Chapter 240: Gotta Charge Extra
“Everything is false, only strength is real…”
Yoru repeatedly savored this sentence, admiring Lord Orochimaru in his heart.
After the admiration, a trace of confusion rose in Yoru’s heart.
Originally, he firmly believed that he was now Lord Kiiroinu’s right-hand man, and Lord Kiiroinu could not do without him.
Now it seemed that Lord Orochimaru was right; Lord Kiiroinu’s trust in him was limited.
In Lord Kiiroinu’s eyes, he was a sharp ninja sword, invincible.
Beyond that, there was nothing special.
The foundation of trust between him and Lord Kiiroinu had a problem; he started as an ordinary Anbu ninja, outlasting or driving away squad leader after squad leader, and grew up unexpectedly.
As for his seemingly good relationship with the Third Hokage at present, it was even less trustworthy.
Everything else could be faked, but the power of Water Severing Wave could not.
The identity of Fox Jonin as Anbu Captain was originally his most important identity.
This realization had collapsed; he had still taken the squad leader identity too seriously.
In Yuka’s view, he was an undercover agent sent by the Senju Clan to Anbu, secretly helping the Uzumaki Clan.
In Lord Kiiroinu’s view, he was an elite Anbu who grew up unexpectedly.
In Sakumo Hatake’s view, he was a like-minded companion, secretly helping Sakumo Hatake in Anbu.
Now, he had to go undercover for Lord Orochimaru too?
How many covers did he have to go under?
Yoru now had the strength of an elite Jonin; Lord Orochimaru did not say to subdue him as a subordinate, but to cooperate with him, which could be said to be quite sincere.
Rather than performing sticky loyalty and trust with others, it was better to clearly exchange equivalently with Lord Orochimaru.
As long as he was useful enough, Lord Orochimaru was worth trusting.
No cheating, old or young.
Yoru steeled his heart and went for it.
Lord Orochimaru was right; no matter how perfect an excuse he made up for the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, for the high-ranking officials, being unable to determine his location meant he was out of control.
It was better to agree with Lord Orochimaru first.
“Lord Orochimaru, how should we cooperate?”
“Very good, you’ve finally come around.” Lord Orochimaru said:
“I will state my core demand.
My core demand is to gain the opportunity to browse the Scroll of Seals.
This opportunity is something Hiruzen Sarutobi will never give me.
Danzo promised me that as long as I research the secret of Wood Style for him, Danzo will let me see Konoha Village’s Scroll of Seals.
The Scroll of Seals contains all of Konoha Village’s forbidden jutsu, especially those created by Second Hokage Tobirama Senju.
The Scroll of Seals is my ultimate goal.
Or rather, the ninja world’s top ninja technique secrets are my core goal.
I will keep the secret of your Reverse Summoning Jutsu for you, in exchange for you going undercover for me.
As long as you can help me obtain the Scroll of Seals, our cooperation has no upper limit.
Not to mention one Reverse Summoning Jutsu; even if you assassinate the Third Hokage, I will cheer for you.”
After thinking, Yoru asked with confusion:
“Lord Orochimaru, based on my understanding of Anbu, Anbu’s secrets are far fewer than Root’s. I wonder what secrets you need me to go undercover and probe?”
Lord Orochimaru said: “No, Anbu has many secrets.
For example, when Shinnosuke Sarutobi can master Five Elemental Great Exploding Air Bullet.
Why Five Elemental Great Exploding Air Bullet, after evenly dividing chakra into 5 parts, can ultimately erupt with power far exceeding
Five Elemental Great Exploding Air Bullet has always been my regret; I once arduously cultivated five chakra natures for this jutsu, but Hiruzen Sarutobi did not teach it to me.
For another example, the Scroll of Seals is next to the Hokage’s Office, guarded by the Kuroari Squad.
You slowly gather intelligence on the Kuroari Squad and inform me of the Scroll of Seals’ defense situation.
Although Danzo promised me one browse of the Scroll of Seals, if possible, it’s still more calm to steal it myself and see it.”
Yoru nodded repeatedly: “I understand, Lord Orochimaru. Please wait for my investigation. These are not things that can be investigated clearly in two or three months.”
Lord Orochimaru continued: “For this reconnaissance of Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Buruubi’s intelligence, you must also do your utmost without any reservation.
If this mission succeeds, I will have more say among the high-ranking officials.”
“Good, Lord Orochimaru.”
Yoru thought to himself, Lord Orochimaru did not take the village seriously at all, not even caring about the Fourth Hokage position.
This was an extremely clear-headed, cold-blooded, and selfish person; his only goal was to pursue strength.
Lord Orochimaru should not betray him for something boring like the Will of Fire.
No cheating, old or young; you willing, me willing, without phony Will of Fire—such cooperation could probably last a long time.
As for when he would be sold by Lord Orochimaru… Lord Orochimaru should worry first about how much longer he could stay in Konoha.
The negotiation ended, and Lord Orochimaru scanned Yoru up and down with greedy eyes, making Yoru’s scalp tingle.
What was this about now?
