Location: Hundreds of kilometers away, a dark room.
A vortex suddenly appeared, and when it vanished, two figures were standing in the room. The room was previously a sunlit prison cell, but this one was completely dark. Orochimaru sensed the change in scenery. Before he could fully examine his surroundings, he felt that the air was several times more humid than before. There was also a salty scent of salt in the air. His acute senses told him that they were by the sea.
Konoha was quite far from the coast!
"This is..." Orochimaru looked at the other shadow in the room and asked, his tone inquisitive.
"Your old home, the Land of Hot Water."
Orochimaru instantly understood that "your" referred to the body he was currently in.
The Land of Hot Water, huh...
Orochimaru pondered for a moment, his profound gaze glancing at Tobi, who was examining him. The distance from Konoha to the Land of Hot Water had been covered in an instant. This was information that the newspapers had not revealed.
Such an ability... worthy of the Mangekyō Sharingan! This is great!
Using the faint moonlight, Orochimaru swept his gaze around the room. He was inside a simple room, dimly lit, with the only source of light being the moon shining through the window. He closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings for a moment. It was sparsely populated.
Regardless, he had finally escaped. The tension in Orochimaru's heart eased. He now had the leisure to focus on and adapt to his new body. Sensing the changes in his body, Orochimaru began to explore and gradually adapt to it.
"This body is truly excellent," Orochimaru complimented in his husky, magnetic voice.
Naruto, still Tobi, watched him coldly. The body was Hidan's, but after Orochimaru had taken it over, its spiritual and psychic state had undergone a significant change. What was once a vibrant person now had a dark, cold aura. They were two completely different people.
"Of course, it's excellent. This guy can't die. If you're interested, you can give it a try," Naruto said, reminding Orochimaru, who might not be familiar with Hidan.
"Is that so?" A strange light flickered in Orochimaru's eyes.
"Naturally." Naruto was particularly certain about this. Because Hidan's soul and Orochimaru's existed simultaneously within one body, even though Orochimaru occupied the body, Hidan's soul still existed in a special way. So, Hidan himself was not dead, and the body's immortality remained.
"However," Naruto added, "if you want this ability to last, it's best to sacrifice a life to that so-called 'Jashin' every quarter."
"I see." Orochimaru nodded with great interest. He had thought that Tobi was lying to him, but it turned out to be true. This body was truly irresistible to study.
Orochimaru familiarized himself with every detail of the body, looking for any potential traps. A moment later, his eyes were filled with surprise as he looked at Tobi in front of him. The person wore a mask that hid his expression, with only his three-tomoe Sharingan visible, emitting an ominous red light.
'He didn't do anything to this body...'
Was he being kind? Or... was he uneducated and didn't even know how to do anything?
Thinking about some of Tobi's past, Orochimaru thought the latter was more likely.
The suspicious Orochimaru pondered for a moment. He knew that getting something was always tied to giving something in return. Tobi had invited him to join the "Eye of the Moon Plan," saved him, and even gave him a suitable body. He must have a plan for him. Orochimaru decided to wait and see. If it wasn't to his liking...
"So... what do you need me to do?"
"Nothing for now," Naruto's voice under the mask was as cold and calm as ever. "You've been imprisoned in Konoha for a while, so you probably don't know the latest news in the ninja world."
"What news?" Orochimaru didn't understand. He had only been imprisoned for a few days. Could anything major have happened in the ninja world? Shouldn't the biggest event have been the "Konoha Crush"? He had already expected that before the operation.
A faint smile appeared on Naruto's face. "The Fourth Raikage, A, is dead. The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki are both dead, and the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails have both been captured."
"What?" Hearing these three pieces of news, even the usually calm Orochimaru was taken aback. This news was truly explosive!
Wait a minute, Orochimaru calmed down and looked at Tobi with suspicion. Are all of these fake news?
"Who did it?" he asked.
The three-tomoe Sharingan that was visible on Naruto's face flickered with an unreadable light. "That would be me, of course!"
Orochimaru was a little suspicious for a moment. But such sensational news in the ninja world was generally not faked. He looked deeply at Tobi. Because of the mask, Orochimaru couldn't see his expression, but his gaze made him feel as if he was being seen through.
"How terrifying, Tobi-kun!"
Orochimaru, a veteran of war, naturally knew what this explosive news meant.
War! And chaos that would follow!
Orochimaru smiled to himself. He loved chaos the most. For a strong person, chaos was an opportunity! There would be countless opportunities to act and countless ninjas and corpses to study.
"You are now in a dormant phase, maintaining the ninja world's belief that you are dead," Naruto said softly, explaining Orochimaru's arrangements. "In the future, specifically in six months, there will be a mission that you'll need to complete."
"It would be best if you used the First and Second Hokage to complete it," Naruto added.
The First and Second?
Orochimaru looked at Tobi, who had nothing on him. "Have you retrieved them already?"
"Naturally." Naruto lightly patted himself again. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Bang—
Smoke once again filled the room. After the smoke dissipated, another figure appeared.
"This is..."
This new figure's dark skin helped him blend into the background. Orochimaru could barely make out the person with the moonlight. He had dark skin and a sturdy build. Seeing this, Orochimaru frowned. This was neither the First nor the Second Hokage.
"This is Black Mamba," Naruto introduced. "He will be your teammate. As for the First and Second Hokage, he will keep them and transfer them to you when they are needed."
Orochimaru's upturned lips drooped. As expected, he didn't trust him? This was not unexpected!
Orochimaru's critical gaze once again examined the new guy. Black Mamba looked like a ninja from the Land of Lightning, with short black hair that was almost a buzz cut. What was most striking were his eyes—a pair of dull, lifeless eyes. He seemed like an easy guy to deceive.
Seeing Orochimaru's eyes darting around, Naruto knew what he was thinking. But his plan was doomed to fail. This was an S-rank existence with all five chakra natures specifically customized for Orochimaru. He was incredibly powerful. Even though he looked a bit stupid, he would definitely get the job done.
"How disappointing, Tobi-kun. Do you not trust me?" Orochimaru, a master of manipulating people's emotions, made his feelings clear with a hurt tone.
"If I asked you to hand over the Impure World Reincarnation, would you?"
"Heh heh..." Orochimaru gave two low, cynical laughs and said nothing else.
The two of them were simply using each other. Orochimaru knew that the only useful thing he had was the Impure World Reincarnation. Once he handed it over, he would surely die without a burial place.
The two of them looked at each other, understanding what the other was thinking. Neither was better than the other. This was the true meaning of "gentlemen seek harmony, not sameness, while petty men seek sameness, not harmony."
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving." Orochimaru found the direction of the door and gestured to leave.
"You may," Naruto nodded slightly. "If anything comes up, I'll have Black Mamba inform you."
Orochimaru naturally understood the implication. Black Mamba was there to monitor him.
Naruto chuckled as he watched Orochimaru's retreating figure. The third scapegoat was now online. He wondered if Orochimaru was ready to become a world boss.
But this was no longer up to him. As the saying goes, one is often a pawn in their own game.
But wait...
He counted his three scapegoats.
Scapegoat #1: Obito Uchiha, a tough and powerful man, and the biggest mastermind in the ninja world right now.
Scapegoat #2: Danzō Shimura, a ruthless and cruel man who could stop children from crying. He would be making his appearance soon.
Scapegoat #3: Orochimaru, a sinister and cold man, destined to become the great demon lord who would destroy the world in the future.
These three... they're all from Konoha? And a master, a middle-aged, and a young one. The three generations of scoundrels have all gathered.
Looking at it this way, Konoha is truly a blessed land, a place where talents are born!