Asking Akatsuki's Hidden Mastermind How to Deal with Akatsuki

This resurrection is more subtle than the last one.

Because Shirou Emiya obtained Tobirama Senju's memories and the secrets of the Impure World Reincarnation, he realized the timing of Orochimaru's attempt to revive his body.

Inside the dimly lit Underground Fortress.

The broken crystals on the ground gleamed faintly in the candlelight.

Shirou Emiya looked at the crystal on the ground with a look of relief on his face, as if he had completely accepted his fate of being resurrected again using the Impure World Reincarnation.

"The second Crystal Coffin was destroyed after all."

"This is my fault."

"I also feel somewhat apologetic for letting my friend down."

Orochimaru recounted how he obtained the second Crystal Coffin, taking the opportunity to appease Shirou Emiya's displeasure. "Tsunade obtained this Crystal Coffin from Shikkotsu Forest. Before her journey through the Shinobi World, she entrusted it to me, but I had to betray her trust—."

"Tsunade has grown up quite a bit, hasn't she?"

Shirou Emiya recalled the little one he had once taught, and seemed somewhat surprised that Tsunade had obtained the Crystal Coffin: "I didn't expect her to be able to find Shikkotsu Forest— "

"Tsunade is a very determined person."

Orochimaru thought of his friend and couldn't help but laugh, "She and I are comrades who can entrust our lives to each other. If she finds out that I destroyed Lord Shirou's Crystal Coffin, no matter what the reason..."

She might hunt me down for the rest of her life, who knows!

Orochimaru believed that what he said was not a lie.

Although Orochimaru had long Miyō, he still believed that his relationship with Tsunade was not bad and that he would never want to hurt Tsunade.

Compared to that idiot Jiraiya, Tsunade is someone who truly values friendship.

Even for Tsunade...

The lives of my comrades are more important than any mission.

If Orochimaru were to face danger one day, he would definitely hope that his friend by his side is Tsunade rather than Jiraiya, because Tsunade would never abandon her friends.

Certainly-·

One thing needs to be ruled out.

Orochimaru did indeed have a clear understanding of Tsunade.

Once Tsunade finds out that he stole the Crystal Coffin she entrusted to her, destroyed Crystal Coffin, and resurrected Shirou Emiya using the Impure World Reincarnation, she will definitely abandon her trip immediately and join Jiraiya in hunting him down.

Let's talk about these things another time.

Orochimaru uneasily steered the conversation away from Tsunade, finally becoming serious. "The Shinobi World is facing a crisis that our era cannot resolve, which is why I have no choice but to place my last hope on Lord Shirou."

"What crisis?"

Shirou Emiya frowned subconsciously.

"A crisis that could destroy the Shinobi World."

Orochimaru's lips began to suppress a smile, a hint of worry appearing on his face. He knew that if he wanted to use Shirou Emiya, he had to take advantage of Shirou Emiya's kindness and compassion.

This is information that is not difficult to obtain.

From his teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen, from his ally Shimura Danzo, from his friend Tsunade,

Orochimaru learned about Shirou Emiya 'Shirou Emiya character from his enemy Salamander Hanzo, and from the words of everyone he met. All of this corresponds to the will on the Crystal Coffin.

This is a man with a heart full of love.

Orochimaru held extraordinary respect and patience for Shirou Emiya, a person whose value was unmatched by anyone else.

"Although Lord Shirou doesn't seem to care, I still need to explain why I have to disturb your peace of mind at this time."

Orochimaru smiled, a dangerous serpentine gaze hinting at a sincere lie. "This world is on the verge of destruction—"

"Speaking of which—"

"This might make Lord Shirou feel somewhat uncomfortable."

"At this time, Konoha has been established for fifty-five years."

"Forty years have passed since the death of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, and since the last time Lord Shirou left the Shinobi World."

"Many things have happened in this world. Lord Shirou quelled the First Shinobi World War, but then the Second and Third Shinobi World War Shinobi World out."

