This time, Senshi and the people of the Kumogakure finally began proper negotiations.
Although it was Senshi who spoke directly with the high-ranking officials of the Kumogakure, for most of the discussion it was the Fourth Raikage's "brain" and stand-in, Darui, who explained the situation.
"Lord Senshi, not long ago Orochimaru appeared in the Kumogakure. He developed a jutsu and, right before the Fourth Raikage, resurrected the Third Raikage. But Orochimaru said that this jutsu still needs further development to truly bring the Third Raikage back to life. After that…"
Darui recounted Orochimaru's activities in the Kumogakure in full detail for Senshi.
In short, Orochimaru used the Third Raikage's resurrection as a pretext to demand a research budget of one billion ryō from the Kumogakure.
Then, the usual formula followed—same old trick, same old taste. As soon as Orochimaru took the money, he ran off!
But he was wearing that black robe with red clouds, which became a crucial lead for the Kumogakure to trace his whereabouts.
After hearing it all, Senshi couldn't help but laugh wryly. Turned out he'd been framed by Orochimaru!
"You snake-skinned freak! This is ridiculous! Fine, fine!"
"So that's how you make your money, huh? Developing that 'Great Snake Park' scam and taking it all the way to the Kumo. The key point is, Orochimaru was worried no one would know he's a member of the Akatsuki, so he wore the black robe with red clouds everywhere he went, scamming people. Naturally, that trashed Akatsuki's reputation. I just arrived in Kumo, and got surrounded by a gang of big, tough guys!"
"With Orochimaru causing all this chaos, how am I supposed to happily do my missions in the Kumo? No wonder when Danzo saw me wearing the red-cloud robe that time, he reacted so strongly; he must've thought I'm just like Orochimaru—birds of a feather."
At that moment, an idea suddenly came to Senshi. He looked at the Fourth Raikage and said, "A-bro, what does the Kumo plan to do about Orochimaru?"
The Fourth Raikage snorted and said, "We plan to capture Orochimaru, get our money back, and then give him the harshest possible punishment!"
Hearing that, Senshi's eyes lit up. "A-bro, does the Kumo already have a plan?"
This time, the Fourth Raikage hesitated slightly.
As Senshi's excellent little assistant, Karin immediately understood what she needed to do upon seeing this. She carefully chose her words, then spoke up:
"Lord Raikage, if you don't have a great plan in place, Senshi can offer assistance. Orochimaru's behavior was just too vile, using such unethical methods to con people out of money! This cannot be tolerated. We have to capture him and bring him to justice!"
Karin had been following Senshi for a long time now, and she had developed a bit of a mischievous streak. Back when Orochimaru terrified her, she jotted that down in her little "notebook of grudges," and she was just waiting for a chance to stir up trouble for Orochimaru.
When A-B, Darui, and the others heard Karin, they all looked at Senshi. Finally, the Fourth Raikage asked:
"You have a way to catch Orochimaru?"
Senshi waved his hand:
"It's not a matter of having a way or not, A-bro. Capturing him is guaranteed!"
The Fourth Raikage frowned.
"Your strength is great, but Orochimaru isn't weak, either. Not long ago, I fought him myself. He has extremely high resistance to Lightning-style chakra. Besides, you two belong to the same organization—he probably knows plenty of intel about you. Capturing him might not be so easy."
Senshi: "(O_O)???"
Hearing the Raikage say this, Senshi realized he was being underestimated! Didn't the Raikage see how crazy that operation of his was just now? One misstep and the Lightning Lord might've been done for!
So Senshi looked at the Fourth Raikage seriously and said, "Raikage, do you want Orochimaru or not? As long as you say the word, I'll deliver him to you in no time!"
A-B both fell silent, while the Fourth Raikage hesitated slightly and then looked at Darui. Darui nodded and said, "Lord Raikage, to my knowledge, Senshi's ability and reputation have no issues at all. If Lord Senshi is willing to get involved, it's probably only a matter of time before Orochimaru is captured."
As the Fourth Raikage's right-hand man, Darui was privy to a lot of information. He had heard all about Senshi's hundred-percent success rate on missions. And today, he'd finally witnessed it with his own eyes.
