Discovery!

The three of them soon found the hill where Hyuga Shin had been watching the battle and came before him.

"This is the leader of our Spark Organization," Kakuzu said, introducing Sasori, who had come with him.

When Sasori saw that their leader was a frail old man, he was momentarily dumbfounded.

He had never imagined that the leader of an organization would be an old man on the verge of death!

"Are you sure?" Sasori asked skeptically.

Hyuga Shin's aged face bore a faint smile. He said nothing, simply raising his arm slightly.

He swung his palm toward the hill behind him!

Boom!

A powerful shock wave punched straight through the hill behind him!

Strength was the best proof!

Hyuga Shin's move startled Sasori.

Even Kakuzu and Hidan were astonished.

They had always known Hyuga Shin was strong, but they had never had a clear idea of just how strong.

Even Kakuzu knew little about it.

Though he had once fought the First, it had been like an adult teasing a child.

He had no idea how powerful people at their level truly were!

Seeing a hill effortlessly pierced through, Sasori gained a full understanding of Hyuga Shin's strength.

This elderly leader was absurdly strong!

He no longer questioned Hyuga Shin's aged appearance.

The strong needed no explanations. Their strength spoke for itself!

Hyuga Shin knew all too well how the leeks of the Shinobi World thought.

"Welcome to the organization, Sasori!" Seeing that the doubt and disdain had left Sasori's eyes, Hyuga Shin finally spoke.

"Thank you. It's an honor to join the organization. But I still need the leader to answer some questions," Sasori said, his trust in what Kakuzu had told him growing.

Someone this powerful had no reason to lie to a mere fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy.

"We'll get to that later. Kakuzu will explain everything to you."

"For now, we need to help you escape your cage and shackles and see the true sky of the Shinobi World!"

Hyuga Shin's explanation was almost identical to Kakuzu's.

This only made Sasori even more curious.

"Now, sit cross-legged and focus!" Hyuga Shin wasted no time and gave Sasori his instructions.

He began the essential process for joining the organization: purging the Will of the Six Paths.

Sasori was puzzled, but he still did as Hyuga Shin instructed.

If someone this powerful truly wanted to harm him, struggling would make no difference.

So he cooperated fully.

Hyuga Shin was well practiced at removing the hidden dangers from Sasori's body and erasing the embedded Will of the Six Paths.

Sasori, the one experiencing it firsthand, felt it more deeply than anyone.

Just as Kakuzu had said, it was as though his shackles had come undone. His body and soul felt light and weightless.

It was like being reborn from the inside out!

His Chakra reserves had increased, and its purity had improved!

He felt a freedom he'd never known, as if he'd escaped a cage and returned to nature!

Another shackled bird was about to soar into the sky and find true freedom.

Before long, Hyuga Shin had removed every last nail from Sasori's body, eliminating the danger for good.

Not long after Hyuga Shin withdrew his hands, Sasori rose to his feet.

He stared straight at Hyuga Shin, full of questions he wanted answered.

"Let Kakuzu answer your questions for now. If there's anything else you don't understand, come find me."

Hyuga Shin could see how eager Sasori was to learn, so he left it to Kakuzu to explain things to the newcomer.

Then he led the way down the hill.

Kakuzu, Hidan, and Sasori followed close behind.

As they walked, Kakuzu answered Sasori's questions and filled him in on the darkness of the Shinobi World and the organization's grand ideals.

After hearing Kakuzu's explanation, Sasori felt as though his whole world had turned upside down. The Shinobi World was really this dark?

Everything had been planned in advance. People like them were nothing but clowns allowed to take the stage.

Kakuzu had been right when he said he was just a puppet.

Sasori had never imagined that the Sage of Six Paths, the progenitor of the Chakra system, would become the greatest evil in the Shinobi World!

He had become the Great Black Heaven looming over the Shinobi World!

He wore the title of sage while behaving like a demon.

For one brief moment, Sasori felt true despair!

