Orochimaru courteously saw Torifu Akimichi off before relaxing and stretching lazily.
He had already completed all his preparations.
All that remained was to wait for the right opportunity before making his move.
In truth, that opportunity was already about to arrive.
Orochimaru's stretch lasted an unusually long time. His movements were exaggerated as he bent backward, and even the bones throughout his body let out a series of crisp crackling sounds.
Only after a long while did he slowly straighten himself, letting out a long sigh at the same time.
Under Shikaku Nara's gaze, Orochimaru ordered,
"Shikaku Nara, go inform Shikaku's uncle. Have him bring my little snakes and come out with me."
"We're going to meet my teacher…"
"And my classmate, Jiraiya."
Shikaku Nara lowered his head.
"As you command, Lord Orochimaru."
Inoichi Yamanaka spoke up.
"Lord Orochimaru, please allow us to accompany you as well."
Orochimaru smiled.
"Sure."
"And… who was it again?"
Shibi Aburame answered,
"Me. Shibi Aburame."
"Our Aburame Clan is also willing to follow you, Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru: "…"
He hesitated for several seconds before helplessly saying,
"You there… I heard what you said."
"I also understand the Aburame Clan's position."
"Oh, right. Have your father come see me later."
"Otherwise, I really might forget about you."
"That wouldn't be fair to the Aburame Clan."
Shibi Aburame stared at Orochimaru in surprise.
He even sounded somewhat delighted as he replied,
"Lord Orochimaru, you actually remember me."
"Please rest assured. I'll notify my father."
Orochimaru shook his head.
This designated future clan head of the Aburame Clan was certainly an excellent shinobi.
But that strange talent of his—making people unconsciously overlook his very existence—was truly troublesome.
Orochimaru did not dwell on it for long.
He quickly left the hidden meeting room.
This place had once been one of Root's secret chambers.
Root's security had always been extremely strict, and many of its hidden safehouses were known only to a handful of people.
After Danzo Shimura's sudden death, along with the simultaneous deaths of a large number of Root shinobi, many such secret facilities became ownerless property.
After Orochimaru returned to Konoha, he discovered some of them and quietly claimed them for himself.
Later, he unleashed massive numbers of snakes and conducted a carpet-style search through every crack and crevice beneath Konoha.
Through ventilation shafts and other concealed passages, he uncovered even more underground structures and hidden rooms.
Once he confirmed that they were abandoned Root facilities, they naturally all became his secret property.
Among them were one hidden passage Orochimaru had personally excavated in the past—
And ten secret passages Danzo Shimura had ordered constructed.
With these routes available, Orochimaru could enter or leave Konoha whenever he pleased without anyone noticing.
He truly had complete freedom of movement.
After receiving Tsunade's incomprehensible secret letter, Orochimaru combined it with the intelligence regarding Konoha's massive reinforcement operation toward the Land of Rain and the now-public internal conflict within the Uchiha Clan.
Naturally, he deduced that Uchiha Yoru was being targeted.
Orochimaru understood Uchiha Yoru far better than anyone else in Konoha.
He immediately realized that regardless of whether the operation in the Land of Rain succeeded or failed—
Something major was going to happen inside the village.
Orochimaru had not interacted with Uchiha Yoru many times.
But he was absolutely certain that Yoru possessed an extremely powerful sense of self.
He was exactly the kind of bastard who could betray the village at any moment if things stopped going his way.
Yes.
Uchiha Yoru was the same kind of person as Orochimaru.
Naturally, it was easy to recognize the scent of one's own kind.
Orochimaru still had his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in Konoha.
Their bond was difficult to sever.
But Uchiha Yoru had nothing.
No parents.
No brothers or sisters.
No teammates with whom he shared a deep bond.
Even within the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Yoru was something of an outsider, constantly targeted by Uchiha Setsuna.
The only one truly close to him was the Cat Sage of the Cat Castle.
In other words—
That bastard could leave whenever he wanted.
He could turn around and become a Konoha missing-nin at any moment.
Right.
That bastard did not even possess a shinobi's sense of honor.
Nor did he possess any particular sense of pride in the Uchiha Clan.
He never wore a forehead protector.
He did not even wear clothing bearing the Uchiha Clan crest.
If Uchiha Yoru defected, he probably would not even consider himself a missing-nin.
The real problem was that Orochimaru also knew that although Uchiha Yoru had few personal bonds, his influence inside the Uchiha Clan was enormous.
If he defected, he absolutely would not leave Konoha alone.
This was no longer thirty years ago.
