Ignoring the boisterous new member, Konan and Pain left the base.
The rest of them went about their business, taking on missions to earn bounties.
Orochimaru felt that not only Konoha, but Akatsuki should also quickly fall apart.
He had initially thought it was an organization composed of S-rank rogue ninjas, and joining it might be interesting. Later, he discovered that the internal affairs were a mess.
As a scientist with ideals and ambitions, Orochimaru began to harbor other thoughts.
He understood one truth.
People still had to rely on themselves.
So, after some time, he bribed the daimyo of the Land of Rice and established a small village called Otogakure.
Using the name of this village, he recruited talents for himself.
Orochimaru's actions naturally did not escape Akatsuki's eyes.
Pain believed that Orochimaru's behavior was a betrayal of the organization.
Thus, on a dark and stormy night, Orochimaru defected again.
Now, Orochimaru had truly become an object of scorn throughout the Ninja World.
However, various difficulties did not crush Orochimaru, who was dedicated to his career.
He not only successfully established the village but also recruited talents including Kimimaro.
Unfortunately, Kimimaro's health was not good, otherwise he would have been a suitable vessel.
One day, Orochimaru was conducting an experiment in his lab when a small white snake suddenly came to deliver a message.
A moment later, a ninja wearing glasses walked in.
"Orochimaru-sama."
"Kabuto."
Orochimaru didn't even turn his head, his sharp scalpel cutting through the experimental subject's skin.
"I remember telling you once, don't come unless it's something important."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. He knew Orochimaru was worried about him being exposed.
As a spy embedded in Konoha for many years, Kabuto was very useful.
"The fools in Konoha are busy with infighting. They don't have the energy to pay attention to me."
"Hmm?" Orochimaru's hand movements paused.
"What's been happening in Konoha recently?"
After listening to Kabuto's report, Orochimaru was silent for a while. He put down the scalpel and carefully washed the blood from his hands.
This world had finally turned into something he couldn't have imagined.
Hiruzen, the esteemed student of Tobirama, was actually sidelined by a teenager. Now, the entire Konoha was controlled by the Uchiha?
Satoshi was so powerful now, wouldn't he become Hokage in a few years?
Listening to Orochimaru's complaints, Kabuto pushed up his glasses.
"Orochimaru-sama, some people in the village are indeed saying that Satoshi is the most promising candidate to be the next Hokage..."
Before he could finish, a pitch-black venomous snake shot out of the shadows without warning. It instantly coiled around Kabuto's neck, its cold scales pressed tightly against his skin.
The powerful constriction instantly suffocated him, his face turning red.
Kabuto struggled to squeeze out a sound, "Orochimaru-sama..."
Orochimaru stared intently at Kabuto. "Did I ask for your opinion?"
Kabuto's pupils dilated from lack of oxygen. "Yes... it won't happen again..."
It wasn't until Kabuto's struggles weakened that Orochimaru snorted coldly and released him.
Kabuto fell to the ground, clutching his neck and coughing violently.
"Get out."
The laboratory, filled with the scent of blood, returned to a deathly silence.
Orochimaru sneered, "The most promising candidate to be the next Hokage? I seem to have heard that before."
"Such a familiar tone, my esteemed teacher."
"It seems that time has not only eroded your power but also corrupted your wisdom."
Even though Orochimaru had long since disregarded the position of Hokage, he still harbored resentment about what happened back then.
At that time, everyone in Konoha was saying that he would inherit the Hokage position. But he didn't expect to be rejected by his teacher, Hiruzen.
To say there was no resentment would be impossible.
And now, he was going to hand over the position to that annoying Uchiha brat?
Nonsense.
If that's the case...
A crazy Konoha Crush Plan slowly formed in Orochimaru's mind.
Meanwhile, in Konoha.
Kakashi had already resigned from his Anbu position and become an ordinary Jonin. When he had no missions, he trained like a madman.
All just so that the next time he saw Obito, he could bring him back to Konoha and explain everything clearly.
