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After many years of separation.
Orochimaru sensed the subtle changes in Akihara Kagura.
The former test subject had grown up and had become more and more oppressive, no wonder Yakushi Kabuto dared not stay in Konoha Village for long over the years.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, looking at Akihara Kagura with the gaze of a venomous snake ready to strike, yet his lips bore a dangerous smile.
"Only willing to give us thirty percent?"
"Thirty percent is for your treatment."
Akihara Kagura raised his finger, a bolt of lightning spreading at his fingertips, and the lightning suddenly pierced through the long snake coiling around Gato's corpse.
Akihara Kagura looked at Orochimaru, who remained unfazed, and took the initiative to suggest, "If you're not happy with that, funeral expenses are also an option."
"..."
That was somewhat excessive.
Orochimaru's palms tapped lightly, ready to perform hand seals at any moment.
This youngster, Akihara Kagura, clearly wanted to overpower him. Did he think that Orochimaru had been doing nothing these years?
To obtain Akihara Kagura's body, Orochimaru had been diligently grave robbing and digging up graves, holding many reanimated corpses in his hands!
If it weren't for having a strong trump card, how could he have managed to avoid the Akatsuki organization's pursuit over the years with Shimura Danzo and a bunch of burdens?
"Alright."
Shimura Danzo sensed the tension between Orochimaru and Akihara Kagura. He lightly tapped the ground with his cane and coldly said, "Now is not the time to worry about these trifles. We are gathered here to discuss how to deal with the monkey's plan..."
Shimura Danzo was the oldest.
Once the superior of both Orochimaru and Akihara Kagura, and now their ally, both Akihara Kagura and Orochimaru had to give Shimura Danzo some respect.
After all...
The old man wouldn't live much longer.
"Since Lord Danzo has spoken..."
Akihara Kagura stood up, very much in line with Shimura Danzo's words, "Then let's start planning the Konoha collapse plan. Your initial plan was indeed good, but it was slightly flawed in the later stages, and a little carelessness could lead to total failure..."
"Do you have any ideas?"
Shimura Danzo looked at Akihara Kagura.
"Of course."
Akihara Kagura looked at them, smiling lightly, "Based on your initial plan, Lord Orochimaru will disguise himself as the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, and Lord Danzo will pretend to be a Genji of the Mist Village. We just need a slight modification..."
"First, Lord Danzo will appear, leading the people of the Mist Village in rebellion. The village ninjas will instinctively attack the enemy to protect the village and our Hokage."
"But..."
"When Lord Danzo reveals the true face of the Third Hokage, the village ninjas will fall into panic and no longer trust the Hokage of the village."
"At that time..."
When Akihara Kagura got to this point, he looked at Orochimaru beside him: "Will anyone still protect the Third Hokage when Lord Orochimaru leads the ninjas of the
Sand Village to strike?"
"..."
Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
It must be said, the order of appearance that Akihara Kagura had devised was quite effective.
If he and Shimura Danzo took action at the same time, the Konoha ninjas would inevitably unite against their common enemy, and both sides would be ready to go all out.
However, once Shimura Danzo took the initiative to strike, demoralizing the Konoha ninja, taking advantage of their hesitation and confusion to strike again would yield twice the results with half the effort!
"Wait a moment..."
Shimura Danzo furrowed his brows and stared coldly at Akihara Kagura: "Kagura, do you mean to use me as a sacrifice?"
The plan was not bad.
Yet, Shimura Danzo was very dissatisfied in his heart.
Because even before he defected from the Konoha, he had been used as a sacrifice by Sarutobi Hiruzen; after defecting and drifting for years, he thought he could return to the Konoha, only to find himself once again being used as a sacrifice by Akihara Kagura in an attack on Sarutobi Hiruzen!
Regardless...
To always be used as a sacrifice?
"Of course not."
Akihara Kagura shook his head and smiled, soothing his old superior: "I will take action at a critical moment and bring Lord Danzo back to the Root's base with my team."
"In that case..."
Akihara Kagura looked towards Orochimaru and continued: "I can just avoid fighting Lord Orochimaru, letting Lord Orochimaru and the Third Hokage reminisce about the old days."
This young one has thought things through thoroughly!
Shimura Danzo slightly nodded, thinking Akihara Kagura's arrangement had no problems, as long as he was brought back to the Root's base, his safety could be ensured.
Orochimaru thought for a moment and found no issues with Akihara Kagura's idea, but suddenly laughed: "Kagura, I have just one question..."
