"I..."
Hanzō's face flushed red, but after struggling for a long time, he couldn't utter a single word.
Aoi Ren's words were like a sharp blade, mercilessly cutting open the wounds Hanzō had carefully hidden away—only to rub salt deep into them.
Aoi Ren watched coldly, not the least bit afraid of provoking Hanzō. To complete this mission, he first had to reignite Hanzō's fighting spirit.
If Hanzō lacked even the ability to reflect on himself, Aoi Ren would simply abandon the task.
After a long pause, Hanzō finally came to his senses. He laughed bitterly and self-deprecatingly, "I really have lost. The situation now... is beyond the power of any human to reverse."
Good. As long as he is willing to face reality, there is still hope.
"If human power isn't enough, then become a god!" Aoi Ren narrowed his eyes, his voice persuasive and seductive.
"From this day forward, become a god. It's not too late to change everything!"
"Become a god?"
Hanzō's eyes widened in bewilderment. "Does such a thing truly exist? What... what must I do?"
He took the bait! A spark of hope had been reignited in Hanzō's heart.
But now was not the time to execute the full plan. First, he needed to build Hanzō's absolute trust.
That was easy to achieve—all he needed was a pledge of loyalty, a gesture that would instantly bind them closer.
And there was one perfect candidate for that gesture.
"Patience," Aoi Ren said with a cold smirk. "Before that, there is someone we must kill."
"Someone?"
"Exactly." Aoi Ren nodded gravely. "This person is crucial to everything we plan to do. If we don't eliminate him now, he will inevitably cause trouble later."
"Who is it?"
"Orochimaru."
"Then I shall return and kill him right now!" Hanzō, newly filled with purpose, nearly lost all reason in his eagerness.
"Calm down. If you don't want Konoha to wipe your nation off the map, we must kill him quietly and secretly."
Aoi Ren smiled and turned to leave, leaving behind only a single white snake for Hanzō.
---
When Tsunade returned to the camp, Aoi Ren was already sitting obediently on his bed, blinking his big, innocent eyes.
"You're back, big sister? Where are those two brothers from before?"
"Jiraiya... that idiot, took in a few brats as students," Tsunade said, shaking her head helplessly.
"And Orochimaru... he's been acting strange and secretive. I have no idea what he's up to."
Just as expected, Jiraiya had taken Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan under his wing, teaching them carefully just as history recorded.
The feeling of the Rinnegan being so close at hand... it was almost overwhelming.
But Aoi Ren forced himself to stay calm. There were simply too many examples in history where greed led to reckless actions, resulting in total defeat.
He waited quietly until deep night fell, then slipped silently out of the tent.
Moving through the darkness toward the deep, dense mountains, he murmured mysterious words under his breath...
Meanwhile, a grey-scaled snake flicked its tongue and slithered straight toward Orochimaru's tent.
"This kid... there is definitely something wrong with him." Orochimaru's eyes glinted with malice as he caressed the grey snake coiled around his arm.
"Let me see then... exactly what secrets are you hiding?"
Orochimaru crouched low and slipped out of the tent, following the trail Aoi Ren had left, disappearing into the shadows.
Sensing Orochimaru's movement, Aoi Ren smiled and sped up, heading deeper into the remote swamps and thick woods.
"Think you can shake me off in this forest?" Orochimaru scoffed disdainfully.
His body transformed entirely into a massive grey serpent, slithering rapidly through the rough, tangled terrain.
At this moment, all pretense was dropped. What began as a silent tailing had turned into a high-speed, desperate chase through the wilds.
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