"I want to destroy my own eyes."
Nagato hadn't given up on his idea and continued, "As long as these eyes are gone, Akihara Kagura won't be able to get a complete war weapon!"
"How foolish..."
Orochimaru shook his head and said coldly, "Even if you destroy the Rinnegan, it won't change Kagura's mind. That kid has already been exposed; he won't necessarily give up on his plans. There's no one in the Ninja World who can stand against him..."
"Then what should be done?"
Nagato's gaze fell on Orochimaru.
"Give the Rinnegan to me..."
Orochimaru had just spoken a sentence when Konan interrupted him directly!
"Absolutely not!"
Konan was unwilling to trust Orochimaru at all. If Orochimaru got the Rinnegan, Konan didn't believe he would save the Ninja World or anything like that!
"Then..."
Nagato looked towards Sage Fukasaku and asked in a deep voice, "What if these Rinnegan eyes were given to Sage Fukasaku?"
"I could take the Rinnegan away."
Sage Fukasaku frowned and asked, "But if you're killed by that Kagura kid, who will handle these Rinnegan eyes?"
"..."
Nagato fell silent.
These Rinnegan eyes represent the future of the Ninja World.
These Rinnegan eyes also represent the potential calamity coming to the Ninja World.
However, all these years, Nagato had been secluded in the Akatsuki Hideout, and he knew mainly a bunch of treacherous ninjas. The only proper ninja from a recognized Ninja Village he was familiar with was Akihara Kagura, who was a supervillain intent on world destruction...
"Are you sure you can do it?"
Orochimaru looked at Sage Fukasaku and suddenly laughed: "Kagura is a disciple of Jiraiya, he must have signed a contract with Mount Myoboku. Can't he find the location of Mount Myoboku?"
"..."
Sage Fukasaku's expression changed.
This Toad Sage, who had lived for centuries, realized a problem.
If the Rinnegan were left in his care, it would certainly bring disaster to Mount Myoboku. Akihara Kagura has mastered the contract of Mount Myoboku and is strong enough to summon the Great Toad Sage. If he takes the Rinnegan and Kagura threatens it with the Great Toad Sage's life, what could he do?
"No, wait..."
Sage Fukasaku suddenly thought of something, and a realization dawned upon him: "I can take the Rinnegan and after returning to Mount Myoboku, consult the Great Toad Sage to use prophecy to determine whether the Rinnegan would harm Mount Myoboku and who in the future could handle the Rinnegan!"
Orochimaru chuckled and looked at Sage Fukasaku: "If the Rinnegan would harm Mount Myoboku, would you hand the Rinnegan over to Akihara Kagura?"
"Absolutely not!"
Sage Fukasaku immediately refuted Orochimaru, even going so far as to slander the Ryuchi Cave: "Youngster, you're making Mount Myoboku out to be too despicable. Do you think Mount Myoboku is the same as Ryuchi Cave?"
"Mount Myoboku isn't that noble either, is it?"
Orochimaru, being a snake, naturally didn't have much good feeling towards Mount Myoboku.
"..."
Nagato hesitated, looking between Sage Fukasaku and Orochimaru.
"Continuing to argue won't solve anything..."
Orochimaru's gaze turned to Konan, and he smiled lightly and said, "But I do have a Kinjutsu, which might be able to eliminate Akihara Kagura..."
"What method?"
"The technique of Tandem Paper Bombs..."
Orochimaru said the name of this Kinjutsu with a sly smile and explained softly: "As long as we can attach a single explosive tag to Akihara Kagura, even if he uses a Space-Time Jutsu, the explosive tag will remain with him, causing continuous explosions..."
"You said earlier that you hid billions of explosive tags at the bottom of the lake. Once these tags receive the summoning boost from the Tandem Paper Bomb technique, they will explode at an exponential rate. The power of billions of explosive tags exploding simultaneously might be enough to kill Akihara Kagura..."
"However..."
"This requires a strategy..."
