"Uchiha Raizen?"
"So it's that kid! I didn't expect him to still be alive."
In Orochimaru's mind, a memory surfaced of a young Uchiha child he met before defecting from the Leaf. That kid had curiously chased him, asking, "How exactly do you give birth to children?" It had left even Orochimaru utterly baffled at the time.
Danzō Shimura sneered darkly. "Raizen has returned to Konoha. In the name of 'reviving the Uchiha,' he's been fathering children left and right. There are quite a few infants in the compound now—all excellent research materials."
"Kukuku..." Orochimaru licked his lips, his slit pupils gleaming with greed. "Danzō, I like this information very much. What reward do you want in return?"
"The Uchiha are a clan of evil; they should not exist in Konoha." A cold smile played on Danzō's shadowed face. "What I want is for you to slaughter them all. Every last one."
"Kukuku! You truly are a ruthless man," Orochimaru mocked without hesitation. "The two founding clans of Konoha (Senju and Uchiha) are being wiped clean by your hands. You won't even spare the last few... as expected of you, Danzō."
Danzō's eyes flashed with a cold, dismissive glint. "The sacrifices my clan and others have made for Konoha are no less than theirs. For the safety and greatness of the village, what does a small sacrifice matter?"
"Kukuku! Truly a bunch of hypocrites," Orochimaru scoffed. "Suppressing others under the guise of 'for the village.' You really are a black-hearted politician."
Danzō snorted. "Hmph. Orochimaru, you are no longer a ninja of the Leaf. Do you really have the leisure to care about such boring matters?" He tossed a scroll to the Sannin. "This is the latest deployment map of the Leaf's patrol squads. Don't take a wrong turn and get caught—it would be a laugh."
Orochimaru caught the scroll, his tongue flicking out. "You give me this... aren't you afraid I'll unite with other villages to invade Konoha?"
Danzō's eyes narrowed into slits. "If you can manage that, I won't lift a finger to stop you. Hiruzen is old; he might drop dead any day. Your time for revenge is running out. He destroyed everything you had back then—are you really content to just walk away? If not for Hiruzen's interference, you would be the Fourth Hokage today. There wouldn't have been a Minato Namikaze. When it comes to being insidious, Hiruzen is far worse than I am."
Orochimaru let out a dry laugh. "The title of Hokage? I lost interest in that long ago. Even a Hokage only has a few decades of life. How is that enough time to learn every jutsu in existence? Only eternity is the ultimate truth."
"Danzō, I've been researching a jutsu for immortality lately. Are you interested in making yourself undying? Then you'd have all the time you need to realize your ambitions."
Danzō snorted. "Don't even think about using me to test your half-baked forbidden jutsus. The Uchiha are a better fit—take those ideas to them. I've said enough. Farewell."
Without another word, Danzō turned and vanished into the shadows.
Orochimaru stared at Danzō's retreating back, chuckling.
"Lord Orochimaru, why not take the chance to kill Danzō?" A figure stepped out from behind him—Kabuto Yakushi.
"Danzō wants the Hokage seat. Leaving him to cause trouble for my old teacher is far more amusing," Orochimaru replied.
"A pity. It was a good opportunity," Kabuto noted regretfully.
"Danzō has transplanted First Hokage cells and Uchiha Sharingan. We might not be able to keep him here, and we'd risk a counter-kill," Orochimaru explained. "For now, leave him be. We still need him to leak intelligence. Prepare yourself, Kabuto. We're going to Konoha."
Kabuto paused. "For Itachi's brother, Sasuke?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "Sasuke is too small to be my vessel yet. Danzō provided a more suitable candidate: the Uchiha survivor, Raizen. Based on the timeline, he is in his prime—the perfect vessel."
"Congratulations, Lord Orochimaru, on finally finding a suitable match."
"Kukuku... With an Uchiha body, I will become perfect. With that power, I will seek all the truths of this world!"
Back at the Uchiha Compound
Raizen returned to Konoha with Konan after a short journey. To avoid drawing suspicion, he had asked Konan to change out of her Akatsuki robes beforehand.
Upon entering the house, the women stared at Konan with curiosity. Kurenai Yuhi looked a bit jealous, assuming this was yet another woman Raizen had brought home to bear children.
Raizen gestured toward Konan. "Let me introduce everyone. This is Konan. She is a new guard I've hired. From now on, she will be in charge of the Uchiha compound's security."
"Hello," Konan said with a slight, polite nod.
"A guard?" Hearing this, Kurenai's mood visibly brightened.
"Konan, this is Anko Mitarashi, also a guard for our household. This is Kurenai, my wife. This is Momoko... this is Haruko..."
Raizen introduced everyone one by one.
Outside the gate, Might Guy stared into the courtyard, his eyes filled with envy. "How does Raizen have such good luck with women? He brought home another stunning beauty!"
Kakashi Hatake smiled and shrugged, not looking up from his book. "Who can blame them? The guy is handsome and loaded."
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