After resolving the latent threat within Kimimaro's body, Orochimaru turned to Nagato.
"Are you going to tell Konan what happened here?"
"I…"
Nagato faltered.
His relationship with Konan couldn't be summarized with a mere word like "companion." They had walked the line between life and death together. No one understood him like she did—and no one else did he trust more.
But this time… he hesitated.
The Ōtsutsuki clan—beings even someone like Orochimaru feared. If he told her everything about the secret dealings between them, what would happen if something went wrong? Konan could become their enemy's best leverage.
Perhaps… she would be safer not knowing.
"I've always admired the bond you and Konan share," Orochimaru said, his tone unusually genuine. Fleeting traces of emotion stirred in his eyes.
"But a relationship like that only works when there's some form of… equality. When you stood on level ground, emotionally and in power, it made sense. But now… now that you've regained your body, that balance is gone."
"Tell me, Nagato. What need does a man with strong legs have for crutches?"
His words struck Nagato like a blow.
Nagato had understood this long ago—back when he and Yahiko and Konan trained under Jiraiya. Even as Akatsuki took shape, he remained behind the scenes, letting Yahiko lead and Konan mediate. That dynamic had made sense then. He had wanted to be a friend—not a leader.
But what held that balance together… was power.
Konan and Yahiko had been smart and capable. Nagato was the hidden blade—strong enough to never be disregarded. That power was what allowed him to hide in the background.
But now?
Orochimaru was right. He had recovered. He no longer needed to be carried. So what was he now—still playing the lame man?
Could that same logic—of being the "weak one"—lead to the same tragedy that took Yahiko?
"These are things you'll have to think through yourself," Orochimaru said flatly. "I've offered my perspective—but your choices, and their consequences, belong to you."
He turned toward Kimimaro. "For now, don't return to the Land of Iron. Go to Konoha when the time comes. I'll continue guiding you in Sage Art cultivation."
"Yes."
Kimimaro responded with his usual cold tone. Even though it was good news, his expression didn't shift.
Because Orochimaru had yet to promise anything about saving Kai.
He knew—Orochimaru wasn't even pretending to offer comfort. If it was easy, he'd save him. If not… sentiment wouldn't get in the way. There was no kindness in the path ahead, not when dealing with beings like Ōtsutsuki.
And so, Kimimaro understood what he needed to do.
Grow stronger.
Only then could his value rise high enough for Orochimaru to consider alternatives, to make new calculations where Haku's life factored in.
He knew it was a gamble. A desperate one. But it was the only card he had to play.
"Master Orochimaru," he suddenly asked, lifting his gaze. "You're not returning to Konoha?"
"There are… matters I still need to handle."
Orochimaru's eyes turned west, reflecting the fading sunlight.
---
Meanwhile, in a subterranean chamber elsewhere—
A purple-black portal twisted open, and Jigen stepped out. A middle-aged man was waiting.
"Jigen—what happened just now?"
The man's name was Amado. Though not a fighter, he was a scientific genius, overseeing all the core experiments.
He now served Jigen—partly by force, due to a past tragedy involving his daughter—but his position still granted him authority in most projects.
"I was forcibly summoned by Orochimaru," Jigen said calmly. "But it's nothing to worry about. He won't disrupt our plans. In fact, he might prove… useful."
Amado raised an eyebrow.
"Orochimaru? I know him—Konoha Sannin, right? How could he possibly be of help?"
He had even been attacked by Orochimaru's subordinates once. No matter how infamous Orochimaru was in the ninja world, Amado couldn't imagine someone like him contributing anything to Jigen's cause.
"He's not the same anymore," Jigen said. "He's surpassed the limits of this world."
He sat on his stone throne, chin resting on one hand, his gaze distant.
"A being like an Ōtsutsuki—born from this planet. It's unheard of. I'm… curious about his method of evolution. If applied to our next 'vessel,' it may elevate us further."
The Ōtsutsuki clan focused on spiritual dominance—possessing hosts, reshaping them to fit their divine nature. But their physical forms had always lagged behind.
Only by consuming chakra fruits and reaching extreme levels of evolution could they bridge the gap between body and spirit.
But Orochimaru's evolution suggested something else:
The body reacting to the soul—not the other way around.
