Chapter 103 meeting with Orochimaru

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood outside the forest, his gaze fixed on the burning trees. The village outside was in chaos, ninjas scrambling to contain the fire and deal with the monstrous, animated houses.

"We need more water-style users," Hiruzen barked, frustration etched into his features. "If this fire spreads any further, it could destroy the entire forest."

At that moment, a young ninja rushed up to him, panting heavily. "Hokage-sama! We've just received word from the Hyūga compound. Hinata, Hanabi, and one of the maids have been kidnapped!"

Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock. "What? How is that possible?"

"We don't know, sir. The guards didn't see anything. It's like they vanished into thin air."

Hiruzen clenched his fists, his mind racing. "This is no coincidence. We need to find Sasuke immediately. Mobilize all available forces. We cannot afford any more losses."

Sasuke and his companions arrived at a secluded place and began to clear the area. After some thought, Sasuke decided that the magical castle would be safer due to its weapons, powerful wards, and numerous facilities.

Sasuke turned to Rosier. "We need to prepare for the next phase."

Rosier nodded, her expression serious. "I will see to it."

Kin, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "What's our next move?"

Sasuke's eyes gleamed with determination. "Let's have a meeting with Orochimaru. If he still wants to continue, I could help him improve his Konoha collapse plan."

At the same time in Konoha, the village elders gathered in the council room, their faces grave. Hiashi Hyūga stood among them, his expression unreadable.

"We must find them," Hiashi said, his voice steady despite the turmoil within him. "And we must bring Sasuke to justice."

The elders nodded in agreement, their resolve hardening. "We will not rest until they are found," one elder said, his voice resolute. "Konoha will stand united against this threat."

The fires slowly began to die down, but its people remained wary and fearful of what might come next. Sasuke readied himself to plunge Konoha into further chaos.

As he settled everything, the most difficult task was deciding where to place Sakura's parents. After some thought, he decided to place them temporarily in the Land of Waves while he looked for a better place for them.

Inside the Castle Sasuke looked at the faces of the Hyūga sisters. The younger one, Hanabi, had a serious expression, but it didn't look serious due to her age. Hinata, on the other hand, had a crying expression as she read a letter. Glancing at the letter, Sasuke found it was about their father deciding that they were to become his wives and should listen to him and train hard. Reading this, he couldn't help but think, *I wish there were more fathers like him.*

He shifted his eyes to Hanabi, who maintained her serious expression, then to the maid. "You should take care of them for now. I will prepare a training schedule for all three of you."

The maid's eyes widened in surprise, and she pointed to herself. "Why am I included in the training? I am not a ninja."

"Because you are a maid and you need to improve in all aspects. Also, having some self-defense skills would be beneficial. It would be bad if somebody could just come and knock you out like I did," Sasuke replied.

After this, Sasuke contacted Orochimaru and arranged a meeting to finalize the details of the Konoha collapse plan.

As they convened in Orochimaru's hidden location, the air was thick with anticipation. Orochimaru spread his hands. "I didn't think you would arrive that quickly and with such an unusual style."

As Sasuke got off from the fire bolt, he said, "Unfortunately, I didn't know this location, or I would have just teleported here."

"Oh, I didn't think anyone after the Fourth Hokage would learn teleportation," Orochimaru said, curiously looking at the flying broom.

"Well, it's a little different and a little slower, but it does the job when you want to escape," Sasuke explained.

Hearing this, Orochimaru looked at Sasuke. "I really wish I could study this type of technique since it's always a waste of my time going from one place to another."

"It should not be possible for you to learn, but if you combine this method with the Fourth Hokage's technique, you might be able to create something good," Sasuke said, taking out an elixir. "This is an elixir of life used by someone who lived for 600 years. As long as you continue the plan, this will be yours."

"There is no problem in continuing the plan, but I am afraid it will be a little harder since you created quite a mess," Orochimaru said.

Sasuke nodded. "We just need to involve the Sand Ninja village a little more, especially their high-level members."

Orochimaru's smile widened. "That won't be easy. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to withdraw from the plan at the last moment."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Then you can arrange my meeting with them. I am quite convincing."

Orochimaru chuckled. "As you wish."

Sasuke, thinking about how to deal with the Sage of Six Paths, asked, "What do you think will happen if the Sage of Six Paths interferes? Do you think our plan will be successful?"

Orochimaru, after recalling who the Sage of Six Paths was, said, "It's just a legend. I don't think someone who lived a thousand years ago would care about such a thing."

"Only his body is dead. He's probably alive and watching everything like a play," Sasuke replied.

"Then we should just drop this plan, or if you have some secret weapon, you can tell it now," Orochimaru suggested.

Sasuke met Orochimaru's gaze, his expression unreadable. "If we face him now, I would say I would just run away after taking you with me."

"Looks like I am quite important to you, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said with a smile.

"You are right. While I don't have high hopes, I still hope you could research life and death," Sasuke admitted.

Orochimaru had a genuine smile. "I guess you would be interested in such techniques."

"More than interested, I have done some research and even gather some items which are related to that" Sasuke said with a tempting voice clearly trying to copy the way Orochimaru tempt other.

They made few exchanges to improve their corporation, ensuring The plan can go smoothly making Konoha's fate dark one.

For the plan to succeed, Sasuke even offered to help all the ninja's enter the village without raising any alarms.

As they parted ways, even after doing this Sasuke felt this wasn't enough. The die was cast, now all it's left to wait for its result but he wanted to do more.