One day earlier.
Deep in the barren mountains of the Land of Grass, dozens of meters underground.
The amber lights still burned in the laboratory chamber.
Orochimaru stood before the long table, frowning as he watched Uchiha En leave.
As a member of the Akatsuki, he knew all too well how powerful they were. Pain alone was formidable enough, and he had five helpers besides.
"Jiraiya is planning to investigate Amegakure."
"Is he trying to get himself killed?"
He cursed under his breath. Who gave a damn?
What did it have to do with him, Orochimaru?
Nothing whatsoever.
Yet that night, as he sat in the chamber, he turned through more than a dozen pages of his notes on analyzing eye power without taking in a single word.
Amegakure.
He had legitimate business in that village. Pain would soon summon them to discuss expanding their ranks. After its victory, the Akatsuki was recruiting, and as an undercover operative within the organization, he had to return and put in an appearance.
It was on the way.
Yes, merely on the way.
"Hmph."
Orochimaru packed his scrolls, stood up, and pulled his cloak over his head.
I might as well take a look.
See how that idiot dies.
Amegakure.
The endless drizzle had never stopped.
When Orochimaru arrived, the battle in the square had only just begun.
He did not approach.
He transformed into a little white snake, found a collapsed stone house, and coiled in the shadows along its roof ridge. Through several hundred meters of rain, he watched as though it were a play that had nothing to do with him.
He watched flames burn through Konan's sea of paper.
He watched Pain descend from the sky.
He watched Jiraiya face Pain in the rain, shouting hoarsely about pain