When Uchiha Madara chose to abandon Konoha and became the first missing-nin, the Uchiha Clan had been enjoying peace and prosperity under Hashirama Senju's protection.
The Uchiha clansmen had married, started families, and raised children.
They were satisfied with their lives and full of hope for the future.
So when their clan leader chose to leave, not a single person followed him.
But today?
After twenty continuous years of suppression, hostility, marginalization, and exclusion—
The Uchiha Clan was already filled with resentment.
Older Uchiha shinobi could still scrape together a decent living through the Police Force and the prison system.
But they were still far from retirement.
The positions they occupied would not become available for another ten years.
Life was extremely difficult for the younger Uchiha shinobi.
If they joined squads led by outsiders, their teammates treated them differently.
If they formed independent Uchiha squads, the Mission Center discriminated against them.
No matter how they looked at it, their future was bleak.
Their financial prospects were equally miserable.
There was no hope whatsoever.
If Uchiha Yoru raised his arm and called—
He could take away more than half the Uchiha Clan.
Especially those under twenty years old!
And every single member of the Tiger Unit.
Konoha could not afford to lose the Uchiha.
But even more importantly, it absolutely could not allow the Uchiha to join another shinobi village.
And it absolutely could not accept the Tiger Unit standing on the enemy's side.
That would be a nightmare.
That was why Orochimaru had ignored his orders and hurriedly returned to Konoha.
Using the secret passages, he entered the village unnoticed and contacted his own faction to prepare for any unexpected developments.
What Orochimaru had not anticipated was that not only would the Aburame Clan voluntarily approach him—
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi's old supporters, the Ino-Shika-Chō clans, would take the initiative to align themselves with him.
Those four clans were deeply rooted within Konoha, their relationships intertwined throughout the village.
It had taken almost no effort for them to contact Orochimaru through several smaller shinobi clans.
At this point, Orochimaru's momentum had fully matured.
Only three major clans in Konoha had yet to join his side—
The Hyūga Clan.
The Inuzuka Clan.
And the Uchiha Clan.
But whether those clans joined him no longer mattered much.
The Hyūga Clan was crippled by the conflict between its Main Family and Branch Family, along with the oppression of the Caged Bird Seal.
The entire clan acted like a turtle hiding inside its shell.
Externally, they had always been weak and passive.
The shinobi of the Inuzuka Clan were too fierce and too straightforward.
Nobody could use them for shady political work.
The Third Hokage could not.
Orochimaru could not either.
As for the Uchiha Clan—
On the surface, they had already been drawn into the Third Hokage's faction.
But Orochimaru knew that the majority of the Uchiha Clan's actual strength was controlled by Uchiha Yoru.
Especially the Tiger Unit, which every member of Konoha's upper leadership regarded with deep caution.
That force obeyed Uchiha Yoru completely.
No one else could command them.
And after the devastating losses in the Land of Rain, the Third Hokage now controlled only Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Setsuna, and the last few trusted subordinates surrounding them.
Orochimaru departed without any worries.
He had secretly infiltrated Konoha.
But when he left, he openly walked through the village gates.
Behind him marched the neatly organized Snake Unit and elite squads from the Ino-Shika-Chō clans.
The Aburame shinobi were acting as scouts and had departed ahead of them, so they were not marching with the main formation.
Orochimaru's conspicuous departure immediately caused a commotion throughout Konoha.
The villagers and shinobi, still unaware of the crushing defeat in the Land of Rain, began discussing among themselves.
Everyone wondered what exactly had happened.
…
Even without flying, Uchiha Yoru moved extremely quickly.
It took him only a few minutes to reach the pass.
Then he stopped.
After taking a single glance around, he smiled and asked,
"The atmosphere here feels rather strange."
"Is someone preparing an ambush?"
At that moment, someone shouted,
"He's already inside the barrier!"
"Begin!"
The instant the command was given, a spherical curtain of light rapidly rose from the ground toward the sky.
Sure enough—
Uchiha Yoru was trapped inside.
Seeing this, cheers erupted among the shinobi swarming out from the pass.
"We got him!"
"Excellent! He can't escape!"
"Maintain formation!"
"Now that he's trapped, there's no need to worry about surrounding him."
"Advance steadily!"
"Push him against the barrier and burn him to death!"
Naturally, Uchiha Yoru ignored their words.
He looked at the curtain of light rising around him and quickly identified it.
The barrier radiated a dark violet glow.
It appeared to be a variant of the Four Violet Flames Formation.
Using an enormous numerical advantage, they had converted a fire-style formation into a barrier through sealing techniques.