Had his parents been killed as part of the script, to push him onto his predetermined path?

The thought sent a cold sweat down Sasori's back!

It was terrifying!

Ever since the nails had been removed from his body, his thoughts seemed to grow more active.

His trust in and sense of belonging to the Spark Organization increased dramatically.

Another seed of new life had sprouted.

Hyuga Shin had taken another step forward in his journey to spread seeds of hope throughout the Shinobi World.

The same day Sasori joined the Spark Organization, trouble arose for Orochimaru, who was fighting on the Rock Battlefield.

It wasn't that anything had changed on the battlefield, nor had Nawaki come to harm. Instead, Ryūchi Cave had summoned him.

They wanted him to go to Ryūchi Cave as soon as possible. The White Snake Sage had something to discuss with him.

Orochimaru didn't want to go. After learning the truth about the Shinobi World, he had grown wary of all the immortals in it.

The Three Great Sage Regions were naturally among those he distrusted.

But he was a Ryūchi Cave summoner, and he also wanted to know why the White Snake Sage had summoned him.

After thinking it over for a while, he decided to go.

He had intended to ask Tsunade to help command the central forces, but unexpectedly, Tsunade had also received a summons from the Wet Slime Forest.

"I expect Jiraiya, the third of the Sannin, has received a summons too," Orochimaru thought, already seeing the pattern.

This wasn't normal! What kind of time was this? They were at war!

Two of the Sannin were commanders stationed with the central forces. They couldn't just leave the battlefield!

And yet the Three Great Sage Regions had summoned them, and had demanded they come as soon as possible!

Orochimaru couldn't help but grow suspicious.

It seemed things really were as Elder Shin had predicted: the Sage of Six Paths and the Three Great Sage Regions must be conspiring together!

Orochimaru had his own suspicions.

But he still decided to go. This would be a good chance to test his theory and see what the Three Great Sage Regions were up to.

Ryūchi Cave was a unique space hidden within the Shinobi World, rich in Natural Energy and home to countless snakes.

There were innumerable small snakes, along with plenty that stretched more than ten meters long.

There were even a few Giant Serpents that measured forty or fifty meters.

Orochimaru quickly reached Ryūchi Cave using the Reverse Summoning Technique.

As soon as he arrived, a Snake Princess came to escort him.

That was a rare sight.

Usually, he was lucky if Manda and the other troublemakers bothered to greet him.

As for the Snake Princesses, they were disciples of the White Snake Sage and its close attendants.

They rarely came out to do such menial work, since they looked down on summoners.

In their eyes, summoners were nothing more than pawns in the hands of the Sage of Six Paths.

As attendants and disciples of the White Snake Sage, they knew something of the Shinobi World's true nature.

With the Snake Princess leading him, Orochimaru made his way unhindered to the cavern where the White Snake Sage trained.

A thick white snake more than a hundred meters long was coiled atop a massive bed. It had two horns on its head, orange hair, yellow eyes, a strange green stone on its chest, and a pipe clenched in its mouth.

This was the White Snake Sage's true form!

"Greetings, White Snake Sage!" Orochimaru politely offered his respects.

"Orochimaru, you must be wondering why I suddenly summoned you here," the White Snake Sage said after taking a puff on its pipe.

"I admit I'm a little puzzled. Surely you know the state of the Shinobi World. I still need to command the central forces against Iwagakure."

Orochimaru answered without subservience or defiance.

"I see." The White Snake Sage fixed its gaze on Orochimaru and scrutinized him before making a cryptic remark.

"I summoned you to warn you: stay away from that Hyuga Shin! He's dangerous!"

"As a Ryūchi Cave summoner, I trust you understand what I mean."

The White Snake Sage plainly stated why it had summoned Orochimaru.

"I understand. I'll be careful."

Standing below the platform as he listened to the White Snake Sage's admonition, Orochimaru's eyes were clear, and he showed no hint of emotion.