The Third Hokage was indeed surprised.
He believed in Orochimaru's ability, but forcing Kumogakure to retreat in this way was beyond his imagination.
Not just the Fourth Raikage and others, right now, the Third Hokage also had to reassess Orochimaru's strength.
One snake and a group of snakes are not on the same level of deterrence.
Therefore, he couldn't wait, the Third Hokage wanted to know what the relationship between Orochimaru and Ryuuchi Cave had reached.
If Orochimaru could really command a group of snakes at will, then in future strategies, he would take the fighting power of Ryuuchi Cave into consideration.
Jiraiya's trip was for this purpose.
Orochimaru already had a plan in his mind, and just smiled when facing the Third Hokage's summons,
"I won't go, you tell the old man, this Kumogakure matter is just to show face and help with a small favor."
"If there's a real fight, I'm afraid I can only command Manda."
"The snakes of Ryuuchi Cave are different from the toads of Mount Myōboku, they won't get up early without benefits."
In fact, the toads of Mount Myōboku helping Jiraiya in this way is only for greater benefits, betting early.
Jiraiya was stunned, and then said, "Then, with your relationship with Ryuuchi Cave, why could Yakushi Kabuto get rid of the shackles of the summoning scroll so easily?"
This is probably also Sarutobi Hiruzen's doubt. Logically speaking, being able to invite them to support, the relationship can no longer be described as ordinary.
"Heh, what are Manda and the three snake princesses?"
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya and pointed upwards,
"The White Snake Sage is the one who makes the decisions, she is the real master of Ryuuchi Cave."
"Don't talk about me, can you talk to the Toad Sage? For example, ask him to clarify that vague prophecy."
"This...I..." Jiraiya stammered for a while, and finally sighed.
"Instead of getting caught up in these things..." Orochimaru glanced at Tsunade,
"Why not give Tsunade more help and finish the things I want the village to do as soon as possible."
Tsunade crossed her arms, supporting her overburdened shoulders, and snorted,
"Orochimaru is right, I'm very short of manpower now."
"I will talk to the old man." Jiraiya smiled wryly.
…
Land of Rain, inside a damp cave.
Obito sat on a round stone, turning a bear paw on the campfire, while listening to Zetsu's report.
"...Almost, this is Yakushi Kabuto's background."
Zetsu poked half of his body out of the ground and said slowly,
"Orochimaru may have concealed some of the middle process, but there should be no omissions in general. Danzo's reaction also confirmed the truth of this information."
As Zetsu guessed, after the Root was attacked, the one who wanted to understand the reason the most was not someone else, but Konoha.
Therefore, it used the spore technique to spread some tiny 'seeds' to Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
To increase the success rate, this was something it personally arranged, even to ensure that it was not sensed by Orochimaru or Jiraiya, it placed the spores in their stomachs and personally recycled them from their feces.
It took so much effort to obtain Yakushi Kabuto's information so quickly and accurately.
"…"
Obito sprinkled some seasoning powder on the bear paw, took a big bite, chewed hard, and after a long while, he said slowly,
"I see."
"Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Zetsu tilted his head, puzzled,
"Aren't you going to recruit him into the Akatsuki organization?"
Obito swallowed the cooked meat in his mouth, glanced at Zetsu, and said lightly, "I can't do it."
Although Yakushi Kabuto's tragic experience is a bit similar to his, it doesn't mean that the two sides can understand each other, unless he tells his life story completely.
However, Obito doesn't want to do this, the risk is too great, and the so-called begging for mutual understanding is just wishful thinking.
"Then wasn't what I did a waste of effort?"
Black Zetsu was calm, but White Zetsu was a little confused.
Although it really wants to experience the feeling of defecating, sharing the experience of being defecated is not a very good experience.
And it's more frustrating than anything else that it took so much effort, but it was useless.
"That's not necessarily true, you continue to pay attention to Yakushi Kabuto's whereabouts."
Obito finished eating the bear paw, threw the wooden fork on the ground, and disappeared into the distorted Uzumaki.
"This guy..." Zetsu muttered for a while, and also sank into the ground.
…
Amegakure Village, black towers stand tall, silent in the sound of wind and rain, seemingly so numerous, but with a deep sense of solitude.
Obito stood on a tower spire, looking at the towering spire in the center, letting the rain fall on his coat.
After a long while, he disappeared into the Uzumaki again, but the target was not the tallest black tower, but an inconspicuous building some distance away from it.
In the space deep under the ground, a red-haired man was confined to a wooden bed by disability and weakness, speechless and silent, with his eyes closed, like a silent statue, almost blending into this darkness.
"Da!"
Although the sound of footsteps landing was slight, it was as clear as a loud bell here.
"Madara? I seem to have told you, don't come here to find me."
The red-haired man opened his eyes, his eerie eyes fixed on the mask of the person who came, his tone weak, but almost scolding.
He called the other person Madara, but he didn't really regard him as that Uchiha Madara, just a code name, a title.
Obito said in a low voice, "I have something important to discuss with you."
"If you need something, the person you should find is me."
This voice was not from Nagato, but from behind him, the orange-haired man with the same eerie eyes - Tendo Pain, also Nagato's former friend - Yahiko.
Of course, the person controlling this corpse is the Nagato in front of him.
A hint of mockery flashed in Obito's red eyes. This Uzumaki clansman chosen by Uchiha Madara was stronger than expected, but on the other hand, he was very fragile.
It seems that only by using this corpse, playing his friend, can he hypnotize himself to ignore the pain and become an omnipotent 'god'.
Seeing that the Nagato in front of him had closed his eyes, Obito chuckled in his heart, and without exposing this childish game, he turned around and said,
"I received news that Konoha's Root has been destroyed."
There is considerable delay in the transmission of information, and Amegakure Village's isolation has greatly amplified it.
So it wasn't until now that the actual ruler of the Land of Rain learned of this news.
Nagato opened his eyes, and there was obvious fluctuation in his gaze, but it was still Pain who asked,
"Who did it?"
He fell to this point today, his friend died, and he was disabled. In addition to the 'Semi-God of the Ninja World' Hanzō, who had been killed by him, another enemy was Konoha's Danzo.
"Speaking of which, it's a coincidence."
Obito chuckled, "The person who did this is also a disciple of the Sannin."
---
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