After leaving Orochimaru's lab, Kimimaro went straight to find Jugo.
Because of his uncontrollable outbursts, Jugo was always kept locked up.
In this place, besides Orochimaru, only Kimimaro could keep him under control.
Kimimaro was both Jugo's prison and his friend.
"You're in a good mood today."
Jugo's voice came from inside the cell.
The shadows covered the bars, and a hand stretched out from the darkness. A small sparrow rested lazily on the open palm, basking in the sun.
When it saw Kimimaro, it didn't fly away. Instead, it glanced at him curiously, then lay back down and continued sunbathing.
"Am I?"
Kimimaro crouched down. He wasn't sure how he felt.
"Orochimaru-sama seems to have found a way to cure my clan's disease, but..."
"But it seems he no longer needs my body."
Kimimaro's voice was calm.
His position had always been special. He was once Orochimaru's most trusted tool, and there was no doubt that his body was the most suitable for Orochimaru's needs.
Kimimaro had always believed that too. The reason he existed was for Orochimaru.
But today, he realized he was wrong. Orochimaru-sama no longer seemed to care about his body. Instead, he cared about his life.
His emotions were complicated—maybe even lost.
"Maybe... Orochimaru-sama needs companions more than tools."
Kimimaro wasn't sure why he said that. He didn't even know where the thought came from.
But thinking about how Orochimaru treated the Sound Four, and how he had been searching for Hiruko lately...
Kimimaro suddenly had the feeling that Orochimaru-sama wasn't looking for tools. He was looking for companions.
But did they really have the right to be his companions?
Kimimaro was unsure.
Maybe even Orochimaru hadn't noticed it himself.
When faced with the tides of time, even someone like Orochimaru couldn't help but start looking for people to stand beside him.
This was Orochimaru's instinct, one he developed after surviving two ninja world wars. Now, seeing the new era unfolding, that same instinct kicked in again.
In the tide of history, even someone like him had to find reliable allies.
In this era, there was only one Shanks.
Shanks could carve out a path on his own, and once that path was made, countless people would follow.
As history surged forward, more heroes would rise to the top of the wave. To avoid being swept away, the only choice was to cooperate—to stand together with trusted allies. The more people there were, the safer it would be.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru received new information, this time from Kusagakure.
It was no surprise—Kusagakure had always been skilled at political maneuvering. They had a way of getting their hands on news from the Five Great Ninja Villages before anyone else.
"Kirigakure coup. Jonin Terumi Mei led the uprising. The Fourth Mizukage and the Three-Tails died in the rebellion.
Terumi Mei officially takes the position of Mizukage. The tribute money from the Land of Water was stolen by Kirigakure rogue ninja Zabuza."
"Former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza, has formed the Blade-less Pirates and renamed himself 'Zan'.
Kirigakure issues a bounty on Blade-less Pirates captain Zan: 350 million. A bounty is also placed on his vice-captain: 50 million."
"Kirigakure issues a bounty on Four Emperors Red-Haired Shanks: 500 million."
Orochimaru was stunned.
Damn it. Someone jumped ahead of him.
It was all that old witch's fault—if she had shared everything she knew sooner, he would've finished making the Devil Fruits by now.
And judging from this, Shanks had already made his move. The ninja world was about to change.
"Damn that old thing in Ryuchi Cave."
Orochimaru could only curse the White Snake Sage. If that snake hadn't been so difficult to deal with, would they have wasted so much time?
And now, looking at this, someone had already taken the lead.
From the looks of it, Kirigakure had probably been in contact with the Blade-less Pirates for a while and knew all about Shanks.
But Orochimaru hadn't finished reading the report from Kusagakure yet.
There were two pages. He turned to the second one.
It was a bounty notice.
"New World Four Emperors. The strongest pirate. Red-Haired Shanks!"
"Bounty: 500 million."
"Strength: Unknown. But stronger than an elite jonin. At least five elite jonin required to fight him."
"Other information: Uzumaki clan member. Large chakra reserves. Skilled in sealing techniques and sensory ninjutsu… Highly likely to possess powerful swordsmanship."
That was all the report said—no photo, no drawing, barely any details.
Orochimaru immediately knew the information was wrong. Kirigakure must have pieced this together from scraps of intelligence.
The real information was handwritten on the bounty notice.
Orochimaru recognized the handwriting. It was Kakuzu's.
Kakuzu's notes were short.
"Strength: A man even Itachi wouldn't dare face. Taijutsu far surpasses Kisame. Overall strength—stronger than me."
That was all he wrote.
After writing that, Kakuzu simply crossed out the bounty notice.
A job like this? Whoever wanted to take it could go ahead.
Even if the bounty was five billion, let alone five hundred million, Kakuzu wouldn't touch it.
He wouldn't have enough lives even if he had five.
Orochimaru figured it out in an instant.
"Looks like the Akatsuki have also made contact with Shanks…"
Then he suddenly realized—he wasn't just a step behind. He was way too late.
As for the bounty listed above, Orochimaru found it ridiculous.
Kakuzu, back when he mentioned fighting the First Hokage, had only said one thing—"Stronger than me."
Even Orochimaru could see what that meant. If this intel came from Kakuzu, then it had to be true.
"We can only go after the Poneglyphs now.
The Chunin Exams in Konohagakure should have started. Kirigakure is also too busy dealing with its own problems. All we need to do is leak some information to keep the other villages distracted."
"It's time to put the Konohagakure Destruction Plan into action."
Orochimaru couldn't afford to wait any longer.
"There should be a Poneglyph hidden somewhere in the Uchiha clan.
Zobei and Kotarou are completely useless—they still haven't sent back any information. Looks like I'll have to send Kabuto to handle it once the destruction plan begins."
"As for the First and Second Hokage…"
Orochimaru thought for a long time. But when he recalled Kakuzu's words—"Stronger than me"—he finally made up his mind.
Releasing the control completely? Not a chance.
Kakuzu had five lives. Orochimaru only had two.
Even if he wanted to uncover the true history, now wasn't the time.
What if, the moment he lifted the control, the First and Second Hokage killed him on the spot?
"Such a hassle… If only those two were still around."
Orochimaru lit the intel in his hands on fire.
The ashes drifted down, scattering at his feet as he stepped out of his underground lab.
The wind at his feet grew stronger.
The falling ashes changed color, blending into the swirling yellow sand.
A trail of footprints stretched across the desert.
Orochimaru stood at the front of the group, gazing into the distance.
His venomous eyes remained calm beneath his cloak.
The fierce wind whipped at their cloaks, and sand pelted Orochimaru's face.
"The wind is strong today," a ninja behind him said.
"The Blade-less Pirates and the Akatsuki have already set sail.
If we want to catch up, we'll have to ride the storm and break through the waves of the old era."
At this moment, Orochimaru's eyes were filled with determination.
He knew the plan was risky.
But it was worth trying.
"The stronger the wind in the Land of Wind, the better."
"It's time for us to set sail as well."
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