew this would happen, we should have chosen Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage back then…"
As soon as Moonlight Clan Head's words rang out, there was a chorus of agreement from around.
Nara Shikaku's gaze swept across, and most of those speaking were the Clan Heads of smaller Clans who had suffered heavy losses these past few days. They had long since reached their limit.
Conversely, the Clan Heads whose words carried the most weight largely remained silent.
"That's true, but have you considered that our own Clan lands are also in Konoha?"
"Right now, none of us know what Orochimaru intends to unleash."
"If it's like the Nine-Tailed back then, rampaging indiscriminately as soon as it appears, what about the losses we'll suffer?"
"Moreover, there are still so many Konoha villagers…"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the speaker.
It was an elderly man, somewhat aged, but still robust and large in physique, with slightly faded red hair.
It was Akimichi Torifu, Tobirama's disciple back then and Hiruzen Sarutobi's former teammate.
As for the current Akimichi Clan Head, Akimichi Choza, he sat quietly beside him, not speaking.
Originally, given Akimichi Torifu's status, he shouldn't have been present at such an occasion, but Danzo's recent actions had indeed made him somewhat unable to restrain himself.
He just hadn't expected these guys to propose such a nearly suicidal move right from the start.
Moreover, his words not only reflected his own concerns but also those of many Shinobi Clans present.
Breaking ties wasn't the problem, but what to do after breaking ties was indeed a big headache.
Ultimately, there was still a mentality of wanting to break the blockade and eliminate the enemy, yet being unwilling to pay any price.
Furthermore, with their own side suffering economic losses unilaterally, while other Shinobi Clans only contributed manpower, the difference was significant.
Getting these Shinobi Clans with uneven benefits to advance and retreat together has always been a difficult task.
"Hmph."
"It's come to this, and you're still thinking about all this nonsense."
Inuzuka Tsume bared her teeth, sneering at these cowardly allies, and disdainfully said, "Do you idiots even understand the situation?"
"At this point, even if we go all out, we might not be able to gain an advantage against the Hokage faction, let alone think about any future."
"With your current attitude, we might as well disband early and wait to be continually carved up!"
"Anyway, our Inuzuka Clan has enough members. No matter how ruthless Hiruzen Sarutobi is, I don't believe he can kill us all!"
""
The people present fell silent for a moment.
That's right.
Even if the Shinobi Clans suffered great damage, the last to fall would always be the largest among them.
Conversely, for these smaller Clans, a few arrests would probably drain all their family wealth.
How could they have the luxury to think so much?
After all, everything that was happening now, from the pruning of the two great wings of Uchiha and Hyuga to the current series of suppressions against the Shinobi Clans, increasingly resembled an orderly advancing conspiracy.
At this point, could the Hokage Office simply decide to stop?
Just as their hearts began to waver, Nara Shikaku delivered a timely blow: "I propose that, in order to compensate the families that might suffer losses, we establish a temporary Shinobi Clans Economic Mutual Aid Association, with each contributing funds to support the Clans with the largest investment and most losses."
With the two playing good cop, bad cop, much of the worry in many people's hearts immediately eased.
"If it succeeds, that's good, but… what if it fails?"
Inoichi Yamanaka said with worry.
The current strength of the Internal Affairs Department was something even these Shinobi Clans dared not underestimate in the slightest.
"Then we only gather a small, capable force, only issue missions, and inform them of the danger."
At this moment, Aburame Shibi, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke: "Additionally, it's best to gather this available personnel under the pretext of self-assembly, and try to exclude us."
"While some things are understood, there's still a difference between completely breaking ties and maintaining some semblance of a bottom line."
As soon as these words were uttered, another layer of shackles was lifted from the crowd.
The discussion in the secret room began to heat up.
As everyone present contributed their thoughts, the strength of the Shinobi Clans finally, and rarely, began to coalesce, and the framework of the entire plan became increasingly complete.
Only Nara Shikaku had not spoken another word since then, just listening quietly.
He believed Aburame Shibi had told them everything he knew.
However, he still had some worries.
The reason was none other than Orochimaru's existence.
Indeed, if the Shinobi Clans' actions succeeded, it would naturally suppress the prestige of the Hokage faction. If the impact was large enough, even Danzo might pay a significant price.
Because this action would sufficiently prove the destructive power of the Shinobi Clans, making them valuable enough in the Hokage's eyes.
But what did Orochimaru want?
Did he want to deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi? Danzo Shimura? Or Root, which was currently hunting down his remaining followers?
Not only Orochimaru, but even the Hokage Office's aggressive actions in recent days made him feel a strong sense of incongruity.
There must be some deeper, unknown reasons and objectives behind the actions of the Hokage Office and Orochimaru.
Perhaps even a conspiracy.
And no matter how these Shinobi Clans moved, they were merely pawns crossing the river, being manipulated by others.
Even with Nara Shikaku's wisdom, under the unilateral suppression of information, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of powerlessness.
Watching the increasingly fervent discussions among the Ninja Clan Heads, this sense of powerlessness grew stronger, because in the current situation of short-term losses, others probably couldn't understand his worries at all.
Nara Shikaku could only watch it all unfold.
Soon, after everyone's discussion, the entire plan was set.
Codename: Breakthrough.
Late at night, with a sparse moon and stars.
The stone steps glowed with a cold, bluish-gray light under the moonlight, and the accumulated snow at the edges had collapsed into honeycomb-like holes, revealing the dark green moss beneath.
Icicles on the eaves of the guard post dripped water, tapping out intermittent soft sounds on the copper rings of the doorposts, while several Ninja on the watchtower silently lurked in the darkness, quietly observing the anomalies inside and out.
Ever since the Internal Affairs Department began its cleansing operation, all of Konoha had entered a state of war.
The once bustling night market was gone, and the previously lax patrol Ninja were working overtime to enforce the curfew, the crunch of boots on fallen leaves exceptionally clear.
If one were to look down from a high vantage point at this moment, the entire Village would resemble a giant beast immersed in the heavy night, exuding a solemn sense of alarm.
Several Ninja standing on the city wall quietly watched the distance. One of the younger ones yawned slightly, unconsciously thinking about the B-rank Ninjutsu scroll he had received yesterday to commend his achievements, and couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart.
Normally, these advanced techniques were tightly held within the various Shinobi Clans. When would Ninja from commoner backgrounds like them ever receive such treatment?
If he also trained diligently and earned a few more merits for the Village, in a few years he should be able to be designated a Special Jonin, right?
As long as he could cross the Chunin threshold, his life would be different!
The young Ninja thought this, trying to cheer himself up.
Just as he was thinking with some excitement.
"Who's there?!"
Suddenly, a shout from a hidden sentry echoed in his ears.
The young Ninja instinctively turned around, his hand already on the kunai at his waist, and abruptly leaped back a step, trying to discern the situation.
However, before his foot could land, he felt a sharp blade unexpectedly pierce his back, letting out a muffled thud.
He widened his eyes, staring in astonishment at the other Ninja's forehead protector, which bore the same symbol as his own, and the gleeful, distorted smile on his face. Using his last burst of strength, he took a deep breath and shouted, "Enemy attack——!"