Orochimaru

Danzo had not expected to run into such a soft rejection.

He stood up and said, "No problem. I will show my sincerity, and I hope the Uchiha will do the same."

After Danzo left, Uchiha Fugaku turned his gaze to Uchiha Yan and asked, "Yan, what do you think? What exactly is that guy Danzo up to?"

Uchiha Yan stroked his chin; he knew exactly what Danzo was talking about.

It was about launching a coup d'état.

However, the Uchiha could not afford to wade into such murky waters.

What Uchiha Yan wanted was an intact Konoha.

At most, he would sacrifice the Anbu and Root departments, along with the Shimura and Sarutobi clans.

That would be the optimal solution for the Uchiha.

But now, it seemed the Uchiha had other options.

He looked up at Uchiha Fugaku and said, "Clan Leader Fugaku, if Danzo can truly secure you a position as an advisor, what he proposed is not entirely out of the question."

Uchiha Fugaku nodded, effectively adopting Uchiha Yan's opinion.

Because compared to the "filial son" Uchiha Itachi, whose stance was unclear, and the other genius Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Yan's position had always been firmly on the side of the Uchiha.

Therefore, his opinion was of vital importance.

As Danzo left the compound with his trusted subordinates, Sarutobi Hiruzen received the news immediately.

Upon hearing the report, Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered to himself, "Danzo, oh Danzo, I hope you aren't doing something foolish."

Three days later.

An uninvited guest arrived at the gates of Sunagakure.

Orochimaru, wearing a conical hat, walked slowly toward the main entrance of the village.

The guards on duty stared at him intently and asked, "Sir, what is your business here?"

It was no wonder they were nervous; during his defection, Orochimaru's killing intent alone had been enough to freeze Kakashi in his tracks.

As ordinary guards whose strength was at most around the level of a Chunin, the fact that they could even speak in front of Orochimaru was impressive enough.

Orochimaru let out a soft, "Heh heh."

His laughter was somewhat bone-chilling.

The two guards couldn't help but grip their weapons tightly, their hands hovering over the signal flares in their pockets.

Only then did Orochimaru speak in a raspy voice, "Do not panic, you two. I am an old friend of your Kazekage. This is my token; if you don't believe me, you can send word. I shall wait right here."

With that, he produced a so-called token and handed it to the guard.

Seeming to sense that Orochimaru truly had no malicious intent, the two guards relaxed slightly.

However, they still spoke to Orochimaru with a serious tone, "My lord, we must still notify the Anbu to verify the authenticity of this."

Orochimaru had no objections; after all, he had come to discuss a partnership, not to cause trouble.

He sat on a boulder at the village entrance and said calmly, "No problem, please do as you see fit."

The two guards exchanged a glance, and eventually, one of them went to report to the Anbu.

The other kept a tight grip on his signal flare, ready to release it without hesitation should Orochimaru make any suspicious moves.

Watching the nervous guard, Orochimaru was considerate enough to remain still.

At this moment, the other guard had already made contact with the Anbu.

Upon hearing the news, the Anbu's expression changed drastically.

He hurriedly ordered one of his subordinates to go and spread the word.

He then took another teammate and headed toward the gates of Sunagakure.

When the Anbu arrived at the gate and saw that Orochimaru was still waiting obediently, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He walked up to Orochimaru.

"My lord, please wait a moment."

Orochimaru nodded.

Five minutes later.

A squad of Anbu surrounded Orochimaru.

One who appeared to be the squad leader stepped forward.

He said respectfully, "My lord, please follow us."

Orochimaru nodded slightly, stood up, and followed behind the Anbu.

The other three Anbu members discreetly maintained a formation that kept Orochimaru surrounded.

Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, noticing a few Anbu tracks on the roof monitoring him.

It was not until he walked into the Kazekage Building that this faint, lingering sense of surveillance finally vanished.

He was led by the Anbu to a VIP room and stepped inside.

Orochimaru discovered that this VIP room was constructed with a simple barrier.

Of course, this "simple" was relative to Orochimaru himself.

After all, for a village as resource-poor and sparsely populated as Sunagakure, being able to use barriers at all was already quite impressive.

At this moment, a man wearing the Kazekage hat appeared before him.

"This Excellency, why exactly do you wish to see me?"

His tone carried a hint of the natural authority of a superior, as well as a touch of weariness.

Orochimaru slowly stood up at this time and peeled off the human-skin mask he was wearing.

He stared at the Kazekage with his golden snake-like pupils, revealing a cold, sinister smile.

"Lord Kazekage, long time no see."

The Kazekage's originally calm face turned ugly the instant he saw Orochimaru.

He spoke in a rather unfriendly tone, "Orochimaru, what could a rogue ninja from Konoha like you possibly want to discuss with me?"

Orochimaru naturally caught the distance in the Kazekage's tone.

He chuckled, "Rasa, is it really necessary to be like this between old acquaintances?"

Rasa rolled his eyes at Orochimaru, then sat down on the sofa and said with a complex tone, "Orochimaru, to be honest, I truly didn't expect that you would actually..."

Orochimaru chuckled and said naturally, "Didn't expect me to become a rogue ninja?"

The two of them could actually be considered old acquaintances.

During the Third Shinobi World War, both sides had clashed many times, with neither gaining the upper hand.

He had not expected that a talent like Orochimaru would actually defect from Konoha.

Rasa said calmly at this moment, "Orochimaru, if what you want to discuss this time is joining Sunagakure, I welcome you with open arms."

Upon hearing Rasa's invitation, Orochimaru waved his hand and said, "I came to see you for something else."

"Something else?" Rasa raised his eyebrows.

Orochimaru spoke in a very flat tone, "Because of the alliance with Konoha, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind has been cutting your funding year after year, hasn't he?"

Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Rasa's expression turned ugly in an instant.

Because everything Orochimaru said was the truth.

The current financial situation of Sunagakure had reached a precarious point.

Now, the annual enrollment at Sunagakure's ninja academy had begun to decrease, as they planned to pursue an elite path.

Even so, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind continued to cut funding every year.

The Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind had even handed over more national defense missions to Konoha.

Sunagakure was now so poor that he had to pan for gold himself to subsidize the village.

Watching Rasa's grim expression, Orochimaru smiled.

His tone was filled with temptation.

"A few years ago, I left that place like a stray dog."

"Now, a high-ranking figure in Konoha has told me that I can launch a counterattack against Konoha."