Why didn't you say so sooner?

On the border of the Land of Waterfalls, endless old forests and deep mountains teem with countless poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, which lurk in the shadows at all times, ready to hunt for today's meal.

Kakuzu and Sasori were not fast enough, but Tōka, who had mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu, was much faster.

Kabuto knew Orochimaru's approximate location, but Nagato did not want to obtain information about Orochimaru from the messenger he sent.

In order to temporarily strengthen Akatsuki, Nagato specifically had Black Zetsu gather intelligence and hand it over to Tōka.

"It's around here, right? Where is everyone?" Kakuzu looked around.

The tall Forest completely block out the sunlight, making the entire mountain range appear very dark and damp due to the lack of sunlight year-round.

Hiruko's tail loosened, and she fell to the ground with a thud, seeing stars.

"Where is Orochimaru?" Sasori asked coldly, staring at Kabuto.

"They're here! Where are they?!" Mirai speak, Tōka raised his chin, gesturing for Kakuzu and Sasori to look at the Big Tree to their left.

Beneath the dense shade of the trees, a slender, tall figure stood in the shadows. Orochimaru, dressed in ronin attire with a purple ribbon bow tied at the back, looked down at the group.

It would be a lie to say Orochimaru wasn't surprised when he first saw Tōka.

"Tōka, I never expected your identity..." to be a member of this mysterious and dangerous organization!

"Now, Orochimaru, aren't you going to join us too?" Tōka tilted his head, his voice infused with Yin Release Chakra.

The Auditory Genjutsu was activated silently, and Orochimaru's cold Snake Eyes narrowed slightly, causing the surrounding scenery to change.

It remains an ancient mountain range, with dense forests and gnarled roots of old trees.

But something felt different. Orochimaru couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had a feeling about it.

His subconscious told him he was under Genjutsu!

"Such weak mental strength? It seems he's already mastered the Living Corpse Reincarnation." Tōka's figure mysteriously vanished from the spot, reappearing behind Orochimaru.

A piece of Ash Bones, exuding an aura of decay, burst through the palm and shot straight toward Orochimaru's back.

Puff!

The attack struck a fatal weakness, and a putrid aura spread out, instantly turning Orochimaru's body into...

The muddy mass slumped down, becoming soft and yielding.

"Earth Release? When?" Tōka's eyes widened slightly, his gaze sweeping out in a full 360-degree sweep.

Underground? What a stinky snake that likes to hide in the gutter!

Buzz!

Chakra condensed on the soles of his feet, and his bones grew wildly.

All-Killing Ash Bones - Earth Spear Pierce!

Puff puff puff!!

Radial outwards from Tōka's body, gray bone spears as thick as an arm burst from the ground, covering an area of more than ten steps in radius, all enveloped in a Bone Forest.

All life decayed, and a section of the dense ancient jungle was instantly cleared away.

Sensing the threat of death, Orochimaru, who was hiding underground using Earth Release, changed his expression drastically and immediately dispelled the Jutsu Formula, emerging from the ground.

Kakuzu had already prepared a second wave of attacks. The mission was to dampen Orochimaru's arrogance, so the three of them didn't care about outnumbering each other.

Earth Release hardened his arm with Earth Release and appeared directly above Orochimaru's head, Kakuzu figure blurring as he rose into the air.

The heavy punch landed, and all that could be heard was the whistling sound of the wind.

Bang!

A fist the size of a clay pot slammed into Orochimaru's face, deforming his entire face and causing it to tilt to one side in an extremely unsightly arc.

Orochimaru's body was twisted together like a pretzel.

Call out!

The terrifying force was poured into Orochimaru's body, like a cannonball shooting towards the earth.

With a deafening roar, the entire forest trembled violently as Orochimaru's body crashed to the ground, causing cracks to spread across the earth like a spiderweb.

Orochimaru's body lay like a pile of mud deep in the dark pit.

"Dead?" Scorpion controlled Hiruko to slowly approach, standing at the edge of the pit, looking down, his vision obscured by smoke and dust.

In the dim light, one could see a human-shaped shadow in the pit.

"It's not that easy to die, there's someone right behind you!" No matter how good Orochimaru's hiding skills were, he couldn't escape Tōka's eyes.

Her Ice Blue eyes sparkled, utterly beautiful.

With all-seeing eyes, he clearly spotted the foul-smelling snake hiding in the Shadowy Corner.

Upon hearing this, Scorpion was slightly startled. With a whoosh, his sharp, venomous scorpion tail tore through the air and fiercely stabbed Orochimaru, who had emerged from the ground.

Orochimaru not only possesses the attributes of a snake, but is also proficient in seven types of escaping techniques, including Yang Release.

