Snake in the Shadows

"Lord Danzo!"

The man clad in a black cloak and dark sunglasses dropped to one knee, calling out respectfully.

"Ryoma, go summon Orochimaru."

Danzo stood with his back to Aburame Ryoma, his expression hidden from view.

Ryoma replied in a deep voice, "Yes!"

With that, he swiftly rose and left.

Danzo stood alone in the dim underground chamber, his right hand repeatedly stroking the cane in his grasp.

"Orochimaru... that man is dangerous. Though we've only just entered into cooperation, using him will likely require conceding some benefits..."

Danzo Shimura narrowed his eyes, his fingers tapping the top of his cane in sequence.

"Uchiha Mo..."

"..."

"Rotten roots should stay buried in the dark mud and struggle quietly. Stop coming out to make a fool of yourself!"

A cold taunt faintly echoed through his mind. Danzo abruptly tightened his grip on the cane, exerting such force that it let out a series of cracking sounds.

"It's only a small concession of benefits. If it can rid Hidden Leaf of this menace, it will be worth it."

As if reassuring himself, his words faded just as faint footsteps came from the corridor outside the chamber.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

As the footsteps drew nearer, a pale-faced man appeared at the doorway. He had long black hair, and beneath his golden vertical pupils, narrow streaks of purple eyeshadow extended all the way to the sides of his nose.

The man was handsome yet dangerous, like a bewitching red spider lily blooming on the road to the underworld...

Orochimaru looked ahead. Danzo stood with his back to him, his posture somewhat stiff and his back ramrod straight. Clearly, he was not in a good mood.

He narrowed his golden slit eyes as the intelligence he had just received surfaced in his mind.

"How interesting."

Orochimaru stopped before Danzo and spoke in his distinctive raspy voice.

"Danzo, I'm here. You should know I was conducting an experiment at this hour, shouldn't you? The price for calling me over to handle business is quite steep."

As he spoke, Orochimaru's lips curled upward, his eyes filled with undisguised greed.

This venomous snake!

Danzo cursed inwardly, then turned around and said calmly, "I have a new project. I'm sure you'll be interested."

Although Orochimaru had already guessed what it was, he still cooperatively revealed a hint of anticipation.

"Let's hear it."

"The Sharingan—power capable of rivaling Wood Release. What do you think?"

"Heh~"

Orochimaru sneered. "I have no desire to be targeted by those Uchiha lunatics."

"It doesn't matter. I'll arrange the right moment to act and provide cover. With your strength and my cooperation, no one will catch even the slightest hint of it."

As Danzo spoke, he looked directly into Orochimaru's eyes without avoiding his gaze, his expression calm.

"And the benefits?"

Orochimaru seemed tempted, his raspy tone rising slightly.

"As the start of our cooperation, the first pair of Sharingan will be yours. I'll provide new funding for your experiments, but once there are research results, the first one must go to me."

As an old fox of many years, Danzo understood perfectly that he could not appear too eager at this moment. Otherwise, he would expose his true intentions and be forced to pay a heavy price. Yet no matter how calculating he was, he could never have imagined that Orochimaru had come to meet him with the answer already in hand.

"Hehe~"

Orochimaru extended his long, narrow tongue and licked his upper lip. "No rush. First, tell me who your target is."

"..."

Their three eyes met, and the air suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, Danzo finally spoke four words with a calm expression.

"Uchiha Mo."

"..."

"Danzo, are you joking with me?" The smile instantly vanished from Orochimaru's pallid face. His snake eyes narrowed, and a chilling aura spread through the underground chamber.

"He's the Uchiha clan's most prominent genius. Choosing him as the target at a time like this... Danzo... you wouldn't happen to be using me to eliminate an obstacle, would you?"

"..."

Danzo's eyelid twitched as he tightly gripped the cane in his hand.

"I can increase the funding for your experiments."

"Hehe~"

At that, Orochimaru curled his lips and once again extended his long, narrow tongue to lick them.

"Build me another laboratory of the same grade, to serve as a reserve for Sharingan-related experiments."

"Orochimaru! Don't be so insatiable!" Danzo narrowed his lone eye and rapped his cane against the floor.

"Heh..."

Their gazes met in midair. Orochimaru's lips curled into a cruel smile, his golden pupils filled with undisguised greed. He refused to yield in the slightest.

"..."

"High-precision experimental equipment isn't so easy to acquire. You provide the channels, and I'll figure out the rest."

"Fine."

Orochimaru glanced at Danzo's wrapped eye, then gave a soft laugh and turned toward the door.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Danzo."

After leaving through the doorway, the smile on Orochimaru's face faded. The scene from earlier at the Uchiha Clan District suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

"Uchiha Mo... His killing intent toward Danzo was genuine. Why was a ten-year-old child so certain he could kill the Darkness of the Shinobi World, who had dominated the shinobi world for decades? Ignorance, stupidity, arrogance... or perhaps..."

"How interesting..."

Amid steady footsteps, Orochimaru's body vanished completely into the darkness, leaving no trace behind.

"In that case... Orochimaru, huh? It does seem rather troublesome..."

In the darkness, a pair of scarlet eyes slowly closed.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

Uchiha Mo had already completed his genjutsu instruction for Kurenai, and during that month, he had also led Team 8 out on their second mission.

The days were peaceful, yet Mo found them deeply strange.

Could it be that Danzo and Orochimaru's meeting had nothing to do with him, that it had simply been a matter of cooperation?

Throughout the month, he had almost never allowed Shisui to leave his sight. Yet after half a month had passed, they had failed to detect even the slightest anomaly.

After that, the restless members of Team 8 began clamoring to take on another mission.

On second thought, Mo felt that this might have been exactly what Danzo was counting on.

Thus, during a C-rank bandit-suppression mission, Mo and Shisui remained on guard the entire time, prepared for an attack at any moment. Yet even after returning to the Hidden Leaf, they had not sensed the slightest irregularity. Even the Clairvoyance had failed to catch the faintest shadow of Root.

He was puzzled. Had Danzo really given up?

After all, leaving the village was unquestionably the best opportunity to make a move. But when Mo saw Asuma strutting at the front of the group with a pair of Flying Swallows in hand, he hesitated.

Perhaps Danzo simply did not want to offend Hiruzen Sarutobi?

And so, one morning a month later, just as Mo was about to lower his guard for the time being, the unexpected happened...