Konoha Notes.

Chapter 500 Snake Tongue

Chapter 500 Snake Tongue

The director's office window was open.

The night breeze from the upper floors carried the scent of April's budding vegetation. Mosquitoes were already tentatively approaching the lights at this time of year, but at their height, they didn't need to worry about that.

The food containers have been emptied.

Shuji said, "Since they've already made it clear, let's follow the rules that have been made clear."

Kakashi leaned against the window, his back against the window frame.

"They're not following the teacher's plan and are pretending it's an escort mission?"

"Now that it's out in the open, hiding it would only make us look guilty," Shuji replied. "The bottom line has been drawn, and I'm sure the other side understands. Whether we use the same methods as Nagato has nothing to do with who they are."

"It has nothing to do with past relationships or social connections."

"It's purely a matter of efficiency."

Kakashi then said to Itachi, "Did you hear that? Itachi, a new mission."

Itachi raised his eyes.

"Go tell the Daimyo Liaison Office that if the Daimyo of the Land of Tea cannot resolve the merchant's problem within the time limit, the Joint Affairs Bureau will directly intervene."

"Yes," Itachi replied. He didn't ask what the deadline was; he could wait until he was notified and see the other party's reaction before making a decision.

Kakashi turned his gaze away from Itachi and back out the window: "But, Shuji, if we don't send someone over first, that Daimyo of the Land of Tea might die."

"That's truly unfortunate." Shuuji's voice was flat. "We'll just issue a warrant for his arrest then."

He began to stack the empty food boxes neatly, one by one.

"If the daimyo has no other descendants, let the daimyo liaison office find him a suitable distant relative."

"If no one can be found, the Tea Country can nominate someone. After all, it's the nation that joins the Joint Affairs Bureau, not a specific individual. It doesn't matter."

Itachi reached out to take the food box. Shuuji shook his head slightly and picked up the food himself.

"Compared to this matter, the complaints they're handling over there deserve more attention."

He stopped between the coffee table and the desk, the overhead light falling on his shoulder.

"The content and nature of the commissioned tasks, as well as the principles governing future missions by the Joint Secretariat—these are the issues that deserve to be discussed."

"As the overall plan has progressed to this point, almost all of the five member states are now member states."

"Espionage and infiltration missions should no longer be openly carried out, and the use of illusion and transformation magic should also be restricted accordingly."

"The village will adjust the content of the mission center accordingly. Apart from tasks directly assigned within the village, we will no longer accept similar commissions from outside."

"If we bring this up for discussion, the Daimyo Coordination Committee will probably be too preoccupied to care about anyone's life or death."

"It also makes them understand one thing. Only by doing things that ninjas can't do well can they have the right to discuss code of conduct with ninjas."

"It's getting crueler every day, Shuji-sama." Kakashi turned around from the window, the moonlight outlining his silhouette.

"I thought you were going to thank me." Shuji headed towards the door. "Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi didn't respond. He put his hands in his pockets and adopted a more relaxed stance.

"What about Xiao?"

"Whether they sent anyone or not, we'll know by seeing if Kado can take down the daimyo."

"Nagato must be quite busy lately. Once this kind of governance thing starts, there will be endless work to do."

"As for the other person, Nakado would be happy to be a sacrifice, but he's not worth it to actually do anything for him."

As the door closed, Kakashi's response was cut off inside the office.

Shuji didn't listen carefully to what the response was.

Most of them are just half-truths and half-joking complaints.

After all, not everyone can be completely unperturbed about the path another person is about to embark on.

Shuji's judgment was correct.

Nagato has been very busy lately.

The previous round of trades using the competition as leverage was quite effective. Konoha handed over enough Nine-Tails chakra, which eased the pressure exerted by the five great ninja villages on land.

He then devoted more of his energy to governance.

He repeatedly redeployed available manpower from Amegakure. One name after another was crossed off Amegakure's mission schedule and added to the governance sequence of the Land of the Moon and the surrounding islands.

