Leaving the hot spring shop, Amane couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
[As expected, I can't let people see through me so easily.]
What will Danzo do?
Orochimaru already had an answer in his heart, otherwise he wouldn't have claimed to Amane that this was a "surprise."
[Finally stepping onto the path back... After a dozen years of scheming outside, I wonder if I can still adapt?]
Thinking of the twelve genin of Konoha in the anime, now with myself added, perhaps they should be called the thirteen genin?
However, having originated from Root, I probably won't be included among them.
With a light chuckle, Amane's face couldn't help but turn a bit more serious.
[Orochimaru's intentions are clear as day. During the execution of the Konoha Crush Plan, he wants to drag Danzo down with him. And my mission is to leak his and Danzo's plan to Konoha at the critical moment.]
This way, Amane can achieve a great feat. Since the Chunin Exams have already begun, even if Konoha receives the news, it won't affect Orochimaru's plan in terms of time or manpower.
Because the Third Hokage would have no choice then, and by following Orochimaru's plan, if handled correctly, it would bring many benefits to Konoha.
Amane would just make deductions based on the original work's image.
The Third would undo Amane's Tongue Binding Seal, then likely provide her with some insurance in front of Konoha's elite, then have a talk with Danzo, and finally face Orochimaru's challenge.
And after doing all this, Konoha, besides losing a Third Hokage...
First is to completely subdue the Hidden Sand Village and establish Konoha's absolute dominance.
Second is to let the younger generation experience a true baptism of blood and fire.
[On the surface, this sequence of events seems fine, after all, the Third didn't know Jiraiya had returned at that time. And even if he did, he would likely have Jiraiya protect me while still accepting Orochimaru's challenge himself.]
A conspiracy turned into an open scheme.
After this analysis, Amane seemingly couldn't find a reason to refuse.
However... [The original work is the original work; what kind of person the Third Hokage specifically is can only be known through contact.]
So Amane must now remind herself.
She must never be pushed along by others' plans.
Having realized this, Amane already had an idea for her next step.
While conceptualizing in her mind, she continued to walk forward.
It was at this moment.
Suddenly! Amane sensed an extremely cold and dark Chakra slowly approaching her direction.
The feeling of this Chakra was actually fifty to sixty percent similar to the Uchiha Obito she had sensed in the Land of Water!
Her footsteps remained steady and her rhythm undisturbed; the current Amane was no longer the person she used to be.
Even if she encountered a Village Kage of the Five Great Nations, she would dare to fight, and for more than half of them, her chances of winning were quite high!
Soon, the sensed target appeared before Amane's eyes.
[I see, so the plot has reached this point? Now I understand Orochimaru's full intentions; I really can't be careless.]
The newcomer had a mature face that didn't look like a youth's, wearing a black robe with red clouds, hands tucked into his sleeves, with a gloomy expression and a dangerous aura.
Amane didn't dare to look into his eyes, simply because she already knew the identity of the person approaching.
Uchiha Itachi.
Also known as Itachi God, Kishimoto's favorite son.
Unlike the future where he's inseparable from Kisame, right now he was alone, with no known destination.
[I'm not wearing a disguise; will my red hair be recognized? Probably not, there are actually quite a lot of red-haired people in this world.]
For example, Ameyuri Ringo. She has red hair but is not a member of the Uzumaki Clan.
The same goes for Tayuya.
Thinking about it now, when I went to the Land of Water, maybe I didn't need to do anything with my hair at all.
As expected. Until the two passed each other, Itachi didn't even spare Amane a glance; both sides peacefully went their own ways without any actual interference.
However, that was only from an ordinary perspective.
In fact, only the two of them knew. At the moment they brushed past each other, their muscles tightened instantly, both in a state of readiness to strike with full force if anything went wrong.
Compared to Amane knowing who Itachi was because of the original work, Itachi was quite shocked in his heart.
Amane's appearance wasn't as mature as his, and his Sharingan told him that the ten-year-old girl before him wasn't using Transformation Jutsu.
He actually felt a hint of danger from her?!