Orochimaru was very pleased with Shirou Emiya's attentive listening, and he sincerely helped Shirou Emiya understand the changes in the Shinobi World: "The aftermath of the Third Shinobi World War only completely subsided a few years ago—"

"A long time has passed."

"There are still quite a few acquaintances of Lord Shirou this era."

"For example, my teacher, the current Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the current Hokage of Konoha, Danzo Shimura—'Have forty years passed?'"

A hint of nostalgia seemed to appear on Shirou Emiya's face, as if he were reminiscing about the two boys who had tricked him out of the power of the Curse Mark: "Hiruzen and the others must be old by now, right?"

"Yes."

"Teacher Sarutobi had already retired."

Orochimaru chuckled lightly, seemingly with a hint of mockery, but he quickly suppressed it. "Before Teacher Sarutobi retired, he appointed a man named Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. However, seven or eight years ago, Konoha experienced a major incident involving the Nine-Tails' rampage. The Fourth Hokage died in that Nine Tails Riot incident while protecting Miyō, forcing Teacher Sarutobi to resume his position as Hokage."

Orochimaru had long since stopped caring about the Hokage Position, but that didn't mean he was without any resentment. Sarutobi Hiruzen's denial still made him somewhat angry.

"The tragedy of the Nine Tails Riot?"

Shirou Emiya's eyes flickered slightly. He didn't care about Sarutobi Hiruzen. While guiding Orochimaru's conversation, he casually inquired about the real target, "Who is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Konoha now? I remember that the Nine-Tails was very well-behaved when it was sealed into Mito's body."

"It should be."

"A brat named Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

Orochimaru habitually licked the corner of his mouth, recalling the rumors of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that the Konoha Village resented and feared. He had never seen what Naruto Uzumaki looked like.

But·

Anyone who has ever held a high-ranking position in Miyō Miyake clan would know that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox is none other than Naruto Uzumaki, so Orochimaru's guess was indeed correct.

"It looks like a lot has really happened—"

Shirou Emiya sighed.

At this moment, after a thousand years of tension, his mood finally relaxed like never before with this sigh.

Naruto Uzumaki is already here.

So information about Sasuke Uchiha shouldn't be far off?

Shirou Emiya felt even more relaxed than when he was resurrected, because he could finally be sure that he had entered the real era, the era he had wanted to experience for a thousand years, an era that would allow him to break free from his constraints.

Yakushi Kabuto, standing to the side, adjusted his glasses. He realized that Orochimaru and Shirou Emiya seemed to start rambling about Konoha whenever the Konoha came up, so he quickly whispered a reminder: "Lord Orochimaru, we don't have much time left."

Now is not the time for idle chatter, because Orochimaru's situation is not safe!

"That guy!"

Orochimaru's expression darkened. He thought of his partner in Akatsuki, quickly composed himself, and continued in a deep voice, "I am truly sorry, Lord Shirou. The Shinobi World needs your power right now, and I was forced to use the Crystal Coffin Tsunade left me to revive you—"

"During the Third Shinobi World War— "

An organization called Akatsuki appeared in the Shinobi World.

"This organization has been recruiting S-Rank Missing-nin from Shinobi World recently, causing many tragedies. Konoha has always suspected that the Akatsuki is brewing an unknown conspiracy."

Orochimaru paused for a moment before continuing, "I was ordered to defect from Konoha and become S-Rank Missing-nin, secretly infiltrating the Akatsuki—."

This is deceiving honest people.

Orochimaru believed that Shirou Emiya was unaware of the situation, Konoha Shirou Emiya still be loyal to Konoha, so he pretended to be a ninja who had to defect to facilitate his mission.

Certainly.

Orochimaru was not without support.

Everyone in the Shinobi World knows that Orochimaru is missing-nin of Konoha, and that he is even Wanted List by the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. But Orochimaru is not worried at all.

