All Things in Nature

It is approximately...

One week ago.

In the wilderness near the Land of Rice Fields.

The night was deep. A bright moon hung high in the sky.

Orochimaru had just finished a secret experiment and was walking alone on his way back to the main base.

Suddenly, he stopped in an open space.

All around was desolate and silent, with only the man's lonely shadow on the ground keeping him company.

Orochimaru chuckled coldly, "You rat behind me, you've been following me all this way, aren't you going to come out?"

There was no response.

Everything around was calm.

Orochimaru still sneered, turned around, and stared coldly at the dark roots of an ancient tree not far away.

He slowly walked towards the shadows.

This time, the tracker finally reacted—the shadow in the dark corner of the tree roots rippled, then the ground cracked open, and a dark figure shook off the dirt, emerging from the earth like a sprouting plant.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's you... Black Zetsu." He instinctively stopped in his tracks.

In the world of Hokage, if there's anything that could make this lawless man feel apprehensive, besides Sakura Haruno, the Akatsuki is the only one left.

Therefore, facing the madman who dared to follow him, Orochimaru not only did not get angry, but instead became cautious and alert.

Even with his confidence, Orochimaru had to admit that there were many strong individuals in that organization who were no less powerful than him, and some who could even crush him... As for the leader of the organization, he found him to be unfathomable!

In contrast to that terrifying power was an even more horrific conspiracy brewing behind the scenes—which was also the reason Orochimaru defected back then.

Don't get me wrong, Orochimaru is not some benevolent person who wants to save the world.

He was simply instinctively wary of the conspiracy and the organization, so this extremely self-centered and evil scientist did not hesitate to defect from his organization a second time.

Regardless of the reason, Xiao did not relentlessly pursue him to the death.

Over the years, Orochimaru has always cautiously kept his distance from Akatsuki, keeping a low profile, and the two have tacitly maintained a state of never interacting with each other again.

Until tonight.

"A member of Akatsuki..." Orochimaru's expression was indifferent as he coldly stared at him, his mind subtly sensing the Chakra fluctuations around him. "What business do you have with me?"

"Long time no see, Orochimaru." Black Zetsu grinned, a long, smirking smile playing on his lips as he sized up the serpentine man. "Looks like you've been doing quite well these past few years!"

Orochimaru remained silent.

He lowered his eyelids, his eyes moving almost imperceptibly as he silently surveyed his surroundings, wary of any other potential enemies.

Surprisingly, he did not sense any hostility.

"Don't misunderstand," Black Zetsu Orochimaru's actions, "I'm the only one who came today. Akatsuki doesn't intend to settle old scores with you... I'm here to convey goodwill!"

Bona fide?

If someone else had said that to Orochimaru, the grass on his grave would be as tall as a person by now.

However, given Black Zetsu's actions, Orochimaru had to seriously consider his intentions.

In particular, he didn't sense any indication that Akatsuki had sent anyone else to target him—they couldn't very well send Black Zetsu to hunt down Orochimaru!

In a flash, combining recent intelligence with his thoughts, Orochimaru suddenly had a guess.

"Goodwill?" He sneered. "Let me remind you, I'm a traitor to Akatsuki... Are you planning to let bygones be bygones?"

His eyes widened, his orange-yellow vertical pupils fixed on the dark figure before him.

Being stared at by such evil and sinister eyes would put immense pressure on anyone, but Black Zetsu smiled calmly, "Of course!"

"Not only that, we sincerely invite you to rejoin our organization and become one of us!"

"If you agree... treasure, women, status, a safe environment, and your favorite Ninjutsu Secret Technique —you name it, I'll give you everything!"

Orochimaru stared at him intently.

Suddenly, he burst into wild laughter.

"Hehehehehe--" His mouth stretched to its limit as he laughed loudly, "Black Zetsu, I'm really disappointed. Ten years have passed, and you're still using the same old tricks!"

