"Exactly! He looks calm and wise, like he calculates everything in advance—but in reality, he's just a fool being pushed around by everyone else!"
"He carries monstrous sins and secrets, living like neither human nor ghost. In the end, he probably doesn't even know what he truly wants anymore!"
"When you compare them, Orochimaru lives far more clearly than Uchiha Itachi! And… far more freely!"
The direction of the discussion shifted subtly.
Though Orochimaru's actions were evil, his methods cruel, and his ideals extreme, his absolute self-centeredness, clarity of purpose, and disregard for worldly rules—the bearing and decisiveness of a so-called "true powerhouse"—unexpectedly earned him a measure of recognition from some.
In contrast, Uchiha Itachi's image—riddled with contradictions, burdened by pain, shackled by "duty," "justice," "clan," and "village"—fit the mold of a tragic hero. Yet to certain observers, he seemed devoid of self, living a suffocating and confused existence.
Within the sky projection—
Orochimaru was mad, yes—but he never fought a battle he believed he couldn't win.
"It seems… today is not the right time." He let out a low chuckle, his tone devoid of regret—more like a player calmly saving his progress for later.
With Uchiha Itachi present, he decisively abandoned his plan to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi on the spot.
But before turning to leave, those snake-like eyes—so adept at seeing into human hearts—rested once more on Itachi.
This time, there was less mockery and killing intent in his gaze. Instead, there was something probing… even a faint trace of regret.
"Itachi-kun," Orochimaru said, his voice drifting, almost like a senior evaluating a younger talent. "I can feel your confusion."
Beneath the straw hat, Itachi's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
"In my view," Orochimaru continued in a dissecting tone, as though appraising a flawed work of art, "all your contradictions, your pain, your struggle—perhaps the root is quite simple."
"You were never truly guided… in the right way."
"Konoha's education? Your clan's expectations? The Hokage's trust? Heh… Those were merely molds shaping you into the tool they required."
"And you yourself…"
A faint sneer entered his voice.
"Have a tendency to overthink. To complicate what is simple."
"You insist on measuring 'justice,' 'duty,' and 'sacrifice' by your own standards…"
"And you're unaware of it—believing only in your own conclusions."
"The result? You trapped yourself in a labyrinth you will never escape."
He shook his head, the motion carrying an almost disturbingly human sigh.
"To be honest… I regret something."
"I regret that when you were younger… I did not pay you more 'attention.'"
A strange curve formed on Orochimaru's lips. In his eyes flickered the disappointment of a scientist over a promising specimen left untended.
"I've always been rather fond of… and rather skilled at… dealing with children."
From anyone else, such words might have sounded warm.
From Orochimaru, paired with his inhuman aura and infamous past, they were chilling.
What kind of "guidance" and "attention" would he have offered? What kind of reshaping?
After leaving behind that bone-chilling regret, Orochimaru turned to depart, preparing to melt into the shadows.
Yet just as his figure was about to disappear, he paused once more. Without turning back, he cast one final remark over his shoulder.
"Oh, and one more thing… I almost forgot."
"The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa… was killed by me."
Hiruzen's pupils contracted sharply.
Orochimaru's voice carried a hint of amusement as he continued.
"You, Uchiha Itachi—who cannot even see clearly the path you yourself will walk…"
He glanced sideways at Itachi, his eyes dripping with scorn.
"Yet you dare to believe you can see through Konoha. Through others. Even to manipulate the fate of others…"
"Isn't that… laughable?"
With that, Orochimaru's form dissolved like a phantom into the shadows and vanished.
Left behind were the reanimated First and Second Hokage—mindless vessels of Impure World Reincarnation—standing between Itachi and Hiruzen.
Itachi remained motionless.
Orochimaru's final words—especially that line about failing to see himself yet trying to see others—struck at the deepest core of his doubt.
Beneath the shadow of his hat, the Mangekyō Sharingan seemed to lose its former brilliance, leaving only immeasurable exhaustion.
Hiruzen looked toward where Orochimaru had disappeared, then at the fading presence of the reanimated Hokage.
He opened his mouth, as if to speak.
But before the Third Hokage could say anything, Itachi's figure flickered—and in a few swift movements, he too was gone.
He had arrived abruptly, and left just as suddenly.
Hiruzen's outstretched hand hung stiffly in midair. His lips trembled slightly before releasing a heavy sigh.
Staring in the direction Itachi had vanished, he murmured softly:
"Orochimaru… may have been right…"
"Itachi… what is it you truly intend to do?"
"Didn't you say… you would infiltrate?"
His voice carried an unrecognized tremor.
"Then all these years… why hasn't a single piece of intelligence been sent back to Konoha?"
The question weighed on his heart like a boulder.
Through the sky projection, it pressed upon the hearts of every viewer in the shinobi world.
The scene widened, revealing the aftermath of Konoha's battlefield.
As news rapidly spread that the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had long been assassinated and impersonated by Orochimaru—that Sunagakure had been deceived and used—the morale of the Sand shinobi collapsed instantly.
The Kazekage had been a fake.
They had been wielded as blades—and discarded as pawns.
With their will to fight shattered, Sand shinobi began surrendering or fleeing in large numbers.
Without Sunagakure as a major ally, the forces of Otogakure and the scattered missing-nin and mercenaries stood no chance against Konoha's regrouped counterattack.
Gradually, the sounds of battle faded.
In their place rose the cries of medics tending the wounded—and the cheers of victory.
The Konoha Crush, once a massive and perilous invasion, ultimately ended with Orochimaru's quiet retreat, Sunagakure's surrender, and the destruction of Otogakure's forces and allied rogues.
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