Even if the lie is exposed in the future, Orochimaru is absolutely confident that he can continue to deceive Shirou Emiya.

Because he still has allies in Konoha whom he can contact.

Shimura Danzo.

That ally could help him obtain an identity that Shirou Emiya could trust, and might even come over to personally testify on his behalf.

Shirou Emiya's expression was subtle.

Yakushi Kabuto lowered his head.

Shirou Emiya noticed Yakushi Kabuto's actions. He looked at Orochimaru's Cloud Pattern Black Robe, and his expression became even more subtle.

Shirou Emiya listening to Orochimaru's story, but Yakushi Kabuto's subconscious little actions were something he couldn't ignore.

However, when Orochimaru is truly lying, he becomes incredibly sincere. Ignoring his occasional sinister smile, his lies sound like the truth.

"I've gathered some information."

"The leader of this organization Pain. Pain possesses a pair of Rinnegan, and he wants to use the power of the Rinnegan to rule the Shinobi World."

When Orochimaru got to this point, he simply revealed his true intentions. "However, in this world, I only found information about the Rinnegan on the Crystal Coffin left behind by Lord Shirou. Only Lord Shirou knows the secret of the Rinnegan— "

Orochimaru spoke faster and faster, a barely suppressed greed slowly creeping into his eyes. "Lord Shirou, could you provide some information about the Rinnegan, so we can thwart the Rinnegan user's plot to rule the world?"

"..."

Shirou Emiya fell into deep thought in silence.

Just as Orochimaru's expression gradually became tense, a glint flashed in Shirou Emiya's Rinnegan, and he spoke softly.

"The power of the Rinnegan is beyond the imagination of ordinary people."

"Even if I provide you with information about the Rinnegan, you still cannot defeat it. No conventional method can be effective against the Rinnegan."

"So what should we do?"

Orochimaru's mood relaxed, though his face showed anxiety. He said with some regret, "If we really can't eliminate the Leader of Akatsuki, many people in the Shinobi World will probably die because of Akatsuki— "

"I am merely Impure World Reincarnation Body— "

"If the other party is an evil person who wants to rule the world, I cannot help you fight against the true Rinnegan users in this world, because that is the power of the gods."

Shirou Emiya's brow remained furrowed as he sensed the power his Impure World Reincarnation Body could unleash. He seemed somewhat regretful as he brought up something. "Unless your Miyō First Hashirama Senju, were alive, only his Wood Release could possibly contend with the Rinnegan."

"..."

Orochimaru's mind raced.

Although Shirou Emiya was unwilling to provide information about the Rinnegan, he quickly realized another value of Shirou Emiya, which reminded him of a human experiment he had conducted in the past.

"We once tried to defeat the Rinnegan using the method of 'Miku' (未遁)."

Orochimaru immediately seized the opportunity to tell a lie, and found the first thing he could use against Shirou Emiya: "But no one in Konoha has ever been able to awaken Wood Release, and to recreate the Wood Release of the First Hokage..."

Some have suggested that in order to eliminate the threat of Akatsuki, they risked taboos by using the cells of the First Hokage to conduct repeated human experiments. Konoha sacrificed too many people in order to obtain a user capable of using the Rinnegan, which forced my teacher to stop the experiments—"

Orochimaru unconsciously wanted to stick out his tongue and lick his lips. "With Lord Shirou's research into human medicine, is it possible to recreate the First Hokage's Wood Release?"

"If you can-"

"I will submit an application to the village immediately."

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with a burning desire, as if he desperately wanted to hear those beautiful words from Shirou Emiya's mouth.

"It cannot be guaranteed."

Shirou Emiya frowned, offering no definitive answer, but instead said, "When I first revived and treated Hashirama, I studied his cells. Those highly phagocytic cells are beyond the tolerance of ordinary people. Even if your aim is to combat the Rinnegan, conducting human experiments so rashly is far too reckless—."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Orochimaru couldn't help but feel some regret about his failure, and wanted to use it to discuss the compatibility of Hashirama Cells with Shirou Emiya: "After all, the First Hokage's— "

"Lord Orochimaru— "

Yakushi Kabuto realized that Orochimaru and Shirou Emiya would immediately go astray once they got involved in experimental research.