“Fox…” Lord Orochimaru’s tone was full of desire: “You don’t know how tempting you are…”
Yoru was stunned, hiss… something was off. Lord Orochimaru wouldn’t be craving my body, would he?
Lord Orochimaru said: “Proficient in both Earth Release and Water Style, with elite Jonin or above strength—such a person, in all of Konoha, there are only two.
One is you, the other is me.
I am very much looking forward to the day we meet in the laboratory; you don’t know how suitable your abilities are for Wood Style experiments…”
Yoru thought to himself, were his abilities suitable, or was he himself suitable?
Suitable for your experiments, or suitable to be your experimental material?
You are indeed craving my body!
Yoru said: “Lord Orochimaru, I still have some other uses. As for being a test subject, think about it some more.”
Lord Orochimaru chuckled, and his body sank into the ground.
Even staring at Lord Orochimaru, Yoru felt no chakra fluctuations.
Lord Orochimaru’s Earth Style: Earth Submergence was ridiculously strong.
Two days later, Prop came panicked to Lord Orochimaru’s side.
“Lord Orochimaru! Ji, Geng, and the others found the culprit who assassinated the Root Ninja and notified me with a ninja hawk!
But when I contacted Ji, Geng, and the others again with a ninja hawk, they were out of contact. Have they been killed?”
Lord Orochimaru’s eyes clearly changed, and he said: “Contact Ji again and get definite news.”
Prop hurriedly ran to the mountaintop and released a new ninja hawk.
After Prop was far away, Lord Orochimaru turned to look at the Fox:
“I thought you were just a bit unruly in secret, at most making some small moves.
Killing Root Ninja… this is a bit beyond my expectations; this is not a small move.”
“Wronged! Lord Orochimaru! It was all coincidence! I used Reverse Summoning Jutsu really to evade the Cloud Ninja’s encirclement.” Yoru said without blushing or skipping a beat:
“Lord Orochimaru, you know me; if I really wanted to kill Root Ninja, Prop wouldn’t be alive to report to you.”
Yoru looked at Lord Orochimaru with firm eyes; this black pot could not be pinned on his head.
It was indeed him who did it, but the black pot could not be his.
“Fox, the plan has changed.” Lord Orochimaru said:
Helping me spy in Anbu is not enough for me to help you conceal such a big secret.
If Root dies near me, your secret is a bit too big.”
Yoru was very afraid that Lord Orochimaru’s next sentence would be, we need to add money.
Yoru said with utmost firmness: “Lord Orochimaru, I did nothing. Betraying Lord Kiiroinu for you is my limit; it’s absolutely enough for you to help conceal my secret; no more can be added!”
After a while, Prop came down from the mountaintop in panic.
“Lord Orochimaru! No message for several consecutive hours; it can be determined that Ji and the others have sacrificed…”
Lord Orochimaru said: “Oh, since they’re dead, then no need to care about them.
We continue the Buruubi investigation mission. Have you contacted Yakushi Nonou?”
Prop swallowed hard; those were four Root Ninja, and Lord Orochimaru just brushed it off so lightly?
Prop said: “Please let me notify Root; four Root Ninja have been killed—this matter is no less important than the Buruubi investigation!”
Lord Orochimaru wanted to deal with Prop, who was causing him trouble, but turned to look at the Fox, thinking he could talk to the Fox again, so he signaled Prop to go quickly.
After Prop left again, Lord Orochimaru looked at the Fox.
The meaning was clearly that he was a man of his word; if he said he would help conceal it, he would.
Four Root Ninja alone were not great experimental material; dead was dead.
But the matter of cooperation could not be let go easily.
Yoru emphasized again: “Lord Orochimaru, the death of the four Root Ninja really has nothing to do with me!”
No matter how much he looked, it had nothing to do with him; he absolutely would not admit it.
Lord Orochimaru said straightforwardly: “Your absolute defense Earth Release secret jutsu.”
“Impossible, absolutely impossible.” Yoru said: “Improved Earth Spear; just one hand seal to release.”
“Your absolute defense Earth Release secret jutsu.”
“Not even satisfied with a one-seal jutsu?” Yoru raised the offer: “No-seal secret jutsu, Water Gun Technique.”
“Deal.”
All cooperation was a large game of ‘add money.’
Ask for an exorbitant price and bargain down.
Lord Orochimaru’s demands were that simple and unadorned.
Yoru took out a scroll and wrote the chakra circulation method for Water Gun Technique.
Lord Orochimaru glanced at the scroll and received it contentedly.
Four Root Ninja corpses exchanged for one no-seal ninjutsu—a big profit.
Prop came down from the mountaintop again, anxiously rushing to Lord Orochimaru.
Lord Orochimaru said coldly: “Don’t delay because of dead people; after notifying Root, continue the Buruubi investigation.”
Prop wanted to say something more but saw Lord Orochimaru’s cold eyes and had to swallow all words.
Yoru was very satisfied; this was the art of trading.
Lord Orochimaru was someone he could work with.
Prop led Lord Orochimaru and the Fox to find Yakushi Nonou.
