Chapter 97
Looking down on hundreds of shinobi he recruited, training in the courtyard, Orochimaru felt pride swell within him. Those clumsy fools, who could barely stand up to a normal thug, were now proper children who could endure basic training.
So, this is what his sensei felt? Passing down a legacy, creating an immortalized image of himself in others. It felt good, but not enough. Well, it might be his problem, but he never felt it was enough. That's why he pursued all knowledge.
Passing down what he knew just wasn't enough; he wanted to pass down to the world all the secrets it held. All knowledge that was sleeping within certain bloodlines and ninjutsu, not to speak of all secrets that were lost with the passage of time, the history itself.
But it was still a long way before he could achieve his goals. And much more research had to be done before he could uncover the secrets within bloodlines and ninjutsu itself. And who knew if he could ever do it, but doubt never stopped him.
"Lord Orochimaru, a guest has arrived."
Orochimaru had to turn his eyes from his prized shinobi to a woman coming to see him. The one who made it all possible for him to set out on this path, he felt like he owed her at least the decorum of respect, though he knew nothing she did was that important to him.
"Lady Daimyo," greeting her, Orochimaru then glanced at the hooded woman next to her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Though he said so, he only glanced at them once before returning to supervise his shinobi's training. They were lacking in so many ways, but they were getting there, especially when some of them possessed incredible skills that just needed to be properly polished.
"How prepared are your shinobi?" Lady Daimyo asked. "I need their services."
"They won't die easily, but that is about all they are capable of," Orochimaru replied honestly. "Though I guess I could make their training harsher if you give me more time."
"Harsher than this?" the woman in the hood asked.
"I've been holding back, not wanting to hurt them."
Just as Orochimaru said that, one of his shinobi screamed in pain as his arm was torn off at the shoulder socket, and his leg was broken by another shinobi who had countless cuts and stab wounds, bleeding more than any normal man could have endured without dying.
"I just turn my eyes away for a second, and they make a mess," Orochimaru said, picking up the dislocated arm and shoving it back into the shoulder socket where it belonged. "Go back and rest for now. Let the seals do their work."
Another shinobi came to carry the injured away from the courtyard into one of the entrances to the hideout where Orochimaru built his village. When the tall and thick iron doors opened to the hideout, a foul smell of blood washed into the courtyard, only to be drowned out by painful and grotesque screams coming from inside.
"Healing is a long process, but it can be shortened if one can endure a bit of pain," Orochimaru explained to the two women standing next to him. "Or they can always learn not to get hurt to begin with."
Orochimaru prided himself on not only managing to train this bunch of roaming shinobi, who knew nothing of the bigger world, but also on keeping them all alive throughout this training. Though he had to admit that his past experiments helped in that regard.
Humans were fragile things. They got hurt far too easily, but it was fine. For they were shinobi, and as his sensei always said, shinobi are those who endure. And as long as they lived, they would endure and become stronger. Tougher.
"I think that those who can endure this training are prepared enough for what I have in mind," the hooded woman said. "Though now I wonder if I should make this deal with the devil to get rid of a monster."
"Mei Terumi." Finally, Orochimaru could put a name to the familiar shinobi. "Well, now I am interested. What is it that you want from me?"
He could guess what it was about. The secret power plays of Kirigakure weren't so secret after all. Though he never expected to get himself involved in them. But it might be a great opportunity to uncover so many bloodline secrets that he was willing to take any risk.
"I want to hire your services to attack the Fourth Mizukage," Mei Terumi didn't beat around the bush. "In return, apart from the fees for hiring you, I will make Kirigakure recognize your village."
"Are you sure about it, Lady Daimyo?" Orochimaru then turned to the other woman and asked, but it was out of courtesy; he couldn't care less about her opinion, as he had to get involved in this no matter what. "Once we get involved, everyone will know that I have been working with you. Whatever deals you made with the other countries using me as an excuse will be nullified, and you will alienate yourself."
"It doesn't matter," she said. "With you, your village, and Kirigakure as allies, my country will gain far more than by pretending to be weak and wounded. It shall rise above all those who looked down on us."
This was more to his liking. An ambitious woman who would do anything to reach her goals was a perfect partner for him to further develop his village and continue his research. But there was one thing he wished she wouldn't forget.
As much as he wished he could believe that his sensei wouldn't interfere in such a matter, if the rumors about him and the Fourth Mizukage were correct, this might become a problem if he heard of Orochimaru's involvement too.
"What are your plans regarding Konoha?" Orochimaru inquired of Mei Terumi.
"The reason I am here is because of them," she answered. "He let the Fourth Mizukage go to tear our village apart from the inside. Slowly and painfully. I want to do it quickly. And before anyone else can pour salt into our wounds, I will patch them up."
"Very well, but there is one condition I must have you promise me."
"I know of your research, if you can call it that," Mei Terumi said, with nothing but disgust in her voice. "You can have the bodies of our enemies, and that's all."
"It is a pleasure to work with intelligent people."
Orochimaru had reached a bottleneck in his research, and he needed more samples to make a breakthrough. And finally, an opportunity had come to him, delivered by the actions of none other than his sensei. It was as though he was looking after him even now.
