After arriving at the barbecue restaurant, Yuzuru, Orochimaru, and Tsunade casually picked a private room.
Once several rounds of drinks passed, the atmosphere grew warmer, and the three finally relaxed enough to talk freely.
Tsunade downed the wine in her cup and asked curiously, "Orochimaru, why did you leave Konoha?"
Leaning back while eating meat, Orochimaru replied calmly, "My human experimentation in Konoha was exposed. I've already become a rat that everyone wants dead."
Hearing this, Tsunade sighed. "It was Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō again, wasn't it?"
"Those two are getting more and more obsessed with power."
"But you're the one who surprised me. I thought you didn't care about things like power."
Even if Orochimaru's reputation had plummeted, with his strength and status he could have still lived comfortably in Konoha.
But the fact he came to the Hidden Cloud meant he did value power.
Orochimaru shrugged with a smile. "Power is just a tool to achieve my goals. What I want now is to devote everything to exploring the meaning of life."
"And Yuzuru-kun happens to be able to give me what I want."
"And you?" Orochimaru asked Tsunade. "What made you decide this?"
Tsunade took another sip of wine and smiled. "After my conversation with Yuzuru that day, I suddenly felt a little unwilling to resign myself to fate."
"Konoha shouldn't be like this. The Senju clan shouldn't be reduced to what they've become."
Orochimaru poured her another drink and said softly, "Tsunade, I'm sorry about Nawaki…"
"Don't bring up the past. We have to look forward." Tsunade waved her hand and then asked, "Orochimaru, do you think Jiraiya would come to the Hidden Cloud like us?"
This time Orochimaru didn't hesitate. "He won't. Even if he comes, it'll only be to cause us trouble."
Hearing that, both Tsunade and Orochimaru fell silent.
Jiraiya was naive but incredibly stubborn. No matter how dissatisfied he was with Konoha or Sarutobi Hiruzen, he would never defect like they did.
And now that they were under Yuzuru's lead, they were destined to oppose Konoha.
The next time they met Jiraiya… it might be a battle to the death.
By the time the two snapped out of their thoughts, Yuzuru had already popped the last piece of grilled meat into his mouth.
Seeing this, Tsunade gritted her teeth. "Yuzuru, you shameless brat, at least save me one!"
Yuzuru elegantly wiped his mouth. "If you eat slowly, that's your problem. I'm not wasting time over something this pointless."
Orochimaru calmed himself and smiled. "He's right. It's getting late. Let's end today's gathering."
"Yuzuru-kun, do you have any arrangements for my upcoming work?"
Yuzuru thought for a moment and asked, "Master organ transplantation and cloning as soon as possible."
"No problem. Um, about that… experimental material…"
Yuzuru raised a brow. "Experimental material? A three-tomoe Sharingan, obviously. Once you've mastered transplantation and cloning, I'll give you a Mangekyō Sharingan."
Orochimaru froze, then suddenly grabbed Yuzuru's hand excitedly. "Yuzuru-kun, you really gave me a surprise!"
"Then I'll get to work immediately!"
With that, Orochimaru rushed out in a hurry.
Ever since witnessing Yuzuru's overwhelming power, he had been obsessed with the Sharingan.
But Yuzuru was far too strong, so he didn't dare have improper thoughts—for now.
He never imagined Yuzuru would voluntarily offer him a three-tomoe Sharingan… even a Mangekyō.
Whatever messy ambitions Orochimaru once had were blown away instantly.
From this day on, he, Orochimaru, would be Yuzuru-kun's most loyal subordinate!
After Orochimaru left, a faint smile appeared on Yuzuru's face.
Having inherited Uchiha Madara's legacy, Yuzuru possessed a hundred thousand White Zetsu and was now head of the Uchiha clan.
His hands were full of the materials Orochimaru desperately craved.
He believed that as long as he occasionally fed Orochimaru what he needed, the man would work like a nuclear-powered mule producing endless results.
And on top of that, Yuzuru could crush Orochimaru with pure strength…
Controlling him would be effortless.
"Yuzuru, come gamble with me tonight," Tsunade said suddenly.
Before, losing alone didn't bother her. But after winning a few times with Yuzuru, gambling alone suddenly felt boring.
Seeing her sincere look, Yuzuru felt secretly pleased.
It seemed his efforts were paying off—Tsunade was now voluntarily inviting him to gamble through the night.
But Yuzuru did not accept. He instead reached out and tapped her forehead. "Sorry, Tsunade. I've got things to deal with. Next time."
And he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
Tsunade froze there for a moment, then touched her forehead with a baffled smile.
Had she just been teased… by a kid from the Uchiha clan?
——
——
Late night.
Land of Wind.
Outside Sunagakure's perimeter.
Watching the patrolling shinobi on the walls, Pakura finally decided to slip in quietly.
Yuzuru's warning had planted a seed of caution in her heart regarding Rasa.
To be safe, it was better if no one knew she had returned.
As a strong candidate for the position of Kazekage, Pakura knew the village's defenses and barrier systems very well.
Without alerting a single person, she slipped smoothly into Sunagakure.
After observing the surroundings, she prepared to secretly contact her former subordinates.
Just then, she saw over a dozen members of the Sunagakure Surprise Attack Squad quickly rush past, carrying something on their backs.
Pakura hesitated, then quietly followed them.
At an empty patch of land on the outskirts of the village, a massive pit had appeared.
The ambush squad tossed whatever they were carrying into the pit and quickly left.
A faint smell of corpses lingered in the air, and Pakura's heart sank.
What had happened to the village while she was away? Why were so many bodies dumped here?
Recalling Yuzuru's earlier words, she slowly walked forward. Under the moonlight, the scene inside the pit came into full view.
The next second, her pupils constricted sharply.
Inside the pit were the bodies of her most loyal followers.