Before the Sharingan, You Have Nowhere to Hide

Danzo stood at this moment within the gloomy Root base, his face bearing his habitual arrogance and cold indifference.

Gazing at Orochimaru before him, his voice was cold, overbearing, and yet laced with a seductive quality.

"Orochimaru, the Shinobi World will soon face an unprecedented catastrophe, but as you know, for Konoha, this may well be a golden opportunity..."

Orochimaru watched Danzo silently, offering no immediate response.

He had always been exceptionally sensitive to the power of the soul, and at this moment, he vaguely sensed that Danzo's tone, expression, and even his gaze revealed a bizarre quality that made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

It seemed as if every word Danzo spoke carried some sort of indescribable, bewitching power.

Seeing Orochimaru remain silent, Danzo raised his head and said coldly...

"As long as I can successfully become the Hokage of Konoha, I will not only formally restore your status as a ninja of Konoha, but I will also grant you access to all the forbidden jutsu archives in the village."

Hearing this, Orochimaru asked tentatively: "Does 'all' include forbidden jutsu like Impure World Reincarnation?"

Danzo looked at him expressionlessly: "Of course, including jutsu similar to Impure World Reincarnation."

Orochimaru had already stolen the secrets of Impure World Reincarnation long ago...

What Danzo meant by full access included human experimentation.

Hearing this answer, Orochimaru became even more vigilant.

There was something wrong with Danzo; this unprecedented madness and eeriness was a version of Danzo he had never known before.

Orochimaru...

He was a natural expert on the soul...

Although he had no evidence, he possessed an intuition that brought him closest to the truth...

On the surface, however, Orochimaru maintained his usual calm and composure: "In that case, Lord Danzo, what do you need me to do?"

Danzo reached up and unfastened his outer robe, revealing a body half-consumed by the frenzied erosion of First Hokage Cells.

Originally, only one arm had been modified by the cells, but now, these terrifying Wood Release Cells had spread like vines across half of his torso, even faintly encroaching upon his chest.

Seeing such a shocking sight, Orochimaru's heart tightened. What was even more staggering was that Danzo's body was somehow still managing to completely suppress the First Hokage Cells, preventing them from consuming him entirely.

"I need more Sharingan for transplantation..."

Danzo repeated this sentence in an unnaturally calm and gloomy tone.

As Danzo's voice fell, several Root ninja stepped forward quickly, placing dozens of special containers filled with Sharingan before Orochimaru.

These Sharingan were the very spoils of war obtained during the night of the Uchiha clan's annihilation.

Staring at the pairs of scarlet eyes floating in the nutrient solution, flickering with an eerie light, Orochimaru remained silent for several seconds before finally nodding slowly: "Since it is Lord Danzo's request... of course, I can do it."

Transplanting Sharingan was a task Orochimaru had long since mastered.

He quickly began the surgery, initiating a large-scale Sharingan transplantation for Danzo.

As Danzo lay quietly on the operating table, he suddenly spoke: "Orochimaru, your heart does not seem at peace. Is something troubling you?"

Orochimaru paused slightly, then replied indifferently: "No, I was just thinking that if the Shinobi World is truly on the verge of destruction, we might need the assistance of more powerful ninja, such as the former Second Hokage, Tobirama."

Hearing Orochimaru mention resurrecting Tobirama via Impure World Reincarnation, a flicker of hesitation clearly crossed Danzo's eyes, followed immediately by a cold, disdainful smile.

"If Master Tobirama were to truly return to Konoha, the first thing he would do is strip both me and Hiruzen Sarutobi of all our power."

"Resurrecting him now would be of no help to our situation; it would only make us more vulnerable."

There were only two reasons to resurrect Tobirama: either to control him completely, which would be meaningless;

Or to gain his genuine help, which would carry the immense risk of having all power seized from him.

As a schemer, Danzo would naturally never allow such a situation to occur.

A moment later, Danzo suddenly sensed something. He locked his gaze onto Orochimaru, his tone turning cold: "Orochimaru, are you testing me?"

Orochimaru, however, remained outwardly composed and shook his head: "No..."

Danzo sneered, reached up, and removed the bandage covering his right eye, revealing a Mangekyo Sharingan.

It was the eye that had belonged to Uchiha Shisui, radiating a terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble.

"Hmph, in the face of this Sharingan's ocular power, none of your little tricks can remain hidden. Let me offer you a piece of advice: do not harbor any unnecessary thoughts."

A terrifying spiritual pressure instantly swept through the laboratory, causing the surrounding air to grow heavy.

Orochimaru suppressed the deep-seated disgust in his heart and forced a faint smile: "Please rest assured, Lord Danzo, I have no other intentions. The only thing I want to know now is, exactly how many pairs of Sharingan do you intend to transplant?"

"All of them."

Danzo's tone was exceptionally resolute.

Hearing this unexpected answer, Orochimaru was stunned for a moment before revealing an eerie smile he could not conceal: "All of them... that is truly surprising."

"For the sake of Konoha's future, I must possess absolute power... No one can stop my path to becoming Hokage."

Danzo's tone turned cold and dangerous, and the air seemed to freeze in an instant.

Before the thought could even settle, he struck suddenly. The pupil possessing Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan instantly erupted with a fierce and terrifying ocular power, pointing directly at Orochimaru like a sharp blade.

In the blink of an eye, Orochimaru's heart jolted violently. A sense of intense crisis surged over him, and he reacted almost entirely on instinct honed over many years.

He flipped backward violently, barely dodging the hidden and lethal mental shock.

Cold sweat slid down his temple; he knew that had he been even a fraction of a second slower, his life would have been forfeit.

The moment he steadied his footing, a cold glint tore through the void.

A sharp blade, appearing from nowhere like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, pierced his throat with unerring accuracy.

Agony surged through his nerves instantly, and Orochimaru's pupils constricted. Just as he prepared to counterattack, everything around him twisted and reorganized in an instant.

The scene before his eyes rippled like water before gradually returning to stillness...

The room remained dim and silent, with no trace of killing intent in the air, as if everything that had just occurred had never happened.

He stood frozen in place, realizing the truth the very next second.

"Genjutsu..."

He muttered to himself, his eyes dark and gloomy.

A genjutsu unleashed by the Uchiha Sharingan had actually managed to infiltrate his mental defenses without a sound, trapping him in an illusion before he even realized it.

This caused Orochimaru's expression to darken further.

"What was that just now?"

"Merely a small warning; I hope you won't harbor any inappropriate thoughts moving forward."

Danzo sneered, his voice as biting as ice: "I warned you long ago—in the presence of the Sharingan, none of your thoughts can remain hidden."

Hearing this, a smile curled the corners of Orochimaru's mouth, his gaze hiding a sense of mockery.

You aren't even an Uchiha...

And you dare say such things in front of me!?

However, the pressure emanating from Danzo was something Orochimaru could truly feel.