Speaking of Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru's expression changed slightly.
Before fighting Itachi, he had never imagined that he—someone who once used genjutsu to control the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—would suffer such a heavy loss in a genjutsu battle. If he hadn't prepared in advance, he might have actually died at Itachi's hands.
And this matter had always been a secret. Unexpectedly, it had been discovered by Uzumaki Mianma.
At this moment, Uchiha Shisui said expressionlessly, "Lord Mianma is right. You can try a sneak attack on me, but if you want to take action against Uzumaki Village, you'd better weigh your own strength."
Orochimaru was like a master of face-changing opera—his expression shifted instantly. "I was just joking earlier. I'm not very interested in the Sharingan. I only came here to pay respects to an old friend who died. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have left Konohagakure. I had to come and confirm whether he was truly dead."
Naruto glanced at Orochimaru, then motioned for Shisui to step back and said, "Drop the lousy act and get to the point. When Pain and I hunted down Danzō, how much of Danzō's legacy did you take?"
"Not much, just a few laboratories and some real estate."
Orochimaru clearly didn't want to dwell on the topic and brushed it off casually before continuing more seriously, "Leader Mianma, I came this time to prepare for a major operation—and to seek your cooperation."
"What major operation?" Naruto replied indifferently. "An invasion by Kumogakure or Iwagakure? A joint suppression of the Akatsuki? Don't tell me you're planning a counterattack on Konoha—I remember you're on decent terms with Jiraiya."
"It has nothing to do with that idiot…"
A trace of nostalgia flashed in Orochimaru's eyes before he continued, "I'm here to invite you to hunt Sunagakure. The Sand Village is so weak—it shouldn't occupy such a vast territory."
"I'm not interested in Sunagakure, and Uzushio Village doesn't have the capacity to absorb such a large territory. Maintaining the current lands of Uzumaki Village and the Land of Waves is enough for me."
Naruto shook his head slightly, rejecting Orochimaru's plan outright. He had no intention of a snake swallowing a whale.
Orochimaru didn't give up and continued persuading, "As far as I know, Kirigakure should already be within your sphere of influence. If the war is launched in the name of Kirigakure, taking over the Land of Wind shouldn't be too difficult."
Naruto looked at him coldly. "I'm not a warmonger who starts conflicts at will. Provoking another ninja war won't benefit Uzushio Village. If you want to attack Sunagakure, don't drag me into it."
"Since Leader Mianma isn't interested, I won't force the matter."
Orochimaru paused, then added, "However, please keep our conversation confidential. Once I take control of Sunagakure, I'll secretly assist you in dealing with the Akatsuki."
Naruto said meaningfully, "Are you so sure the Akatsuki is my enemy?"
Orochimaru nodded. "Their goal is to collect tailed beasts, and you are a Jinchūriki. That's an irreconcilable conflict."
"Knowing too much isn't always a good thing…"
Naruto paused, then continued, "I won't interfere with your actions regarding Sunagakure, but I want the techniques related to the Cursed Seal. Don't try to brush me off this time."
"Why are you so fixated on the Cursed Seal? You've already mastered senjutsu."
Orochimaru had always been puzzled. He studied the Cursed Seal because he couldn't use Sage Mode, but Naruto clearly could—so why pursue it anyway?
"Compared to the so-called Ryūchi Cave senjutsu, I'm more optimistic about the future of Cursed Seal technology. Don't you want to create a form of senjutsu suitable for ordinary ninja?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru's eyes lit up. Creating a version of senjutsu accessible to humans had always been one of his ambitions.
After thinking for a moment, Orochimaru said, "Do you want to research Cursed Seal technology together? If you can provide some of your cellular tissue, it would greatly accelerate the process."
Naruto ignored the underlying scheme and shook his head. "Forget it. I won't provide experimental material. But I can give you an idea regarding Cursed Seal development."
"I still remember the White Zetsu corpse I gave you. If you fuse its cells with those of Jūgo, you might be able to clone a ninja naturally compatible with Sage Mode."
Orochimaru nodded—this idea was indeed promising.
Under current conditions, the mortality rate of both the Heaven and Earth Cursed Seals was extremely high. Only Kimimaro had successfully accepted the Earth Cursed Seal; the rest could only handle weakened versions, raising their strength at best from low-level ninja to chūnin.
Although there was no shortage of test subjects in war-torn regions, the preparation process for transplanting the Cursed Seal was too complex.
If the process began at the cellular level, research time could be drastically reduced—and perhaps one day, artificial sages could be created.
However, how did Naruto know that Jūgo was the source of the Cursed Seal? Had Otogakure been infiltrated? Who was the spy?
Shaking off the thought, Orochimaru took out a scroll containing the Cursed Seal technique and tossed it to Naruto.
He wasn't worried about the technique leaking. Spreading it would actually expand the pool of test subjects and reduce his own workload. After glancing at Naruto's black fox mask, Orochimaru sank into the ground and quickly left the range of perception.
After receiving the scroll, Naruto glanced at it briefly before storing it away.
He didn't care much about Orochimaru's probing gaze. After interacting and clashing with major figures in the ninja world, his true identity had long been guessed by many.
He had already moved past the stage of hiding his identity—the mask was merely to cover his overly handsome, youthful face.
Compared to most of the powerful figures in the ninja world, he was simply too young. Even though nearly three years had passed since the Uchiha massacre, his real age still lacked the authority expected of a Kage-level figure.
However, even though Konoha's Hokage had changed from the Third Hokage to Jiraiya, was Orochimaru still planning to launch the Konoha Crush?
Recalling the details of that plan, Naruto couldn't help but feel that Orochimaru's obsession with Konoha ran deep. Despite becoming an S-rank rogue ninja, he still seemed fixated on its future—even to the point of killing his own teacher and the Fourth Kazekage.
Pulling his thoughts back, Naruto looked toward the Land of Fire.
As the ninja village occupying the most fertile and central region of the ninja world, Konoha was undoubtedly its core. Every move it made influenced the entire world.
After returning to Uzushio Village, aside from developing his own forces, it was time for him to start paying closer attention to Konoha.
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