Preparations Before the Battle

"Yes."

Uchiha Mai gave a slight nod, agreeing with Orochimaru's plan.

A scheme did not need to be complicated. The more complicated it was, the lower its margin for error; the simpler it was, the more effective it became. Of course, simple did not mean insulting people's intelligence.

After the two finished their discussion, Uchiha Mai took Orochimaru's authorization and returned to his original war zone to make the necessary arrangements.

Orochimaru watched Uchiha Mai's departing figure. This time, he did not pull any little tricks.

Through their brief exchange just now, Uchiha Mai had proven that he truly possessed the strength to contend with someone on par with a village's Kage.

If Orochimaru launched another sneak attack or another test, he would be seriously overstepping.

"The Sharingan... One day, I'll get myself a pair too, and they'll be even more powerful than yours."

Orochimaru murmured, extending his long tongue to lick his cheek before beginning his own preparations.

Roshi's previous attempts to ambush Uchiha Mai had all been lightning raids, and he had been extremely cautious each time.

Before making a move, he would first gather intelligence on Orochimaru's side. Only after confirming that Orochimaru and Uchiha Mai were not together would he personally go after Uchiha Mai.

In truth, with Uchiha Mai's former strength, even joining forces with Orochimaru would have made it difficult to do anything to Roshi. But it never hurt to be cautious.

Roshi attached immense importance to Uchiha Mai, the number one genius of the Ninja World and the person Ōnoki had personally designated for execution.

Because Roshi's ambushes on Uchiha Mai always came without warning, Orochimaru would have to be with Uchiha Mai from the very beginning if they wanted to join forces against Roshi.

Otherwise, if Orochimaru only arrived after Uchiha Mai's