Facing Itachi after so long, Orochimaru no longer felt the same as before. That was the change that came with growing stronger.
"You'd better not let me find out you did anything to Sasuke. If you did, I won't forgive you."
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Itachi couldn't help but clench his fist.
Most of the time he could stay calm, but right now Orochimaru was simply too dangerous.
"Relax. I wouldn't do anything shameful like that."
Orochimaru grinned proudly. In front of Nagato and the others, he said it without a shred of guilt.
If Konan were here, just thinking of the money Orochimaru had tricked her out of would probably have made her snap right on the spot.
When facing Orochimaru's taunts, the real victims would never stay silent.
"Besides, your Uchiha clan still owes me a huge favor."
The big favor Orochimaru mentioned was, of course, that he had Kabuto use Edo Tensei to bring back members of the Uchiha clan.
Most of those people had died at Itachi's hands.
Just that one line from Orochimaru was enough to leave Itachi speechless. In the end, none of them were exactly good people, but compared to them, the ones in the Revolutionary Army were even worse.
Even if your surface looks "white," in this era, who really cares? Whether you're kind or righteous—no one cares about that either.
Those so-called virtues were the least trustworthy things of all.
"Alright, Orochimaru!
Since things have come this far, let's see how we should handle it from here."
"At the very least, the East Blue situation is no longer something you can hold on your own."
Nagato stepped forward to ease the tension. Normally, he would never bother with this kind of thing, but this was the first time he stood up to manage "co-worker relations."
Seeing this, Orochimaru also pulled back his sharp, provocative expression.
To be honest, if the Revolutionary Army hadn't shown up earlier, their side would have completely collapsed in that last battle.
But even with the Revolutionary Army joining in, the current situation was still nearly impossible to turn around.
If it were just one person, or maybe a hundred or two, there would still be room to maneuver.
But here, with both sides' numbers adding up to over four hundred thousand—and the enemy still outnumbering them two to one...
Honestly, Orochimaru had no idea how to win.
And this was their main battlefield. In other regions, once you counted in the pirates, the numbers were even bigger, and those forces couldn't even be commanded properly.
"This war is already lost. I don't really mind, since the ones dying aren't me—but the truth is, we have no chance of winning."
Orochimaru said helplessly.
Anyone would feel helpless in this kind of situation. Even someone like Orochimaru, who had lived through the Shinobi World Wars, couldn't adapt to a war like this.
And as someone who had once been a shinobi, he understood better than most what sacrifices were supposed to mean.
But now, Orochimaru hesitated.
If they kept fighting, more innocent people would die.
He was no longer the same Orochimaru who could act alone and walk away. A strange sense of responsibility had started to cling to him.
"Impossible. Our strength is definitely not below the Marines'."
Nagato frowned. If it were just pirates or just the Revolutionary Army, then no, there would be no chance of winning. But together, they should have been able to stand against the Marines.
"Of course I know that.
I don't know how strong you've all become as my former comrades, but I know you're not weak."
Orochimaru, though powerful and arrogant, was very serious when speaking to these old comrades.
"You all saw Master Genichi, the sage among the sages.
The enemy is very strong. With him there, their sages all become stronger too. I can't break through Genichi. In this situation, all I can do is hold my ground."
"So in this war, Genichi and I cancel each other out."
"That leaves the Five Kage... no, the Five Elders.
Their fighting power isn't the strongest, but you should have seen how troublesome they are. Even if we send two of us against them..."
"Then the best choice would be Kisame and Kakuzu."
Orochimaru wasn't speaking randomly. Kisame and Kakuzu were familiar with ninjutsu, and since they had no ties with the Five Elders, they'd have the chance to take them out.
For other people, it wouldn't be that simple.
"The ones left are the Eight-Tails, and you all should have seen the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki. It'll take at least five people to handle him.
Hidan, Deidara… then add the One-Eyed Ghost Dragon, that guy from the Pike family, and the one who calls himself the Mountain Bandit King, Higgs."
Orochimaru pulled out every name he could.
They had already seen Killer Bee's power before. He was truly like a human beast, already on the same level as Orochimaru himself.
Needing that many people to deal with him was normal.
And that was still the bare minimum.
"As for Kakashi and the other strong ninjas, we can leave them to Haku and the others. But on their own, they can't take care of everything.
Haku said he has a way to deal with it, so let's assume he does."
"As for the remaining sages, their goal is clear—they're here for Ashura and Indra's power."
"You could be surrounded by them at any moment, so as long as you're on the battlefield, it'll be hard for the other sages to move to different fights."
"This is a standoff at the very limit. From that point of view, we really do have the right to fight against them."
In fact, before this, Haku had already told Orochimaru there was no chance of winning.
Hearing Orochimaru's words now, Nagato calmed down.
Kakuzu's Devil Fruit power was strong, and with Kisame added in, they should be able to hold back the Five Elders.
Ever since his fight with Zabuza, Kisame's sword skills had only grown sharper, and his Taijutsu too.
In those two areas, Kisame was without a doubt number one in the Revolutionary Army.
Even though Kisame hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, his Samehada had, which made it just as troublesome.
Two against five—it made sense!
As for Deidara and Hidan…
Hidan's fruit power was the "Split Fruit." It gave him immunity to all slashing attacks, giving him a natural edge against the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Deidara's explosive attacks could also cause serious trouble and distractions. Add in those two pirates, and they could definitely stall the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki.
But this war had many more people—Kakashi, Chojuro, and other ninjas, plus new rising stars like Naruto and Sasuke.
Since Haku said he could hold them off, then he definitely could.
The rest would be up to the sages who naturally clashed with Ashura and Indra. The enemy still had more than ten top-level sages, plus over twenty others.
