When Orochimaru heard the news, his vision blurred, and he stumbled backward, barely managing to stay upright.
His expression twisted in disbelief. He never imagined this would happen—not yet.
His teacher... dead?
And he hadn't even made a move yet.
Would Sarutobi Hiruzen die carrying such a heavy stain on his name? Branded as a villain without redemption?
"How... how could this have happened?" Orochimaru muttered, his voice hollow and stunned.
The sudden news of Sarutobi Hiruzen's death completely disrupted his plans. His mind went blank, and for a moment, he stood there in stunned silence.
Seeing his dazed state, the White Zetsu code-named 007 stepped forward and supported him with one hand. With a bright and cheerfully unhelpful tone, it tried to comfort him:
"Mr. Orochimaru, you should look at the bright side. Sure, your teacher died... but look at it this way! It's a blessing in disguise—you get a paid vacation!"
Orochimaru: "…"
What kind of insane nonsense was this White Zetsu saying?
A blessing in disguise? A paid vacation?
He felt like his soul left his body for a moment. It was as if he'd been paralyzed by stupidity.
If you can't say anything comforting, then don't say anything at all!
Orochimaru slowly turned to glare at 007, his golden snake-like eyes filled with cold killing intent. His jaw clenched. He was seriously considering silencing this idiotic creature permanently.
Sensing the murderous aura boiling off Orochimaru like a pressure cooker about to burst, 007 recoiled and shrank into itself like a frightened turtle.
Oops.
It had just realized it might have said the wrong thing.
HELP!
I'm 007, and I've accidentally provoked Orochimaru. What should I do? Please respond fast—this is urgent!
Fortunately for 007, Orochimaru took a deep breath and suppressed his urge to dismember the thing.
After a brief silence, Orochimaru's voice rasped like sandpaper. "How... exactly did the teacher die?"
007, relieved that he might not be dissected alive, sighed with relief and quickly replied, "Mr. Orochimaru, the exact time of your teacher's death was this morning—"
Before he could even finish the sentence, Orochimaru growled, "Shut up. I didn't ask when he died—I asked how! Keep it short."
Sure enough, it didn't matter if it was Black Zetsu's organization or White Zetsu's—they were all cut from the same mentally unstable cloth. Orochimaru was starting to question how such deranged underlings could be part of a company that actually functioned.
007 coughed awkwardly and finally got to the point.
"Oh… your teacher was stabbed to death."
Orochimaru blinked. He waited for more… but none came.
Silence.
"…That's it?" he said with a twitching eye.
The vein on his forehead throbbed dangerously.
This White Zetsu was truly beyond saving.
"Who?" Orochimaru asked coldly, his voice barely above a whisper, but every syllable radiated killing intent. "Who killed the teacher?"
He had already made up his mind: if 007 gave another half-baked answer, he'd send the creature down to accompany Hiruzen himself.
Feeling the murderous pressure thickening the air like fog, 007 trembled.
If it had a transformation form right now, it probably would've exploded from fear.
"It was… Jiraiya!" 007 squeaked out. "Rumor has it that Jiraiya personally killed Sarutobi Hiruzen!"
Orochimaru froze.
"…Jiraiya?" he repeated, as if the name couldn't possibly be true.
That fool? That wandering hermit?
His mind reeled, trying to process the possibility.
Of all people… Jiraiya?
No. That didn't make sense.
Jiraiya wouldn't do something like that, not unless…
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, and suddenly, the pieces fell into place.
"Hah. It seems Shimura Danzō couldn't wait," he muttered, a sneer curling his lips. "I should've known. The moment he got close to the Hokage seat, he'd take out the teacher."
He clenched his fists.
"Shimura Danzō… still as treacherous and disgusting as ever."
His voice turned venomous.
"Well then. Since my teacher is dead, I'll help Shimura Danzō follow him."
007 blinked, confused.
Wait, what?
Didn't Uchiha Fugaku kill Shimura Danzō a long time ago?
Was Orochimaru's information that outdated?
Orochimaru, lost in his vengeance-fueled thoughts, paid no attention to the stunned 007. He swept past the creature and stormed out of the lab.
007 snapped out of his daze moments later and cried out, "Oh no! I forgot to tell him that Shimura Danzō is not the Hokage anymore!!"
Panic seized him.
He glanced around, searching for Orochimaru—but he was already gone.
"Damn! Mr. Orochimaru is in danger!!"
007 held his head in panic.
Didn't Orochimaru know that Uchiha Fugaku had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?
If Orochimaru charged into Konoha under the assumption that Danzō was Hokage, and attacked Fugaku by mistake…
It would be a massacre.
"No, I need to tell the Boss—now!"
007 sprinted toward the company headquarters.
---
In Peter's office.
"What?!" Peter sprang from his chair, nearly flipping the table. "You're telling me Orochimaru went to Konoha to settle the score with Shimura Danzō?!"
007 lowered his head and whimpered, "Y-Yes, Boss… That's exactly what happened…"
"You idiot!!" Peter roared and slapped 007 so hard he flew across the room.
"If anything happens to Orochimaru, I'm going to skin you alive and use you to wax my sword!"
Orochimaru wasn't just anyone—he was the company's top researcher. If he got himself killed, the company's losses would be catastrophic!
Peter didn't waste another second. He slammed his hand on the emergency red button on his desk.
Moments later, Tendo Pain strode in, wearing his usual cold, detached expression.
"Boss, what happened?" he asked.
"Orochimaru is in danger," Peter said sharply. "He's on his way to Konoha thinking Danzō is still the Hokage. He'll walk straight into Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan and die like an idiot. You have to stop him!"
Pain nodded, but remained still.
Peter narrowed his eyes. "Twenty million in mission rewards. Ensure his safety—no matter what."
Pain turned around without another word and vanished from the room.
Peter sighed and rubbed his temples.
"What a headache. It's pure chaos every day."
---
Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been wandering aimlessly throughout the Land of Fire ever since being exiled from Konoha.
He disguised himself in rags and kept his face hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat and scarf.
Uchiha Fugaku, suspicious that the Third Hokage might have survived, had issued a full-country bounty and wanted order.
As a result, Hiruzen's face now adorned posters on every wall in every village and town.
He stood in front of one of those posters now, wrapped tightly in a cloak, staring at the flyer that bore his name.
"…In a vast country like the Land of Fire, there's no place for me?" he muttered bitterly.
He sighed heavily.
All of this… was Fugaku's doing.
That cursed Uchiha had forced him into hiding, treated him like a criminal.
"One day, I will make you pay… with interest," Hiruzen swore, eyes cold with rage.
Suddenly, a White Zetsu rose up from the earth beside him.
"Mr. Third Hokage," it said with a grin, "my boss would like to see you."
Hiruzen immediately stepped back, alarm bells going off in his head.
This was no ordinary messenger.
This… was an agent of that mysterious underground organization. The one even daimyōs treated with respect.
He narrowed his eyes. "What do you people want?"
Zetsu didn't flinch. "Mr. Third Hokage, my boss simply wants a word."
Hiruzen's pupils contracted slightly.
The boss?
Even rumors of that man's power made shinobi across nations tremble.
He was the kind of man who moved entire villages from the shadows.
Why would someone like him want to see me?
If Hiruzen was still Hokage, he would've refused on the spot...
But now?
Now, he was a wanted man with no village and no allies.
Maybe—just maybe—this "boss" could help him… take revenge.
Hiruzen stared into the abyss-like eyes of White Zetsu for a moment, then slowly nodded..
"…Very well. Take me to him."
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