Some within Rain Fortress raised objections, but after careful consideration, they ultimately chose to comply.

Obeying this leader overseas seems far more worthwhile than disobeying him.

Xiao Nan handled these matters very well. She knew better than Changmen who could be moved and who had to stay in the village to maintain its basic operations.

Paper butterflies flitted in and out of the window late at night, each time carrying away a few orders and bringing back a few reports.

Once the expansion speed picks up, inspections will have to keep up.

Nagato gradually spent more time at sea than in the tower in the Moon Kingdom.

Even Obito sometimes had to put in a little more effort to find him.

The leader of the organization was immersed in the order he had created.

The other members also immersed themselves in their own rhythms.

Sasori has temporarily joined Kakuzu and Hidan's ranks. The Moon Country storyline is consuming rogue ninja at an accelerating rate, and some of them, used as puppet material, are barely worth his attention.

Kakuzu had some reservations about this. Because those Sasori targeted were often turned into puppets before the bounty could even be paid, resulting in a very poor loss rate on paper.

But when Scorpion presented him with the cash equivalent of those two lives, the finance officer's complaints lessened. Ultimately, it was just a slight reduction in profit, not a loss.

Shennong saw things very clearly. Since the organization couldn't shake Konoha for the time being, he found a small island and focused on nurturing his Sky Ninja Village. He claimed it was to conserve his energy, but in reality, he spent all his time battling the Zero-Tails.

Hiruko is still searching for a breakthrough in the Oni-Garaku technique. The next collective action is scheduled for December, which is still more than half a year away.

Nagato didn't assign him any specific tasks, so he decided to try his luck on the edge of the organization's territory. Kiga needed new material, and the ninjas of the Five Great Nations were no longer so easy to obtain.

Orochimaru goes without saying.

Ever since he discovered that what he had created was Madara Uchiha's reanimated form, he had hardly left the laboratory in the Land of Snow. He had never seen the light of day, and he didn't know how many times the sun and moon had turned.

He was the only visitor and came very frequently.

But Orochimaru had no interest in the so-called cooperation.

It is utterly ridiculous for a rogue ninja to trust a creature within a rogue ninja organization that seems to have multiple masters and is currently engaging in acts of betrayal.

He didn't hesitate much when he sold Hiruko, Shennong, and Miyajo En, so he certainly wouldn't take Zetsu's words seriously now.

Especially before fully understanding the other party's true needs, they will never invest even a shred of trust.

But for him, using the other party's most superficially expressed demands to achieve his own goals was an extremely easy thing.

He requested a more in-depth study of the white abyss, which was agreed upon.

Then, based on the information leaked by the other party, Orochimaru deduced that Madara Uchiha represented another part of the myriad phenomena, and that the counterpart to him was Hashirama Senju.

During this time, Orochimaru was busy manipulating these two powers.

To say that the harvest was remarkable is an understatement.

He knew all too well what form Hashirama Senju's immense power took.

Madara Uchiha's research is only at the surface level and does not go beyond his previous accumulation.

When the research reached this stage, the giant snake knew that it had reached the limit of its closed-door approach.

He needs new references, new inspirations, or at least a sufficiently significant trial to determine whether he has reached a dead end or is about to crash into the wall.

He is considering whether or not to go out for a walk.

Just then, Jue appeared in his laboratory once again.

The white body that had seeped out from the wall had not yet fully solidified when the voice rang out first.

Orochimaru—

"You've been contacting me way too often lately, unbelievable."

The giant snake interrupted him, removing its fingers from a specimen jar and turning around. Its golden, vertical pupils narrowed slightly in the pale laboratory light.

"Keeping yourself around here all the time will give you away."

"It doesn't matter. He's never trusted me. There are many operations he'd rather carry out without me unless absolutely necessary," Black Zetsu said.

Orochimaru said, "But I don't want too much attention."

The Madara of today is, after all, a Mangekyou Sharingan Uchiha, and his abilities seem to be a very troublesome type for me.