Nagato and Itachi could only take the hits.
Still, that also showed they had the right to at least face them head-on.
"The real issue isn't us. Even if we hold them back, the others will still be beaten by enemies several times stronger than them.
That's the part we can't change."
"At least for now, I think the same as Haku. This kind of sacrifice isn't worth it. There's no need at all."
Orochimaru's words made his old comrade Kakuzu sneer.
"Looks like not only your face, Orochimaru, but even your personality has changed.
If I didn't know you were a pirate, I'd think you were the Hokage."
For Kakuzu, who usually stayed quiet, to speak up now—and to mock Orochimaru, someone he had history with—was enough to show his deep resentment toward the Hokage.
He bore no grudge against anyone else, but when it came to the Hokage, it was different.
"Ah, speaking of which, if it weren't for Minato back then, I might have become Hokage already, hahaha!"
Orochimaru admitted Kakuzu's words without hesitation.
There was no trace of annoyance in his tone, just like when he personally told Kidomaru and the others after retreating from the Land of Wind.
Orochimaru had indeed changed.
He was still the same Orochimaru, but under his great ambition, he had already made a certain shift. The position he aimed for was harder to reach than Hokage.
He was still the same Orochimaru who would stop at nothing, but now he was also someone willing to bow his head.
As this war dragged on, his fame would only grow higher. By the time the war ended, with the stories of those who survived, Orochimaru becoming the second Four Emperors by nightfall wouldn't be a problem.
However, the current Orochimaru would no longer do such things. He now had his own pride.
Instead of being acknowledged by pirates, he wanted the world government to push him up to the position of the Four Emperors.
Orochimaru's real target was none other than Master Genichi.
He wanted to make use of Genichi's life.
The life of one of the leaders of the world government was enough for Orochimaru to step into the ranks of the Four Emperors.
During his fight with Genichi, Orochimaru also noticed something.
That sword scar in the Earthly Sage Kingdom—it was left by Shanks.
This meant that Genichi had fought Shanks before, which also explained his terrifying strength.
As for why Genichi returned here, Orochimaru believed there was only one reason—to defeat Shanks.
So Orochimaru thought Genichi also needed a stepping stone.
But when they fought, Orochimaru realized something was wrong. Genichi's state was definitely not that of someone looking for a stepping stone.
That guy already had the will to die.
Although Orochimaru didn't understand why, in this situation, he didn't mind taking advantage of Genichi.
For a strong man who had also been struck down by Shanks, dying by Orochimaru's hand—that was the best ending for him.
But Orochimaru didn't say his plan out loud, and he also realized things weren't that simple.
He couldn't waste time here any longer. The fact that Shanks had made a move meant time was running out.
Whether his plan succeeded or not, he had to return immediately.
By now, Suigetsu and Jugo had already left, and Orochimaru had been ready to retreat for a while.
"Is our power still not enough?"
Nagato could only sigh at this moment. Although the outcome was bad, it was the truth—the only result of this battle was their defeat.
"The world government might seem like it just formed, but the rules of the ninja world have been in place for thousands of years. The order represented by the world nobles has lasted this long. That kind of foundation isn't easy to break."
"At most, we can hold on for another week. In that week, there will be many lost battles. Our defeat might make others realize something."
"It's about time to head for the New World."
After saying that, Orochimaru left the revolutionary army's side.
Nagato and Itachi exchanged a look. Itachi could only nod helplessly. Orochimaru wasn't wrong—they couldn't win.
Even with so many White Zetsu, they still couldn't win.
As the main producer of White Zetsu, the revolutionary army's main fighting force was basically White Zetsu. Without them, they wouldn't even have this many people gathered.
Meanwhile, outside, on his way back, Orochimaru couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
He turned his head to look at the Revolutionary Army's camp again, still unable to figure out what was wrong. But his gut told him something wasn't right.
At this moment, the awakened White Zetsu in the Revolutionary Army camp felt like they were facing a dragon when they saw Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's gaze wasn't cold, but under that overwhelming pressure, the White Zetsu could only tremble, not daring to show the slightest flaw.
In the end, Orochimaru didn't notice anything unusual about them.
When Orochimaru finally left, the White Zetsu guarding the gate let out a long breath of relief, their tense nerves finally relaxing.
"Are we getting ready to pull out?"
"Looks like time is running out."
"A battlefield like this is the easiest place to find Devil Fruits. Without enough Devil Fruits, we can't even dream of changing the current situation—let alone having the right to negotiate."
White Zetsu in different places changed in different ways because of what they saw and learned.
For the White Zetsu within the Revolutionary Army right now, they had gotten better at using the army's techniques.
Without enough strength, they chose to hide. Even those White Zetsu who had awakened self-awareness wouldn't reveal themselves in a war like this.
For them right now, this was a necessary sacrifice—a price to pay to gather strength.
The White Zetsu had only recently awakened their own minds. Even with what little experience they had, their decisions and plans were still pretty immature.
But they did have one advantage: as the lowest-ranking White Zetsu, nobody paid attention to them.
And during the battle a few days ago, some of the White Zetsu in the Revolutionary Army had already infiltrated the Marines.
This move sounded crazy—something normal people could never pull off—but they were White Zetsu. Nobody noticed them at all.
They were basically built the same way from the start. How they ended up looking depended on what "software" got installed after they came out.
Aside from rare cases like Hinoman, most White Zetsu were in the same situation: treated like tools and throwaway parts.
Under this big trend, the White Zetsu became their own separate class. Even the White Zetsu on the Marine side chose to stand with the Revolutionary Army.
In the midst of these wars, the white force began to seep into the top of both powers.
Under the red sky, the white will started to spread everywhere.
The red of the New World… and the white of the old.
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