After the Battle

"Still... still a chess piece?"

Not long after Orochimaru finished speaking, Uchiha Yue stood there in a daze, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

Fortunately, Uchiha Yue wore Anbu mask, preventing Orochimaru from seeing the bitter smile on his face. The bitterness in Uchiha Yue's heart stemmed from his realization that wherever he went, he was destined to become a pawn. The reason was that Uchiha Yue lacked the strength to dominate the Shinobi World; in the eyes of those powerful figures, he was merely a relatively active pawn, disposable at any time, just as before.

Actually, Orochimaru was right. If Uchiha Yue hadn't lowered the guard of the Sunagakure ninjas, Orochimaru would have suffered heavy losses as well when he led his Anbu to wipe out that elite Sunagakure Orochimaru. In Orochimaru's view, abandoning the Shadow and using Uchiha Yue as bait to avoid wounding his Anbu members was perfectly reasonable.

Furthermore, Orochimaru doesn't need to consider Uchiha Yue's thoughts, even though he is Tsunade's disciple.

However, after learning that he was being used as bait and had become a pawn, Uchiha Yue couldn't help but feel some strange emotions.

At this moment, Uchiha Yue's desire to become stronger intensified, his eyes blazing with a fiery light. Clearly, Uchiha Yue never wanted to be a pawn, much less a pawn to be manipulated, even if the player was a true powerhouse in the Shinobi World. Therefore, to escape this fate, Uchiha Yue could only strengthen his resolve to become stronger, secretly striving to become the player himself.

After Uchiha Yue realized this, his mood gradually calmed down.

Then, Uchiha Yue's gaze shifted to Orochimaru, and he respectfully said, "I'm sorry, Lord Orochimaru, the mission that Shadow and I were to carry out is probably impossible to complete. However, before Shadow died, he entrusted me with an intelligence scroll to deliver to Danzo. Now, I will give this intelligence scroll to you, Lord Orochimaru!"

"Hehe, Yue, there's no need for that."

Hearing Uchiha Yue's words, Orochimaru's smile deepened. He then said to Uchiha Yue, "Tsuki, since the information scroll the Shadow gave you was for Danzo, just hand it over to Danzo after you return to the village. Actually, Orochimaru, I know a lot of things, I just don't want to. Do you think I don't know Danzo's tricks?"

Orochimaru slowly wiped the smile from his face, coldly snorting, "Hmph, Danzo's tricks are utterly insignificant in my eyes. However, I must Danzo that Danzo is quite shrewd; he actually managed to find my Achilles' heel. Yue, I've already sacrificed so much for researching forbidden techniques. Do you think that Teacher Sarutobi I'm researching forbidden techniques will allow me to focus on my research? Or should I abandon my research because of Danzo's Danzo?"

"Obviously, none of those are possible!"

When Orochimaru arrived, Uchiha Yue clearly sensed a hint of melancholy in Orochimaru's eyes.

Clearly, Orochimaru was already aware of Orochimaru Shimura Danzō's scheme; he simply couldn't bear to part with the forbidden techniques he had researched.

Furthermore, Orochimaru's words truly enlightened Uchiha Yue, making him realize Orochimaru's formidable power. Undoubtedly, Orochimaru was already aware of Shimura Danzō's schemes and the Third Hokage's intentions. However, Orochimaru couldn't abandon his research into forbidden techniques for the sake of certain people or things. Therefore, even knowing he was facing an Orochimaru, he was determined to jump in without hesitation, even if it meant giving up his position as Hokage and defecting from Konoha.

Suddenly, Uchiha Yue felt a sense of admiration for Orochimaru, admiring his determination to research forbidden techniques.

However, it's impossible to get Uchiha Yue to help Orochimaru.

The reason is that Orochimaru used Uchiha Yue as a pawn, as bait.

Orochimaru's use of Uchiha Yue as a pawn and bait has created a rift between them. Orochimaru may have felt that Uchiha Yue was on the same side, believing Uchiha Yue Orochimaru would understand his actions. However, Uchiha Yue's perception is wrong. Orochimaru Uchiha Yue is a very irritable person, and anyone who provokes Uchiha Yue will face severe consequences.

Currently, Uchiha Yue lacks the power to deal with Orochimaru, so naturally he cannot reveal his ambitions in front of Orochimaru.

However, when Uchiha Yue possesses power that surpasses all others in the Shinobi World, he will absolutely make Orochimaru know what the price is for ignoring him!

At the same time...

While Uchiha Yue and Orochimaru were talking, Orochimaru's Anbu had already annihilated the elite Sunagakure force in front of them. It must be said that Uchiha Yue performed exceptionally well in this battle. If Uchiha Yue hadn't expended some of the Sunagakure elite force's strength, Orochimaru's Anbu would have suffered heavy losses. Now, with the entire Sunagakure elite force wiped out, Orochimaru's Anbu had only lost a few men, demonstrating the immense role Uchiha Yue played.

Then, seeing the elite Sunagakure in front of him annihilated, Uchiha Yue's mood improved considerably.

However, just as Uchiha Yue was examining his injuries, his expression suddenly darkened.

Because, at this moment, Uchiha Yue discovered that his injuries were much more serious than he had imagined.

The most serious injuries were not inflicted on Uchiha Yue by the Sunagakure ninjas.

The most serious injury on Uchiha Yue was actually a side effect of using the Flash Step!

Using his Purple Eye to examine his leg injuries, Uchiha Yue discovered that the bones in his legs showed signs of fracture. Clearly, Uchiha Yue's bones couldn't withstand the strain of using Flash Step, which explained the fractures that appeared after Flash Step use of Shunpo. Previously, during his battles with the Sunagakure ninjas, Uchiha Yue's mind had been constantly tense, so he naturally hadn't felt the pain in his legs.

However, after the Sunagakure ninjas in front of him were annihilated, Uchiha Yue felt an excruciating pain in his legs.

Orochimaru clearly noticed Uchiha Yue's change, and immediately frowned slightly, asking, "Yue, is your injury serious?"