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From the current perspective, Konoha's greatest destabilizing factor...
Damn!!
Calculating back and forth, Hiruzen ultimately traced the problem back to himself.
Even someone as old and cunning as he was couldn't help but curse inwardly.
It left him feeling as if he'd swallowed a fly—uncomfortable all over, utterly awful.
"I'll consider it."
Hiruzen didn't nod in agreement, but neither did he explicitly refuse.
Not refusing meant, basically, he wouldn't refuse.
He just needed a bit of time to save face.
Shikaku's guess was right: Hiruzen indeed wouldn't refuse.
First, his loyalty to the village was beyond question. Second, he didn't want to see the village descend into chaos.
Coupled with the fact that his little ambitions had been crushed, he had no intention of jumping out to cause trouble.
To put it bluntly, even if he did jump out, few would respond.
Needing time to consider was also about saving face.
You need me, so you come asking. When you don't need me, you toss me aside, not even allowing me to gather information. This targeting is a bit too much.
Shikaku went to see Hiruzen.
At the same time, the Hokage's office received a visitor—a beautiful woman... with a black heart and a male soul.
Looking at the seductive Orochimaru, Kazuki suppressed the urge to throw him out.
Rubbing his temples, he tried his best not to look at him.
"Give you three thousand elite troops. Can you sweep through the mining areas within the Land of Earth?"
Hiruzen might think that asking him to step forward felt like swallowing fly shit.
Little did he know, even if he wanted to swallow fly shit, he'd need Kazuki's approval first.
Kazuki admitted Hiruzen was a qualified commander.
But if there were alternative candidates, why choose him?
You find me uncomfortable, and I find you unpleasant.
Better for us not to meet. For instance, entrusting this task to Orochimaru was a good choice.
Hiruzen was a qualified commander; so was Orochimaru.
Moreover, Orochimaru had a black heart and a venomous touch. Choosing him for this task was absolutely appropriate.
What Hiruzen could do, he could do.
What Hiruzen couldn't do, he could also do.
Even things Hiruzen couldn't bear to do, he could still do.
Konoha's backstab of Iwagakure wasn't just about revenge. It was also about the mining areas within the Land of Earth, about plundering resources.
Without profit, who would be crazy enough to start a war?
Revenge wasn't played that way.
A mission had arrived, and a good one at that.
Orochimaru smiled, extending his tongue to lick his lips.
After changing bodies, it seemed his tongue had become even more flexible.
"Only resources, no territorial occupation?"
Plundering and conquering were two different things. The former only required looting.
The latter was more troublesome—you needed to garrison captured territory, constantly facing Iwagakure's counterattacks.
"What use would seizing territory in the Land of Earth be?" Kazuki asked in return.
Orochimaru smiled and said nothing further.
The Land of Wind was barren, and the Land of Earth wasn't much better.
These two countries had only an abundance of ores.
Otherwise, they were worthless.
Land that couldn't even produce enough grain to be self-sufficient—why would anyone want to seize it?
Konoha was in it for a one-time deal.
Kazuki continued.
"Kumogakure will soon declare war and fully intervene in the Land of Waterfalls conflict. Our task is to launch a surprise attack, seek revenge, and plunder resources. For this operation, I'll allocate as many sealing scrolls as the village can spare and entrust them to you. Complete the mission. You can freely use enemy corpses. The village will also provide you with a batch of financial support. As long as your experimental base isn't in Konoha or the Land of Fire, whatever experiments you conduct are your own affair. The village won't interfere."
If you want the horse to run fast, you need to let it eat its fill first.
Kazuki was never a stingy person. If Orochimaru could excellently complete the mission, he didn't mind giving him more benefits.
This compensation... I like it.
Orochimaru smiled happily.
"I'll leave the war to you. Additionally, I'll send some people to assist you. The camp will have someone responsible; you just focus on the task."
"I'll have people around me too?" Orochimaru asked curiously.
Kazuki didn't answer, just looked at him.
What do you think?
You know what kind of person you are, don't you?
Without some constraints, who would dare let you, Orochimaru, run wild?
"Uchiha Itachi. He's the one I'm assigning to you. He'll assist you and report any issues to me immediately. I hope you can complete this mission successfully and not have any other ideas."
That kid has that kind of strength?
Itachi was Kazuki's watchdog placed beside Orochimaru, monitoring his every move.
If Orochimaru made any questionable moves, Itachi would respond immediately.
Kazuki didn't bother explaining Itachi's specific strength to Orochimaru.
Suffice it to say, with his soul already weakened after changing bodies, encountering Itachi, who excelled at genjutsu...
Not exactly "easily controlled," but at the very least, he, Orochimaru, wouldn't be a match.
Having issued a warning, Kazuki also offered some benefits.
"Itachi won't restrict your actions in any way. The authority to command the war is entirely yours. As long as you harbor no ulterior motives, he will simply be your capable assistant and bodyguard. Additionally, I'll send the clan leaders of the Uchiha and Hyūga clans to the front-line camp to help manage the camp."
The Third?
Have him personally lead?
Kazuki hadn't even considered it.
His ideal plan was to lead personally.
Since Shikaku was unwilling and threatened to mobilize the Council of Elders, he'd step back and entrust the task to Orochimaru instead.
There were many candidates, and Orochimaru was a very suitable one.
This guy's heart was black enough. Entrusting the plundering to him would definitely scrape a layer of skin off the Land of Earth.
Such a morally questionable task wasn't suitable for Jiraiya.
Otherwise, Kazuki could have simply transferred Jiraiya here.
Then there'd be no need for Orochimaru at all.
The Hyūga and Uchiha clans had kept a low profile for too long. It was time for them to stretch their legs.
Of course, they couldn't hog all the glory. They'd take the lion's share and let the other clans have the leftovers.
As for civilian ninja, after everything was over, they'd be rewarded appropriately.
So, the morally questionable task was given to Orochimaru, with Itachi overseeing and watching.
Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Hiashi would hold down the front-line camp, preventing chaos.
And he would hold down the rear.
"Undestood. Notify me when it's time to depart."
Seemingly unconcerned about Itachi as his watchdog, Orochimaru smiled, waved, and left.
He had only one thought: complete the mission as quickly as possible, then find a safe place to continue his research.
As for how the rest of the war would be fought, that wasn't his concern.
He could see that Kazuki was only employing him to use his ruthlessness to thoroughly plunder the Land of Earth.
Nothing else was his responsibility.
Nor was there a share for him, Orochimaru.
*****
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