Chapter 137 » Orochimaru, Welcome to the Akatsuki! A Confused Tsunade: Me, Become Hokage?

Within the borders of the Land of Rain, Orochimaru gazed at the endless curtain of rain before him. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

He was pondering whether he should truly cooperate with the person claiming to be the leader of the Akatsuki organization. If it were the him of the past, he would have undoubtedly agreed without hesitation.

After all, in the entire ninja world today, he couldn't return to Konoha. The Land of Lightning had completely become Kirigakure's territory. The remaining two allied nations would certainly not welcome him either. Only the Akatsuki organization, willing to cooperate with him, could be his destination.

"Hah..." Orochimaru took a deep breath.

Then he slowly stepped into the endless curtain of rain before him.

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Just as Orochimaru entered the rain, in the central area of the Land of Rain, at the top floor of the tallest and most bizarre building, an eye emitting a purple glow slowly opened.

Under the pitch-black night sky, it appeared exceptionally eerie.

"He's here." Deva Pain said expressionlessly.

"Mm. Let's go welcome our new member together." Obito replied, stepping to the forefront from behind the scenes.

"Mm." Pain responded faintly.

Immediately after, he leapt straight up, jumping into the endless curtain of rain before him.

At this moment, Obito, beneath his mask, began to release his Kamui. His form slowly distorted until he vanished without a trace.

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On the border bridge of the Land of Rain, Orochimaru, wearing a raincoat, walked forward.

Not long after, an orange-haired figure slowly descended from the sky before him. Simultaneously, the space in front began to exhibit a strange, twisted state. Shortly after, a masked mand stepped out from within it.

"Orochimaru. We've been waiting here for you for quite some time." As Obito appeared, the Sharingan beneath his mask began to slowly spin.

Currently, the Akatsuki organization urgently needed powerful combat strength. Orochimaru, one of the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha, combined with his incredibly bizarre scientific research skills, was a very suitable candidate for the organization.

Orochimaru observed the masked man before him.

Long ago, the two had already crossed paths in Konoha. At that time, Obito had revealed his identity as "Madara Uchiha". However, Orochimaru had always been skeptical of this claim.

Who was Madara Uchiha? How could it possibly be this figure hiding behind the scenes? This person before him, claiming to be the Legendary Uchiha, must be using this identity to carry out his actions, to achieve some kind of convenient effect.

However, Orochimaru didn't care about any of this. As long as he was given a place where he could continue his research, that would suffice.

"Leader." Orochimaru finally spoke up after pondering for a long time, "Yūsuke Kamizuki. It seems he knew about your Akatsuki organization in the Land of Rain long ago."

Hearing this, Obito's Sharingan flickered slightly beneath his mask. He replied in a low voice, "Perhaps... After all, I've had two encounters with him."

As soon as these words were spoken, Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly. His face immediately filled with intense interest!

A man who could face off against the Death God? Moreover, judging by his appearance, it seemed he had managed to escape unscathed!

This filled him with curiosity.

Obito naturally saw through his current inner thoughts. He said in a deep voice, "The first time was about three years ago. At that time, I had control over Yagura, the Mizukage of Kirigakure. Just as I was about to execute my plan, that man called Yūsuke Kamizuki rose like a meteor. In a short period, he gained incredibly powerful strength! My first confrontation with him was at that time."

He lowered his eyelids slightly and exhaled slowly.

"He must have awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai then. He had already mastered it to an extremely profound level. In our first confrontation, we barely managed to fight to a draw. However, he thwarted my plan. Unable to proceed, I withdrew from the Mist Village and returned to the Land of Rain."

Obito didn't try to conceal much about this matter. After all, it wasn't really a secret.

Moreover, even though nearly three years had passed since this incident, he still vividly remembered the sight of that vast lake instantly freezing into an ice-bound world! Even he himself had been frozen by that Ice God.

However, he possessed the Kamui. At the last moment, he used it to escape. Otherwise, who knows what other unexpected turns might have occurred.

"To think such a thing happened." Orochimaru said, now looking at him with great interest, "What about the second time?"

Hearing this, Obito's face beneath his mask stiffened slightly.

The second time was naturally when he discovered Kakashi's dangerous situation through the Sharingan he had left with him. Then he forcibly borrowed his body, used Kamui, and saved him.

However, he naturally wouldn't speak of this.

"The second time was also a draw." Obito said slowly.

No fight meant a draw!

Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly. He had already caught the implication in his words. The second time, Obito was no match for the enemy!

Come to think of it, the rate at which Yūsuke's strength increased was terrifying!

"What about the person we want?" Pain spoke impassively.

After all, they had promised Orochimaru an absolutely safe experimental environment. Moreover, they had unconditionally completed the construction of his underground experimental base in the Land of Rain.

Therefore, it was necessary for him to fulfill what he had previously promised.

"He's on the Island Turtle. He said that place could help him increase his strength more rapidly." Orochimaru answered in a hoarse voice.

This person was naturally Killer B, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki who had escaped to Konoha!

When Kumogakure was conquered by Yūsuke, Killer B had used his Octopus Leg Clone Technique to escape. He fled from Kumo and, after leaving the Land of Lightning, hurriedly headed towards the nearest ninja village — Konohagakure.

After informing Hiruzen of everything that had happened, he left the Leaf and headed to the Island Turtle within the borders of the Land of Lightning. Since then, he hasn't appeared again.

"Here's the map." After Orochimaru finished speaking, he took out the map scroll of the Island Turtle from his bosom and handed it to Pain.

After receiving it, Pain nodded slightly. Then he said in his usual emotionless tone, "The Akatsuki welcomes you. Your underground experimental base has been fully constructed. You can begin your experiments anytime, anywhere."

"Excellent." Orochimaru said with a slight smile.

He then followed Pain and Obito across the border into the Land of Rain.

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Konohagakure. Inside the Hokage's office.

At this moment, Tsunade was staring at Hiruzen with utter bewilderment.

"Huh? Sensei? Is there something wrong with your head? Me, become the Hokage of Konoha?!"

Her barrage of questions immediately soured his expression. However, he didn't dare express any anger.

Hiruzen could only say patiently, "Tsunade, listen. You're one of the Legendary Sannin. The position of Hokage suits you perfectly. And I'm just an old man now. It's time for me to step down."

After he finished speaking, Tsunade was still too shocked to react. She thought for a moment, then furrowed her brows.

"Sensei, don't you know... I've already been firmly tied with Yūsuke? If the village is handed over to me now, isn't that equivalent to directly handing it over to him?"

She couldn't understand why her teacher would make such an absurd decision.

"Tsunade... I'm very confident in entrusting the village to you! There are four more days. Four days later, I will officially begin the handover ceremony."

Hiruzen swallowed hard. There were some things he didn't dare say more about, as if afraid Yūsuke would appear before him the next second!

"Is it Yūsuke? Has he done something again?" Suddenly, Tsunade's eyes lit up, and she questioned angrily.

Seeing her speak so bluntly, Hiruzen immediately collapsed to the ground in fear!

At this moment, Tsunade understood everything from his reaction!

Yūsuke must be behind all this!

Could it be that his daily trips to the hot springs with Mikoto and Kushina these past few days weren't real? But rather to conceal his true intentions?!

That despicable man!

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