"Minato Namikaze?" Orochimaru paused for a moment. The fact that Minato had split the Nine-Tails into two halves was a well-kept secret, as only he and Kushina were present at the time. But now, both of them were dead.
Thus, no one else knew about it—not even Obito.
"Using Edo Tensei to summon him would be quite troublesome, as his soul has been devoured by the Shinigami," Orochimaru explained.
"You'd need to go to the Namiantang Shrine in the Land of Whirlpools, find the Shinigami mask there, and release Minato Namikaze's soul. But the person who performs the release will lose their life. It's a very complicated matter," Orochimaru added, licking his lips, clearly implying that the price for this task would be steep.
"What do you want in return?" Deidara asked with some frustration. Collecting the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball seemed easier if they targeted Minato Namikaze instead.
As for Naruto, the so-called "Child of Prophecy," he was under the watchful eyes of both Mount Myōboku and the Sage of Six Paths. If they dared to mess with him, they'd be courting death.
Perhaps in a few years, when Naruto's body could withstand the Nine-Tails' rampage, they could provoke him into unleashing a Tailed Beast Ball. But at his current age, pushing him to that extent would be suicidal.
Not for Naruto, but for themselves—because the Sage of Six Paths might personally intervene and crush them.
Though the Sage of Six Paths had passed away, the original series showed that he could still bestow immense power upon Naruto and Sasuke. This indicated that he remained at a Six Paths-level of strength—perhaps even among the strongest of such beings.
For now, he was not someone they could afford to provoke.
Orochimaru thought for a moment. "For now, I don't have anything specific in mind. Let's just record the debt for now."
"Of course, if you can bring me Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, we'll call it even for this task," Orochimaru said.
After learning that Itachi had contracted an incurable bloodline illness, Orochimaru had temporarily lost interest in taking over his body. However, he still coveted Itachi's Sharingan.
"No way!" Deidara immediately refused.
"Besides, I believe that as long as one's power is strong enough, the Mangekyō Sharingan can be unlocked naturally. There's no need to take someone else's," Deidara argued.
Take the Sage of Six Paths, for example—he was born with the Rinnegan. His son Indra was similarly born with an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. This suggested that the inability to unlock such powers was simply a matter of insufficient strength.
While extreme emotional stimuli or fusing Mangekyō Sharingan between brothers might be shortcuts, they were certainly not the only paths.
"What kind of power are you referring to?" Orochimaru's interest was piqued.
"The Sharingan represents yin-based power, doesn't it? Then the simplest method would be to focus on strengthening one's yin attributes," Deidara speculated.
"That might work," Orochimaru nodded in agreement.
"If your theory proves correct, I'll reduce the payment for this task by half."
"And what's the third matter?" Orochimaru asked.
"I heard you have a subordinate who naturally possesses Sage Chakra. Kakuzu and Hidan are quite interested in this. I've brought them along to receive some Curse Marks," Deidara replied.
"That's simple. As payment, I only need Kakuzu and Hidan to let me collect some of their cellular tissue," Orochimaru said, his neck elongating as his sharp fangs became visible.
"I'm quite curious about Earth Grudge Fear and the blessings of Jashin," Orochimaru added.
"What?! That's disgusting!" Hidan shouted in protest. The mere thought of being bitten on the neck by another man gave him goosebumps.
Deidara, however, thought otherwise. Since they were already here for Curse Marks, Hidan might as well get one too. After all, his current strength was indeed lacking.
Kakuzu and Hidan shared the same sentiment. If not for their desperate desire to grow stronger, Kakuzu would have already attacked Orochimaru by now.
"Wait a moment!" Deidara quickly stopped Orochimaru.
"Your standard Curse Marks won't be of much use to them. You'd better bring your subordinate over and transfer sufficient Sage Chakra to them directly."
"Fine," Orochimaru agreed.
"However, Jūgo is currently at the northern base. It'll take a few days to reach him. You can follow my clone there," Orochimaru said as a white snake slithered out of his sleeve, transforming into a clone of him.
Another white snake emerged from his sleeve and slithered off in a different direction, likely heading toward the Namiantang Shrine to retrieve the Shinigami mask.
"Alright, let's move out," Deidara said, motioning for everyone to follow.
Land of Frost.
Kakashi and Kisame were searching for the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails and Six-Tails. Akatsuki was unaware that these two had already been secretly captured by Obito. Instead, they assumed that news of Akatsuki hunting Tailed Beasts had leaked, causing the Jinchūriki to go into hiding.
With Zetsu gone, Akatsuki's reconnaissance capabilities had sharply declined, making it understandable that they hadn't found any leads yet.
This was a case of information asymmetry.
Of course, it wasn't just Akatsuki that lacked information. Obito, too, was unaware that Minato Namikaze held half of the Nine-Tails' chakra. He also didn't know that Deidara had long ago collected tissue samples from the Eight-Tails and left them with Orochimaru for research.
As a result, Nagato's plan to revive the Ten-Tails no longer required capturing the Eight-Tails. They only needed the Five-Tails and Six-Tails.
"Oh? Kakashi, it seems we have company," Kisame said with interest, turning to look behind them. He was intrigued by the enemy who was making no effort to conceal themselves and was instead charging straight toward them.
Were they exceptionally skilled and confident, or just plain stupid?
Wearing the Akatsuki robe, Kakashi also turned to look behind him. What he saw made his pupils contract.
"Kakashi! I finally found you!" A green-clad Might Guy burst onto the scene.
"Guy!"
"Come back to Konoha with me, Kakashi!"
"They're saying you've become a rogue ninja, but that's impossible! There must be some misunderstanding!" Guy's face was full of determination and trust.
But the more trust Guy showed, the more bitter and self-deprecating Kakashi felt.
"Guy, go back."
"I've already joined Akatsuki," Kakashi said, shaking his head, his expression lifeless.
"Yes, Kakashi is now one of Akatsuki's prized assets!" Kisame said with a grin.
"There might be some misunderstanding here, but I'm sure it can be resolved! Come back to Konoha with me! Youth doesn't permit confusion!" Guy gave a thumbs-up and flashed his signature youthful smile.
"Guy! You don't understand anything! You know nothing!" Kakashi roared angrily, but his voice quickly softened.
He couldn't stay angry at Guy, his closest friend.
"That decaying Konoha—I'm going to destroy it!"
Guy's expression grew serious. "So, it's true. Someone as clumsy as me can't resolve this with words, can I?"
"In that case, I'll have to bring you back by force!" Guy crouched slightly, assuming a combat stance.
"One versus two—you're bound to lose," Kisame said confidently.
"No! Kisame, be careful," Kakashi warned, his expression grave.
"Guy... he's incredibly strong."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
🤔 Want to know what happens next to the characters?
🤫 Eager to explore the untold secrets of this world?
✍️ Ready to read more of my wildest stories?
✨patreon.com/GoldenLong