The Poison Scorpion's tail lashed through the air, but Orochimaru remained completely unfazed. Apart from Tōka's All-Killing Ash Bones attack, he showed no sign of fear no matter how powerful the attacks from the other two were.

"Shadow Snake Hand!" Orochimaru neither dodged nor evaded, but raised his arm, and several large, black snakes emerged from his wide sleeve.

The Poisonous Snake, as thick as a leg, opened its blood-red maw, revealing two sharp fangs, ready to spew out venom capable of killing instantly.

Squeak!

The Poison Scorpion's tail and the giant snake were intertwined, strangling each other to death.

Hiruko's tail is made of specially crafted iron, and ordinary weapons are no match for it, let alone a snake as thick as a leg.

In a brief exchange, several large snakes were already at a disadvantage.

Orochimaru clearly noticed this as well, and his cold, emotionless Snake Eyes narrowed slightly.

Hidden in his sleeve, his other hand secretly formed a hand seal, gathering chakra within the Shadow Snake Hand.

Shadow Snake Hand - Venomous Fang Blast!

Several large snakes, intertwined with the Poison Scorpion's tail, swelled up wildly, like inflated sausages.

Then, bang!!

With a muffled thud, the snake's skin, unable to withstand the weight, exploded.

Dark Green venom splattered everywhere, like a large basin of water being poured onto Hiruko's body.

The sizzling sound of corrosion sent chills down one's spine.

Scorpion himself is a master of poisons, and his puppet mechanisms are filled with countless deadly poisons. After being specially treated, Hiruko is immune to ordinary poisons.

"Using poison? Perfect, let's try out our new product!" Scorpion sneered. He had never been afraid of anyone when it came to poison!

Sasori's ten fingers moved in unison, Chakra Threads Hiruko's mechanism.

Poisonous Secret Technique: Thousand Feather Scattering!

With a snap, Hiruko's jaw opened, and a metal tube about two fingers thick extended out, its black hole shooting at a speed comparable to a Gatling gun.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

The hair-thin steel needles were coated with a deadly poison, reflecting a dark, cold glint in the dim light.

A dense barrage of steel needles rained down; with such a close-range burst, it was impossible for Orochimaru, with his speed, to dodge!

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!" Orochimaru clasped his hands together, the earth seal complete!

Puff puff puff!!

Countless hair-thin steel needles pierced the ground; though their tips were small, there were thousands of them, Earth Release soil and rocks to fly everywhere.

The Earth Style Wall melted away rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Meanwhile, Hiruko seemed to be spitting out an endless stream of poison needles.

Orochimaru acted decisively, his body slightly sinking as he gathered his strength and leaped to the side. Kakuzu, was not idle, unleashing a powerful tentacle punch.

The fist, with destructive Monster Strength Punch, directly broke Orochimaru's body in two.

The immense force was fully injected into Orochimaru's body. He paused briefly in mid-air before shooting away with a whoosh.

Bang!

It crashed so hard that it snapped a large Big Tree several meters in circumference in half before finally coming to a stop.

"That's about it." Tōka's figure floated out of the Void like a ghost, standing on Big Tree that had been broken in half behind Orochimaru.

Orochimaru would have a hard time getting the better of two Kage-level.

However, this guy isn't going to die so easily.

Soft Body Modification allow for free stretching or twisting at any angle, and can also transform limbs into whips for attacks.

Even under the powerful blows of Kakuzu's tentacles, Orochimaru was not injured, though he looked rather disheveled.

Upon hearing Tōka's voice, Kakuzu and Sasori simultaneously dispelled their Jutsu Formula and stood aside.

Pain's mission was merely to intimidate Orochimaru, not to kill him. The two felt that was enough and stopped.

"Heh, so this is the organization's welcoming ceremony?" Orochi wiped the dust off his cheeks and stood up, his eyes fixed on Sasori and Kakuzu with a chilling gaze.

As for Tōka standing behind him, Orochimaru didn't deliberately turn around to look at him.

But Tōka felt that Orochimaru's words were mainly directed at him.

What a sensitive fellow! Tōka smiled faintly, "After all, Orochimaru is one of the Legendary Sannin, the Cold Lord."

"Hmph!" Orochimaru didn't care about Tōka's flattery at all. He would remember what happened today and get his revenge someday!

Although Orochimaru didn't say it explicitly, his attitude was clear.

Orochimaru is now a member of Akatsuki!

"Here you go!" Tōka pulled a ring out of his pocket; it was none other than the Vermilion Ring that Nagato had placed with him!

Orochimaru glanced at Kakuzu's finger. There was a ring on it, a ring with the character "North" engraved on it.

