Bargaining with a Tiger

Danzo's expression remained unchanged, but he now knew the result of his probing assassination attempt.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could not discern anything from the faces of his three old friends.

He could only pick up his pipe for a puff before informing the two of them about the assassination attempt.

Finally, he added, "I called you here to urge you to be careful. After all, if the assassin would target me, they might just come for you as well!"

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, the group nodded with grave expressions.

At this moment, Danzo spoke unhurriedly, "Could it be the Uchiha, driven to desperation? After all, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui have been missing for two days."

The eyes of the other two lit up, and Mitokado Homura said in a low voice, "The probability Danzo mentions is actually quite high. Could it really be the Uchiha?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and said, "I have already investigated. It could not have been the work of the Uchiha."

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's firm tone, the three nodded, accepting his conclusion.

"Very well." Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone lightened. "You may all return to your duties; I still have some documents to process here."

Seeing that Sarutobi Hiruzen had issued a dismissal, Danzo and the others exchanged a glance and stood up to leave.

The group walked out of the office.

Mitokado Homura remarked, "I never expected the assassin to be so brazen, daring to target even the Hokage."

Utatane Koharu chimed in softly, "Indeed, it is far too brazen."

Danzo remained expressionless, listening to their conversation.

He spoke in his characteristically cold tone, "Do the two of you require my Root subordinates to provide close protection?"

Upon hearing Danzo's offer, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a look and waved their hands simultaneously, saying, "Danzo, we appreciate your kindness, but we haven't reached the point where we can no longer fend for ourselves."

Hearing their refusal, Danzo nodded and said, "Very well, if you have need, just ask."

With that, he leaned on his cane and slowly walked away.

Once he returned to his lair, Danzo summoned his trusted aide.

"Lord Danzo." The aide approached Danzo's side.

Danzo said in a cold tone, "Can you contact Orochimaru?"

The aide hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Yes. Orochimaru has joined an organization called Akatsuki, and per your instructions, we have maintained communication with him."

Danzo said, "Tell Orochimaru that I have a plan to discuss. Meet at the usual place."

"Understood." The aide did not ask any further questions; he simply bowed slightly and turned to leave.

Three days later.

In a courtyard outside Konoha.

Orochimaru, dressed in the red-cloud black cloak of the Akatsuki, leaned against a pillar.

Danzo sat on a chair, flanked by two elite Root members wearing masks.

The two stared at each other.

Orochimaru smiled, speaking in his signature cold tone, "Lord Danzo, why go to such great lengths to find me?"

Danzo spoke at this moment, "Orochimaru, are you truly content with how you slunk away from Root back then?"

"Content?"

Orochimaru chuckled softly and said, "Lord Danzo, why ask when you already know the answer?"

Of course he was not content; after all, he had once been one of Konoha's legendary Sannin and a formidable contender for the position of Hokage.

Yet, in the end, he had fled Konoha like a stray dog.

As for the so-called human experiments?

Please, whose research did he, Orochimaru, study?

The records of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, contained numerous forbidden techniques, including even the wicked Edo Tensei.

Orochimaru did not believe for a second that Senju Tobirama, the Second, had never conducted human experiments himself.

It truly lived up to the saying: once I succeed, there will be scholars to justify my actions.

Danzo watched Orochimaru's shifting expression and suddenly smiled.

He said faintly, "So, do you want to return?"

"Return?" Orochimaru stared fixedly at Danzo with his golden slit pupils, speaking word by word, "What do you intend to do?"

Danzo replied with a calm tone, "It is simple: the Konoha Crush Plan."

Hearing these words, Orochimaru's eyes suddenly brightened.

However, his gaze quickly dimmed, and he said, "We already lost last time, didn't we?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes and responded, "We lost last time, but this time, Hiruzen does not have Minato."

Hearing the name Minato, there was no ripple in Orochimaru's heart.

Even though Minato had been his direct rival for the position of Hokage.

Because Orochimaru knew that who among him and Minato would become Hokage depended entirely on Danzo and his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

However, after he defected from Konoha, he discovered that it wasn't raining outside at all.

In fact, he was faring even better than he had during his time in Konoha.

Orochimaru spoke up then: "Very interesting, but how do you intend to overturn this rotting Konoha?"

Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Danzo let out a soft chuckle.

He replied: "It's simple. I have now gained complete control over Root. I only need to promise the Uchiha clan that their clan leader will be appointed as a Hokage advisor and concede the position of the Seventh Hokage to them."

Hearing Danzo's words, Orochimaru crossed his arms and looked toward the direction of Konoha.

In truth, he still held some lingering feelings for the land of Konoha; eighty percent of the love and hate in his life resided there.

Therefore, he stared at Danzo with his golden snake-like pupils and said in a cold, chilling tone: "No problem. Should we also reach out to the Sunagakure?"

"Sunagakure?" Danzo asked, feeling somewhat puzzled by Orochimaru's suggestion.

"Hasn't Sunagakure already formed an alliance with our Konoha?"

No sooner had his voice fallen than he saw Orochimaru looking at him with an incredibly complex expression.

Even though Danzo had lived for half a lifetime, he still failed to grasp the deeper meaning behind Orochimaru's gaze.

Orochimaru then began to explain: "It is not Sunagakure that has allied with Konoha; it is the Land of Wind that has allied with the Land of Fire."

He continued in his characteristically raspy voice: "As a result, Sunagakure's funding has been slashed. Konoha ninjas are cheaper than Sunagakure ninjas, so the Land of Wind has essentially given all their missions to Konoha. That is why Sunagakure does not like Konoha—they even despise it."

Danzo's pupils constricted sharply upon hearing Orochimaru's words.

He had not expected there to be such a layer of complexity to the situation.

Still, having an extra source of power was always a good thing.

Danzo nodded and said: "No problem. You go and persuade Sunagakure to get them involved, and I will go and persuade the Uchiha clan."

Orochimaru nodded. "Hm, let us hope everything goes smoothly."

Danzo stood up, leaned on his cane, and slowly departed.

Watching Danzo's retreating figure, Orochimaru let out a scoff. "What a truly rotting village. It hasn't changed at all over all these years."

"And that ridiculous Will of Fire... it is time for a gust of wind to blow and set this stagnant Konoha windmill spinning once again."

After sighing with emotion, Orochimaru vanished from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique.

He still needed to find a wind strong enough to set the Konoha windmill in motion.