"Tell me everything about his abilities."
Orochimaru agreed and informed Rasa about the abilities Fujin displayed. He covered everything from Fujin's speed, control over the wind, combination jutsus, Vacuum jutsus and Wind Domain. The only part that he left out was Fujin's sharp tongue as he was looking forward to Rasa getting a taste of it.
Rasa frowned and analyzed, 'His ability to manipulate winds is truly remarkable. To create a dome of wind and perfectly control it... We don't have anyone with such control. It almost reminds me of the things said about Lord Second.'
Before Orochimaru could finish speaking, Rasa asked, "Is it true he can use Scorch Release?"
Orochimaru shrugged and answered, "I can't say for sure. He used the Wind dome he created to take control of my fire jutsu and merge it with his wind chakra. The result was very similar to Scorch Release, but I didn't see him use it independently.
According to my calculations, he must be working on recreating the Scorch Release and is very close to the last step. If he succeeds, then it'll be quite remarkable."
A smirk appeared on Orochimaru's face as he continued, "Considering his previous actions, I'm afraid your village will suffer heavily if he is allowed to fully mature."
Rasa's expression became slightly ugly. He wondered, 'How does Orochimaru know that he was behind that incident?'
Akatsuki had taken an interest in why the Western region of the Land of Wind had become so unstable. Due to being the only Akatsuki member from Sunagakure, Sasori had been assigned to investigate. As his partner, Orochimaru got the information from Sasori's spies too. Initially, he was unsure about the information, but his doubts disappeared after Fujin killed Juzo.
Rasa analyzed, 'He's right. That boy will become more troublesome if he continues to grow stronger. Especially the Scorch Release. We can't allow any other village to get their hands on Scorch Release! Especially not Konoha! However, Orochimaru is purposefully trying to make me restless. Everything will be fine if we win. However, if we lose, then Sunagakure will be doomed.'
Rasa said, "You still haven't said how you'll deal with Jiraiya. Also, what about Tsunade? What are your plans if Konoha brings her back to the village and keeps her hidden until we attack?"
Orochimaru answered, "I have already made arrangements to keep Jiraiya occupied during the battle. As for Tsunade, she won't participate in the war. I have long made arrangements to ensure that."
Rasa frowned and replied, "That doesn't tell me anything."
Orochimaru chuckled and asked, "Do you expect me to tell you all my secrets, Rasa?"
Rasa snorted and said, "If you don't, how am I supposed to know whether the arrangements are good enough? You said that you wanted to fight the Hokage while I stall Fujin. Considering our positions, I'll be next to him. How are you planning to switch our positions when they'll be monitoring me closely?"
Orochimaru replied, "It's simple. I'll disguise as you and sit next to the old man. You disguise as a normal Sunagakure ninja and intercept Fujin when he tries to reinforce the old man."
Rasa's expression became dark. He snarled, "Disguise as the Kazekage? Are you out of your mind, Orochimaru? I can't agree with this. According to our original plan, you were supposed to disguise as one of my Anbu guards and attack the Hokage along with me. Even that plan was hotly contested in my council. What you are proposing now is preposterous."
Kimimaro, who had been paying close attention to Rasa and his guards, thought, 'According to our original plan, I was supposed to kill you here. You were just lucky that Konoha had someone who could fight against Orochimaru-sama.'
Orochimaru asked nonchalantly, "So, what do you propose?"
Rasa went silent for nearly a minute as he analyzed all the information he just received. His expression hardened as he answered, "This plan has become too risky. Our original plan was to take the Hokage by surprise and kill him without allowing him to fight back.
However, your actions during the second round of the exam have alerted Konoha. We no longer have the surprise factor and they'll be prepared for our attack. Without the element of surprise, even our combined forces wouldn't be a match for Konoha, let alone just a few hundred elites.
I was counting on your arrangements. Unfortunately, you still haven't given me any specifics of your arrangements. In addition, you delayed our meeting for 3 weeks. I wanted to use this time to target Suzuki Fujin and kill him before we started our attack. It's too late now."
