Before leaving, Orochimaru shared another piece of news with Tobirama: "Lord Second, I forgot to tell you earlier—Jiraiya has taken a member of the Uchiha Clan as his apprentice!"
Tobirama was stunned: "Jiraiya?!"
He then remembered: "The white haired child, the successor of this generation from Mount Myōboku!"
Orochimaru nodded.
Tobirama immediately became angry: "What is that boy doing? He actually took an Uchiha as his apprentice? Doesn't he know the Uchiha Clan is a minefield for the Senju Clan?"
While leaving the Shikkotsu Forest with Tobirama, Orochimaru explained the reason to him.
"The child Jiraiya took in is named Uchiha Shisui. He is very special; he is a descendant of Kagami."
Tobirama's stern expression softened slightly. Uchiha Kagami was a member of Tobirama's direct elite guard and one of the few Uchiha clansmen who had earned his trust.
"A descendant of Kagami... Kagami had a vision that transcended the narrow scope of the clan. I can accept this."
Orochimaru said, "Jiraiya not only took him as a disciple but also had him sign the summoning scroll of Mount Myōboku."
"What?!"
Tobirama grew anxious: "How could this be allowed? What is so special about that child named Shisui?"
Orochimaru said, "He has awakened the ultimate Dojutsu of the Uchiha Clan—the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
(°ﾛ°٥).
Tobirama was somewhat bewildered and then asked, "How old is Shisui?"
"About 11 years old. I know it's hard to believe, but that's what Danzo's intelligence says."
Tobirama touched his forehead, unsure of what expression to use to convey his shock: "11 years old? Madara and Izuna hadn't even awakened their eyes at that age."
"However—"
Tobirama quickly accepted the premise of Shisui awakening the Mangekyo at such an absurd age. He said, "The talent of the Uchiha Clan depends firstly on aptitude and secondly on emotions."
"This child named Uchiha Shisui must have experienced a massive turning point in his life!"
Orochimaru shook his head: "That is unknown. According to Danzo's intelligence analysis, Shisui's talent at the Shinobi Academy wasn't top-tier. He had a very arrogant personality and couldn't stand anyone surpassing him."
"He was a very traditional Uchiha!"
"The turning point came after he became a Shinobi. There was a top student from the same year in his squad, and during a mission, that top student was killed in action."
"Since then, Shisui has been like a different person, and the excellent bloodline of the Uchiha began to manifest."
Tobirama nodded: "He likely awakened the Uchiha bloodline by witnessing a companion's death, but that alone isn't enough to become a contractor for Mount Myōboku."
Orochimaru added: "Shisui possesses a very powerful Dojutsu called Kotoamatsukami, which can silently change another person's will."
"He used this technique to extract information about the Rinnegan from Ryou. He didn't expect that he wouldn't be able to permanently control Ryou, and instead, his Mangekyo was seized by him."
"To prevent Ryou from obtaining the power of Kotoamatsukami, Shisui destroyed his own eyes."
"Lord Second, what do you think? Do you still believe the Uchiha are an evil clan?"
"..."
Tobirama did not reply, his gaze looking deep into the giant phosphorescent mushrooms of the Shikkotsu Forest, as if seeing his own shattered reflection.
Orochimaru did not provoke Tobirama further; he stopped and waited for him.
He spoke his own understanding: "Jiraiya is a sentimental person. Shisui sacrificed so much for Konoha, yet my teacher would only offer a few words of praise."
"Elders like Danzo and Koharu wouldn't care about Shisui's eyes; they would only be glad that Shisui destroyed the evil Mangekyo."
"Lord Second, do you hold the same mediocre views as them? Thinking it's better for the Uchiha to just tear each other apart!"
Orochimaru was a radical; he loathed feudal and stagnant things and loved to see change in all things.
Just as he once said—
Looking at things that move is interesting, but looking at things that have stopped is boring... A windmill that doesn't turn has no value in being watched.
Now, he intended to use the wind of Konoha's destruction to make the windmill turn.
The prologue of the Naruto shippuden was the Konoha Destruction Plan, where Orochimaru personally destroyed the old windmill that was the Third Hokage.
Only then did Tsunade's wind of reform as the Fifth Hokage slowly blow through Konoha Village, which had been obsessed with the dream of peace.
The great chaos in the Shinobi World troubled Orochimaru because he feared being hung from a tree by Madara.
But on the other hand, he was delighted.
He saw a massive transformation, far exceeding any previous change. In this great chaos, it wasn't just Ryou who was growing.
Orochimaru was also growing rapidly.
When the gale passes, it blows away the weak weeds, leaving the rest to stand tall.
What Orochimaru wanted to do was to be the one who stood tall.
As long as he could defeat Madara, then among the truly great figures, he, Orochimaru, would be the one!
Tobirama moved, walking toward the exit of the Shikkotsu Forest.
He said to Orochimaru: "Orochimaru, I still believe that the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan is the root of trouble."
"Admittedly, there are dove faction like Kagami and Shisui, but there are also hawk faction like Madara and Ryou—no, they aren't even hawk faction, they are terrorists."
"Even if Madara and Ryou are defeated, as long as war continues to exist, tragedies will occur, and the Uchiha will awaken their evil bloodline because of it."
"This is not my subjective conjecture, but based on data and experimentation. I have seen too many Uchiha fall into extremes because of the loss of love."
Orochimaru responded: "In other words, Lord Second, you lean towards eliminating the Uchiha?"
Tobirama shook his head: "It's that the Uchiha should no longer engage in the Shinobi profession!"
Orochimaru sneered: "The Uchiha's enemies aren't just the Senju Clan; their enemies are all over the Shinobi World. Without powerful military deterrence, they would be—seeking their own destruction!"
Tobirama shook his head: "Let's not talk about it anymore. The problem of the Uchiha is no longer for me to consider, because I am already a dead man."
"Better to go deal with that brat Ryou first! Having the princess of my Senju family yet still fooling around outside, he deserves to die!"
...
The next day.
Ryou had slept on top of Satori, only waking up and rubbing his bleary eyes when he heard Candy's call.
He yawned and then looked around curiously, asking, "Have we reached Ryūchi Cave?"
The little Katsuyu said, "Ryūchi Cave is hidden within an underground barrier. This is the entrance to that barrier."
Ryou looked at his surroundings, but he couldn't see very clearly because of the perennial miasma and dense forest.
Candy said, "This place is already far from the Shinobi World continent! Strangely enough, there's actually a Village here!"
"A Village?!"
Ryou was puzzled, then let Candy and Katsuyu crawl onto him before jumping down from Satori.
Satori was also extremely curious about the legendary Ryūchi Cave, transforming into the previous black-and-white catgirl maid form to follow Ryou.
Ryou looked at the Village in the thick fog.
The Village consisted of low, simple wooden houses and winding stone paths, with the dwellings scattered according to the mountain's terrain.
Around the entrance of the Village stood countless crudely carved snake totems. Stone snakes coiled, flicked their tongues, and had ferocious patterns; this was a Village that worshiped the Great Snake.