At the same time, Tōka handed Orochimaru Scroll about rings, which is Ninjutsu that all official members of Akatsuki must learn.

It contains techniques such as the Phantom Dragon Nine Seals and the Magic Lantern Body Technique.

The matter of inviting Orochimaru to join Akatsuki has now come to an end.

To show his sincerity, Orochimaru took Tōka, Kakuzu, and Sasori to his secret base in the Land of Waterfalls.

Deep within this ancient mountain range of Nohara Mountain lies a place that is extremely difficult to discover.

Just as Tōka and his two companions were following Orochimaru through the dark and damp passage, a ghostly aura suddenly approached.

Under the wary gazes of the four, a Pitcher Plant emerged from the wall of the passageway.

"As expected of Poisonous Snake's lair, it's really hard to find!" White Zetsu said sarcastically, it was unclear whether he was mocking Orochimaru or praising Orochimaru's hiding place.

Kakuzu and Sasori naturally recognized Black Zetsu's Pitcher Plant, and upon seeing the familiar Pitcher Plant, they lowered their guard.

Tōka had already spotted Black Zetsu when he got close.

Although Orochimaru did not recognize Black Zetsu, he could clearly guess the other's identity from the Red Clouds on a Black Background Coat and the ring with the character "Nan" engraved on his hand.

"Is this person also a member of the organization?" Orochimaru asked with a chilling smile.

"Ze is just a substitute member," Tōka explained simply. In the end, Orochimaru only knew the name Black Zetsu.

Kakuzu and Sasori were not talkative people and had no intention of paying attention to Orochimaru, much less kindly explaining Black Zetsu's identity to him.

Orochimaru's eyes turned cold, and he fell silent.

Black Zetsu, on the other hand, came to find Tōka, and also to see if the plan to recruit Orochimaru into Akatsuki had succeeded.

Now that Black Zetsu has seen the Akatsuki Crimson Ring on Orochimaru's finger, it clearly indicates that Orochimaru has officially joined Akatsuki.

"What's wrong?" Tōka frowned and asked when he saw Black Zetsu at him, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Preparations for the Land of Wind are almost complete. How are your preparations going?" Black Zetsu glanced at Orochimaru, leaving Orochimaru stunned.

What, is there some major operation that requires his participation so soon after joining Akatsuki?

Tōka had been planning the Land of Wind for a long time, so he naturally knew what Black Zetsu was talking about.

If everything is prepared, then we only need to rest for one day, and we can set off for the Land of Wind tomorrow.

Why does it feel like Black Zetsu's words are implying something?

Tōka looked at Black Zetsu with a puzzled expression, her eyes conveying only one meaning: What are you talking about?

"Huh? Didn't you see?" Black Zetsu looked at Tōka strangely and asked in surprise.

"What are you looking at?" A look of suspicion flashed across Tōka's face. Had he missed something important?

Upon hearing this, Tōka and Black Zetsu realized that they had definitely missed something. The two exchanged a glance, then turned to look at Orochimaru.

This time, Orochimaru instantly understood the look in their eyes; they needed a private room.

"The rooms you see when you turn left from here are all empty." Orochimaru pointed to the intricate passageway on his left.

Inside the empty room, a dim oil lamp flickered, casting two dark shadows on the wall that swayed with the flickering light.

Tōka and Black Zetsu sat down facing each other at the Square Table, their expressions unusually serious.

"The Scroll contains the key to breaking the Sealing Technique! The information written on it with special chakra can only be seen by those with Dojutsu."

Black Zetsu gestured to the information Scroll he had previously given to Tōka; it contained more than just Orochimaru's location.

There is also information about preparations for the trip to the Land of Wind, and the most crucial Jutsu Formula is in Orochimaru's hands!

Using the same method as the Stone Tablet at the Kaguya's Royal Palace and the Uchiha Clan's Stone Tablet, Black Zetsu used Secret Technique to write down the information using chakra.

It doesn't matter if others see it, because only Tōka's Tenseigan's Dojutsu can see everything clearly.

"Does Orochimaru possess the Jutsu Formula to break the seal?" Tōka stared at Black Zetsu with suspicion; that was the seal set up by the Fourth Hokage.

How could Orochimaru possess Jutsu Formula to break the seal?

Upon hearing this, Black Zetsu chuckled slyly, "Of course it can't be solved in the normal way!"

Tōka glanced at Black Zetsu Jue suspiciously, then her face darkened as if she had thought of something.

Why didn't you say so sooner?

If I had known Orochimaru had the Jutsu Formula to break the seal, I wouldn't have had everyone gang up on him today...