Orochimaru brought up the difficult question of benefit distribution in their plan to collapse the Konoha: "We've gone to great lengths to kill my teacher, yet you become the one who benefits..."
"Lord Orochimaru, think long-term..."
Akihara Kagura shook his head and sighed, advising his superior not to be shortsighted: "As long as our plan to collapse the Konoha succeeds, as long as Lord Danzo returns to the Konoha to take control, as long as I become the Hokage, you will have our full support..."
"In the future, you can do any experiment you want..."
Akihara Kagura extended his hand in a manner skilled at making enticing promises: "All of the Konoha's forbidden techniques and resources can be at your disposal, except for offering you a position among the Konoha ninja, I can give you anything you desire..."
This promise was grand.
Akihara Kagura's offer was tempting.
Even Akihara Kagura was moved by his own words.
Originally, Orochimaru was sent to the Konoha just to be given a position among the Konoha ninja, now apart from not being able to offer Orochimaru a position, he could give him anything!
However...
Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged.
Akihara Kagura had to up the ante, mentioning what Orochimaru cared about the most: "In the future, whichever genius's body you desire, after I take control, I can deliver them to you, like if you fancy my Wood Release, or the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan..."
"This year's graduates include Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother, a genius with handsome looks. Sasuke has also come to the Land of Waves for a mission, you can observe his performance, and in the future, I can deliver him to you..."
"Uchiha Sasuke is not an option."
Shimura Danzo interrupted Akihara Kagura, saying in a deep voice: "Uchiha Sasuke is a continuation of the Uchiha clan's bloodline, the future of the Konoha requires him to propagate more Sharingan bloodlines, to have enough experimental material to create dual Kekkei Genkai ninja..."
"Indeed, Lord Danzo..."
Akihara Kagura was moved by Shimura Danzo's dedication.
Even though Shimura Danzo has become a rogue ninja, he still cares about the interests of Konoha, even though these interests might not be realized until a hundred years after his time...
However, Orochimaru does not care about the interests of Konoha. He simply licked his lips and chuckled, saying, "But this body of mine is almost at its limit. It can only hold on for a little more than a year. I must find a suitable body..."
"As long as the plan to bring down Konoha succeeds, you can take whatever you want."
Shimura Danzo, without looking at Orochimaru, coldly said, "The Monkey's underlings still have a bunch of ninja with both Wood Release and Sharingan double kekkei genkai. By then, just picking one suitable body for you will be enough. Uchiha Sasuke is different; he has the Uchiha bloodline in him..."
"That could also work."
Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction.
Compared to the ninja with both Wood Release and Sharingan, Uchiha Sasuke's body is relatively insignificant, and Orochimaru is also very interested in the double kekkei genkai ninja.
Akihara Kagura, watching Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru coveting his subordinates, didn't mind their arrogance. Instead, he smiled slightly and cooperated with them, saying, "I have already selected a suitable body for Lord Orochimaru. The double kekkei genkai ninja that Kakashi and I found earlier have been assigned to the Root..."
"What a pity..."
"These test subjects don't have the Uchiha bloodline and can't deactivate their Sharingan. Lord Orochimaru, if you switch to their bodies now, you won't be able to deactivate the Sharingan either. It would be inevitable that abnormalities in the eyes would be discovered during the plan to bring down Konoha..."
"..."
A glint of covetousness flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.
Akihara Kagura and his Root ninja are very tempting. Their abilities make Orochimaru quite envious. If it weren't for the risk of falling out with them being too great, Orochimaru would have loved to capture Akihara Kagura and the Root ninja right away.
Unfortunately...
His own power is still not enough.
"Alright."
Shimura Danzo cut off Akihara Kagura's grandiose plans, acting like the host of this alliance, and ordered in a deep voice, "Everything will wait until the plan succeeds. Just pull down the Monkey from the position of Hokage, and you can do whatever you want, but you cannot harm the interests of Konoha."
"As expected of Lord Danzo..."
Akihara Kagura once again marveled at Shimura Danzo, whose level of thought and vision, even as the former head of the Root, was far beyond his, the current head.
"Hmph..."
Shimura Danzo snorted coldly, not caring about Akihara Kagura's flattery, considering it just modesty before Akihara Kagura steps into the position of Hokage.
"But we have a little problem."
Orochimaru looked at Akihara Kagura, mentioning the recent work progress: "The Fourth Kazekage of Sand Village is quite ambitious. After hearing that I have a way to solve your issue, he agreed to cooperate with us, so Sand Village can be used by us..."