Its flames were stronger.
Its range was larger.
And its shape could be freely altered.
"Konoha's Barrier Team and Sealing Team have actually produced quite a few results over the years."
"Not bad."
"Not bad at all."
Near the edge of the barrier, Tobirama Senju nodded in satisfaction.
"They're no worse than the Uzumaki Clan."
Hashirama Senju was also a master of sealing techniques.
He strongly agreed with his younger brother's evaluation and repeatedly nodded.
Among the three, only Sakumo Hatake specialized in taijutsu, swordsmanship, and Wind Release.
He knew little about sealing techniques and could not offer much of an evaluation.
But when he heard Tobirama say they were no worse than the Uzumaki Clan, he could not help freezing for a moment.
Hashirama did not notice the change in Sakumo's expression.
But Tobirama immediately caught it.
Curious, he asked,
"Sakumo."
"Do you have something to say?"
Sakumo Hatake hesitated briefly.
But he quickly made his decision and answered,
"Second Hokage-sama…"
"Konoha's sealing techniques…"
"They are the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques."
"Konoha should have inherited almost all of them."
The moment Tobirama heard the word "inherited," his expression changed dramatically.
He immediately demanded,
"Inherited?"
"Why are you using the word inherited?"
"What happened to the Land of Whirlpools?"
"And Uzushiogakure…"
"Did something happen to them?"
Sakumo Hatake nodded and sighed.
"The Land of Whirlpools was destroyed."
"Uzushiogakure was completely annihilated."
"The Uzumaki Clan was either killed or scattered throughout the shinobi world."
Hashirama Senju's expression darkened for the first time.
He asked,
"Why didn't Konoha protect the Land of Whirlpools?"
"Why didn't Konoha accept the survivors of the Land of Whirlpools?"
The First Hokage was angry.
He did not unleash any overwhelming aura.
But Sakumo Hatake, standing directly before him, still felt his heart tremble.
He was once a mighty shinobi who had crossed the Land of Wind, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Hot Water.
Even when surrounded and hunted by thousands or tens of thousands of shinobi, he had always been able to calmly carve his way through the encirclement.
Never once had he felt fear.
But in front of the First Hokage—
He felt it.
Sakumo raised one hand and saw that his fingers were trembling uncontrollably.
He clasped both hands together to stop the shaking.
Then, using the calmest tone he could manage, he answered,
"First Hokage-sama, I only know that by the time Konoha received intelligence that Uzushiogakure was under attack, it was already very late."
"At that time, only the Senju Clan ignored the Third Hokage's attempts to dissuade them."
"They formed a rescue force and headed toward the Land of Whirlpools."
"The Third Hokage failed to stop the Senju Clan."
"But he also did not immediately organize a proper rescue force."
"He waited another two days before finally dispatching the main force."
"In the end…"
"The Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan forces were completely wiped out."
"The rescue force failed to save a single person."
"They only brought back a large quantity of sealing-technique records."
Hashirama Senju's expression became terrifyingly gloomy.
He was simple-minded by nature.
But he was absolutely not stupid.
There were far too many contradictions and inexplicable details in Sakumo Hatake's account.
Almost the only way such a tragedy could have occurred…
Was if the Hokage himself had deliberately allowed it.
Perhaps even cooperated with the enemies attacking the Land of Whirlpools.
Hashirama Senju forcibly suppressed his anger and asked again,
"Do you know any more details?"
Sakumo Hatake shook his head.
"First Hokage-sama, I had not yet become a jōnin at the time."
"I also did not participate in the rescue force."
"So I don't know the exact reasons or the details of the operation."
"You would need to ask the Third Hokage himself."
"Or Elder Danzo Shimura, who led the rescue force."
"Only they would know more."
Hashirama Senju nodded.
"You're right."
"We should ask Monkey."
Then he turned toward the pass.
His tone became flat.
"Fortunately…"
"He's right there."
Tobirama Senju's expression was even worse.
Although he had been summoned by Edo Tensei more frequently and had communicated with the outside world more often—
He truly had not known what happened to the Land of Whirlpools.
Even when he chatted with Tsunade, she deliberately avoided painful subjects like this and instead spoke about happier things.
If Tobirama had learned about the Land of Whirlpools earlier—
He would have exploded long ago.
Because countless dark possibilities instantly appeared in his mind.
One conspiracy after another filled in the unreasonable gaps in the story.
But all of them ultimately led back to the same conclusion.
Something had gone wrong with the Third Hokage.
