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He gave Danzo a cryptic look, then turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Old man, actually I think—"
However, before he could finish speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly raised his hand to interrupt him: "Absolutely not!"
The Third Hokage's tone was unusually firm, and his voice echoed in the office.
Jiraiya blinked, chuckled twice, and stopped talking.
Danzo stood at the door, looking at Sarutobi and then at Jiraiya with a puzzled expression, muttering to himself: ...What kind of riddle are these people playing?
After a slight hesitation, Danzo steered the conversation back to the main topic.
He stepped forward and handed the stack of documents in his hand to Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Ahem, these are the records obtained from the interrogation by the Sand Village. I've already read them—those guys from the Sand Village know absolutely nothing. They didn't even know anything about the other attackers, let alone Orochimaru."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the document and flipped through a few pages. He found it contained only summaries of testimonies from the Sand Village ninjas who had participated in the war, but no new clues of any value.
He sighed: "Where's Orochimaru? Has he spoken?"
Danzo took a step forward, leaning on his cane, and snorted coldly: "Hmph! The interrogation team is too lenient. It's useless against a traitor like Orochimaru! You should hand him over to me and let the Root people interrogate him. I guarantee he will honestly confess everything."
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere froze for a moment.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the interrogation record, rubbed his temples, and said perfunctorily, "Let's discuss this later."
"Right now, besides gathering intelligence, we need to quickly reassure the villagers and rebuild the village's defenses..."
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi say this, Danzo could not say anything more and could only hum in response, reluctantly giving up.
……
the other side.
Deep underground in the secret prison of Konoha Village, the long corridor is dark and damp, and the air is filled with a mixed smell of decay and rust.
The masked ninja moved swiftly through the dark passageway, his footsteps light yet echoing faintly in the silence.
At the end of the corridor stood a heavy black iron gate.
Upon seeing the arrival of the secret agents, the three prison guards standing at the gate straightened up and warily sized up the newcomers.
The ANBU member brandished a warrant bearing the Hokage's seal, his voice cold and authoritative: "The Hokage has ordered me to conduct an emergency interrogation of the imprisoned prisoner Orochimaru!"
The three guards exchanged glances, without suspicion.
Since last night, the higher-ups have sent many people in shifts to interrogate Orochimaru; they've gotten used to it.
The head guard readily took out the key and clattered the heavy chains of the iron gate open: "Please come in. The person who came last night didn't get anything out of us, so it's your turn to try your luck today."
The heavy iron door slowly opened with a screeching metallic scraping sound. The undercover agent nodded, strode into the cell, and the iron door behind him slammed shut again, completely cutting off the light and sound from the outside world.
The room was dimly lit, with only a few dim candles lit.
By the flickering candlelight, one could see a complex sealing array drawn on the ground, imprisoning a tall, thin figure within it.
The man was bound hand and foot with thick iron chains, his limbs spread wide and fixed to the cold stone floor. His body was covered with sealing talismans, rendering him unable to move. It was none other than Orochimaru, who had been captured.
Orochimaru's long hair was disheveled and stuck to his face, his eyes were closed, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.
But upon hearing the door open, he slowly opened his golden vertical pupils, a cold light flashing deep within his eyes.
The ANBU member quickly stepped forward, looked down at Orochimaru's figure, and after a moment of silence, suddenly reached out and removed the mask from his face.
As the mask was removed, a young face wearing goggles was revealed—it was Kabuto Yakushi, who had infiltrated the place.
"Kabuto..." Orochimaru's hoarse and weak voice echoed in the cell, tinged with a mocking smile, "I knew you would find a way to come here."
Kabuto Yakushi knelt on one knee: "Lord Orochimaru! I will break these seals for you now and take you away from here!"
As he spoke, he stood up and tried to tear off the talisman on Orochimaru's body, but Orochimaru let out a low chuckle and shook his head to stop him: "No, not yet. I can't leave now, the time isn't right. Kabuto, you have a more important mission on this trip."
Dou was taken aback, then leaned down and lowered his voice, asking, "Is there something more important than saving you? What exactly is the mission?"
Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he chuckled, "Heh... I'm actually curious—how exactly did Konoha know about our entire plan beforehand? According to my arrangements, there aren't many people who know the complete details of the plan, are there?"
Upon hearing this, Kabuto's expression changed slightly, and he immediately lowered his head: "Lord Orochimaru! I have no ulterior motives, you must believe me!"
“Alright, Kabuto. I believe you.” Orochimaru interrupted him in a hoarse voice, his tone turning gloomy and serious. “This information leak is suspicious—I suspect it’s related to a certain dream.”
"A dream...?" Dou's eyes widened slightly, and he didn't react for a moment.
Orochimaru licked his slightly chapped lips meaningfully, his voice low and hoarse: "Literal meaning. It means dream. Report any information you have immediately, understand?"
Kabuto paused for a moment, then pushed up his glasses, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "Understood!"
