Silver-Tongued

"Mr. Orochimaru, do you know why that mysterious person framed you?"

Hōzuki Mangetsu said mysteriously.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. After a long while, he shook his head. He had no idea why that person had framed him.

He'd clearly had the chance to kill him.

Hōzuki Mangetsu explained, "Uchiha Shisui was an elite of the Uchiha Clan and a Konoha jonin. If anything happened to him, it would definitely draw the attention of both the Uchiha and Konoha, so the culprit needed someone to take the blame. Unfortunately, Mr. Orochimaru, you ended up holding the bag."

That made sense!

Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and he slowly nodded.

He'd had the same suspicion.

But that raised another question: who had taken Shisui's eyes?

Hōzuki Mangetsu lowered his voice. "If there really was someone like that, he definitely wasn't an outsider. After subduing Uchiha Shisui, he could have simply left without adding the unnecessary complication of framing Mr. Orochimaru. So I suspect someone from inside Konoha did it."

What?

Orochimaru had been led completely astray.

Someone from Konoha?

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as a figure gradually took shape in his mind.

Danzo!

Orochimaru knew very well that Danzo had always coveted the power of the Uchiha and the Senju, and that the two of them had secretly worked together before.

Each held something over the other, which was why Danzo had always been so ambiguous in his attitude toward Orochimaru.

Stealing Shisui's eyes and pinning the blame on him—that certainly sounded like Danzo's style.

That bastard!

Orochimaru's eyes nearly blazed with fury.

Naturally, he couldn't tell Hōzuki Mangetsu about his little secrets with Danzo, so he had no choice but to keep this to himself.

He'd coveted the bodies of the Uchiha Clan's elite for a long time. Now that he'd witnessed Shisui's ocular powers, he was even more eager to get his hands on the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo.

At the thought, Orochimaru suddenly licked his lips and said, "I hear you're going to Konoha?"

Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded.

Orochimaru was in league with Suikazan Fuguki, so it was only natural that he knew about his mission.

That bastard Suikazan was probably trying to use him as a weapon again.

No wonder the Fourth Mizukage had given him such a bizarre order. Suikazan Fuguki must have been fanning the flames behind the scenes.

"Come to think of it, I have you to thank for this!"

Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled. "Five Kirigakure shinobi died, so the Mizukage sent me to negotiate with Konoha. Those five actually died at your hands, didn't they, Mr. Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru snorted and said nothing.

In the Shinobi World, strength was everything.

He had no sympathy whatsoever for the weak.

"I can't just take your word for it. I'll have to investigate."

Orochimaru said coldly.

Hōzuki Mangetsu shrugged. He'd made sure to cover his tracks; Orochimaru wouldn't find any evidence.

"I'm going with you to Konoha!"

Orochimaru suddenly said.

What?

Hōzuki Mangetsu stared at him in confusion.

Orochimaru was one of the Konoha Sannin. If he wanted to sneak into Konoha, it wouldn't be difficult at all.

Why did he want to go with him?

If Orochimaru caused trouble, Kirigakure would be in serious trouble.

"Mr. Orochimaru!"

Hōzuki Mangetsu gave a helpless laugh. "Kirigakure isn't going there to start a war this time. If you go..."

"Don't worry. I won't do anything that would harm Kirigakure. I just want to sneak in and investigate a few things."

Orochimaru said casually.

He did have secret routes into and out of Konoha, but using them would surely alert Root.

That made Hōzuki Mangetsu's trip to Konoha the perfect opportunity.

But...

Hōzuki Mangetsu hesitated. "Konoha has a full team specializing in barrier ninjutsu. Even if you go with me, you probably won't evade their detection. If you're exposed..."

Orochimaru suddenly giggled, pulled off his mask, and revealed the round face of a woman. His body also took on a curvaceous figure.

"Tell me, would anyone in Konoha recognize me like this?"

What the heck!

Hōzuki Mangetsu felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

He'd nearly forgotten about Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation.

When Orochimaru had fought the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, he'd revealed this woman's face.

That meant this was his second reincarnation.

Only then did Hōzuki Mangetsu understand how Orochimaru had escaped Uchiha Shisui's Illusionary Technique: he'd changed vessels.

Kotoamatsukami was an ultra-S-rank genjutsu. Anyone caught by it became the caster's puppet. Even if the caster died, the altered thoughts remained.

Ordinarily, there was no way to escape it. But Orochimaru could change the outcome by changing hosts.

He really was the biggest boss of the early story, with an absurdly tenacious life force.

"Mr. Orochimaru—no, Miss—was that your Living Corpse Reincarnation?"

Hōzuki Mangetsu was at a loss, unsure what to do.

His body was female, but his mind was male. Only Orochimaru could pull something like that off; his research into ninjutsu had long since transcended gender.

For some reason, it all felt rather strange.

"Kid!"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and sneered. "If you don't want to become my vessel, then stop making those weird comments."

He licked his chin and said, "To be honest, I'm quite interested in the body of the Hozuki Clan."

Hōzuki Mangetsu couldn't help shuddering. His skin seemed to erupt in goosebumps.

He could hardly imagine what it would feel like to have Orochimaru possess him.

"Snake Clan Contract!"

The guy still hadn't forgotten to hold out his hand.

He really was fixated on it.

Damn it!

A cold glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes, but he forced himself to hold back.

This time was different from before. He genuinely needed to go to Konoha, and the best way was to travel there with Hōzuki Mangetsu.

He'd already completed his reincarnation, so he wasn't afraid of being recognized by anyone in Konoha.

Orochimaru also knew Hōzuki Mangetsu quite well. He understood that the boy wouldn't lift a finger without something in it for him.

But the Snake Clan Contract was connected to Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu. Orochimaru certainly wouldn't hand it over easily.

Still, if he didn't offer the kid something, he wouldn't cooperate.

"Kid!"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and said, "How about I modify your body so you can regain the Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki's Oil Transformation Technique?"

He smiled and said, "The Second Mizukage was Kirigakure's most powerful shinobi. He was also renowned throughout the Shinobi World. The title War-Crazed Tyrant echoed across the entire Shinobi World. I've admired him for a long time, and even went to Kirigakure especially to obtain some of the Second Mizukage's cells and cultivate them."