Since Darui said so, the Fourth Raikage nodded:
"Then let's have you bring Orochimaru back."
Hearing this, Senshi rubbed his hands and showed a professional smile:
"Well, you understand, right? There's a service fee for all this~"
The Fourth Raikage knitted his brow.
"How much are you asking for?"
Senshi's smile became even brighter as he held up one finger.
The Raikage ventured, "Ten million?"
Senshi shook his head:
"A-bro, since you've fought Orochimaru, do you think that price is suitable? A ninja as dangerous as Orochimaru would cost at least 100 million ryō to bring in."
When the Raikage heard that, he immediately shook his head. Not long ago, Orochimaru had scammed them out of one billion ryō, and now Senshi was asking for another hundred million! And on top of that, Senshi and Orochimaru were from the same organization; how could the Raikage trust him?
The Raikage admitted, "Not long ago, Orochimaru scammed us out of ten times that amount—one billion. And the most infuriating part is that he used reviving my father as a pretense."
When Senshi heard that, he cursed silently:
"Damn that snake-skin freak, messing up my plans. Just you wait!"
After cursing Orochimaru in his mind, Senshi put on his professional smile again and continued negotiating with the Raikage, his potential client:
"A-bro, I'm not like Orochimaru! I always do the work first, then collect payment. I'd never run off the way he did. You can check my track record in the black market!"
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage relaxed a bit. After thinking it over, he said, "One hundred million is too much. An elite jōnin's bounty on the black market is at most thirty million. At best, Kumogakure will pay sixty million to hire you for this!"
Senshi chuckled. Now the Raikage was trying to talk "market rates," but that was Senshi's area of expertise:
"A-bro, that's not how you calculate it. An elite ninja worth thirty million on the black market would die in seconds against Orochimaru. One goes, one dies; two go, two die. A-bro, do you think one hundred million is really that high to deal with someone like Orochimaru?"
This time, the Fourth Raikage fell silent. Then, after conferring with Killer B, Darui, and Samui, they concluded that getting Orochimaru back—along with the money he stole—was worth the cost.
So the Raikage looked at Senshi and said,
"Kumogakure will pay eighty million ryō to hire you to capture Orochimaru and bring him back to us!"
That price was already quite high. After all, the one billion that Orochimaru had stolen was originally Kumogakure's money. If they failed, they lost one billion anyway. If they succeeded by hiring Senshi, they'd have to part with an extra eighty million on top of that, which still hurt.
Yet Senshi shook his head, looking as though he was in anguish:
"Eighty million ryō? No, no, that won't do. Orochimaru is my beloved friend—someone as close as family, a brother-in-arms, a comrade in the same group…"
Fourth Raikage: "(O_O)???"
Killer B: "(O_O)???"
Senshi's words left the Kumogakure crowd, especially the A-B Brothers, stunned.
What? He's your brother-in-arms but you're still going to sell him out just like that?
"A hundred million. Non-negotiable. You guys have no idea how tricky Orochimaru can be."
After thinking it over for a moment, the Fourth Raikage finally agreed to that price.
"Fine. Kumogakure will pay you one hundred million ryō to capture Orochimaru!"
[Mission Accepted!]
[Client: Fourth Raikage A]
[Goal: Capture Orochimaru for the Kumogakure]
[Reward: 100 million ryō]
[Mission Rank: S]
[Bonus: 100,000 Employment points]
Receiving the system notification, Senshi was thrilled—what easy money! In the original timeline, after Orochimaru defected from the Akatsuki, even the organization couldn't do anything about him. Catching him could easily cost billions, with no guarantee of success. But for Senshi, it was different. He had already placed a space-time mark on Orochimaru. Catching him would be a piece of cake!
So Senshi activated his unique ability and opened a dark-red, black-hole-like portal, preparing to summon Orochimaru for the capture…
…
Near Amegakure, in one of Orochimaru's secret research bases…
Orochimaru was living quite comfortably these days. He had fully realized the importance of money. If he had tried acquiring the Sharingan, the Byakugan, and the Yamata no Orochi Fruit purely on his own, he might not have obtained a single one by now.