It challenged everything Isshiki believed.
Amado's eyes flickered with disbelief.
Had he truly been away from the ninja world too long? Had Orochimaru somehow pulled off the impossible?
Holding in his shock, he listened quietly as Jigen recounted the details of his negotiation with Orochimaru. As the story unfolded, a glint of cold calculation crossed Amado's eyes.
Orochimaru… was overconfident. He was playing with fire. And that fire might ruin Amado's carefully laid plans.
Should I warn him?
He weighed the thought—but kept his face composed.
"For now, should we continue the experiment?"
Jigen paused, then nodded. "Continue work on the replicas—but leave the primary vessel untouched."
"Understood."
Amado turned and walked away, his mind already racing with contingencies.
---
Far to the west, along a distant shoreline—
A battle had just ended.
Orochimaru stood at the edge of the sea, watching a massive white snake vanish beneath the waves.
He frowned.
"Fighting underwater doesn't suit me," the White Snake Sage hissed, coiling her tail and licking the remnants of her last meal from her lips.
"If you want to feed me something that delicious again… it won't be easy."
She had grown rapidly in the past week, faster than she had in the past century—thanks to the vast natural energy they'd harvested. But in the deep sea, victory had not come easily.
The crushing pressure, the suffocating dark… and worst of all, ninjutsu was far less effective.
The White Snake, after all, was an earth dragon, not a creature of the sea.
"You don't need to worry," Orochimaru said. "In a month—maybe less—the target will emerge. And when it does… it'll come to us."
His golden eyes reflected the deep ocean ahead.
There is no light down there.
Now, he had to determine how long the little white snake's spiritual body could endure—and how to minimize the destruction it might cause upon surfacing.
That would take planning. Precision.
"I'm going back," the White Snake Sage said. "You stay here?"
"Not yet. I need your help with something."
He summoned a shadow clone, which immediately sped off toward the distant west—passing the submerged white snake on the way.
"Information gathering? Searching for land?" the Sage asked.
"I want to know how far it is from here to the next continent."
The open sea was unpredictable. Without guidance, the white snake's path could spiral out of control. Orochimaru needed accurate data—to guide it without appearing to do so.
The Sage narrowed her eyes. "And me? What am I here for?"
"Patience," Orochimaru said, settling into meditation. "You'll understand soon. Rest and digest. It'll only take a day."
With a sigh, she curled up beside him and began to meditate. She preferred Longinus Cave, but here would do.
"We'll see what changes are coming soon enough."
---
Back in the Land of Water, in the recently stabilized Hidden Mist Village, a dark experiment unfolded beneath the Mizukage's residence.
Though the chaos of the Fourth Mizukage's death still lingered, the village had entered a strange, quiet peace.
In an underground lab, twisted creatures were being born—one after another.
A red-eyed figure stepped away from a distorted corpse and entered a new vessel—a white snake-grown body.
Uchiha Madara opened his eyes, his Sharingan gleaming, and locked eyes with the man before him: Shinobi scientist Hiruko.
"I've given you all the resources you asked for," Madara said coldly. "And yet you've failed… seven times."
Hiruko paled under the pressure of that gaze.
"I know. But during these failures, I've pinpointed the problem."
He wiped the sweat from his brow and continued carefully.
"Your soul is powerful, yes—but it's like water with no spring, a tree with no roots. You lack the energy required to fuel growth."
"In other words," Madara said, "you need more chakra?"
Hiruko nodded.
"The materials we used were only enough to create a body that could fully integrate First Hokage cells. But to evolve your body—to match the God of Shinobi—we need more."
He had reviewed the data from Danzo's failed experiments, finding crude but useful ideas. One concept stood out: energy thrust. A spark that could elevate a body to a higher evolution.
He suspected Orochimaru had used sage chakra as that catalyst—but that method wouldn't suit Madara.
Not now.
"What we need…" Hiruko said solemnly, "...is a tailed beast."
Madara wasn't surprised. But the implications were troubling.
Seven tailed beasts were sealed in the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The remaining two? One was likely dead and in the process of reincarnation.
The last…
The Nine-Tails.
And it was in Konoha.
_____________________
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