Where's My Money?

How important was having an official post?

In his previous life, Akihara Kagura had never even gotten the chance to obtain one!

By the social customs of his previous life, if Orochimaru had offered to arrange an official post for Akihara Kagura, then Akihara Kagura would have had to visit him with holiday gifts every festive occasion...

For Akihara Kagura in this life, an official post in Konoha was still immensely useful. It would allow him to integrate himself into the strongest ninja village in the world!

Konoha was the center of this world.

As long as Akihara Kagura entered Konoha, he would be able to keep track of the world's course at any time, perhaps even influence its future!

Besides...

The system had also refreshed a new superior's requirement.

System Prompt: New work assignment: Travel to Konoha, find Orochimaru's ally Shimura Danzō, learn Wood Style Ninjutsu, and monitor the agreement between Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō.

This assignment had no time limit.

The concept behind the system's work assignments came from superiors. It had never stipulated a completion deadline, making it faintly seem as though this job might never be finished...

However...

That was precisely what made Akihara Kagura wary.

If he simply followed the usual routine, he would spend his entire life drowning in work. Only by taking the initiative could he escape a job with no known deadline.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

The sound of a snake slithering suddenly came from nearby.

A little white snake suddenly crawled out of the grass and affectionately pressed itself against Orochimaru's calf, looking deeply attached to him.

Orochimaru bent down and held out his palm. The little white snake opened its mouth and spat out a scroll, which landed in Orochimaru's hand.

The scroll looked even larger than the little white snake itself, making it difficult to imagine how it had swallowed the thing in the first place.

Still...

This was the ninja world, after all...

Such strange things were quite common.

Orochimaru opened the scroll in his hand. As he read the writing on it, a wicked smile appeared on his lips, as though he had found some amusing news.

Strictly speaking...

It was a harshly worded letter of interrogation.

It was a letter from Shimura Danzō.

Back when Orochimaru was still in Konoha, Shimura Danzō had secretly funded and supported his Wood Style human experimentation project, even helping him seek out materials for human experiments.

Naturally.

Such an investment was bound to demand returns.

Orochimaru had once given something back to Shimura Danzō, handing over a successfully produced Wood Style Ninja and allowing Shimura Danzō to see hope for the project's success.

After all, investors had to see some results...

Although that Wood Style Ninja was far less perfect than Akihara Kagura, that small glimmer of hope had convinced Shimura Danzō of the prospects of Wood Style human experimentation...

This Wood Style experimentation business...

It had real potential. It would definitely succeed!

Even after Orochimaru defected from Konoha, Shimura Danzō was unafraid of the risk of being discovered colluding with a rogue ninja and continued putting great effort into funding Orochimaru's research...

But...

Investors were always waiting for returns.

The message Shimura Danzō sent was practically filled from beginning to end with questions.

Where's my money?

What did you spend my money on?

Has your experimental project produced any new results these past few years?

Only at the end of the letter-scroll did Shimura Danzō mention that the previously less-than-successful Wood Style test subject had been discovered by the Third Hokage and taken into the Hokage's direct ANBU. He hoped Orochimaru could help him cultivate another Wood Style Ninja through experimentation.

Likewise.

Shimura Danzō also requested a meeting.

After all, Orochimaru had been away from Konoha for several years since his defection and had long escaped Shimura Danzō's surveillance. This investor wanted to inspect the progress of Orochimaru's project.

"Heh heh..."

Orochimaru ignored the questions on the scroll. Looking at its final request, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"What a perfect coincidence."

"Just in time... to give him an explanation as well."

"What?"

Akihara Kagura looked at Orochimaru in surprise.

Did his superior have something he was hiding from him?

"It's nothing."

Orochimaru smiled at Akihara Kagura, reaching out to stroke his hair as he spoke with a tender expression. "Someone will be coming to take you away soon... Before then, I'll teach you how to undo a cursed seal."

"What cursed seal?"

"The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal."

Orochimaru said it casually.

The name of this cursed seal sounded terrifying, but its effect was rather unimpressive. It was not frightening at all.

This was a sealing cursed seal created by Shimura Danzō, mainly imposed on his subordinates to prevent them from leaking his intelligence.

By planting the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal beneath a person's tongue, anyone bearing the seal would trigger it whenever they tried to mention Shimura Danzō. They would be unable to speak and might even be unable to move.

Another reason Orochimaru wanted Akihara Kagura to go to Konoha and join Shimura Danzō was for him to serve as a spy. Orochimaru would need Akihara Kagura to pass information to him from time to time, so naturally he would not let Akihara Kagura be bound by the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

Besides teaching him how to undo the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, Orochimaru also reminisced about his homeland in front of Akihara Kagura, letting him learn a little about Konoha's history.

"My teacher..."

"Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi..."

"He has ruled Konoha for decades..."

"Perhaps because he has grown old, that teacher of mine has become somewhat softhearted... even when faced with people who might endanger Konoha..."

"..."

Young Akihara Kagura raised an eyebrow.

Young Akihara Kagura knew quite a few secrets about the figures and anecdotes of Konoha.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi made people think he was softhearted, a kindly old man, because someone else took on the role of the ruthless one.

Konoha was the strongest organization in the ninja world. It could never remain entirely under the sunlight, and it naturally needed figures who could not be seen in the light to deal with darkness and filth.

Without a doubt.

Shimura Danzō was such a figure.

Akihara Kagura wanted to learn more about the story of his future superior.

Akihara Kagura quietly listened as Orochimaru finished reminiscing about Hiruzen Sarutobi, then asked curiously at the right moment, "What about Lord Shimura Danzō, the man Lord Orochimaru wants me to join? What kind of person is he? Is there anything I need to be careful about?"

"Danzō?"

The smile on Orochimaru's face immediately deepened as he said gloomily, "Danzō... is the shadow hidden behind the Third Hokage."

"A ninja's life is dark."

"The Hokage is the source of a ninja's darkness..."

"Yet humans always like to beautify themselves... My teacher likes to present himself as upright and approachable, so he needs someone to handle the troubles lurking in the darkness for him..."

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Orochimaru actually laughed with some smugness, as though he had found something disgraceful about the Third Hokage. He continued mockingly, "My teacher has always been so hypocritical. He does not want anyone to know he has been tainted by darkness. The Wood Style human experimentation, with a death rate close to one hundred percent, was originally proposed by him... It was only that his will was too weak... He could not bear the cost of experiment after experiment failing..."

"..."

Young Akihara Kagura almost wanted to dig at his ears.

Why did Orochimaru have to bring up his teacher whenever he mentioned Konoha?

He had defected from Konoha years ago, so why was Orochimaru still sarcastically mocking the Third Hokage? Was it not simply because Hiruzen had not made Orochimaru the Hokage of Konoha? Was it not simply because he had driven Orochimaru out of his homeland?

Wasn't it because Orochimaru himself had been at fault first?

Right now...

I only want to hear Lord Danzō's story!

Please add the new book to your collection!

The second update will be at eight tomorrow morning!

Does anyone know the update schedule during the new book period...?