Red Tail's Scroll

Land of Rain.

Beneath a hilly region.

Several pits had been dug here. Though the lighting was poor, the ventilation was good.

A pale figure in a black robe patterned with red clouds, with golden eyes and magatama earrings, was bent over a desk revising a scroll.

"It's done. This way, the consciousness of those reincarnated through Impure World Reincarnation will no longer be affected."

A hoarse voice rang out, carrying a note of pride and self-satisfaction.

Old man, even outside Konoha, I can still improve Impure World Reincarnation.

"Kabuto, how are the things I asked you to prepare?"

A mild-looking young man wearing round glasses bowed slightly behind him.

"Lord Orochimaru, I have prepared corpses of non-ninjas who possessed special abilities in life. The experiment can begin at any time."

Orochimaru tugged at his black robe patterned with red clouds.

He had originally joined Akatsuki merely as a temporary measure, but he had not expected its waters to run far deeper than he had imagined.

Every member of the organization was dangerous, especially its leader, Pain.

Even now, Orochimaru did not know whether Pain was a living person or some kind of puppet.

But he knew exactly how powerful Pain was.

Moreover, those light purple eyes of his seemed to possess some special quality.

Orochimaru simply had not found any records regarding them yet.

So he could only continue lying low.

"Once we have completely brought the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields under control, we can establish a new ninja village."

Orochimaru's research philosophy had never received recognition. Even the Third Hokage, his own teacher, had wanted to arrest him.

After being driven out of Konoha, Orochimaru had always regarded it as a profound humiliation.

No matter what, he had to prove himself—prove that his ideals were right, and prove that he was superior to Minato.

Even superior to the Third Hokage.

Thus, continuing his research into forbidden techniques, perfecting them, and building a new ninja village had been the direction Orochimaru had worked toward for years.

"Once Lord Orochimaru's technique is perfected, the speed of our development will increase exponentially."

Kabuto Yakushi was highly capable, so naturally he could see the potential of Impure World Reincarnation.

His words were not entirely flattery.

Orochimaru was far more rational. "Impure World Reincarnation still requires sacrifices of corresponding strength. That limitation cannot be bypassed."

"What intelligence is there from the outside lately?"

Whenever he conducted experiments, he became so absorbed that he forgot to eat and sleep. Sometimes he would not leave the laboratory for one or two months.

All outside intelligence was gathered by Kabuto Yakushi.

Kabuto knew that Orochimaru was particularly concerned with news from Konoha.

"Danzo was removed from office after clashing with the Uchiha Clan. A public trial will be held soon."

"The Police Force has added personnel, but they are not Uchiha. They are members of other ninja clans."

Orochimaru looked somewhat surprised, his face filled with curiosity.

"That old fox Danzo is going to stand trial? What exactly happened?"

"It seems the Uchiha have changed somehow. Those measures are not something Fugaku could have managed."

Kabuto apologized from the side. "Our informants in Konoha are merely ordinary villagers. They can only obtain surface-level intelligence. My apologies, Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru nodded and did not blame Kabuto, though he had once had many subordinates and followers.

They had all been purged or exiled by Konoha.

These informants had all been developed recently.

As he pondered, a rustling sound came from above. A venomous snake with a crimson tail and a body as thick as an arm crawled down from the ceiling.

At the sight of it, curiosity appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. He ran his tongue around his face.

"Red Tail, why are you here?"

It was a small snake from Ryūchi Cave that occasionally conveyed intelligence for Orochimaru in exchange for supplies.

Red Tail rose upright and spoke in human language.

"Jiraiya paid a high price to have Mount Myoboku ask me to deliver a message to you."

Orochimaru had summoned Red Tail here before, and only Red Tail could find his trail.

As Red Tail spoke, its belly swelled. A lump gradually rose upward, and it opened its mouth to spit out a scroll covered in slime.

At the mention of Jiraiya, Orochimaru's brow furrowed deeply, but he still pulled out the scroll.

"Next month, I'll send you an extra batch of supplies."

He formed hand seals, placing a Reverse Summoning Technique mark on Red Tail's head. With a pop, Red Tail vanished.

Orochimaru then opened the scroll and began reading.

The scroll was very long. When Jiraiya wrote it, he had naturally learned what the daytime conflict had been about.

Thus, it began with Danzo plotting to seize Shisui's eye, then moved on to the Uchiha's fierce retaliation, beginning with five Mangekyō Sharingan users assaulting Root and capturing Danzo.

Then, at the high-level meeting, they used the Sharingan on Danzo's body as grounds to shift the suspicion for the Nine-Tails Attack onto him.

The Uchiha distributed the expanded Police Force positions among other ninja clans, then used compensation for the clan district's relocation as a pretext to grant the Police Force "authority to coordinate internal village defense."

Then came the events of the previous day: the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was attacked, chakra leaked out, and the Uchiha once again seized the opportunity to strike, handing the position of Hokage Advisor to Nara Shikaku, representative of the Ino-Shika-Cho.

And within all this lay the key intelligence.

The Uchiha Clan had revealed its trump card: five Mangekyō Sharingan.

At the center of it all was Uchiha Zhengye—a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder with exceptionally high political acumen.

Under Zhengye's leadership, the Uchiha's position in Konoha had essentially been reversed overnight.

They had now gained a firm foothold in Konoha. It was only a matter of time before they reached for the Hokage's seat.

"Splendid..."

"Splendid..."

"Hehehehe..." Orochimaru let out a hoarse, chilling laugh.

But Kabuto Yakushi could tell that Orochimaru was delighted.

"To think they actually forced the old man into this position."

"Truly splendid."

The scroll had been written by Jiraiya, who naturally would not beat around the bush. It plainly stated: "The old man wants you to return."

But Orochimaru was far too intelligent.

Clearly, the Third Hokage could no longer withstand the Uchiha's offensive and was asking him to return and put out the fire.

"Heh... What does he take me for?!"

After he finished laughing, Orochimaru's expression became extremely cold. The killing intent in his eyes made Kabuto shudder.

Kabuto Yakushi had not seen Orochimaru lose his composure like this in a long time.

Kabuto knew that Orochimaru was extremely rational and would not take out a bad mood on others, so he did not beat around the bush. He asked directly.

"What happened, Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru casually handed the scroll to Kabuto Yakushi, then returned to sit before the experiment table.

However, he did not resume the experiment. Instead, he frowned as he pondered something.

Kabuto Yakushi quickly finished reading its contents.

But his attention was fixed on Danzo.

Four years ago, Danzo had intended to silence Kabuto and Nonō, arranging for them to kill each other.

In the end, Nonō had died by Kabuto Yakushi's hand, causing him immense psychological trauma.

Danzo and Kabuto shared a blood feud. Now, seeing that Danzo had been carved into a limbless stump, Kabuto did not laugh aloud, but the curl of his lips revealed the satisfaction in his heart.

But this was not enough. Danzo had not yet experienced complete despair.