Some time later in Konoha, an isolated and secluded alley next to a main street.
—It only took fifteen minutes before taking action, huh...
Takara looked at the two Root members (now corpses) with annoyance, partly because they believed that they would be enough to deal with him and simultaneously, because after neutralizing them, they broke the poison capsule in their teeth.
That means he lost two sacrifices or two batteries of life energy!
That he wasted...
"Danzo couldn't even keep his hand steady before the first meeting happened. Is it to gain advantageous information for negotiation or is it his obsession to become the next Hokage?" Takara pondered as he retrieved the bodies and stored them in a storage scroll.
If he were to revive a Root member with Edo Tensei, would the seal on their tongue still be valid?
Either way, this gave him the perfect excuse to leave for a few days.
"He was attacked by Konoha ninjas and after fighting tooth and nail, he managed to escape with severe injuries! Naturally, it took some time to heal and contact the village."
Something like that, he just needed to give himself a few cuts and bone fractures before returning to Sunagakure to make everything more believable. Even if they put him through a medical examination, it wouldn't be suspicious.
His next target was clear: Takigakure, the current home of Chomei!
Or so he would like to say, but in reality, his priority should be to meet with Orochimaru and locate the Sage Land of Katsuyu.
Speaking of ideals, it would actually be best to first capture Utakata or Roshi, as they are the ones who are "uncontrolled" and therefore their disappearance wouldn't be so noticeable.
But both are on opposite ends of the world map.
Heading to the Land of Water would take him twice as long as his trip to Takigakure, and he would need to locate Hotaru to find Utakata, while Roshi is closer to Takigakure, but his fight would be more complicated.
He would really prefer to obtain the tailed beasts' rebirth eggs before dealing with some of them.
Contacting Orochimaru turned out to be easier than expected, perhaps due to the paranoia caused by the paralysis of his arms, he was much more alert to any signs he was familiar with, and Takara didn't have too much trouble conveying the message.
The response was quick.
Orochimaru decided that their meeting place would be a day away from Konoha, near a lumber camp.
Given the delicacy of the deal, Takara was decisive and sent a puppet in his place as usual to avoid unpleasant surprises.
"Heh, I hope what you said isn't a tasteless joke," Orochimaru must have been suffering quite a bit from the absence of his arms' soul, as his forehead was covered in sweat.
"Do your part and we both stand to gain," the puppet under Takara's remote control replied.
Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue and subtly looked around.
"Alright, what do you need this time?" he asked, focusing his gaze back on the puppet. "Another forbidden jutsu?"
"Though tempting, I'll pass this time. I want all the information you have on natural energy, which summoning clans can practice Sage Mode, and the location of their lands."
"Natural energy? Sage Mode?" Orochimaru furrowed his brow for a moment before relaxing it; that was something he could provide and wouldn't affect him too much. "That information is no problem, but I warn you that Sage Mode isn't something everyone can master. I would hate to lose a valuable collaborator like you," he cautioned, probably concerned about his supply of high-precision laboratory equipment.
Did he speak from personal experience?
If Orochimaru hadn't been body-hopping as he did, Takara believes he shouldn't have too much trouble mastering Sage Mode even better than Jiraiya's flawed version, which requires the support of the two elder toads.
With the deal sealed, a couple of minutes later Orochimaru looked in amazement at his arms and fingers moving once more. It still felt like they were asleep from being in a bad position for too long, but his senses and experience made it clear that he had regained what his sensei gave his life to take away.
"Intriguing..." Orochimaru said as he repeatedly clenched his fists. "How did you counter the technique?" he asked with genuine interest.
He had a way to solve his own situation, but the side effects weren't desirable.
"Do you want the information? I don't mind selling it," Takara had the Shinigami mask in his possession, so even if Orochimaru went to the Uzumaki Mask Temple, the information couldn't be used to release the first two Hokages from the Shinigami's stomach. At most, he could try the effect of the other masks.
Orochimaru laughed at Takara's statement.
Of course, he was going to raise the price for asking for more, but he was in a good mood and didn't mind paying an additional fee.
"Since you're interested in Sage Mode, how about becoming a contractor for the Snake Clan?" Orochimaru proposed completely unexpectedly to Takara.
That was... a tempting offer.
While conventionally ninjas are limited to having only one summoning clan due to their traditions, Takara had so far acted under the premise that he could convince Katsuyu not only to offer him to be her contractor after Tsunade's "disappearance" but also to learn her Sage Mode.
Having a backup plan in case something goes wrong wasn't a bad idea.
If Katsuyu agrees, he probably won't use the snakes.
If she refuses, he can easily pass the three tests of the Ryuichi Cave knowing their purposes, although he would prepare for the injection of natural energy in advance.
"Agreed, but I still want the rest of the information."