[Red hair... could she be from the Uzumaki Clan?]
After passing each other, Itachi couldn't help but think.
Both sides were secretly glad it was just a chance encounter.
If they really started fighting, as "Kishimoto's favorite," Itachi's combat power could be called "indefinable."
He could always pull something new out of his sleeve to defeat powerful enemies.
What Itachi was thinking was: if a fight broke out, the Mangekyo Sharingan would likely be inevitably unleashed, leading to a decline in his physical condition and status.
Right now Sasuke is still in his growth period; his body must hold out for a few more years.
Her footsteps unconsciously arrived in front of a shop selling popsicles.
Amane bought a tear-jerking popsicle.
Then, with a snap, it was split in two.
She held up one piece and tasted it. Hmm, the flavor was similar to an old-fashioned popsicle, but the sweetness was a bit low, compensated by a hint of sea salt.
Overall, it was actually quite good.
[Itachi? Orochimaru really "trusts" me.]
There's a saying from my past life: you can deny Itachi God's character, but you can't deny his combat power. The author clearly has a preference for this character.
So Amane didn't want to fight Itachi, even though she could truly hold her own now and had means to counter Sharingan Genjutsu.
But now it seemed she couldn't avoid it.
"Do you want to eat some?"
She held up the other piece and handed it to the side.
"Then I shall accept respectfully."
Kabuto, in casual clothes, took it, and the two found a bench to sit down on. For a while, neither spoke, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Only after both had finished their popsicles did Kabuto mention the real business of coming here.
"Did you see him? That man."
He didn't describe the person's appearance, just asked if she'd seen him. Normally, an average person would definitely look at the questioner as if they were an idiot.
However, both were spies, and Amane had heard quite a bit of intelligence about the Akatsuki from Orochimaru.
"Can I opt out?" Amane said bluntly.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, a slight smirk playing on his lips:
"If there's anyone who can lend Lord Orochimaru a hand right now, it's only you. And being able to say those words means you've at least seen how 'high' he is, hasn't it?"
Can I opt out? This sentence itself represented Amane's recognition of the opponent's strength.
It just surprised Kabuto that Amane would actually say something so discouraging. Even when facing Orochimaru back when she was weak, she wasn't like this. And as far as Kabuto knew, Amane was supposed to be quite keen on fighting strong opponents.
"Only me? How is Kimimaro doing now."
Amane had a bad premonition, but he was clearly fine when they returned a month ago, and fine when the Cursed Seal was implanted.
"He's fallen ill. In short, it's better not to have him move out unless absolutely necessary for now."
"Can you treat him?"
"Hard to say. I've done some research, and it seems to be a disease unique to their clan; there are too few cases."
Silence fell between them once again.
Amane knew that if Yakushi Kabuto said so, Kimimaro's illness was indeed very troublesome; in fact, in the original work, it continued to worsen until he faced death.
However, perhaps... Amane thought of her final time in Ryūchi Cave, practicing the Sage Body.
But she quickly dismissed it in her heart.
[It's best not to let Orochimaru know about this; that's my trump card.]
While Amane thought this, Kabuto's voice rang out again.
"Amane, are you... interested in those Forbidden Jutsus of the Second Hokage?"
He paused briefly and added, "This is a message Lord Orochimaru asked me to bring to you."
"Then let's go. You should have information about him, right? Don't let there be another trap this time."
Fight!
Isn't it just Itachi God?
Although her current setup isn't as good as Dragon Kabuto's in the original work, her techniques and teammates can greatly compensate for that.
Seeing Amane suddenly change her mind, Kabuto couldn't help but smirk slightly as he continued:
"I can't guarantee personal information about him, but as for things related to the Sharingan, the accuracy is guaranteed. Hmm? What's wrong? Don't worry, the Sharingan information was provided by Orochimaru."
Watching Amane's expression shift from being full of fighting spirit to something very subtle, Kabuto was quite puzzled.
"It's nothing. Let's head out then."
[Information on the Sharingan...]
Amane felt somewhat speechless in her heart.
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