Akihara Kagura looked at Orochimaru, a hint of sincerity in his eyes: "That's why I've always wanted to maintain our relationship, even helping you search for vessels..."
"Of course."
Akihara Kagura then broke his own sincerity, casually saying: "The most important thing is, I never had enough confidence to kill you. I also believe that your abilities are still very useful, and killing you would be more loss than gain..."
"So..."
"Lord Orochimaru..."
"Don't fall into becoming a useless weakling..."
Akihara Kagura's eyes once again showed a hint of sincerity: "If you fall and become a weakling, you won't be able to stand by my side like you do now."
"..."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, then he relaxed and smiled: "I won't disappoint you, Kagura-kun, but you'd better not fall behind..."
"I understand."
Akihara Kagura interrupted Orochimaru, fully understanding his meaning: "I won't disappoint Lord Orochimaru either, so let's hope from today we can truly cooperate sincerely, and try not to covet my body anymore. It bothers me, and I have to keep thinking about how to kill you..."
"Don't worry."
Orochimaru nodded, habitually licking his lips: "Even if I covet Kagura-kun's body, it would only be after I've fully grasped Kagura-kun's weaknesses, right?"
"That would be best."
"I also hope Kagura-kun doesn't always think about undermining my interests or killing my subordinates without reason..."
"I was just warning Kabuto, but I didn't expect my subordinates to act so extremely, directly killing Lord Orochimaru's subordinates..."
As Akihara Kagura was passing the blame onto his subordinates, a Root Ninja appeared beside him. These Root Ninjas had long been accustomed to the intrigues between their boss and Orochimaru.
"Lord Kagura."
This Root Ninja stood beside Akihara Kagura, softly saying: "The deputy examiner of the second exam, Umino Iruka, is looking for you. It seems a test candidate has encountered a problem..."
"I know."
Akihara Kagura nodded and continued: "No matter who has a problem, we must wait until the end of the Forest of Death exam to discuss it, right?"
"That candidate is Uchiha Sasuke..."
This Root Ninja glanced at Orochimaru, continuing: "It seems Lord Orochimaru did something to Uchiha Sasuke, and now he can't move. Examiner Umino Iruka is worried about his student and wishes to ask Lord Kagura if Team 7 should forfeit..."
"No need to worry."
When Orochimaru heard this, he responded with a smile: "There's nothing wrong with that Uchiha Sasuke boy. I just gave the little fellow an interesting little gift. As long as he passes my test, he'll gain more powerful strength..."
"The Curse Seal?"
Akihara Kagura was not very optimistic about the power of the Curse Seal, but still gave Orochimaru face: "Alright, since Lord Orochimaru says Uchiha Sasuke won't have a problem, then there's no need to interfere. Inform Umino Iruka that no matter the situation, they must wait until the second exam concludes..."
As Akihara Kagura said this, he looked again at Orochimaru: "Consider this matter as Lord Orochimaru owing me a favor! In the future, lend me your Summoned Beast Manda. I'd like Manda to help me with something..."
"Manda, huh?"
Orochimaru thought of his Summoned Beast and nodded without a care: "Manda is quite evil. If you want its help, you'll need a bit of a sacrifice..."
"It's alright."
Akihara Kagura paid no mind to the matter of the sacrifice.
Because Akihara Kagura wanted Manda to help mainly to use Manda as a sacrifice for the Reanimation Jutsu, to test how much power a Summoned Beast of Manda's level could grant a reanimated ninja.