"You again, ruining my plans..."
Orochimaru took a deep breath, filled with dissatisfaction towards Akihara Kagura.
Because after failing to seize Uchiha Sasuke's body, Orochimaru directly hid within Sasuke, intending to take his body through the method Akihara Kagura mentioned, but didn't expect to be caught right away by Kagura.
"!!!"
Uchiha Sasuke was about to draw his ninja sword.
"Enough."
Akihara Kagura pressed down Sasuke's hand, commanding, "When I arranged for you to be by Orochimaru-sama's side, it was as a preparatory trial. I anticipated this situation, that's why I had you kill Orochimaru-sama quickly and return to Konoha..."
"Wait..."
Orochimaru squinted his eyes, glancing back and forth between Sasuke and Akihara Kagura's faces, "Kagura-kun, I have a question: when I took Sasuke from Konoha..."
How are these two together?
What does Akihara Kagura mean by arrangement?
"It was pre-arranged by me."
Akihara Kagura nodded, not denying it, "I had Sasuke agree to defect and become an intelligence agent by your side, constantly reporting your whereabouts to me..."
"This was to prevent Orochimaru-sama from mistrusting Kabuto, so I arranged for Sasuke to be another hidden assistant by your side..."
"Such clever tactics..."
Orochimaru laughed bitterly, unsure what to say.
However...
Perhaps due to more grievous past experiences...
Orochimaru's heart didn't feel as hopeless.
"Just a minor maneuver."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, lifting his hand to place his own curse seal on Uchiha Sasuke's shoulder, "My curse seal should be safer than Orochimaru-sama's. You should grasp it quickly. Initially keeping Orochimaru-sama's curse seal was to avoid raising suspicion from him. Adapt to it well, ask others if you're unsure..."
"Yes."
Uchiha Sasuke slowly nodded.
"You may go now."
Akihara Kagura gestured to Sasuke, "In the afternoon, I'll arrange a trial for you and assign a new task..."
"Yes."
Sasuke nodded and requested, "When can I go kill Uchiha Itachi, information on that guy..."
"You'll likely encounter him in the next mission."
Akihara Kagura's words made Sasuke's heart tense.
"Yes!"
A sense of determination flashed in Sasuke's eyes, as if remembering something, "Orochimaru's base still has two people, Hozuki Suigetsu and Jugo, I think they're suitable to become..."
"You handle it yourself."
Akihara Kagura smiled at Sasuke, offering him a promising vision, "I hear you're competing with Karin for the future Root leader position. Given this mission's success, Sasuke, you now qualify to compete for that position starting today..."
"If you become the leader of Root in the future, you'll need your own team. Don't tell them about Root yet, just have them follow your lead!"
"Yes!"
Sasuke felt assured.
After executing his first mission, Akihara Kagura seemed to view him differently, even allowing him to compete for Root's future leader position...
"Alright, go adapt to the curse seal."
Akihara Kagura waved for Sasuke to leave, advising softly, "Karin has already developed the curse seal to its fullest, don't fall behind your competitors."
"Yes."
Sasuke's hand clenched tightly.
The future Root leader position must be his!
However...
The competition is fierce.
Since Karin was raised by leader Akihara Kagura from a young age, displaying exceptional talent at Ninja Academy, he's always been behind her...
"Kagura-kun, your methods grow increasingly terrifying..."
Orochimaru watched Sasuke leave, uttering, "You promise nothing but seem to do so much for him..."
"I've done quite a lot for him..."
Akihara Kagura laughed, eyes on Orochimaru, "Of course, I've done a lot for Orochimaru-sama too..."
"Don't be so insincerely kind."
Orochimaru chuckled coldly, not trusting Kagura's words.
"Relax."
Akihara Kagura quickly reassured his ally, soothingly, "Once Uchiha Sasuke has killed Uchiha Itachi, I won't interfere with his and your affairs..."
If...
At that time...
Orochimaru could still defeat Sasuke.
"Orochimaru-sama, a greater storm is coming."
Akihara Kagura warned, "This storm will engulf the entire Ninja World. If you leave Root, I'm worried about your safety. Just stay and rest within Root if you want to experiment, go find Kabuto and Karin..."
Akihara Kagura sighed, "The Ninja World has spread news of your death by Sasuke's hand. You're already over fifty, you raised me, it's now my turn to provide for you..."
"..."
Orochimaru's narrow eyes flashed with coldness.
This bastard providing for him?
Orochimaru was concerned he wouldn't survive past sixty!
Being only in his early fifties and still vigorous, nowhere near retirement age, this guy wants to imprison him in Root!
"I'm serious."
Akihara Kagura's eyes revealed sincerity as he softly continued, "I've received intel on the Akatsuki Organization; they're starting to move..."
"Akatsuki?"
Orochimaru's eyes sharpened with immediate caution, recalling something, "Wait, I remember you're colluding with Nagato..."
"Mm..."
Akihara Kagura nodded, sighed, "This afternoon I must attend a meeting at Hokage Tower, tonight I'll leave Konoha to visit Akatsuki Organization's base, to discuss their plan implementation with Nagato-senpai..."
"Your roles are really numerous..."
Orochimaru smirked mockingly.
The smile mocked Akihara Kagura's connections with various Ninja World factions.
"It's a necessary evil..."
Akihara Kagura calmly took a forehead protector from the table, wearing it, "Yet, once the real plan is enacted, these burdens can be quickly lifted..."