However, compared to Scorch Release, the Uchiha Kagami before him was clearly far more attractive to Orochimaru.
After the others left, he used a Summoning Snake to notify his subordinates in Konoha and gather more detailed intelligence on Uchiha Kagami.
Before this, he had only known that this brat was an Uchiha who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at a very young age.
He had seen the Three-Tomoe Sharingan before. It was nothing special—neither here nor there.
However, this brat's Dojutsu Power had clearly surpassed that of an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan by far. Orochimaru even suspected that he had already awakened the legendary Mangekyo!
Uchiha Kagami had not deliberately hidden his information.
His extraordinary Ninja Swordsmanship, assisting with the seal through his Dojutsu Power when the Nine-Tails went berserk, mastering an Rank A ninjutsu developed by Namikaze Minato in just two days...
Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu—he excelled at all three!
On top of that, he possessed an Invisible Slash whose power could rival a Kekkei Genkai.
Combined with his cold and decisive personality, someone like this...
Unless he was crushed by overwhelming strength, even Orochimaru could not think of a strategy to defeat him.
Poisoning and sneak attacks would be nothing but a joke under the gaze of the Sharingan.
If I summoned Manda, could I defeat him?
Orochimaru was already considering using his trump card.
"Jing-kun's ninjutsu that killed Pakura—how high is its upper limit?"
"I have no intention of probing the secrets of your ninjutsu. This is only for the arrangements of our subsequent mission."
Uchiha Kagami pondered for a moment before saying, "If the opponent is unprepared, it should be able to kill an Elite Jonin."
"Strictly speaking, even the Hokage is only an Elite Jonin..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "An ability that kills the opponent on first sight—are you sure it's wise to use it so quickly?"
"A ninjutsu is developed to be used."
"There is no need to hide it. Lord Orochimaru, I advise you not to pay too much attention to this ninjutsu." Uchiha Kagami looked at Orochimaru with interest, his tone like a senior instructing a junior.
"By the time you think of a way to defend against this technique, I will have already upgraded it several times."
"This is the composure of a genius..."
Orochimaru did not feel offended. He quietly ended the topic and said, "Minato... why do you think Sunagakure suddenly increased its infiltration of the Land of Fire?"
"According to the intelligence we have, they seem to be looking for someone. Who could be worth such a massive mobilization?"
"It is the Third Kazekage."
The speaker was not Kagami. He was not foolish enough to expose such information himself.
A bloodstained, silver-haired man suddenly appeared as he lifted the curtain of the command room.
"Big Brother Sakumo!"
"Senior Hatake!"
Even Orochimaru was filled with surprise as he noticed the countless wounds covering Hatake Sakumo's body.
The most serious injury was on his wrist. Half of his palm had been cut off!
Hatake Sakumo's face was pale as his gaze fell on the stunned Kakashi.
"Long time no see, Kakashi."
Bang!
Unable to suppress his emotions, Kakashi suddenly rushed into Hatake Sakumo's arms and began sobbing silently.
With his uninjured hand, Hatake Sakumo gently patted Kakashi's back, his eyes full of affection.
And guilt.
No matter how one looked at it, Kakashi was still only a child. Abandoning him and leaving like that had been completely wrong.
After the touching reunion between father and son, Orochimaru asked the crucial question.
"Big Brother Sakumo, what did you mean by the Third Kazekage?"
Suddenly, a shinobi from the Nara Clan rushed in without announcing himself. The news was simply too explosive; he had to tell Orochimaru immediately.
"Lord Orochimaru! Intelligence from Yamanaka Ino! They were searching for the missing Third Kazekage, so..."
"Uh..."
He glanced around and saw Hatake Sakumo.
Orochimaru frowned and pointed at him. "Guard the door. Don't let anyone else in."
"Big Brother Sakumo, continue."
Compared to the intelligence inside the minds of those Sunagakure shinobi, Orochimaru cared more about the information Hatake Sakumo could provide.
He was also very curious about who could have wounded Hatake Sakumo so severely.
"I encountered Sasori of the Red Sands from Sunagakure—the grandson of Chiyo."
"A genius Puppet Master. I've heard of him."
Skipping the need for further explanation, Hatake Sakumo's next words plunged the room into deathly silence.
"He assassinated the Third Kazekage and transformed both himself and the Third Kazekage into Human Puppets."
"I fought him. We were more or less equally wounded, but I let him escape."
"So that's how it was..." Kakashi looked at his father's wounds from head to toe and thought for a moment.
"Then as long as we explain this to Sunagakure, they will abandon the war and hunt down Sasori of the Red Sands instead, right?"
Only Kakashi could be this naïve.
Orochimaru shook his head. "Without the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet body, Sunagakure won't believe us."
"They will only assume that we killed not only the Kazekage, but Sasori of the Red Sands as well."
"Even if they believe us, it won't help." Minato's mind was turning quickly too.
"Elder Chiyo is a clever woman. When she learns of this, she will claim that it is Konoha's plot to sow discord and undermine Sunagakure's unity."
"They will only commit more forces to the war, changing their goal from finding the Third Kazekage to taking revenge on Konoha for the Kazekage."
Uchiha Kagami chuckled as he looked at Kakashi. "The best way to divert internal conflict is to turn it into external conflict."
Kakashi felt that he had been crushed not only in ninjutsu talent, but also in intelligence.
Noticing his dejection, Hatake Sakumo rubbed his head.
"How to arrange things specifically is your business. I am only telling you this news before I leave."
"Before you leave... Father, where are you going?!"
Hatake Sakumo sighed and said with a bitter smile, "Sasori of the Red Sands is targeting me. As long as I leave the Land of Fire, he will follow me."
More importantly, he was afraid that Sasori of the Red Sands would target Kakashi. Someone who dared to assassinate a Kazekage—and succeeded—was far too dangerous.
Orochimaru's brows furrowed tightly. "There is no need to trade one life for another. In my view, Big Brother Sakumo is more important than the Third Kazekage and Sasori of the Red Sands combined."
"I can make some arrangements. With this intelligence, we can completely erase the impact of your departure before."
To be fair, Orochimaru hoped that Hatake Sakumo would return to Konoha. In their early years, the three of them had received considerable care from Hatake Sakumo on the battlefield.
After Hatake Sakumo left, Tsunade had been so angry that she stopped speaking to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Even he and Jiraiya had complaints about the Third Hokage.
Anyone with sense could see what had really happened back then.
Hatake Sakumo shook his head and said with a smile, "No need. I have grown accustomed to my current life. The feeling of being free is quite nice."
"Is that so..." Orochimaru did not press him and chose to respect Hatake Sakumo's decision.
"Father! I also..."
Hatake Sakumo stopped Kakashi from finishing. He bent down to meet his gaze and said with a gentle smile, "Wait until you have grown into a shinobi who can stand on your own. Then make your own decision."
He turned to Minato and Kagami. "Minato, Kagami, I will have to trouble you to look after him. I will be at ease with Kakashi following you."
"Senior Sakumo, I will definitely protect Kakashi." Minato nodded firmly.
Aside from Kushina, Konohagakure was the most important thing in Minato's eyes. He deeply respected this great shinobi who had devoted most of his life to Konoha.
Uchiha Kagami turned his gaze to Orochimaru. "Now that you know this intelligence, Lord Orochimaru, what do you plan to do?"
Orochimaru's long tongue unconsciously licked his lips as he said coldly, "Of course, we will take advantage of Sunagakure being leaderless and hit them hard!"
"Very wise." Uchiha Kagami nodded in satisfaction. If it had been those old men in the village, they might have discussed using this information to negotiate peace with Sunagakure.
Before you continue