"If your research makes further progress, you won't need to fear him anymore," Black Zetsu said. "That guy is quite terrified of Lord Madara in your hands, Orochimaru."

"Do you really want your true master to wake up?" Orochimaru gave a cryptic smile. "With this little bit of sincerity, you can't get me to do this."

"I know exactly what kind of person that Madara is."

"I've already explained it before. Madara is just someone who controls me, not my master."

Orochimaru remained silent on this claim.

"My master is the end of all things in the universe."

"Oh?" Orochimaru's pupils narrowed slightly, and his tongue unconsciously brushed against his lower lip. "So, you were abandoned by your true master?"

"That's not the case."

Black Zetsu's voice was deep and resolute.

"This world is her. I knew it from the moment I was born."

"Even if I have to be driven or transferred, I know she will always be here."

Orochimaru remained silent for a moment.

His eyes lingered on Jue for a long time.

The possibility of him lying is extremely low. Orochimaru, who controlled countless experimental subjects, was absolutely certain of this.

This piqued his interest in continuing the conversation.

"Who exactly is she?"

There was no immediate reply.

Orochimaru didn't urge them, but waited with great interest.

"What I do know is," Black Zetsu finally spoke, "that anyone who achieves the myriad things and eternity will be able to see her."

"This has been my only goal throughout my long life."

"No matter who I serve, my destination will never change."

"If Madara can't achieve this goal, he's a loser. If you can't achieve it, I won't hesitate to move on to the next potential candidate."

That's where Jue stopped.

The yellow eye stared straight at Orochimaru.

"I see," Orochimaru said.

I've touched it. The true core of that creature called Absolute, something that can truly be called an obsession.

Given this, cooperation is certainly something to consider.

"To achieve this goal, you've been hiding quite a few things from me, haven't you? Absolutely."

"What is the connection between the Tailed Beasts and this target? You've been collecting their chakra; this can't be a coincidence."

"How exactly do the powers of the Uchiha and Senju merge? The Sharingan and Hashirama cells alone cannot achieve the eternity you speak of."

He took two steps closer to Jue, and his vertical pupils reflected that half-black, half-white face.

"I can sense it. This Madara now possesses the power of both the Senju and Uchiha clans. But he's far from reaching that level."

"It's not even possible to defeat the First Hokage."

Zetsu immediately replied, "The nine tailed beasts are her chakra. The Gedo Mazo is the vessel."

"Only the power of the Senju can control the Gedo Mazo. And possessing both can control the Mazo that has gathered the chakra of all nine tailed beasts."

One answer after another came down, and each one roughly matched Orochimaru's own deductions.

He could even sense some new possibilities, things he hadn't thought of before.

He leaned against the lab bench, a smile playing on his lips.

"Say a little more, please. We might actually be able to become partners."

"Of course, I will tell you everything you want to know." Black Zetsu's attitude was perfectly humble. "Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru scoffed, "Let's skip this disguise."

Jue's voice remained unwavering: "As long as you reach the finish line, such a title is only a matter of time."

"When you can no longer do it, I will naturally take back my respect for you, Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips: "Then, I'll accept it without hesitation."

"So, regarding your confusion about Reincarnation Madara," Black Zetsu's voice grew even deeper, "Although he failed, he was the one who came closest to perfect control of the Golem."

"Even the golem itself was summoned from the moon by him."

"If you can enter his body, that's the quickest way to achieve your goal."

While listening to these words, Orochimaru noticed something else entirely.

He still wore that enigmatic smile, but his mind was racing. He had revealed more information than he expected.

Not every one can be verified immediately, but every one is worth noting down and scrutinizing.

"I will verify every word you say, without question."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama."

Moon--

There are indeed many mysteries in this world. We'll never be able to explore them without leaving Konoha, Sarutobi-sensei.

Jue's body began to slowly sink into the wall.

"I'm going out now. You'll be in charge of covering up what happened here. Is that alright, Zetsu?" Orochimaru gave Zetsu his first order.

"Yes."

After the reply, the yellow eyes disappeared from the wall.

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