Outskirts of the Land of Fire.
A dark underground laboratory...
Several figures made their way through the sewers.
Shimura Danzō moved swiftly, hurrying into Orochimaru's laboratory.
"Hmm? Isn't this Lord Danzou? What brings you here?"
Orochimaru raised his arm.
He stepped away from the operating table.
"Orochimaru! Don't play dumb... Didn't I tell you to deal with that brat, Hyuga Sho? Why are you still dragging your feet?"
Shimura Danzō stared at Orochimaru with one eye.
His gaze seemed almost ready to devour someone.
In the past, Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi had been rivals.
His strength was naturally extraordinary.
But as time passed, after crossing the hurdle of fifty-six...
Shimura Danzō increasingly felt the heaviness and aging of his body.
Some matters had to be resolved with greater urgency and desire.
Because... time waited for no one.
Ten years from now, whether he could still suppress Orochimaru was another matter.
Orochimaru's strength was steadily increasing. In the prime of his life, he still had enormous room for improvement.
As for himself...
"Heh heh heh... Lord Danzou, there's no need to be impatient."
Orochimaru wore a calm, unruffled expression and showed no sign of urgency.
"To deal with Hyuga Sho, we first need to set up the hunting grounds..."
"What do you mean?"
Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes.
"Simply put... that child possesses the 'Shadow Flash' technique. You know that if he wants to run, it'll be difficult for us to catch him..."
Previously.
What Uchiha Obito had said reminded Orochimaru of something.
Going straight after Hyuga Sho might end in failure.
After all, Hyuga Sho was not Minato Namikaze.
When faced with disaster... he would really run away.
The so-called Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, however, could not run.
In that case, they needed to set a trap and make