Orochimaru Had Been Waiting for a Long Time

If the Rinnegan, known in legend as the "eye that controls life and death," appeared right before him, Orochimaru would no longer care about cooperating to attack Konoha. The Rinnegan’s value and rarity even surpassed those of the Tailed Beasts.

Shen Mo hesitated for a while.

He decided to continue observing.

Although Orochimaru was extremely powerful now, the Akatsuki Organization was not weak either. Among them were two Chest Openers who had opened more than three hundred Level 3 Chests between them.

As long as they could stand united,

at the very least, retreating would not be difficult.

At this moment, Nagato clearly had not realized that Orochimaru had discovered his Pain Heavenly Path. He had complete confidence in the strength of Pain Heavenly Path.

The unstoppable Shinra Tensei alone was enough to let him easily defeat the vast majority of enemies.

With a wave of his hand, Pain Heavenly Path easily captured an Otogakure ninja in the darkness.

He intended to use Genjutsu to ask where Orochimaru was.

However, before he could speak, the ninja he had captured spoke first:

"Are you Lord Pain?"

"⊙_⊙"

Pain Heavenly Path stopped moving. If he had been capable of showing an expression, he would have looked just as dumbfounded as Nagato.

Even an ordinary little ninja could call out his identity?

"Lord Orochimaru has been waiting for you for a long time. Please head toward the tower."

There was not the slightest trace of fear in the ninja’s voice, but when he mentioned Orochimaru, it held an obvious fanaticism.

Pain Heavenly Path fell silent for a while.

He released the ninja and stopped concealing himself, walking straight toward the tower.

The surrounding ninjas saw him, but, as expected, none of them showed any surprise.

It was almost as if Orochimaru had informed everyone in advance that he was coming.

Although he was somewhat curious about how Orochimaru had managed this, Nagato was not afraid. Without the slightest hesitation, he controlled Pain Heavenly Path and walked toward the towering structure.

Someone was already waiting there.

The tower itself was not very large. Inside, there were only walls and a single staircase in the very center that spiraled upward without end.

But the moment he entered,

Nagato could sense an indescribable pressure through Pain Heavenly Path. It was as if there were some unknown, extremely viscous energy in the air, making even the circulation of Chakra feel slightly sluggish.

He looked at the walls around him.

They were covered in all kinds of incomprehensible patterns, with black crystals embedded among them. Vaguely, it seemed as if something was constantly flowing inside.

Was this tower also something from the so-called New World?

"Lord Pain, Lord Orochimaru is waiting for you at the top of the tower." The attendant who received him led him to the foot of the stairs and stopped.

Pain Heavenly Path climbed the stairs alone, proceeding at an unhurried pace.

He had already sensed that the tower was unusual and wanted to investigate it.

Unfortunately,

even after reaching the very top of the tower, he had not discovered anything useful. He could only sense a suppressive energy continuously descending from the summit and spreading throughout the entire tower.

Then he saw Orochimaru.

Unlike his memories of the past, the aura of this cross-legged man was even more sinister than before. Within the Rinnegan’s field of vision, he also carried a strange sensation.

He was like a dead man.

"What an honored guest—the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, Lord Pain."

Orochimaru’s snake-like eyes stared at Pain Heavenly Path before him, just like a serpent in the shadows watching its prey.

"Since I’m an honored guest, don’t come to see me with such a Puppet."

Pain Heavenly Path had already discovered that Orochimaru’s body before him really was a dead man.

The beating of his heart was extremely faint, and the same was true of his blood. It was barely circulating at all.

"A Puppet? This is my true body." Orochimaru revealed a somewhat sinister smile. "On the contrary, Lord Pain, this body of yours is the real Puppet. A Puppet made from a corpse, no less. The aura of death it gives off cannot fool me now."

In fact, the moment Pain Heavenly Path had stepped into the Mage Tower, Orochimaru had already noticed.

It was a Puppet.

Not only that, he had also sensed the Chakra used to control it. Those Black Rods were like signal receivers.

That was why Orochimaru had not attacked immediately.

He was trying to find the other party’s true body.

"My true body?" Pain Heavenly Path did not believe Orochimaru at all, but he could not be bothered to care about such a matter. "I came here because I have something to discuss with you, Orochimaru."

"Oh?" Orochimaru put on an attentive expression.

"Since you obtained power from that man, you should know that you cannot defeat Konoha in terms of financial resources." Pain Heavenly Path spoke.

He understood some negotiation tactics.

At the very least, he had to establish the necessity of cooperation between both sides.

"You also obtained power from that esteemed lord?" Orochimaru’s eyes seemed to narrow slightly. "After witnessing that esteemed lord’s existence, how can you still describe him in such a disrespectful tone?"

Orochimaru had not seen the other party’s true body.

He could not determine whether the other party was a member.

But this tone

did not seem quite right.

"Hasn’t that man already made it clear that he will not interfere with our fate?" Pain Heavenly Path did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "The members of the Akatsuki Organization are all missing-nin from various villages. Before they obtain even more power, we must defeat them first."

"I see." Orochimaru understood. "Lord Pain, you have come this time to seek an alliance."

He felt a sense of delight.

Not long ago, the Akatsuki Organization had sent people to hunt him down. Now, they had taken the initiative to come and ask for cooperation.

"You could put it that way. What is your answer?" Pain Heavenly Path’s Rinnegan fixed tightly on Orochimaru.

Orochimaru said nothing.

He seemed to be thinking.

If the one here today had been Pain’s true body, there would be no need to say anything. He only had to defeat the other party, seize the Rinnegan, and then turn him into an undead creature to increase his own strength. This so-called alliance would have been meaningless to him.

But this was merely a Puppet.

"Let me ask you something first." Orochimaru slowly asked, "If Konoha is defeated, what do you plan to do? I mean, what will you do with Konoha’s ordinary ninjas and civilians?"

"If they lose the war, then naturally they must endure the suffering of defeat." Pain Heavenly Path spoke as if it were self-evident. "Only pain can make those people fear war."

Orochimaru fell silent once again, but the smile on his face grew increasingly strange.

He already had a guess.

This person before him had never met that esteemed lord. Otherwise, with such a wanton desire to slaughter, it would be impossible for him not to have been warned, just as Orochimaru had.

But whether his guess was correct or not would still depend on whether he could find this person’s true body.

—Found it!