Chapter 164: Orochimaru's Frustration

The dark cave.

The atmosphere was stifling.

On the massive Gedo Statue, Nagato stood on one of its fingers, looking down at the gathered ninja.

Konan stood close to him, her expression wary.

The Night of the Nine-Tails had been disastrous for them. Pain's forces were decimated, and Nagato's strength significantly diminished. He had only just recovered and managed to recreate the Six Paths of Pain.

Nagato spoke in a deep voice, "That night... things didn't go as planned. According to the latest information, we didn't even manage to kill the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..."

Nagato was silent for a moment. The information had left him in disarray. The Nine-Tails had been split into two, and now Konoha had two Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? What a joke!

This meant that all their efforts to destroy Konoha had only strengthened it. Who could they complain to about this?

Nagato gritted his teeth as the image of that Hyuga ninja flashed in his mind. It was all because of that person... and those wily Hyuga ninjas!

Konan's face was equally grim. She remembered flying over to search for Pain, only to encounter Hyuga Satoru. That was the second time in her life she experienced utter despair. The first was when Yahiko died.

Hyuga Satoru's abilities seemed to counter hers perfectly. Once she entered the Dance of the Shikigami state, the paper she created was easily controlled by Hyuga Satoru. Even the paper on her body was being peeled away. Luckily, Hyuga Satoru seemed to have no intention of killing her, allowing her to escape barely. But Yahiko's body was lost because of it.

Obito's gaze was dark. He had faced Minato Namikaze head-on during the Nine-Tails Night. Minato was a formidable opponent. Despite having both Kamui abilities, Obito couldn't decisively defeat Minato due to their difference in battle experience.

Upon learning that Kushina survived, Obito felt a complex mix of emotions.

He glanced at Zero beside him, his eyes full of doubt.

Zero remained carefree, his eyes behind the mask wandering as if he wasn't even paying attention to Nagato's speech.

Nagato, in the midst of his speech, locked his Rinnegan on Zero.

Konan also silently watched Zero.

Zetsu looked around, realizing everyone was staring at Zero. He quickly followed suit and stared at him, too.

The atmosphere in the cave became tense.

"What... are you all doing?" Zero stammered, feeling the pressure. Had he been exposed?

"I heard you held off the Third and Fourth Hokage by yourself?" Nagato narrowed his eyes, his gaze intense on Zero.

Obito added in a deep voice, "Yes, while I was releasing the Nine-Tails, Zero indeed held off the two Hokages."

Great, just great! Obito, you're selling me out! I was the one covering for you!

Nagato was silent for a moment before asking, "Who exactly are you?"

Zero held his breath, though breathing didn't matter much to him.

The cave was deathly silent.

"You can't be an unknown ninja if you could hold off two Hokages. Zero, there was no information about you in the ninja world before, as if you appeared out of nowhere. Who are you really?" Konan's eyes narrowed at Zero, her gaze solemn.

"Hehe... so that's what you're concerned about?" Zero chuckled.

"Since you all asked so sincerely, I'll tell you. My true identity is..." Zero paused dramatically.

Obito held his breath.

Nagato's Rinnegan stayed locked on Zero.

Konan's eyes narrowed even more.

The cave was so silent that the sound of breathing could be heard clearly.

"Ultraman!" Zero declared loudly.

???

The atmosphere in the cave turned strange.

Ultraman??? What was that?

Nagato and Konan exchanged confused glances.

Even Black Zetsu was stunned, the empty eye sockets showing confusion for the first time. He had lived for thousands of years and knew every famous ninja, but Ultraman was a name he had never heard!

"Forget it. If you don't want to say anything, we'll let it go." Nagato sighed, giving up. Pushing Zero further might make him hostile toward the organization.

Nagato made a mental note to investigate the name Ultraman later.

"Currently, our biggest problem is the lack of manpower. If we had enough members, many issues would be resolved." Nagato said, his voice deep.

"From now on, our primary mission is to recruit members. I've compiled a list of suitable candidates. They are all notorious rogue ninjas. Your task is to recruit them into the organization by any means necessary."

Konan flew up and distributed a stack of lists to everyone.

Zero glanced at the list.

They were all famous rogue ninjas.

Sasori, Hidan, Kisame...

Then Zero spotted a familiar name.

Kakuzu.

Konoha

On the street, Orochimaru and Hyuga Satoru walked side by side, admiring the now-transformed Konoha. Both couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.

"Satoru, we should build the wind turbine you mentioned over there," Orochimaru suggested.

"And in the south of the village, we should set up a maglev train station, making sure the maglev train connects to every household in Konoha."

Orochimaru pointed out a few locations, feeling a surge of ambition.

Satoru smiled and nodded.

The ninja world's technological tree was indeed peculiar.

But under his guidance, Konoha's development was gradually getting back on track. It wouldn't be long before they entered their first industrial revolution.

Skipping the steam revolution, they would jump straight into the electromagnetic technological revolution.

High-tech industries combined with various welfare policies would lead to Konoha's rapid development.

The next time Pain came to attack, the railgun would show him who's boss.

Orochimaru felt grateful. Meeting Satoru had been a stroke of luck. This new wave was gradually changing Konoha.

In the future, it would spread across the entire ninja world.

At that moment, Orochimaru noticed a little girl walking down the street. She looked about three or four years old, very cute, and was pestering her mother for a lollipop.

Orochimaru walked over, crouched down, and pulled a lollipop from his pocket, smiling as he offered it to the girl.

The girl froze for a moment before bursting into tears and clinging to her mother's leg.

"Mommy, there's a scary man here!"

The girl's loud cries instantly drew a crowd of villagers who began whispering among themselves.

Orochimaru awkwardly scratched his head with his toe, feeling utterly embarrassed.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

"Ah! It's Lord Hokage! She's just a child; please don't mind her," the woman recognized Orochimaru and quickly apologized.

The surrounding villagers also recognized Orochimaru, their expressions changing from disdain to admiration.

That was Orochimaru, the Fourth Hokage, the hero who had subdued the Nine-Tails and saved the village!

Satoru rolled his eyes.

He walked over, took the lollipop from Orochimaru, and handed it to the still-sniffling girl with a smile.

The girl looked at Orochimaru and then at Satoru. She happily took the lollipop and started to eat it with glee.

Orochimaru's pale face showed a hint of frustration.

Satoru patted his shoulder sympathetically.

Orochimaru was great at many things, but his face did indeed scare children.

Satoru glanced at the Hokage Rock. The Fourth Hokage's face, Orochimaru's face, had taken half a year to complete. Rumour had it that the artisans working on it had changed three times. The first craftsman lost so much hair from stress that he went bald and still couldn't carve a satisfactory face.

Rock sculptures were different from pictures. Pictures could be touched up, but sculptures were three-dimensional and far more complex.

Ultimately, Satoru had to step in and design a more feminine version of Orochimaru's face, finally solving the problem.

Orochimaru sighed.

For the first time, he felt a deep sense of frustration.

He wondered if he should switch to a female body.

In nature females were naturally more nurturing than males, which could also help his political career.