After saying that, he put the white mask back on and bowed respectfully to Orochimaru.
"Go."
Dou dared not delay, and with a flash, he retreated to the door and gently knocked on the door panel.
After confirming the code from the outside, the guard opened the iron gate a crack, and Kabuto took the opportunity to slip out and disappear into the depths of the corridor.
The cell fell silent again. Orochimaru remained firmly bound in place. He looked up at the dim ceiling, exhaled a breath of stale air, and a strange smile appeared on his face.
In fact, Orochimaru hadn't slept a wink since being imprisoned here.
He lay motionless on the cold ground, his mind racing, constantly reviewing the details of his plan and searching for any possible flaws.
After much deliberation, he remained confident in his previous plan—his trusted ninjas were all brainwashed and completely devoted, making it impossible for any of them to leak secrets.
If that's the case, how did Konoha manage to foresee his meticulously planned "Konoha Collapse Plan"?
This question lingered in Orochimaru's mind, leaving him completely perplexed.
A strange memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
Not long ago, his soul seemed to have been forcibly pulled to a strange place by some force.
When he woke up, he didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it was just an absurd nightmare.
However, upon closer reflection, he remembered that a certain scene had been played on the screen in that mysterious room.
The scene shows him personally telling Hiruzen Sarutobi, the old man, that "Pain will attack Konoha"!
On the rooftop, Jiraiya indeed mentioned the name "Pain" to him face to face, questioning him about the source of Akatsuki's intelligence.
Two seemingly unrelated scenes were linked together by the word "Pain," leading Orochimaru to harbor a bold guess.
"Able to freely pull the consciousness of living people into the dream space, and even know the future that has not yet happened..." Orochimaru murmured to himself, a fanatical look gradually appearing on his face, which was originally gloomy and resentful because of being captured. "Hehehehe, such methods... are truly unprecedented power!"
A low, excited laugh escaped his throat, his eyes flashed with a fierce light, and his whole body trembled slightly with excitement: "Sparashi! This is wonderful!"
In the darkness, only the eerie sound of Orochimaru's long, thin tongue licking his lips could be heard, intertwined with his suppressed, maniacal laughter, echoing for a long time in the closed cell.
……
Night fell quickly, and darkness once again enveloped Konoha Village.
After a day of hustle and bustle, people gradually drift off to sleep.
Sasuke's consciousness sank, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in that familiar little room—his childhood bedroom.
The room was neatly arranged, with the small bed, desk, and everything exactly as I remembered.
"Great!" Sasuke clenched his fist and gently waved it, an overwhelming joy welling up inside him.
Pushing open the door and running out of the bedroom, Sasuke dashed down the wooden stairs and looked toward the living room.
The soft morning light streamed into the room through the window lattice—
A peaceful and warm morning.
Although my father is still not here today.
But today he finally saw Nissan, whom he hadn't seen for several days.
Sasuke threw himself into Itachi's arms: "Nii-san! I missed you so much!"
Sasuke felt a long-lost sense of peace instantly wash over him.
Just then, a gentle laugh came from the kitchen: "Alright, alright, Sasuke, stop clinging to your brother, it's time for breakfast."
Following the sound, I saw my mother, Uchiha Mikoto, walking out of the kitchen with the last plate of fried food, a loving smile on her face.
She placed the dishes on the table and saw her two sons hugging each other tightly. She couldn't help but shake her head with a light laugh, "You two have such a good relationship."
"Hehe..." Sasuke chuckled sheepishly.
However, he soon realized that something was wrong.
Sasuke blinked, then realized something was wrong: "Huh? Brother, what's wrong?"
Why is Nissan's body so stiff today?
It seemed like he was tense from head to toe, his muscles were stiff, and he was even trembling slightly.
He looked up and gazed at his elder brother with concern.
Itachi had his eyes lowered, his expression looking somewhat stiff and unnatural, and a bead of sweat even appeared on his forehead.
Noticing his younger brother's gaze, Itachi's Adam's apple bobbed as if he were swallowing hard, before he managed to squeeze out a voice: "Uh... I'm fine, Sasuke."
He awkwardly raised his hand and patted his younger brother on the head, stiffly replying, "It was just... a little unexpected."
……
Time has rewound a little.
For Itachi Uchiha, this was originally just an ordinary day.
During the day, he and Kisame would stroll around and fish.
After nightfall, the two found an inconspicuous little hotel by the roadside and settled in to rest for the night before continuing their journey. Everything was peaceful and ordinary.
After washing up, Itachi lay on the bed and closed his eyes for a light sleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had completely changed.
Before him stood a Japanese-style wooden house, the furnishings of which made him momentarily doubt that he was still dreaming—because the surroundings were all too familiar.
This is clearly the home he lived in as a child!
"What...what's going on?"
Just as Itachi was terrified, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the stairs.
He quickly and alertly looked up and saw a small figure rushing down from the second floor, heading straight for him!
"Nisan! I miss you so much!"
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