He had already attempted to snatch the Sharingan in the past, but he ended up getting taught a lesson by Itachi. As for the Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan, it was no simpler. Senshi had previously explained how difficult that could be. And the most difficult target of all was the Yamata no Orochi Fruit. Orochimaru knew almost nothing about it—no leads at all—so obtaining it seemed impossible. This alone showed how extensive Senshi's intelligence network was: something Orochimaru couldn't even get a single clue about, yet Senshi could casually source it.
Within his lab, Orochimaru was busily studying the Yamata no Orochi Fruit, along with the Sharingan and the Byakugan. As a scientist, of course he had to research them thoroughly. He already tried a setup with the Byakugan in his left eye and the Sharingan in his right, but it didn't quite work out. Now his setup was: his main body had transplanted a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan, and on one of the serpent heads in his Yamata no Orochi form, he'd transplanted a pair of Byakugan.
After a period of intense research, he could already manipulate his eight-headed serpent form at will—something akin to partial transformations of a tailed beast. He could summon eight heads simultaneously, or remain in normal human form while summoning just one serpent head, creating a sort of "chimera" look. It looked odd, but it worked. Because the snake head had independent consciousness, he could use both Sharingan and Byakugan simultaneously.
At the moment, he was in a sealed training chamber where walls on all sides were embedded with various mechanisms. He turned to Kabuto.
"Kabuto, begin."
Kabuto pressed a button to activate the devices. Instantly, countless shuriken, kunai, and a flurry of exploding tags and senbon came from all directions in a storm of attacks. Under normal circumstances, this barrage matched the intensity of hundreds or even thousands of shinobi attacking at once.
With the Sharingan and Byakugan's enhanced vision, Orochimaru smoothly evaded, parried, or used ninjutsu to block every single attack. Sometimes, he even fired back with his own shuriken to intercept them. By the end of it, Orochimaru remained unscathed.
This made him even fonder of the Sharingan and Byakugan. He'd only just begun researching these abilities in tandem with the Yamata no Orochi Fruit; once he'd tapped into their full potential, he would surely become incredibly strong.
He couldn't help thinking, "Relying on Senshi's services was definitely a wise choice."
What Orochimaru didn't know was that, if he paid enough, Senshi could even help him evolve the Sharingan into the Mangekyō, or help the Byakugan become the Tenseigan. While Orochimaru was still deep in research, Kabuto remained by his side, assisting him. Orochimaru tested illusions on Kabuto, and with three-tomoe Sharingan, he was now every bit as proficient as an Uchiha at using genjutsu.
This sparked Kabuto's own desire for the Yamata no Orochi Fruit—its power was too great, offering endless avenues for research. Not to mention, it had a certain artistry to it.
"We have to make more money," Kabuto thought. "Following Orochimaru is the way to go."
After finishing his training, Orochimaru walked out and said to Kabuto, "Kabuto, pack up. We're going to another place to make money."
Kabuto nodded. "Lord Orochimaru, where are we headed next?"
Before he even finished his sentence, he realized Orochimaru had vanished in the blink of an eye.
…
Back at the entrance of the Kumogakure…
That familiar warped sensation hit Orochimaru, and he immediately knew it was Senshi meddling with space-time again. When he landed, Orochimaru stared at Senshi, exasperated.
"Senshi, what are you up to now?"
Without answering, Senshi spoke in a frosty tone:
"Snake-skin freak! You've been wearing Akatsuki robes everywhere, scamming people and ruining our organization's reputation. That's one thing, but you've also interfered with my own missions in the Kumo—do you realize how big a hassle you've caused me? Where did you get the nerve to do something like that? What do you have to say for yourself?"
After Senshi finished, Karin popped her head out from behind him, adding fuel to the fire:
"Idiot scumbag! Snake-skin freak! You're done for! You messed up Senshi's mission—how do you think you should be punished?"
Before Orochimaru could answer, the Fourth Raikage—fuming with anger—charged forward.
His eyes were practically bulging in rage as he glared at Orochimaru:
"Orochimaru, where's my money?!"
Orochimaru: "(O_O)!!!"
Heck, this is a high-level trap, Orochimaru thought. Indeed, the entire Kumo was enraged to the extreme. Before, they couldn't find Orochimaru. But now that Senshi had brought him straight to them, they were determined to punish him severely. The hotheaded Raikage was already set on using brute force.