With a clear goal, Kakashi found his heart that had once died.
He even actively sought out Guy multiple times, asking him to assist with his training. But there was one condition: he would absolutely not wear that ugly green jumpsuit.
Of course, Kakashi also found Satoshi and asked him how to use the power of the Sharingan.
Satoshi said, "Senpai, since Obito awakened the Mangekyo, it stands to reason that you should also be able to use it."
"Is that so?"
Kakashi covered his left eye. "But I don't feel anything."
Satoshi keenly noticed that Kakashi's condition didn't seem very good. "Senpai, you seem to have overexerted yourself again."
Kakashi let out a long sigh. "I can't deactivate the Sharingan, which causes my Chakra to continuously drain."
Satoshi suggested, "How about I take it out for you? Or seal it away for you?"
Kakashi took half a step back.
"Goodbye."
Satoshi spread his hands. He knew Kakashi wouldn't give up what Obito had left him.
Bonds, indeed, were the strangest things in the Ninja World.
The Ninja World seemed to have entered a period of peace.
Compared to the time when Danzo was still alive, Konoha now seemed a bit more comfortable.
This change was largely due to the Uchiha clan producing a madman who gave intelligence departments across the entire Ninja World a headache.
Intelligence personnel from the other four great nations, when carrying out infiltration missions into the Land of Fire, were invariably on edge, their movements becoming exceptionally cautious.
They feared that the moment they set foot in the Land of Fire, that group of red-eyed people would be knocking on their doors.
Akatsuki, lurking in the shadows, was also unusually low-key during this period for their grand plan. Most of the time, they only took on bounty missions to maintain operations, or cautiously recruited new members who met their criteria.
They also conveniently killed Hanzō, who had long lost his ambition.
Trade with Kirigakure was also good. Konoha earned a lot of money, and Kirigakure's infrastructure developed rapidly.
It was just that the two sides did not succeed in forming a marriage alliance, and it was probably unlikely to happen in this lifetime.
Everyone understood that the so-called alliance agreement was merely a fragile piece of waste paper in the face of real conflicts of interest.
Once a fight broke out, if the opponent was a relative, that hesitation would instead become a fatal weakness.
Sunagakure... well, this village, struggling to survive in the sandstorms, still persisted tenaciously.
It was said that Chiyo and Ebizo were leading the ninjas, racking their brains to research various new plans for poverty alleviation and wealth creation, trying to find a path to revitalization.
As for Ōnoki of Iwagakure and the Fourth Raikage A of Kumogakure?
Facing the momentum displayed by Konoha and the pressure that came with it, they maintained a superficial camaraderie as allies.
Behind the scenes, they worked themselves to the bone, fearing that the gap between them and Konoha would become too wide.
Within Konoha, the children were doing well.
Children from the orphanage who reached the age and met the requirements entered the Ninja Academy for classes.
However, they often saw a blond boy and a cool-headed boy fighting in the training ground, exchanging punches and kicks.
One would say, "I will never let my comrades be lonely," and the other would say, "You don't understand my pain, blah, blah, blah."
Under the power of pain, Sasuke often left Naruto bruised and swollen.
However, relying on the tenacious vitality of the Uzumaki clan and the super recovery provided by Nine-Tails inside him, Naruto, who was often half-dead with exhaustion today, would be full of vigor the next day.
Then he would find Satoshi and ask for special training.
"Sensei, Sasuke has gotten stronger again. Quickly teach me stronger new techniques. This time I'm definitely going to defeat him."
The next day, Naruto would find Sasuke again.
"Hey, Sasuke, let's fight again."
And Sasuke also noticed that the distance between them seemed to be shrinking. Under his provocation, an even greater potential erupted. Their battles became more intense with each encounter, and the destructive power more astonishing.
The teachers and classmates of the Academy watched them fall in love and kill each other.
"Children, this is the bond between comrades. Their eyes are filled with the burning will of fire."
Time slowly passed.
Satoshi finally celebrated his eighteenth birthday.