The Sannin hesitated for a moment, then smiled slyly.
"Who would have thought that I would hear this from you ... I don't even know whether to laugh or start to be afraid!" I don't understand... I could take those words from Sasuke's lips, from anyone, but from you? Orochimaru's eyes twinkled.
— What are you thinking? I might think you're incapable of such schemes, but... Now I'm not sure. Who are you? What did you do with the Naruto Uzumaki we all loved?
A very sharp and timely question. Naturally, he suspected a lot, but without proper evidence he could not draw conclusions, which is why he asked so jokingly, with his sly grin. But really, he wanted to hear any answer. It didn't make sense to ask in the beginning, but after Naruto's words, it's a must.
- Ha...
He would rather be surprised if Orochimaru asked something else.
"I have indeed changed, but I can assure you, I am Naruto Uzumaki.
And he didn't lie... Almost.
- Some knowledge has changed my understanding and understanding of the world, but this does not mean that I am now pursuing other goals. I still want the world...
And preferably all!
"…only my methods have changed. Knowledge of the future showed me the truth. Now I'm not going to rely on the passive politics of the past, now I want change. That's why I called you. In my opinion, people like you, Orochimaru, can still significantly change the future. What would you do if you were in your hands, the body of one of the Ōtsutsuki? Yes, at least part of his DNA?
The Sannin's face changed drastically and became serious.
"Wait… Ōtsutsuki?" You mean…" He lowered his gaze thoughtfully, touching his chin with his hand.
"Really, it was worth waiting… Have they already appeared?" Or will there be more? Did Sasuke tell you about this?
With a sigh, Naruto decided to share the same story he told the Nine-Tails back in the day, except for just one little detail... Women and his increased power, and the connection between the two.
Orochimaru could be trusted with such information, but definitely not now. It's one thing when a fox knows about your adventures, who generally doesn't care about all people except for his jinchūriki, and another thing is Orochimaru, who will obviously have his own opinion on this. And even more so, this information can become an unwanted weapon. Even if the Sannin didn't create any problems, in the end, with this knowledge, he would not only be able to prepare some plans, but as an ordinary person who suddenly gained power, he would most likely want to use it. Simply put, the less Orochimaru knows, the better for himself. In the wrong hands, some knowledge is only harmful, even for the kind of talent that the Hokage wanted to use.
After a little story about the Ōtsutsuki and a few details about the future, Naruto also shared some additional bits to convince Orochimaru of the truth of what was said. For example, he pointed to Sage Mitsuki's Transformation which he basically didn't know about, as well as Orochimaru's plan to guide his son on his own path in life. He also touched on the topic of Shin Uchiha and that they would meet him soon. Naruto even touched on Kara, Amado and some distant memories belonging to Tobirama and even Hiruzen.
With all that said, even the biggest skeptic in the world would believe in the possibility of seeing the future.
Orochimaru listened in astonishment to every word that was said. At first, he was skeptical about the information about the Ōtsutsuki, but when Naruto began to talk about things that he simply could not know at all, then the Sannin grimly began to realize that either he had somehow managed to get the knowledge of his predecessors, or he didn't really make up those stories. In the end, everything looked so that the second option turned out to be the only true one. For example, how could he find out about his affairs with Shin Uchiha? And anyway, why would the Hokage make up stories about Ōtsutsuki? He made it very clear that they would attack within the next few months - it was not at all like nonsense or lies. He spoke the truth, and if so, then this is already ... Interesting.
Orochimaru suddenly smiled, as usual, not hiding the cunning in his eyes, only now they flashed excitement and great interest:
— Curious... And why did you suddenly discover this knowledge? I find it hard to believe that this is all just a coincidence or luck. You do realize that everything you said sounds too suspicious, don't you?
"I'm not arguing…" Naruto shrugged as suddenly the corners of his lips twitched suddenly!
"Kh-h! Here's the bitch!
Temari played!
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes sharply.
"Hmmm..."
The Hokage closed his eyes for a moment and then sighed as he collected his thoughts.
"I don't understand much myself, but many events have converged, so I intend to believe in this future. It is better to be prepared than to end up regretting your stupidity.
"Is that so…" The Sannin peered into Naruto's face with narrowed eyes, and then asked:
"Are you saying that we are under threat, and that is why you have changed so much?" It's hard to believe... I know you too well...
He hesitated, narrowing his eyes, waiting for at least some kind of reaction, but received nothing but calmness, and therefore he chuckled and shook his head:
"Ha... Since you're still hiding something, I won't ask, apparently, it's useless," after his usual grin, Orochimaru licked his lips:
"But what you said about Ōtsutsuki's body sounded tempting, and about the opportunity to work in Konoha… Hmm, are you sure you should trust me?" I would say that it looks like you, but now I don't understand if it's true ... All this is fascinating ...
Yulit again...
Naruto asked with a smirk.
- And what have you decided?
"Hmm, what did I decide? Fu-fu-fu, apparently, you decided everything for me... I won't say that it doesn't bother me, but if everything you say comes true, then it's really interesting. I like this future and it will be fun to participate in it.
The Hokage put his fingers together and asked thoughtfully:
- This is your answer?
- Yes. Consider it consent. I was really wondering what are your changes to Naruto Uzumaki and what they will bring to the future. If you so want me to be around, then I'm only too happy to help, but I can't promise that I won't have my own views on things. Have you thought it through?
The Hokage was slightly surprised by this response. In fact, Orochimaru was interested not only in this future, but apparently, he was much more interested in how Naruto would affect him. He may also have been seduced by the bodies of the Ōtsutsuki.
This snake seemed to understand something.... His true motives were still in question.