Inside a base far from Konoha Village, Orochimaru, who had his eyes closed in concentration, suddenly furrowed his brows slightly and opened his golden, snake-like pupils.
Through the last trace of perception sent back by the dissipating Snake Clone, he felt the terrifying power contained in that fist.
"Heh heh heh... this feeling of chakra, Shinichi... it's you, isn't it?" Orochimaru whispered hoarsely, an excited smile appearing on his face. "Truly... I'm getting more and more curious about you."
The scene in the Forest of Death flashed through his mind—the towering Wood Human, the winding Wood Dragon, and how that Wood Dragon, after swallowing Shukaku's chakra, actually performed the Magnet Release ability belonging to the One-Tail in an inconceivable manner!
He had seen this scene clearly while hidden in the shadows, and it filled his heart with shock and doubt.
He had read through all the forbidden techniques and even deeply studied every record and cell sample left by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. He could be one hundred percent certain... even for that existence hailed as the "god of shinobi," his Wood Release had never shown such a bizarre transformation—being able to plunder and reproduce a Tailed Beast's Kekkei Genkai!
This completely overturned his understanding of Wood Release.
What Tejima Shinichi displayed seemed to be an evolution beyond that, filled with unknown possibilities!?
For a moment, the calm and indifferent face of that black-haired youth and the stubborn, unwilling figure of Uchiha Sasuke flashed alternately in his mind.
His original desire for the Sharingan and for Uchiha Itachi's pair of Mangekyo actually wavered slightly at this moment.
Sasuke was certainly an excellent vessel with infinite potential, but Tejima Shinichi's talent and the secrets hidden within him seemed even more tempting!!!
This hesitation lasted for only a brief moment. Orochimaru was greedy; he didn't want to choose just one. He—wanted them all!
But the prerequisite for all of this was that he must break the existing shackles!
Orochimaru's heart was burning; the necessity of the Konoha Crush Plan had never been so clear and firm in his mind.
Only by throwing the situation into chaos would he have the chance to obtain everything he wanted in the midst of the turmoil!!
"It seems I need to pick up the pace and have Kabuto prepare in advance..."
Following Orochimaru's whisper, there was an unnatural wriggling in his sleeve, and a small, snow-white snake slithered out silently. With a sudden dash, it turned into a blurred white shadow and vanished into the darkness, heading toward Konoha Village.
Orochimaru looked toward the direction of Konoha, his long tongue unconsciously licking his lips.
"Konoha... Teacher... and my dear junior brother... enjoy this final peace. The feast is about to begin."
...As night fell in Konoha Village, on the roof of the lodging where the Sunagakure ninja were staying, two figures stood silently opposite each other.
The Sunagakure jonin, Baki, looked solemnly at the young man wearing round-framed glasses across from him—Yakushi Kabuto.
"So..." Yakushi Kabuto was the first to break the silence, cutting straight to the point. "Has Lord Kazekage... finally made a decision regarding our previous proposal?"
Baki remained silent and did not answer immediately.
During this time, he had been in frequent contact with the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, far away in Sunagakure through secret documents. Baki could feel Lord Kazekage's hesitation and struggle.
Simply because... that monster who suddenly appeared in Konoha—Tejima Shinichi—could actually defeat the fully transformed Shukaku head-on. This power completely disrupted their original firm resolve for the Konoha Crush Plan!
Making an enemy of the current Konoha village carried far greater risks than anticipated.
Baki took a deep breath of the cool air and said in a heavy voice,
"The situation in Konoha... has exceeded our initial expectations. That disciple Lord Third took on, Tejima Shinichi..."
"His power is indeed surprising," Kabuto took over, his tone composed as if he had already expected the other's concerns. "But it's precisely because of this that we need to act quickly, don't we? If we wait for him to fully grow, I'm afraid... he will become an even greater obstacle, whether for Sunagakure or for Lord Orochimaru's ideals!!"
Kabuto's words struck Baki's—or rather, Sunagakure's—most sensitive nerve: a lack of resources and a worrisome future.
