An enemy?
Hearing that request, a figure suddenly flashed through Kai's mind.
A man with deep tear troughs beneath his eyes.
Itachi Uchiha.
If there was anyone in the early days of Naruto whom Orochimaru truly coveted—or even resented—it was probably only two people.
The Third Hokage.
And Uchiha Itachi.
Or rather…
It wasn't hatred.
It was greed.
After all, Orochimaru later manipulated Sasuke Uchiha precisely because he coveted Itachi's eyes.
Of course, Orochimaru had no idea what Kai was thinking.
He simply licked his lips with his long tongue and lowered his voice.
Every word seemed to slither out like a snake's hiss.
"Kai-kun…"
"Help me capture a man with… very beautiful eyes."
Just as expected.
Kai thought to himself, I knew it.
But outwardly he remained calm.
"Beautiful eyes?"
"How beautiful?"
"A pair of crimson Mangekyō Sharingan," Orochimaru replied softly.
"I believe there is no pair of eyes in this world more enchanting than his."
"Uchiha Itachi."
As he spoke, memories of the humiliation he once suffered under Itachi's genjutsu surfaced.
His expression darkened.
"If I can fully study those eyes…"
"I'm certain I'll discover an entirely new path."
Indeed.
Kai silently agreed.
The eyes of the Uchiha combined with the body of the Senju…
That path eventually leads to the Rinnegan.
Add the power of the tailed beasts on top of that—
And it becomes the power of the Six Paths Sage.
To arrive this close simply through a pure obsession with power…
Orochimaru really was terrifying.
BOOM!
Before Kai could respond, a thunderous explosion erupted beside them.
Through the smoke—
A muscular, dark-skinned figure burst forward and smashed through the scorched ground.
The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—
Killer B!
Lightning crackled violently around his body.
Eight swords spun around him like a deadly storm.
Their target—
Orochimaru's back.
"You dare enslave the people of Kumogakure?!"
"Let Lord B tear you apart first!"
With a roar, the eight blades slashed through the air.
Even the wind was shredded by their speed.
Orochimaru blinked in confusion.
Wait.
What did this have to do with him?
The one enslaving Kumogakure was Uchiha Kai.
Why attack him?!
But Killer B said nothing.
He simply spun his eight blades faster.
Three thousand elite ninja—
That was the maximum force Kumogakure could mobilize quickly.
And now those elites had become Konoha's forced laborers.
That humiliation demanded revenge.
But—
He couldn't defeat Uchiha Kai.
So instead…
He aimed to capture someone else.
Perhaps a hostage could be used for negotiation.
More importantly—
After recovering earlier, Killer B had overheard Kai and Orochimaru's conversation through the Eight-Tails.
He learned Orochimaru planned to experiment on the corpses of Kumogakure's fallen warriors.
That was unacceptable.
War could be lost.
Soldiers could die.
But the dead should never be desecrated.
That was an unspoken rule on the battlefield.
Every village lost people.
At the very least, the dead deserved dignity.
Even if someone violated that rule—
They would do it secretly.
Not openly like these two.
So Killer B had returned.
WHOOSH!
Facing the sudden strike, Orochimaru twisted his body unnaturally.
His body bent like a boneless snake.
Seven sharp angles folded through the eight blades.
He barely slipped past them.
CRACK!
Even so, the violent lightning chakra shredded part of his sleeve.
A pale, slender arm was exposed beneath.
"Hehehe… Lord Killer B."
Orochimaru tilted his body and chuckled darkly.
But his eyes were ice cold.
Then he turned his head toward Kai.
As if silently asking—
Someone just attacked me. Your move.
Kai's response?
"I see."
He spoke casually.
As if agreeing to some trivial request.
He didn't even frown.
As if the Kage-level warrior before him was nothing more than a minor nuisance.
Seeing this, Killer B's expression darkened.
Of course…
Everything still comes down to that Uchiha brat.
He twisted his neck and spoke loudly.
"We can accept being prisoners."
"But according to the agreement between the Five Great Ninja Villages—"
"The souls of the dead must not be desecrated!"
"Anyone who violates that rule will be condemned by the entire ninja world!"
He was gambling.
Gambling that Kai would care.
Care about Konoha's reputation.
After all, since the founding of the Five Great Villages—
Konoha had always cared about honor.
Such actions would stain its reputation.
And he wasn't wrong.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi were still in charge, even if he captured four thousand elite ninja…
He would only feel a headache.
Kill them?
Hiruzen would never make that decision.
If he didn't kill them—
He would have to feed and guard them indefinitely.
Because Killer B's voice was so loud, many Konoha leaders nearby heard him.
Even Fugaku Uchiha looked over.
"Good."
Killer B quietly sighed in relief.
At least they heard me.
He had never imagined he'd need talk-no-jutsu himself one day.
His reasoning was simple.
Young people might not care.
But Konoha's elders certainly would.
A few words from the old guard could restrain the younger generation easily.
But when Killer B looked carefully at the approaching group—
He froze.
"Why are they all young?"
"The oldest one looks barely like a young adult."
"Did all of Konoha's old people die?"
The malicious thought crossed his mind.
Kai clearly saw through his scheme.
It almost made him laugh.
The loud rapper actually had quite a few tricks.
Unfortunately—
None of them mattered.
"Stop looking."
Kai glanced lazily at him.
"The people you're hoping for…"
"They're all dead."
Then—
CRACK!
The air tore open like fragile cloth.
A transparent vortex spiraled into existence.
Double Kamui — Transfer.
"Huh?"
Killer B blinked in confusion.
Before he could react—
The ground beneath him vanished.
His entire body was dragged into the endless spatial vortex.
And disappeared.
The vortex closed instantly.
The battlefield fell silent again.
Cause trouble?
Attempt moral blackmail?
Eat shit.
Uchiha Kai had zero morals.
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