…
He felt a chill run through his back, like a snake slithering up to bite his neck. Well, that's what he got for wondering about what Orochimaru was doing. Hiruzen just couldn't be satisfied with the fact that he wasn't causing him any more trouble.
With the chill running its course, Hiruzen let go of those thoughts. There was only one policy that Hiruzen had come to rely on lately. Don't get involved with the outside world. He now came to regret taking over Kusagakure as he did. It sure almost cost him quite a lot.
Though its revenue had already paid off. With his shinobi always stationed there, he secured a steady stream of missions that continued to help Konoha develop further. If only they weren't so damn annoying and just accepted their fate of becoming Konoha's puppet.
Though he would never say that aloud, and even if they were his puppets, he still thought of them as allies and would help them when they were in need. But their management was so bad that it was just easier to completely control them.
Either way, he wasn't interfering in other villages' business anymore. Looking at his village's finances and, after calculating all the expected and unexpected expenses, Hiruzen saw that even though not much of their money would be left, it was enough.
Somehow, with the shipping business acquired by Jiraiya, and the reform in the missions Konoha was taking, and with a bit of help from Kusagakure, Konoha was now probably at the best state it could ever be. And that was independent.
He was quite proud of it, as he never thought it possible. But Konoha no longer needed to rely on the Daimyo. Well, Hiruzen still thought it was better to keep close relations with him and other nobility, as they were his most profitable customers.
The only thing he had to focus on right now was saving up enough money to buy armor from the Land of Iron and invest in acquiring more chakra blades that could absorb not only chakra but also the element of a specific chakra nature.
It was damn expensive, but Hiruzen saw it as a worthy investment. He at least wished to equip the ANBU with it, so he would have even less reason to get into fights. Since he had already given up on the idea of retirement, he would at least try to make his life easier.
Though nothing went as planned in this accursed world. And so, while he hoped for the best, he prepared for the worst, and continued to study the tactics and fighting styles his ANBU shinobi had used in battle.
Thankfully, he could use multiple shadow clones to study and do his work; otherwise, he didn't see how he could have found time for any of it. Well, work wasn't that bad late, so he always managed to finish it early too.
The Akatsuki were quiet. Pakura had reported that only one pair had left for the Land of Water. As long as it wasn't somehow involving him, he didn't care. They could play around for all he cared. But the moment they turned their eyes toward Konoha, Hiruzen would send his best to get rid of them.
But for now, he was more worried about Jiraiya's work. When he had gathered enough information about them, only then would Hiruzen try to make a deal with them. Until then, he could only wait and save up as much money as he could.
"Hokage-sama," as Hiruzen went through his study material, Shikaku interrupted him. "A report from Fugaku."
Since Fugaku was always away from the village doing dirty work and making sure that no shadow other than theirs entered their country, he could only send messages back. Taking it from Shikaku's hands, Hiruzen read it quickly, thinking it was just a status update.
"The spies have been retreating from the Land of Fire?" Hiruzen questioned what he had just read. "Suspicious. I don't think that the other Kage learned from their mistakes, as that seems quite impossible."
"Spies are expendable," Shikaku agreed. "As long as one in a hundred brings back some information, it will be worth it for them. But recalling them means there is something more important they need to concentrate on. A different target, I would guess."
"The Land of Water." Hiruzen could guess that too.
"Should we send shinobi there to observe it?"
"Strengthen the borders between them and us, but none of our shinobi are to enter the Land of Water," Hiruzen replied. "And decline any missions coming to us that somehow involve the Land of Water. We won't have anything to do with it."
Shikaku looked at Hiruzen questioningly but didn't voice his doubts. Good, because Hiruzen didn't know how he was supposed to explain that he just didn't care and didn't want to get involved with any of them.
He was more than satisfied focusing on his village and working out a deal with the Land of Iron. All that fighting, they could do it themselves. There was no way he was getting more involved in it than he already was.
"Well, the Land of Water will soon become a cesspit of snakes and spiders trying to capture unsuspecting prey." Shikaku finally nodded in agreement. "All we need to worry about is that none of these venomous creatures can pass through our borders. But will the other villages think the same, or will they suspect your plans are something grander?"
"You worry too much," Hiruzen replied with a wave of his hand to dismiss such notions. "Even though they are paranoid, by now they must have realized how straightforward I am. They know that I don't want a conflict no matter what, and that what is important to me is the security of my home. And nothing else."
Shikaku once again looked like he wanted to say something but kept it to himself. Seriously, why were shinobi so paranoid? He was always straightforward in telling others that all he wanted was to keep everything to himself.
And yet they still thought he was some kind of evil mastermind determined to take control of the world. He was way too tired of this kind of politics. So, this time, he would prove once and for all that he didn't care and that he wouldn't be getting in anyone else's way.
Hopefully, this time they wouldn't question his actions. And hopefully, they wouldn't try to kill him or start a war with him. He really just wanted to do his work and relax as much as he could, since he couldn't retire no matter what he did.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven chapters in advance, you can support me on Pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.