The Two Years That Passed

It seemed they had no choice but to abandon this place, too.

Who knew whether Jiraiya would follow the trail straight here? To avoid unnecessary trouble, Orochimaru naturally chose the more decisive option. After all, in the years since he defected from Konoha, Orochimaru had built numerous secret bases throughout the various countries. Some of the core bases were guarded by his most trusted subordinates, who were even willing to give everything for Orochimaru—and some had willingly offered themselves as vessels for his reincarnation. They were the people he trusted most.

So long as it didn't involve the bases that held some of his core interests and secrets,

the rest—

even if he abandoned every last one of them—

wouldn't cause Orochimaru the slightest heartache.

Besides,

Sasuke had nearly completed the second stage of his training here. Abandoning the place now wouldn't cause any problems.

To strengthen Sasuke's various attributes as quickly as possible,

Orochimaru had truly spared no expense.

Two and a half years. There were only two and a half years left until one of the time limits for the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique. Before then, Orochimaru had to push Sasuke's physical abilities to their absolute limit and then fill him with all sorts of necessary "special content." That way, when the time came for him to reincarnate, he could effortlessly obtain a body with great potential and outstanding qualities in every respect!

Of course, this was a gamble.

It was a gamble between Naruto, Sasuke, and Orochimaru, with each of their cards nearly face up on the table. They all knew what the others were after. Who would ultimately claim the prize depended on how each of them played their hand along the way.

"Hmph, Jiraiya? What a ridiculous topic."

Hearing the name of the pursuer from