Root headquarters.
In a dim corridor, a thin figure slowly advanced. He could have moved without a sound, but he deliberately let his footsteps ring out.
Even so, even Root's most perceptive sensory Ninja seemed to turn a blind eye to him.
Despite knowing full well that he was one of Konoha's most wanted fugitives, they still allowed him to walk through the darkest corner of the village.
"It's been a while since my last visit. What's wrong with your guards? Won't work unless they get paid? Hasn't Teacher Sarutobi given you the funds to 'protect' Konoha?"
When the bandage-wrapped Danzo appeared before him, the visitor shrugged and asked with a hint of mockery.
"...Orochimaru, you're an S-Rank Missing-nin of Konoha, yet you dare show your face here. How bold." Danzo narrowed his eyes and gestured to his personal guards. "Seize him."
But before they could act, the deathly pale Orochimaru gave a sinister smile at his words, and his body transformed into several venomous snakes that scattered in every direction.
"Hmph...not his real body?" Danzo deliberately tapped his cane against the floor. "Tighten security from now on. How did you fail to notice such a dangerous intruder?"
Meanwhile, outside Konoha, the real Orochimaru received his clone's memories and fell into thought.
"Is Danzo being watched? He didn't contradict me. It seems that old fossil, the Third Hokage, really is behind this...hehe, you've changed a little, Teacher Sarutobi."
Beside him, the bespectacled Kabuto frowned upon hearing Orochimaru mutter to himself. "No wonder we lost contact with him for so long. It looks like recruiting him directly is out of the question."
"No matter. He was only meant to be insurance. If we can't use him, so be it. Still, I must say, that act he deliberately put on bore some