He was emanating an aura of panic and unease.
The Root Ninja identity he was proud of could actually be targeted and killed multiple times in some people’s eyes.
Especially now, Root’s Armor, Lord Orochimaru, seemed completely unconcerned about the death of four Root Ninja.
He had naively thought that in this mission, Lord Orochimaru would stand up for the Root Ninja.
Dozens of kilometers from Hidden Cloud Village, they met Yakushi Nonou in a cave.
Yakushi Nonou was disguised as an old woman this time, full of wrinkles, hunched over, legs trembling, so realistic that if met on the road, one would want to rush to help her cross the street.
Even her voice had become hoarse:
“Lord Orochimaru, Prop, Fox Jonin, the Eight-Tails is much stronger than the Two-Tails, and much more violent.
Buruubi’s seal is unstable, far inferior to Ryuuha’s.
Buruubi lives on a solitary mountain peak at the southwest edge of Hidden Cloud Village.
As long as you reach the southwest edge of Hidden Cloud Village, you can see that mountain peak.
As for Buruubi’s guards, it’s an elite Anbu squad; I couldn’t get the Anbu squad’s roster, but their strength should not be weak.
Third Raikage rushing from the Raikage Building to Buruubi’s residence would take about one minute.”
Lord Orochimaru nodded and said: “Not bad; location information, approximate number of guards, and Third Raikage’s arrival time—these intelligence are sufficient.”
Yakushi Nonou lived up to being Danzo’s most valued spy; even Hidden Cloud Village’s secrets had been figured out.
Lord Orochimaru said: “Yakushi Nonou, plan a route for me; I will use Earth Style: Earth Submergence with the Fox to infiltrate Hidden Cloud Village and find the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.”
Yoru was stunned; they were really going? Third Raikage could arrive in one minute.
When he investigated Ryuuha with Sakumo Hatake, they didn’t even engage in battle.
Thinking again that Lord Orochimaru knew he had Reverse Summoning Jutsu, he thought he still had to bow his head.
Since cooperating with Lord Orochimaru, he had to show sufficient value.
Lord Orochimaru liked geniuses, not wastes.
Yakushi Nonou looked at the Fox, but Yoru gave no response.
The intelligence Yakushi Nonou provided him had issues; the ones going to the Land of Iron were not two Root Ninja, but fully four.
Bad intelligence nearly got Yuka and the others killed.
At some opportunity, he must make Yakushi Nonou understand that harming him came at a cost.
In the second half of the night, Lord Orochimaru and Yoru arrived outside Hidden Cloud Village.
Hidden Cloud Village’s buildings were situated on the mountain slopes or mountaintops of peaks, occupying a vast area, almost ten times the size of Konoha.
This village had no walls; the outermost ring of peaks had sentries, serving as the village boundary.
Lord Orochimaru and Yoru sank into the earth together.
The route given by Yakushi Nonou was a blind spot unmonitored during sentry shift changes.
They quickly moved stealthily underground, and Yoru and Lord Orochimaru emerged on the mountaintop of a low mountain.
The tall mountain opposite the low mountain was where Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Buruubi lived.
Lord Orochimaru said: “I will infiltrate and deal with Buruubi; you handle the Anbu squad and block Third Raikage at the same time.”
“I’ll try my best.”
The two disappeared into the ground again.
Lord Orochimaru’s underground movement speed was extremely fast, faster than Yoru’s, like a swimming snake.
Different from Yoru’s Earth Style: Fish in Water Reflection Jutsu, Lord Orochimaru’s jutsu was even more exquisite; he didn’t know what jutsu it was.
In the cave bedroom, Buruubi was deep asleep, completely unaware of the approaching danger.
Lord Orochimaru emerged beside Buruubi, holding a genjutsu pill in his hand, and fed it into Buruubi’s mouth.
“You should feel lucky; this is a secret medicine prepared for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but now, to suppress Sakumo Hatake, it’s being used on you.”
Danzo had thought of every dirty trick to deal with the Senju Clan; directly targeting the Nine-Tails was one of the contingency plans.
Lord Orochimaru stared at Buruubi, thinking that getting some Eight-Tails research materials was pretty good too; the Eight-Tails was one of the ninja world’s top combat forces.
Buruubi’s expression grew increasingly ugly, sometimes red and feverish, steaming, sometimes blue-purple, seeping blood drops.
A terrifying giant beast roar echoed through the cave!
Buruubi completely passed out, and at the same time, the Eight-Tails’ chakra uncontrollably surged outward.
In just a few seconds, the unconscious Buruubi was lifted up by four thick octopus tentacles.
Lord Orochimaru laughed to the side, in a very good mood:
“The tailed beast’s will has completely taken control of the body; the hallucinogenic secret medicine is very useful, much more than imagined, perfect for dealing with jinchuriki.”
In the next instant, the sixth, seventh, and eighth tails appeared one after another.
Not a tailed beast chakra cloak, but the Eight-Tails’ octopus body, smashing through the cave’s top rock!
Two in one, second chapter at 8 PM
