Deep underground on a small island off the coast of the Land of Water.
This was Orochimaru's new base.
After being relentlessly hunted by Obito, Orochimaru had finally figured out his pattern.
As long as he remained on the mainland, it was easy for the other party to find him. They had highly secretive scouts that even sensory-type Ninjas couldn't detect.
Orochimaru was truly annoyed to no end; that space-time Ninjutsu left him completely helpless.
If he wasn't mistaken, the other party was the person who caused the Nine-Tails Incident in Konoha.
However, he still hadn't figured out why the man was so persistent in pursuing him.
Therefore, Orochimaru could only migrate his laboratory overseas so he could conduct his experiments in peace.
At this moment, Orochimaru was busy at the experimental table. Thanks to the enhancement from white zetsu cells, his current state looked a bit better than it did during this period in the original timeline.
However, white zetsu cells only delayed the rejection between his soul and his body; at most, it delayed the need to switch bodies by half a year.
In fact, through his research on white zetsu cells, Orochimaru was confident he could create a body that met his requirements, but his obsession with the Sharingan was simply too deep.
The impression Uchiha Itachi had left on him was far too profound.
Furthermore, after obtaining Sasuke's body, he could modify it to make it even more perfect.
'The ultimate Yang Release of white zetsu cells and the ultimate Yin Release of the Sharingan... I wonder what kind of sparks will fly when they collide?'
At the thought of this, Orochimaru unconsciously licked his lips.
"How truly exciting!"
He was certain that the Mangekyo Sharingan definitely possessed even greater power.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached slowly from a distance, neither hurried nor slow.
Before long, Sasuke's figure appeared in the laboratory. "Orochimaru, what do you want with me?"
Orochimaru had grown accustomed to Sasuke's attitude. "Heh heh! Sasuke-kun, I called you here to witness something interesting."
"Something interesting?"
"The Evil God Cult in the Land of Birds has taken over the entire country. Now, the Five Great Ninja Villages have all set out to suppress it."
"The Evil God Cult? Why do you care about a godforsaken place like that?"
Sasuke said irritably. He still needed to continue training his Chakra and increasing his strength.
He couldn't wait to find Itachi for revenge, and since this fellow Orochimaru was constantly eyeing his body, he couldn't afford to relax.
Orochimaru's long tongue licked his lips. "That place is indeed not worth noting, but the Evil God that cult worships is—Yagami Light."
Sasuke's pupils constricted upon hearing this, and his stoic face finally showed a slight ripple of emotion. "It's that guy!"
Yagami Light had left a massive impression on Sasuke. He had no confidence in being able to withstand those world-shaking Ninjutsu even now.
Although he knew the principle behind Aoki Yoru's 'Lightning Style: Kirin' through Kakashi, that move required far too much preparation time; it was difficult to use it as freely as Yagami Light did.
However, Uchiha Sasuke had his own pride. He was confident he could also develop similar Ninjutsu and would absolutely not lose to the other party.
This was the pride of the Uchiha Clan.
"Yes, if possible, bring his corpse back to me."
Orochimaru was extremely curious about Yagami Light's body. What was the physical structure of someone who possessed such a miraculous creature?
"Fine, I'll go take a look. Remember to give me the intelligence."
Having said that, he ignored Orochimaru and turned to leave. He was quite interested in Yagami Light.
Orochimaru didn't mind Sasuke's attitude. In her eyes, Sasuke's body would belong to her sooner or later.
"Heh heh, Yagami Light, I wonder what you will do? I'm truly looking forward to it."
Inside the Akatsuki Organization's consciousness space.
At this moment, black consciousness bodies stood atop all ten fingers.
"Leader, what's the matter? Is it time to start moving? I want to show those guys my art, hmm!"
Pain spoke slowly: "The reason I summoned everyone this time is related to Santai."
"Me?"
Yagami Light looked at Pain in confusion. "What could be happening on my end? Everything is proceeding smoothly."
"According to Zetsu's intelligence, the Five Great Nations have all dispatched forces, preparing to unite to wipe out your Evil God Cult."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked. They hadn't expected all Five Great Nations to take action.
What kind of outrageous, heaven-defying thing had this guy done?
"Hey, Santai, did you sleep with a Daimyo's wife? Otherwise, why would they make such a big move this time?"
"It's not that. What Santai did is even more aggravating than sleeping with a Daimyo's wife," the usually silent Zetsu suddenly spoke up.
He then proceeded to recount everything the Evil God Cult had done in the Land of Birds.
After listening, the crowd immediately showed expressions of shock.
They hadn't expected Yagami Light to actually do it, and to do it so thoroughly.
If they were the Daimyos, they would also do their best to surround and suppress him. If this trend of thought were allowed to spread, it would be disastrous.
The Daimyos wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully.
At this moment, Zetsu gave Yagami Light a half-smile. It was he who had discovered the Daimyos' subordinates were being controlled by genjutsu and leaked the information.
He didn't hold much hope that the Five Great Ninja Villages could kill Yagami Light; he only hoped they could force out Yagami Light's trump cards and stall him so he wouldn't interfere with Pain's collection of the nine Tailed Beasts.
This guy had been in the Akatsuki for two years, and his goals remained unclear. It was truly too suspicious.
"Is that so?"
What Yagami Light thought of was that Uchiha Hikari's genjutsu had been discovered; otherwise, those Daimyos wouldn't have had such a reactive response.
"Heh heh, Santai, do you want my help? For just one billion Ryo, I'll help you take care of them."
At this moment, Kakuzu's eyes glowed with a green light. This guy Santai had actually quietly taken control of a country—how much money must that be!
Even if the Land of Birds was a small country, the combined wealth of the entire nation would not be small.
And it would be coming in every year.
Why hadn't he thought of directly occupying a small country before? Why was he still working so hard on individual missions?
"No thanks, Kakuzu. Your fees are too expensive. I can handle it myself."
"You can counter-offer my price. Everything is negotiable."
Kakuzu clearly didn't want to miss this chance to make big money.
Moreover, Yagami Light was obviously a very good employer; there might even be chances to cooperate in the future.
If he couldn't manage the country well, he, Lord Kakuzu, would reluctantly help out to ensure not a single penny went missing. Those parasites would have nowhere to hide.
"That dust doesn't constitute an obstacle; it can be cleared away with a wave of a hand."
Yagami Light then gave a playful smile: "But Kakuzu, the people dispatched by the various Ninja Villages are all Village elites. Their bounties definitely won't be low. Aren't you tempted?"
Kakuzu froze for a moment upon hearing this, then showed an expression of realization. These people usually traveled everywhere on missions and were hard to pin down; now he could just wait for them to come to him. He was very tempted.
Then Pain spoke: "The reason I called you all here is to say that the organization will be moving soon. During this suppression by the Five Great Ninja Villages, Santai, keep an eye out for any information regarding Jinchuriki."
"I see! I'll keep an eye out."
Yagami Light looked relaxed, without the slightest atmosphere of impending war.
"If you fail, you can come to the Land of Rain," the long-silent Konan suddenly spoke up.
Not only Yagami Light, but even the others looked at Konan in surprise.
One had to know that she almost never spoke during organization meetings.
The reason Konan did this was because she had been to the Land of Birds and seen that the civilians there truly had smiles on their faces and hope for the future in their eyes.
Wasn't this exactly the original intention Yahiko had when he first founded the Akatsuki?
So she gave Yagami Light a way out. After all, in Konan's eyes, Yagami Light was also a pacifist.
Yagami Light then snapped out of it and said with a smile, "Then thank you very much, Miss Konan. I'll be in your care when the time comes."