They seemed to want to have an experimental exchange about researching Hashirama Cells here, so they hurriedly urged Orochimaru to hurry up.

"Time will tell; if we stay away for too long, Lord Scorpion will become suspicious."

"I will first submit an application to the village."

Orochimaru immediately ended their first exchange, intending to use this opportunity to gain Emiya Tsuchihara's first assistance. "If it's Lord Shirou, perhaps you can obtain the power to fight against Rinnegan users. This is the Lord Shirou's secret fortress; please stay here for a while to avoid being detected by the Lord Shirou Akatsuki."

"Good."

Shirou Emiya did not object to this.

Shirou Emiya wouldn't leave until Orochimaru delivered Hashirama Cells, because he needed Hashirama Cells to restore as much of his strength as possible.

Only then can we have a better chance of a true revival in the future.

Now that everyone is in place, he needs to slowly recover his strength in order to prepare for his true resurrection and to select the people who will help him resurrect.

For example.·

Orochimaru is standing before me.

Actually, he's a pretty good candidate.

For example...

Shimura Danzo in Konoha.

If Shimura Danzo could properly train his Curse Mark, his body could maintain a considerable level of vitality, which should be enough to revive himself. But until then...

I also need someone who can help me gather intelligence.

Outside the bunker.

Orochimaru straightened his auspicious cloud robe and solemnly ordered Yakushi Kabuto to arrange Shirou Emiya's life during this period, "Kabuto, during this time, you will keep Lord Shirou busy. Absolutely do not let him go out. He is truly priceless. Retrieve Hashirama Cells from the other base as soon as possible. As long as he is immersed in scientific research, that should be enough to keep him from leaving..."

"Unless absolutely necessary—"

"I don't want to use the Impure World Reincarnation to control him yet."

Moreover...

"I might not be able to control him either—"

"Yes."

The Yakushi Kabuto his head and agreed.

"I'll deal with Scorpion first."

Orochimaru's face revealed a sinister smile as he pulled his clothes tighter around himself. He was extremely displeased with his partner. "Hmph, I'll find a chance to kill him sooner or later."

Yakushi Kabuto quietly watched Orochimaru leave.

Only after Orochimaru disappeared did Yakushi Kabuto slowly walk into the bunker, intending to first guide Shirou Emiya to prepare a laboratory that he liked.

Yakushi Kabuto greatly admired the story of this medical ninja, as he himself had grown up listening to the ninja's tales.

However·

To Yakushi Kabuto's utter surprise, the other party had also heard his story before.

"Lord Shirou— "

Yakushi Kabuto carefully adjusted his glasses as he helped Shirou Emiya tidy up the laboratory, introducing himself as he did so. "My name is Yakushi Kabuto, and I'm a medical ninja."

"Pharmacist—hmm?"

Shirou Emiya paused in his actions, then suddenly asked about a name: "Yakushi Nonou, have you heard of this name?"

"Yes--"

Yakushi Kabuto looked at Shirou Emiya somewhat bewildered, his movements as he adjusted his glasses were a little stiff. "That was the director of the Orphanage when I was there."

After all, considering the time frame...

Shirou Emiya and Yakushi Nonou should have no connection whatsoever.

After all, Shirou Emiya had been missing for forty years, a time before Yakushi Nonou was even born. There was no way they could have crossed paths unless they were in the Underworld.

"Oh, it must be you."

Shirou Emiya seemed oblivious, continuing to peruse the new-age experimental equipment, speaking casually, "When Yakushi Nonou died, her soul, bound by its obsession, was trapped between life and death, unable to return to the Underworld for release, always thinking of her Orphanage and a child named Yakushi Kabuto—."