At this point, Orochimaru's tone changed: "However, Mist Village is not so cooperative. They don't want to work with us directly, even after we killed the Genji of Mist Village, recklessly letting Danzo use the Sharingan-deactivating technique to take his place and issue orders would arouse suspicion from Mist Village, especially since they have a Byakugan user..."
"Utilizing Mist Village won't be easy..."
Shimura Danzo also nodded, looking at Akihara Kagura, speaking of their source of difficulty: "They are scared stiff by your reputation, only if they hear of your death as a Wood Release ninja will they consider cooperating with us..."
"They..."
Akihara Kagura's brow furrowed immediately, seemingly puzzled, "How dare they think such things? How dare they think I could die?"
"..."
Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"..."
Shimura Danzo snorted coldly.
This bastard, really boastful!
Even the First Hokage of Konoha, Hashirama, died, didn't he? Can't others think about your death?
"Enough!"
"Since their thoughts are misguided, let me handle it!"
Akihara Kagura thought for a second and proposed a solution: "I just happen to have a smuggling case that needs to be dealt with. Why doesn't Lord Orochimaru get involved? I will make it appear as if a ninja from the Mist Village has colluded with Lord Orochimaru and report this to the Third Hokage, thereby demanding that the Mist Village hand over the ninja involved in smuggling. This will force them to resist Konoha..."
Shimura Danzo couldn't help but glance sideways.
Akihara Kagura's skills in political struggle have improved significantly over the years! In such a short time, he actually came up with such an upright and straightforward move!
"This idea is workable."
Shimura Danzo approved of Akihara Kagura's idea, looking towards Orochimaru: "Then, let's turn this into an established fact, forcing the Mist Village to join in..."
"When the elder of the Mist Village, the former teacher, comes to Konoha, we'll kill that stubborn old man under the guise of a meeting. I will take his place, to prevent the ninjas of the Mist from hesitating at the forefront..."
"That's feasible."
Orochimaru lightly nodded his head.
"Let's do it this way."
Akihara Kagura looked at Orochimaru with satisfaction and laid out his plan: "Hatake Kakashi, leading Team 7, happens to be here as well. Let Lord Orochimaru act as the mastermind behind this, teach them a lesson, and have them report to the Third Hokage..."
"Kill Hatake Kakashi..."
Shimura Danzo had his own unique idea, touching his own eye socket: "Help me get Hatake Kakashi's Sharingan, or perhaps one of Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan..."
"That might not work."
Akihara Kagura expressed his concerns: "Hatake Kakashi and Team 7 already know I'm in the Land of Waves. If anything happens to them, the Third Hokage will definitely suspect me. Let's stick to the plan for now..."
Akihara Kagura looked at Orochimaru, softly saying, "When they're in danger, I'll play the role of the savior, and also test Lord Orochimaru's strength, to prevent our plan to bring down Konoha from becoming a joke..."
"You won't be disappointed, Kagura."
Orochimaru, holding his palm halfway, narrowed his eyes and chuckled in response: "Maybe you'll lose, who knows..."
This is an opportunity!
Orochimaru immediately realized the rare chance this was!
This was a chance to test Akihara Kagura's strength. If the reanimated beings under his control could handle Akihara Kagura, it meant Kagura was no longer a threat to him, and he could calmly plan to take over his body in the future!
Akihara Kagura, apparently unaware of Orochimaru's sinister thoughts, was still discussing plans with the snake, talking about the outcome of the plan on his own: "If Lord Orochimaru can win against me, that means our strength is strong enough, and the plan won't encounter any accidents..."
"If Lord Orochimaru loses to me, it could also make Konoha lower its guard, believing that as long as I am here, no accidents will happen to Konoha..."
"It also lets us understand..."
Orochimaru looked at Akihara Kagura and chuckled lightly: "Without your cooperation, we actually couldn't do anything, right, Kagura?"
"Lord Orochimaru shouldn't speculate about my thoughts with malice..."
Akihara Kagura's face showed a somewhat embarrassed smile as he quickly waved his hand modestly: "We are allies standing on the same side. Without you, there are many things I couldn't do. Saying things like that only makes me feel but..."
However...
The next moment...
Akihara Kagura's smile tightened after a moment of modesty.
Akihara Kagura's expression turned cold and ruthless, as if the two allies in front of him were just dispensable tools, adding the last sentence he wanted to say.
"You're very smart."