The power structure designed by Tobirama Senju ensured that nothing in Konoha could truly be hidden from the Hokage.
Even if the Hokage had somehow been stripped of power, he could still obtain every piece of intelligence except Root's internal secrets.
As the Hokage who actually held real authority, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not possibly have merely "known" about what happened to the Land of Whirlpools.
He must have been deeply involved.
Because the Land of Whirlpools was right beside the Land of Fire.
During the wars Tobirama himself had commanded, there had once been an operation in which several villages surrounded the Land of Whirlpools.
In the end, Konoha and Uzushiogakure attacked from both inside and outside.
Together, they crushed the combined forces of Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure in a single decisive battle.
That victory laid the foundation for Konoha's triumph in the war.
With such a precedent—
Even if all four other Great Shinobi Villages joined forces, none of them would dare destroy the Land of Whirlpools before first defeating Konoha.
Unless…
They had received assurances beforehand.
Assurances that Konoha would not provide timely reinforcements.
Tobirama Senju said nothing.
He was the first to step forward.
He desperately wanted answers.
And the person capable of answering those questions—
Was right ahead.
Sakumo Hatake followed without hesitation.
He also had many questions he wanted answered.
Several years ago, the beliefs in his heart had collapsed.
His spirit had died before his body did.
He had not even thought to ask these questions.
Instead, he cowardly chose to end his own life.
Now that he had returned from death—
He could finally ask them "calmly."
…
While the Konoha shinobi were reorganizing their formations, Uchiha Yoru suddenly moved.
He lightly pushed off the ground.
Then he shot into the air at high speed.
In an instant, he flew out through the still-open top of the barrier.
Every Konoha shinobi stared in shock.
None of them had ever considered the possibility that Uchiha Yoru could fly.
And his flying speed was so fast that intercepting him was impossible.
The Third Hokage finally stepped forward.
He looked at Uchiha Yoru, now standing outside the barrier, his face dark as water.
Beside him, Uchiha Fugaku stared wide-eyed and muttered in disbelief,
"How can he fly?"
Uchiha Setsuna was equally dumbfounded.
He blurted out,
"Did he awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"Is flight one of his dōjutsu?"
Jiraiya stood on the Third Hokage's other side.
Hearing that, his expression changed.
He raised his head and looked toward Uchiha Yoru.
But the distance was too great.
He could not clearly see Yoru's eyes.
Jiraiya whispered,
"Boss Fukasaku."
Fukasaku, standing on his shoulder, replied,
"Got it."
The man and toad formed hand seals together.
They rapidly synchronized their senjutsu.
At the same time, they shouted in low voices,
"Sage Art: Toad Dream Vision!"
With Fukasaku as the primary caster and Jiraiya providing support, their senjutsu chakra gathered in front of them.
It quickly formed into an enormous eye.
Its golden iris and horizontal pupil clearly belonged to a toad.
Using that enormous toad eye, Jiraiya effortlessly magnified his vision.
He could clearly see Uchiha Yoru's face several hundred meters away.
He could even see his eyes.
The instant Jiraiya got a clear look, he sucked in a sharp breath.
He exclaimed,
"It's true!"
"His Sharingan really is a Mangekyō Sharingan!"
The Third Hokage could not help shouting,
"Jiraiya, are you sure?"
Jiraiya immediately complained,
"Old man, how could I possibly get this wrong?"
"His pupils are red, but the patterns inside his eyes aren't tomoe."
"They're three interlocking rings."
"Of course that's a Mangekyō."
The Third Hokage turned toward Uchiha Fugaku.
"Is that really the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Uchiha Fugaku nodded.
"As long as the pattern in a Sharingan is no longer made of tomoe…"
"It must be a Mangekyō."
Then he looked toward the Third Hokage.
After hesitating, he said,
"Third Hokage-sama, I…"
His words were immediately interrupted by the Third Hokage's stern rebuke.
"Fugaku!"
"This is absolutely not the time for you to go soft!"
"Uchiha Yoru has hidden himself this deeply."
"That alone proves how calculating he truly is!"
"I'm certain that the moment he saw us, he realized the situation was serious."
"And now he has chosen to flee."
"That alone is enough to prove one thing—"
"He is already a missing-nin of Konoha!"
"We must capture him today."
"At any cost."
"You need to understand…"
"He can fly!"
"If we fail to capture him today, neither we nor Konoha will ever know peace again!"
Fugaku was left flustered by his words.
Almost subconsciously, he asked,
"But…"
"He can fly."
"How are we supposed to catch him?"
The Third Hokage: "…"
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