"Because we need to attach the explosive tag onto him."
"What strategy?"
Konan furrowed her brows.
"Hide the Rinnegan he desires under this lake."
"I can stay behind to cover."
Orochimaru gazed ominously at the lake by the Akatsuki Hideout and said with a wicked grin, "You'll disperse and escape from here. If Akihara Kagura pursues you, at least someone can survive to come back here for the Rinnegan..."
"If Akihara Kagura sees through our plan, he'll have to face the detonation of billions of explosive tags in an instant, which might destroy both him and the Rinnegan, eliminating the disaster for the Ninja World..."
"..."
Everyone present suddenly fell silent.
"Then why not deceive him..."
Konan furrowed her brow and proposed an idea: "Make him think Nagato's Rinnegan is at the bottom of the lake? Even if this place is destroyed, and we can't kill Akihara Kagura, he'll believe the Rinnegan is destroyed, giving us a chance to secretly continue reviving the war weapon and stop his plan to destroy the Ninja World..."
"..."
Orochimaru gloomily glanced at Konan.
What's wrong with this woman?
All he wanted was an opportunity to take the Rinnegan, but this woman was adamantly refusing to hand it over. What's wrong with using it as bait?
If there truly were billions of explosive tags beneath this lake, he could first take the Rinnegan, use the explosions to seriously wound Akihara Kagura, and then use Immortal Rebirth to take over Kagura's body, and replace the Rinnegan in his new body...
"I agree with this idea."
Sage Fukasaku backed Konan's approach, looking at Orochimaru: "Orochimaru, only you can use the Tandem Paper Bombs here. You said just now that you would stay to cover us..."
"..."
A flash of anger appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
At this moment...
Orochimaru suddenly recalled a distant memory.
Back then, he was still a member of the Akatsuki, and the other members left the hideout, retreating entirely, abandoning him to face Akihara Kagura alone...
He was no longer a member of the Akatsuki.
Why did his fate seem unchanged?
However...
A cold gleam appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
If billions of explosive tags truly lay beneath this lake, he could at least find an opportunity to use this scheme to severely wound Akihara Kagura, and seize the chance to take over his body using Immortal Rebirth!
From the very first day...
From the day the Wood Release experiment on Akihara Kagura succeeded, from witnessing firsthand the abundance of Chakra in Akihara Kagura's body, from witnessing the increasing power of Akihara Kagura's abilities, Orochimaru had never given up on this plan!
To be honest.
To plot against Akihara Kagura.
Orochimaru truly has no moral qualms.
After all, Akihara Kagura had been using him, deceiving him with lies about saving Jiraiya, just to obtain information on the Pain Six Paths and to seize the Rinnegan...
Now...
The billions of explosive tags present here...
It's time to make that guy pay!
Of course...
If Akihara Kagura were accidentally killed, he would just have to use Reanimation Jutsu to resurrect Akihara Kagura and control him as his puppet...
The strongest ninja in the Ninja World, Akihara Kagura, becoming a puppet controlled by his Reanimation Jutsu, and using this puppet to seize the Rinnegan...
This kind of story doesn't seem too bad, now that I think about it...
Orochimaru's fingers gently tapped on his arm, and he absentmindedly nodded, agreeing with Konan and Nagato, as a strange thought suddenly crept into his mind.
If he died here fighting to stop Akihara Kagura, the story's conclusion might be that he and Jiraiya stayed behind to cover the escape, sheltering Nagato, the hope of the Ninja World, allowing him to flee from here. Why does this feel strangely familiar...
Orochimaru's brow furrowed as he inexplicably recalled the words Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen always liked to say while stroking his beard with a kindly manner.
"Wherever the leaves of Konoha dance, fire is never far away..."
"The fire keeps lighting up the village, allowing new leaves to sprout..."
"Eventually, the time will come for us to sacrifice..."
"..."
Orochimaru quickly shook his head, discarding that inexplicable thought.