Veins popping, the Raikage roared, "Orochimaru, you bastard, you dare scam the Kumo out of money! And even used reviving my father as an excuse! Pay it back right now, or we'll keep you here as a specimen!"
As his anger mounted, the Raikage could no longer contain himself. Just as he was about to deliver a fist to Orochimaru's face, Senshi stepped in:
"Wait!"
The Fourth Raikage, already infuriated, became even angrier.
He glared at Senshi:
"Uzumaki Senshi, what is the meaning of this? Didn't you say you were reliable and had no credibility issues? Why are you stopping me now? So you two really are in it together!"
Facing the nearly explosive rage of the Fourth Raikage, Senshi cleared his throat and said,
"A-bro, you haven't paid me yet. I can't just hand him over. What if you deny it afterward?"
All the Kumogakure ninja: "(⊙_⊙)!!!"
They were all stunned. They weren't Orochimaru—how could he possibly think they'd refuse to pay?
Despite feeling furious, the Raikage remembered his billion ryō and Senshi's troublesome nature. In the end, he chose to pay up first. He gave a decisive order to Darui:
"Darui, go fetch one hundred million ryō from the village treasury!"
"Yes!" Darui responded instantly.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, finally pieced together the situation. In his original plan, it was supposed to be foolproof: get the money, then disappear. After hitting all the big targets for easy money, he would convert that cash into valuable items through Senshi. But now he discovered a loophole in this plan: Senshi was a double-edged sword. He could be hired by anyone. If someone else hired him first, Orochimaru could be in deep trouble.
Now that he understood the score, Orochimaru quickly came up with a countermeasure. He turned to Senshi and said,
"Senshi! I'll pay you two hundred million to get me out of here—away from the Kumo!"
He figured this was going to be a battle of whoever offered more money. Kumo's funds came from legitimate sources, but his money was basically gotten through the "Great Snake Park" con—like it fell from the sky. If the two sides tried to outbid each other, he could definitely raise the stakes higher than them. The Raikage was already reluctant to pay a hundred million; he surely wouldn't keep matching Orochimaru's price hikes.
All the Kumogakure shinobi turned pale. Indeed, if Orochimaru pushed it to a billion, would they pay 1.1 billion just to catch him? That would turn a billion-ryō loss into a 1.1-billion-ryō disaster.
Just as tension mounted, Senshi glanced at Orochimaru with a sidelong look—and declined. Sure, netting a cool extra billion from Orochimaru was tempting, but that would destroy Senshi's reputation. Betraying a client mid-mission, right before everyone's eyes? That would ruin "Uzumaki Senshi" as a name in the black market. No one would trust him again.
So Senshi scoffed and said to Orochimaru:
"You're insulting my professional ethics. As the legend of the black market, the benchmark of this industry, I would never betray a current employer. Not in the past, not now, not in the future. Understood?"
His tone was righteous, as though delivering a sermon. But the key point Orochimaru heard was the final sentence: "I don't betray current employers." Implying: Look, snake-bro, I know you're loaded. I'll do this job properly, but I won't push you to the brink. Pick up what I'm laying down.
Orochimaru mentally ranted: "Professional ethics, my foot!" But he caught the subtext Senshi was hinting at.
Just then, Darui returned carrying a large box of money, swiftly reappearing beside the Raikage.
"Lord Raikage, I've brought the hundred million."
The Fourth Raikage nodded and gestured at Senshi:
"Give it to him."
Darui did so without hesitation. Senshi took the cash, and a system alert pinged in his mind:
[Mission Complete!]
[Client: Fourth Raikage A]
[Goal: Capture Orochimaru for the Kumogakure]
[Reward: 100 million ryō]
[Mission Rank: S]
[Bonus: 100,000 Employment points]
With the mission done and the money and points in hand, Senshi cheerfully kicked Orochimaru to the Raikage's feet. Still, he cast a subtle glance at Orochimaru, just to make sure the message was received.
Then he looked up and said to the Raikage and the others:
"All right! A-bro, B-bro, Orochimaru is all yours now. Our cooperation is complete. Take him away—don't block the village entrance. You're in the way of the merchant caravan I'm escorting!"
~~~
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