War Clouds

After listening to Obito Uchiha’s explanation, Yota nodded in understanding.

Under these circumstances, if Konoha retreated again, it would be completely exposing its weakness. Even if the other ninja villages had yet to recover their strength, they certainly would not mind taking a bite out of this juicy prey. One misstep, and Konoha could once again end up besieged by several major ninja villages.

So even if the Third Hokage did not want a war right now, he still had to fight Kumogakure. The only question was what Kumogakure was thinking now.

Logically speaking, the Third Great Ninja War had ended only recently, and Kumogakure was not in much better shape. It was unlikely that they would truly fight Konoha to the death. In the original story, that inconclusive battle had ended partly because of Hizashi Hyuga’s sacrifice, but Kumogakure’s own poor condition had also been a factor.

Still, it was hard to say. For one thing, when those Kumogakure brutes got carried away, they truly ignored everything else. For another, Yota had broken into Konoha twice in a row, causing quite a butterfly effect. Perhaps the other ninja villages had now seen Konoha’s weakness. Under such circumstances, Kumogakure might really be considering a direct clash with Konoha.

Still, the White Zetsu under Obito Uchiha’s command were really useful. Yota cast Black-and-White Zetsu an envious glance.

This war was about to break out, yet even Orochimaru’s Sound Ninja Village had received no news. Of course, Orochimaru’s trip to the Star Ninja Village had certainly delayed the flow of information, but it still showed just how powerful White Zetsu’s intelligence-gathering abilities were.

"Then what exactly are your thoughts, Leader?" Yota turned to Deva Path Pain. Although Nagato Uzumaki was actually being impersonated by Yota’s Wood Clone, the clone and the original shared the same consciousness but were not mentally connected. Thus, Yota did not know what his clone had discussed with Obito Uchiha.

"For now, we will wait and see how the battle between Konoha and Kumogakure develops. But everyone must be prepared to intervene at any time," Deva Path Pain said.

"Intervene in the battle? To collect the tailed beasts? Konoha has the Nine-Tails. Kumogakure has the Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails…"

Kakuzu spoke in a muffled voice.

"No. The organization’s first priority remains accumulating wealth," Deva Path Pain said indifferently. "We will deal with collecting the tailed beasts when the time is right."

"The reason we must prepare to intervene is because I intend to establish Akatsuki’s name. Be mentally prepared to be hired!"

"So that’s how it is." Kakuzu’s beady green eyes lit up slightly. Sasori of the Red Sand raised his head, and even Obito Uchiha nodded faintly.

All three of them were major money sinks. Kakuzu was born greedy for money, and there was no need to mention Sasori of the Red Sand, who played with figurines. As for Obito Uchiha, did they think Hashirama Cells, White Zetsu, and all those Sharingan were easy to cultivate and maintain?

"So whose employment are we accepting?" Yota curled his lip. He had not expected such a vulgar reason. What a realistic world.

Deva Path Pain spoke coldly. "Whoever pays more, we help!"

Well, that was very realistic. Terrorist organizations had to eat too. If a certain masked uncle had not been a billionaire, how could he have become the boss of a terrorist organization?

Yota withdrew his attention from the Projector Technique and sighed. Another war was about to begin.

But he was no longer the cannon fodder he had once been!

News of the war traveled quickly. Even though Yota had not said anything, Orochimaru and the others had already received word by the next morning.

"Interesting. Another war is about to begin?" Orochimaru lightly licked his lips, a calculating gleam appearing in his eyes.

Orochimaru’s transformation could be said to have begun with war. The deaths of his parents, comrades, and students one after another had made him feel the fragility of life, giving rise to his desire for immortality. Yet the current Orochimaru had instead become interested in war.

Well, the main reason was that this war would not reach his Sound Ninja Village. On the contrary, once chaos erupted, Orochimaru could stir up trouble, gather more Bloodline Limits, and lure away more geniuses.

He was now full of motivation. After Yota had transformed him into a Sage Body, he could feel that his body, which had gradually passed its prime and begun to age, had been rejuvenated.

This had completely extinguished his original intention of using Living Corpse Reincarnation. Setting aside the other benefits and the increase in strength, the Sage Body’s lifespan far exceeded that of ordinary people. Even if he could not live for thousands of years like the sages in the Summoning Sanctums, he could at least live for several centuries.

For Orochimaru, even if he wanted to change bodies, there was no body stronger or longer-lived than his current one.

He cast Yota a sinister glance. No, there was one—but unfortunately, he could not defeat him.

Even now, he still did not know exactly how strong Yota was. But precisely because he had gained a Sage Body and his strength had skyrocketed, he could instead sense Yota’s power. They were no longer on the same level.

What a pity. If a Bloodline Limit capable of performing perfect human-body modification were in his hands, he would probably have already surpassed the Sage of Six Paths!

However, if he could obtain more Bloodline Limits, his strength would improve even further. It would also become easier to fulfill his wish of learning every ninjutsu.

Normally, ninja with Bloodline Limits were people the ninja villages closely watched. Even Orochimaru found it difficult to make a move against them. But once war began, anything could happen, and the major ninja villages would not have enough manpower to keep such a close eye on those Bloodline Limit ninja.

Therefore, this war was nothing less than an opportunity for Orochimaru.

Orochimaru viewed this battle with interest, even welcoming it. Tsunade was not nearly as carefree.

No matter how many painful memories Tsunade had in Konoha, she still considered herself part of Konoha. In fact, only a small part of her reason for leaving Konoha had been disappointment and grief toward it. The larger part was because she had developed Hemophobia.

Once she left Konoha, it became difficult for news of her condition to leak out. Enemy ninja villages would have to remain wary of her, one of the Sannin. But if she had stayed in Konoha, there would have been no way to hide her Hemophobia from Konoha’s spies. After all, she was a doctor, and even during peacetime, she had to see blood.

Thus, Tsunade’s feelings for Konoha had never been severed. After receiving this news, she thought it over repeatedly before seeking out Yota.