Orochimaru's smile faded away as Rasa continued, "Considering all these factors, I have decided to postpone our plans to attack Konoha for the time being!"
For the first time, there wasn't a hint of a smile on Orochimaru's face. Instead, a dark expression had appeared. He didn't think that Sunagakure would try to pull out of the war just a week before it was supposed to start despite knowing the threat Konoha would pose!
Orochimaru asked grimly, "Postpone? After coming all this way, you want to back off now? Do you think Konoha wouldn't retaliate against you? And, do you think your chances will improve after giving their ninjas an opportunity to become stronger?"
Rasa replied without any hesitation, "Irrespective of whether they improve or not, it is better than rushing in brainlessly without a good plan. What's the use of considering all of that if we lose the war? You may not care about the lives of your subordinates, but I have to consider what's good for my village."
"Hehehe." Orochimaru was so angry that he began laughing in rage. He asked provocatively, "Rasa, do you think I'm someone you can make a fool of?"
An intense bloodlust emanated from Orochimaru as he spoke. His chakra was riling up as well. Rasa's Anbu guards immediately raised their guard. However, Rasa didn't back off.
He riled his own chakra to counter Orochimaru's presence and said, "It was your stunt in the Chunin Exam that ruined our plan. Without the surprise element, we will be the ones at a disadvantage. Suna won't participate in such a war.
However, we're still open to future cooperation. You're right. Konoha's ninjas will continue growing stronger. Hence, our next step would be to target the stronger Konoha ninjas. We'll lure them out of Konoha and secretly eliminate them using our full force.
By the time Konoha realizes our scheme, I want to kill both Suzuki Fujin and Hatake Kakashi. In addition, we can also target their other Elite Jounins. With our strength, that wouldn't be too difficult to do.
Once Konoha's top-level fighting capabilities are reduced, we can target Konoha once again and put this plan into action. What do you say, Orochimaru?"
Orochimaru's expression became even darker. If someone were to hear Rasa's words and plans, they would find it very reasonable and appropriate. However, Orochimaru wasn't just someone. He knew fully well about Konoha's capabilities.
He cursed, 'This moron! Does he think that Sensei will just wait around for him to make his moves now that Konoha has recovered its strength? If we don't make a move now, he'll have the Naras start making plans to make a move against both Oto and Suna. If he foolishly tried to target their elites, the most likely scenario is that his head will roll.'
Thoughts clashed in his brain at the speed of light as he analyzed, 'Should I do it and continue the plan alone? The arrangements I made over the last 3 weeks should be enough to crush Konoha. However, things will be tricky without a second rank S ninja to look after the operation while I'm dealing with Sensei… If something goes wrong, there won't be any chance of saving the situation.'
Orochimaru immediately began convincing Rasa about continuing the plan. He warned him that Konoha wouldn't wait for him and might send Fujin to do something similar again. Rasa obviously knew that. However, the situation had become too risky and he had no reason to trust Orochimaru. He would rather deal with Konoha's schemes than blindly trust the snake. Hence, Rasa didn't budge from his position. Instead, he tried to convince Orochimaru to assault Konoha in the future and join him in the plan to eliminate Konoha's top ninjas.
The situation became quite weird. Both of them hated and despised each other, but didn't show it and tried to remain cordial since they needed each other's help. The two had an intense discussion for over ten minutes but were still at an impasse. Neither had good expressions as they realized that the other party was too stubborn to change their mind.
Finally, Orochimaru let out a long sigh and said, "Kazekage-san…"
Suddenly, without any change in his expression or demeanor, Kimimaro's fingertips parted, creating holes and exposing his hardened finger bones. He pointed them at Rasa and his guards in one smooth action and fired his bones like bullets at the unsuspecting Suna ninjas!
————————————
A/N : If you can, then please support me on P@treon.
Link - www.pat reon.com/DevilHex
(No space)
Alternatively you can support me on UPI (google pay) - patilsarvesh8@oksbi
Can read up to 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.
Thank You Elissa, Eddy, Siraj, T I, Sonny, Quintus, Micheal, Shiyam, Jack and Chandave for supporting me on P@treon.