They desperately needed a victory in this war to turn their predicament around!!!
Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken such a risk to break their alliance with Konoha!!!
Baki's fist clenched unconsciously, an internal battle raging within him.
Ultimately, concern for the village's future and the "point of no return" situation overwhelmed his unease.
He slowly exhaled, his voice dry.
"...The cooperation continues. Lord Kazekage... has agreed."
Hearing Baki finally relent, a smile that was not unexpected appeared on Yakushi Kabuto's face, and he was about to settle some details.
However, Baki raised his hand to stop what he was about to say, and the conversation took a sudden turn:
"But—"
This turn caused the smile on Kabuto's face to stiffen slightly, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes behind the lenses.
He maintained his smile and adopted a listening posture. "Baki, please go on."
Baki's eyes were burning as he threw out the conditions he had prepared:
"Lord Kazekage's meaning is clear—the original conditions are no longer enough to match the risks Sunagakure must bear now..."
Kabuto's brow furrowed slightly, but he still maintained his listening posture.
Baki stared intently into Yakushi Kabuto's eyes and said word by word,
"....So... you have to pay more!!!"
The last words were as heavy as a thousand pounds, crashing down under the quiet night sky!
"..."
Even with Yakushi Kabuto's composure, hearing such a blunt and opportunistic demand made the muscles on his face twitch slightly.
He looked at Baki's non-negotiable expression, pushed up his glasses, and tried to keep his tone steady.
"Baki, this seems... inconsistent with our initial agreement. Changing conditions at the last minute does not show the sincerity a cooperation should have!"
Baki remained unmoved, instead.. he leaned forward slightly, creating an even stronger sense of pressure.
"You should be very clear about what it means for Konoha to have Tejima Shinichi. The risk Sunagakure needs to face has risen sharply; we might even directly face that monster who can suppress Tailed Beasts! Shouldn't this risk be reflected in the final distribution of gains?"
He paused and then said decisively,
"This is Lord Kazekage's final condition. As the risk increases, the gains must naturally increase. Otherwise... the matter of cooperation may need to be re-evaluated."
Kabuto fell silent for a moment, his mind working rapidly to weigh the pros and cons.
'Lord Orochimaru's plan is already in motion; Sunagakure is an indispensable ally and a pawn to disrupt the situation. At this moment, we absolutely cannot let things go wrong because of resource distribution issues.'
'Besides...' A hint of sarcasm flashed in the depths of Kabuto's eyes. '...In the plan, Lord Orochimaru doesn't intend to pay the final balance anyway!!!'
'Fools—!!!'
This cooperation was essentially Otogakure hiring Sunagakure, using promises of abundant spoils and resources as bait in exchange for Sunagakure deploying troops in the Konoha Crush Plan and providing the One-Tail jinchuriki, Gaara, as a trump card to create the largest scale of chaos within the village.
Sunagakure was already asking for an exorbitant price due to its lack of resources, and the conditions proposed were extremely harsh.
Orochimaru agreed on the surface, but in reality, he had already set a plan to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage... As for the extra money, wouldn't it be better for him to keep it for experiments?
Why give it?
Since they were all "bad checks" that would eventually be torn up, what did it matter how much Sunagakure asked for at this moment?
It just made the face value of this bad check look more "tempting."
A few seconds later, Yakushi Kabuto once again wore that impeccable, gentle smile, though there was a bit more coldness beneath it.
"I understand." Kabuto nodded. "Lord Kazekage's concerns and conditions are reasonable. In the face of an unexpected variable like Tejima Shinichi, it's only right to increase the risk premium..."
"I will relay this faithfully to Lord Orochimaru. I'm sure... for the sake of our common goal, Lord Orochimaru will certainly agree to your considerations!!!"
Seeing Kabuto accept the demand for more money so "readily," Baki felt a flash of doubt in his heart, but it was taken over by the relaxation of a successful negotiation.
"Very well, then we shall wait for Lord Orochimaru's final confirmation!!!"