A Higher Priority Than Tailed Beasts?

Uchiha Sora's eyes flickered as he mentally combed through the original plot.

First, after Orochimaru made his move, Konoha Village exposed Naruto's existence.

Following that, Yahiko, Nagato, and the others would begin scouring the world to collect the Tailed Beasts.

During this process, they would even incite a Great Ninja War.

However, Uchiha Sora's grasp of the plot was not entirely precise.

After all, with his own presence, many things were bound to be different.

He could only try his best to ensure the general direction remained unchanged.

As for that general direction, the Akatsuki would definitely take action, though he didn't know if their target would be Naruto or himself!

Forget it... Regardless, I must hurry and improve myself. Tomorrow, I'll craft two more guns, give one to Sasuke and one to my disciple, and start arming my own organization!

Uchiha Sora understood that there was strength in numbers; since he had Sasuke and Deidara, he had to make use of them.

He would transform them into modern warriors who believed in technology!

In the Naruto World, deep within a desolate mountain range, there lay a canyon fissure—extremely narrow, long, and damp.

Moss grew on both sides, and looking down, it seemed bottomless, as if it were a scar on the earth leading straight to its core.

This place was the very cave the Akatsuki used for meetings outside of the Land of Rain.

At this moment, the entire Akatsuki organization had gathered.

Their figures were blurred, with only their eyes and the rings on their fingers visible.

Yahiko spoke in a cold voice.

"You failed? I told you to take Itachi Uchiha and Deidara, and with the help of Sunagakure, yet you, Orochimaru, you piece of trash!"

Orochimaru shivered, not because of the insult, but because it reminded him of his unpleasant past in Konoha Village.

It could be said that Orochimaru's fragile heart had been dealt a heavy blow by that mushroom cloud.

As a mere rogue ninja in this ninja world, how much psychological trauma could such a massive blast cause?

At the very least, he was still trembling as he spoke.

"It's not my fault... That Uchiha Sora in Konoha Village is a freak. No, the entire Uchiha Clan are freaks!"

The others fell silent.

To be honest, anyone who wasn't blind could have seen the mushroom cloud over Konoha Village.

Even Yahiko knew that there might be other reasons for this failure.

At this, Kakuzu let out a cold sneer from the side.

"What a waste! Do you realize that regardless of any accidents, this mission you carried out cost us a significant amount of wealth—at least half of our assets!"

"Orochimaru, how do you intend to compensate us?"

Duan Fei also gave a gloomy laugh, looking as if he were enjoying the chaos.

"Indeed! Orochimaru, Konoha Village doesn't even have any real powerhouses. As far as I know, there's only the Hokage, and at most, Jiraiya."

"Yet you? You brought Itachi Uchiha and Deidara with you!"

"And you still lost? You're truly pathetic!"

Listening to the mockery, Orochimaru was nearly furious to the point of death.

If you're so capable, why don't you go yourself? he thought.

If they could face such a terrifying mushroom cloud without changing their expressions, he, Orochimaru, would take their surnames on the spot.

Moreover, Orochimaru had been scared out of his wits.

That shot from Uchiha Sora and its terrifying power remained vivid in his mind.

He couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"You don't understand, you bunch of frogs in a well. That brat Uchiha Sora—his Sharingan must have a problem!"

"You didn't see it; that terrifying explosion was like hundreds or thousands of Tailed Beast Bombs detonating all at once!"

"Itachi Uchiha saw it too at the time. If you don't believe me, ask him!"

Yahiko snorted coldly.

"He isn't here! That guy is always absent... However, are you saying that terrifying power came from the Sharingan?"

Duan Fei was also intrigued, his eyes fixed intently on Orochimaru.

"The Sharingan! Good heavens, I've long heard it's the strongest ocular jutsu, and that if trained to the limit, it can awaken unique abilities. It seems it's true!"

Yahiko snorted again.

"Enough! Everyone, be quiet and let Orochimaru explain what happened at the time."

Orochimaru nodded.

"It happened like this... in short, that terrifying explosion, Uchiha Sora seems capable of doing it more than once!"

"Perhaps, just like firing a Tailed Beast Bomb, this guy is a human-shaped Tailed Beast!"

Orochimaru briefly described the sequence of events.

When everyone realized that Uchiha Sora had instantly killed Shukaku with a single shot, they were all stunned.

"What did you say? He took down Shukaku in just one hit? Is that for real? Even if it's only the One-Tail, it's still a Tailed Beast!"

Duan Fei was dumbfounded, his face full of shock.

The truth was, if they were simply told he was very strong, they might not have had a clear concept of it.

But the power of the Tailed Beasts was deeply ingrained in everyone's hearts; they were the nightmare of almost every ninja.

Who could say they weren't terrified of Tailed Beasts when they were children?

Even Kakuzu's eye twitched.

"Are you saying that the Uchiha brat, who is merely a genin in Konoha Village, used some unknown method to supposedly kill Shukaku in an instant?"

"If this is true, then I'm afraid the entire ninja world will have to rewrite its understanding of what a genin is!"

Orochimaru curled his lip.

"Think whatever you want, but I have no desire to deal with that guy again. I just get the feeling that Uchiha Sora has an endless, inexhaustible supply of tricks up his sleeve."

Seeing this, Yahiko's expression also became extremely grave.

"Could it be that this Uchiha Sora has the potential to become the next Madara Uchiha?"

"After all, even that legendary ancestor of ninjas probably couldn't have taken down a Tailed Beast when he was a child!"

A moment later, he took a deep breath, a flash of greed appearing in his eyes.

"Regardless, Uchiha Sora must be given top priority. Let's raise his importance level to match that of the Nine-Tails. If he continues to demonstrate such power, then we capture him first!"

Everyone was startled.

It was the first time they had ever heard of prioritizing the capture of a person over a Tailed Beast!

However, given a freak like Uchiha Sora, it seemed somewhat justifiable.

At this moment, Orochimaru spoke up.

"It's best not to make a move now. The Five Great Ninja Villages are all taking action; after all, that previous battle caused too much of a stir."

"Right now, they are practically begging to be on high alert around the clock. It would be unwise to act at a time like this."

Duan Fei, standing to the side, suddenly asked.

"It feels like so many people are missing this time. Where is Deidara?"

Sasori, standing nearby, shook his head.

"Although Deidara is my partner, he is elusive. He went out with Orochimaru this time and hasn't returned since."

For a moment, everyone turned their gaze toward Orochimaru again.

At this point, Orochimaru felt truly wronged.

How was he supposed to know where Deidara had gone?

When he left, Orochimaru had been too busy running for his life.

He hadn't bothered to keep track of Deidara.

After all, even if that guy was unreliable at the best of times, he still possessed real strength.