Deep within a dense forest in the Land of Grass, a figure stood silently, cloaked in shadow.
"Lord Orochimaru," a voice spoke respectfully. The sound of rushing air preceded the arrival of a black-robed man, who approached the shadowed figure and bowed.
The man standing quietly in the shadows was none other than Orochimaru, who had recently taken advantage of the chaos during the battle to defect from Akatsuki. Orochimaru's motives for joining Akatsuki had never been aligned with theirs; he certainly didn't subscribe to Nagato's 'nuclear deterrence' ideology. He had originally intended to seize the opportunity to steal the Rinnegan from the Deva Path, but ultimately failed. With conflicting ideals and his personal objective unattainable, Orochimaru naturally had no intention of remaining with Akatsuki. Compared to the original timeline, his departure from the organization had occurred earlier.
The black-robed man who had just arrived pushed back his hood, revealing the scarred face of a middle-aged man. His name was Nomura, a subordinate Orochimaru had secretly cultivated outside of Konoha years ago. Nomura's strength wasn't exceptional – merely that of an average Jonin – but his loyalty was his key asset.
"Are the others assembled?" Orochimaru emerged from the shadows, his golden, slitted pupils studying Nomura as he asked calmly.
Nomura bowed slightly. "The messages have all been sent, Lord Orochimaru. There were no issues with the others, except for Kabuto – he's currently on a mission and may arrive a couple of days late."
Hearing this, Orochimaru waved a dismissive hand. "Don't wait for him. We move tomorrow."
A troubled look crossed Nomura's face. "Lord Orochimaru... with only our current strength, taking over an entire hidden village might prove extremely difficult."
Orochimaru's golden eyes swiveled, fixing Nomura with a quiet, intense stare. Though Nomura kept his head bowed, he instantly felt the air grow cold, an oppressive feeling filled with a chilling aura washing over him. Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.
After several tense moments, Orochimaru slowly averted his gaze. "Rest assured," he said softly. "We will have allies joining us."
As Orochimaru looked away, Nomura felt completely drained, his body nearly collapsing where he stood. "Y-Yes, sir," he stammered, swallowing hard.
"Go make the preparations," Orochimaru gestured dismissively, signaling Nomura to leave. Nomura quickly bowed and vanished with a flicker.
Once Nomura was gone, a contemplative expression appeared on Orochimaru's face. Nomura's aptitude is ultimately too poor. I must select and cultivate a batch of suitable talents as soon as possible.
Late that night, within Hozuki Castle, located not far from Kusagakure.
Mui, the master of Hozuki Castle, sat quietly on the main seat in the great hall. Flickering lamplight cast shifting shadows, making the large room seem alternately bright and dim.
"Father." Muku emerged from a side hall behind the main seat, approaching Mui respectfully.
"Hm? Why are you not resting at this late hour?" Mui turned his head, looking at Muku with a questioning gaze.
"Aren't you also still awake, Father?" Muku replied with a faint smile.
"Just thinking about some matters. I was about to return to my room soon," Mui sighed softly.
Muku didn't comment directly. After several seconds of silence, he asked, "Father, you're preparing for tomorrow's undertaking, aren't you?"
Hearing this, Mui's expression changed abruptly. He stared intently at Muku. "Who told you about this?" he demanded gravely.
"Father, no one needed to tell me," Muku replied softly. "The activity within the castle these past two days has clearly been unusual. I only needed to pay slight attention to notice."
"Is it truly that obvious?" Mui's face fell slightly.
"Father, I face no restrictions within the castle, so it wasn't difficult for me to discern something was amiss. An outsider, however, would likely find it very hard to detect," Muku reassured him.
Mui's expression eased somewhat. "Since you've already figured it out, I won't hide it from you. I intend to make our move tomorrow."
A conflicted look appeared on Muku's face. "Father... with just Hozuki Castle's strength, won't attempting to take the entire village be too ambitious?" Muku had spent time in Kusagakure previously and had former teammates there. He didn't wish to draw swords against them.
Hearing Muku's concern, a scornful smile touched Mui's lips. "Rest assured, that boy Kyosuke is no threat! Due to the Daimyo's restrictions these past couple of years, Kusagakure's strength hasn't developed; in fact, it's shown signs of comprehensive decline. There are already those within the village dissatisfied with Kyosuke. As soon as we make our move, there will certainly be people within Kusagakure who rise up to support us. What's more," Mui added, "we have a powerful ally this time."
Muku asked curiously, "An ally? Who?"
"Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Sannin," Mui revealed.
"Him!" A flicker of excitement entered Muku's eyes. Orochimaru was a legendary powerhouse in the ninja world; many had personally experienced his terrifying strength. With such a powerful figure assisting them, taking Kusagakure would indeed be much easier. But then, Muku's expression shifted again. "Father, why would Lord Orochimaru be willing to help us? Could he have ulterior motives? He's a missing-nin from Konoha now."
Mui's expression stiffened slightly. He remained silent for a few seconds before admitting, "You guessed correctly. Orochimaru's condition for helping us is that he becomes the Kage of Kusagakure."
"Then why did you agree, Father?!" Muku asked urgently.
"Because," Mui replied, "he promised to relinquish all claim over Hozuki Castle. From now on, this place will belong solely to our Wu clan."
"This..." Muku's expression flickered through several emotions. He felt something wasn't quite right, but couldn't pinpoint exactly why.
"Enough!" Mui waved his hand dismissively, his voice firm. "The arrow is already on the bowstring. Regardless, our Wu clan must seize this opportunity."
Muku fell silent.
The next day, just as dawn began to break, Mui, the master of Hozuki Castle, led a contingent of over a hundred people out towards Kusagakure. This force consisted mainly of Hozuki Castle guards, interspersed with a dozen or so prisoners held within the castle. For this battle, Hozuki Castle had essentially mobilized its full strength.
After marching for half an hour, Mui's forces arrived at Kusagakure. The village gates were firmly shut; the entire village was clearly on high alert, waiting in full battle readiness. When Mui's forces had departed the castle, a spy placed within Hozuki Castle by Kusagakure had immediately relayed the message back. Greatly alarmed upon receiving the news, Kusakage Kyosuke had instantly organized his village's defenses. Unsure of the situation, Kyosuke decided against rashly leaving the village to engage the enemy outside the walls.
However, just as Kyosuke was deploying Kusagakure's main forces to defend the village entrance, chaos erupted deep within the village center.
POOF!
A gigantic cloud of white smoke billowed upwards, and the massive form of Manda, dozens of meters tall, suddenly appeared inside Kusagakure. Orochimaru stood calmly atop Manda's head, arms crossed.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Behind Orochimaru, over a dozen figures flickered into existence, immediately dispersing to strike at various strategic points within Kusagakure.
"Attack!" Seeing the commotion breaking out inside the village, Mui's face lit up with excitement. With a wave of his hand, he led the Hozuki Castle forces charging towards Kusagakure's gates.
That day, Kusagakure fell.