"Ten years ago, when Xiao recruited me, she used the same words, and I agreed. But later I left you. Ten years later, you're using the same thing to invite me again?"

Where is your sincerity? Are you toying with me?!

The wind suddenly picked up.

The full moon cast its cold white light upon the ground, illuminating Orochimaru's crazed and sinister smile.

Black Zetsu remained motionless, hidden in the shadows of the forest, a fake smile still on his face, listening quietly to Orochimaru's words.

Orochimaru laughed wildly for a while, then suddenly stopped, staring intently at Black Zetsu, his gaze as cold as a venomous snake that had spotted its prey.

"I know why you came to me," he said suddenly after a long pause.

The man's voice suddenly changed from manic to feminine, smooth and cold, like a scaly creature sliding across your palm.

"Because of Sakura Haruno, right?" he said slowly, "Don't think that just because I've been hiding underground, I don't know anything..."

"Kakuzu, Hidan, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, Itachi, Minami... and of course, the mysterious leader Pain. Almost half of you fought her, and then... your organization suffered heavy casualties."

I did nothing wrong, did I?

Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly.

"Heh heh heh. The Akatsuki, brimming with talent, was utterly thrashed by a girl. Even the leader himself couldn't handle her. It's truly..."

He paused for a moment.

"A shame."

Black Zetsu remained unmoved, as if the organization being evaluated had nothing to do with him.

As a seasoned schemer who has lived in the shadows for thousands of years, he still has that much shamelessness.

However, as the mastermind behind everything, he was still furious to be evaluated in this way by a junior about the organization he secretly controlled.

Orochimaru continued.

"It's not hard to imagine just how lacking in fighting power you are that you'd have to swallow your pride and turn to me, a traitor, to curry favor!"

At this point, Black Zetsu finally responded, "I couldn't hide it from you, Orochimaru... Indeed, the organization is very interested in you and your Impure World Reincarnation. This jutsu can greatly alleviate our current lack of combat power! Akatsuki needs you!"

"Name your price, Orochimaru. What do you need?"

"Believe me, what we can offer will absolutely exceed your expectations and will absolutely meet your conditions!"

Orochimaru shook his head.

"No, you're wrong. I'm not interested in secretive organizations. I'm not on your side! Besides, what satisfied me ten years ago might not matter to me now!"

Black Zetsu chuckled, "Don't be so quick to refuse, Orochimaru! Now that things have come to this, we're not afraid to tell you some of the truth. To be honest, Akatsuki's plan is simple: our real goal is to collect the Nine Tailed Beasts, gather top-tier forces, defeat the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and thus establish a new order! I can guarantee that you, Orochimaru, will definitely get a share of the spoils of victory. You will gain extremely high status and power, and you can openly conduct any human experiments you want!"

Orochimaru basically scoffed at this.

"Keep your so-called truth for fooling kids!" he waved his hand impatiently. "I know your plan is definitely not that simple, but I have no interest in it!"

"Say something useful, or get lost."

"Just a heads-up, you can't threaten me anymore!"

"Heh heh! You've gotten much more assertive, Orochimaru." Black Zetsu shook his head dismissively. "You think that with your two new trump cards, you can contend with the crippled Akatsuki, is that it?"

Before Orochimaru could react, he continued, "Indeed, I have to admit we were wrong about you... We never expected that an ordinary person like you could wield real power! No wonder you're so confident! It seems that losing to Uchiha Itachi has actually spurred your improvement!"

"You are now far superior to who you were when you first defected, and you stand above many ordinary members of the organization. It's truly astonishing..."

"However, I've come with sincerity. We can provide something that will absolutely satisfy you!"

"Let me guess... You've probably hit a roadblock lately, right? Here's a free hint for you, listen carefully, I'll only do it once!"

"Two opposing lineages interact..."

"Then you can obtain..."

"Sen, Luo, Wan, Xiang!"