Chapter 611: Uchiha Madara—If the Cloud Village Won’t Give Us a Chance, We’ll Create One

To make sure Senju Hashirama could have some fun, Nawaki even contributed all of his private savings.

Bang!!!

In the secret prison commonly used by the Anbu, the door swung open. Sitting inside, Orochimaru slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the figure standing at the entrance. A slight smirk played at the corners of his lips.

"Well, well… I didn't expect it to be you, Takuya-kun. Has the village finally decided to pass judgment on me?"

Despite committing serious offenses, the village had still treated him rather well.

At the very least, they hadn't simply thrown him into a regular prison.

Of course, Tsunade wasn't at ease either. Orochimaru had too many tricks up his sleeve—escaping from any prison would be a mere formality for him.

The fearsome Konoha prison, dreaded by outsiders, was full of loopholes in his eyes.

If he wanted to leave, it would be easy.

Even the Anbu's secret detention facility couldn't hold him. The only reason he was still here was that he simply had no intention of leaving.

"What's the point?"

Takuya shook his head in exasperation, then motioned for Orochimaru to follow him.

Orochimaru chuckled, showing no sign of concern about a potential trial. He followed at a leisurely pace, stepping out of the cell and casually taking a seat in the Anbu lounge.

He even picked up the tea that had been poured for Takuya and sipped it without a care.

The Anbu guards widened their eyes, ready to intervene, but Takuya gestured for them to hold back.

Leaning back in his chair, Takuya simply watched Orochimaru drink his tea.

Only after he had nearly finished the cup did Takuya finally speak.

"Orochimaru, you're putting Tsunade and me in a really difficult position."

"I know."

Orochimaru set down the cup, still smiling.

Takuya sighed. "If you know, then why the hell do you keep doing this?"

Orochimaru met Takuya's exasperated gaze with his snake-like eyes, the amusement fading from his face. He replied calmly, "Takuya-kun, I have my own pursuits. I understand that what I do puts you in a tough spot, but I can't help myself."

Of course, he couldn't.

"You should already have guessed that the village won't put you on trial. However, house arrest is unavoidable. Just stay put in the village for now. If you need anything for your research, Tsunade and I will do our best to provide it."

Since they couldn't hold him, what was the point of a trial?

Killing Orochimaru? Not an option.

If they couldn't execute him, then what was there to argue about? Takuya had no interest in debating the matter further.

The only issue was that this damn snake was never content to stay put.

A warning was necessary.

"Can I leave the village?" Orochimaru asked slowly.

"Do whatever you want."

Takuya turned to leave.

"These restrictions are just for show—to reassure the villagers. No one is actually going to keep you locked up. But… I hope this is the last time. If you want to experiment or research something, do it outside the village. Don't make things difficult for everyone."

"This time, I'll let it slide. But I hope it's the last."

His voice dropped into a dangerous tone. "I'd rather not trap you in a genjutsu forever. You know I can do it."

Genjutsu.

At that word, Orochimaru's eyes widened instantly. His pupils dilated to round, startled circles.

"You know I can, Orochimaru. I just choose not to. I don't want things to become that tense between us. So why don't we both take a step back?"

Expecting Orochimaru to suddenly turn into a model citizen? Not a chance.

Letting him roam free and cause trouble outside was a better option than forcing his hand—because if they pushed him too far, Orochimaru might just defect to Uchiha Madara's side.

That was something Takuya absolutely did not want.

Orochimaru stirring up chaos was far more dangerous than Black Zetsu.

At least Black Zetsu schemed against everyone equally—Orochimaru, on the other hand, could very well turn against Konoha specifically.

"Oh, right."

As he reached the door, Takuya stopped and glanced back at Orochimaru.

"All that research you've been doing—I understand it. I might not specialize in your field, but I know one thing: the more you mess with your body, the weaker your soul becomes. And the weaker your soul, the more vulnerable you are to genjutsu."

"I'm sure you don't want to become someone who has to avoid every genjutsu user in the ninja world, right?"

"There are plenty of genjutsu specialists out there. Especially in Konoha."

Just look at what Orochimaru turned himself into in the original timeline.

Neither fully human nor completely inhuman. Neither male nor female. What the hell was he even trying to achieve?

Was his fear of death worth twisting himself into something so unnatural?

Orochimaru didn't have a response this time.

Because Takuya was right.

His resistance to genjutsu was getting worse. If he kept tampering with himself, the problem would only become more severe.

Eventually, any competent genjutsu user would be able to take him down with ease.

And Konoha alone had plenty of those. The Uchiha, in particular, were notorious for it.

"You're just letting him go?"

Sakumo Hatake didn't quite understand what Takuya was playing at.

"What else can I do?"

In the Anbu headquarters, Takuya leaned back with his feet propped up on the desk, casually chatting with Sakumo.

"We can't kill him. The Third Hokage, Tsunade, and Jiraiya would never allow it. As serious as his crimes are, they're not enough to justify execution."

"Besides, this snake can't be locked up anyway. If we can't kill him and can't contain him, we might as well let him be free—as long as he doesn't stir up trouble."

"And even if he does…"

Takuya narrowed his eyes. "That's still better than him defecting to Madara."

Sakumo gave him a look that screamed, Well, whatever, not my problem.

"I just handle Anbu matters," his expression seemed to say.

"Oh, right. Any news on Kakashi and the others?"

It was clear that Sakumo was thinking about his son and daughter-in-law.

Takuya rubbed his forehead. "Not yet. Let's wait until this whole mess is over before bringing them back. The last thing we need is for someone to go crazy and come knocking on Konoha's doorstep."

After all, Uchiha Obito wasn't the type to quietly accept being controlled.

Even if he was under control for now, the future was uncertain.

So, Black Zetsu… what's your next move?

Don't just sit there in silence.

Silence only makes things worse. Wouldn't it be better to take action?

A Black Zetsu that operated in the open wasn't that frightening. The real danger was when he lurked in the shadows, scheming unseen.

If he made his move, everything would be far easier to deal with. Worst case scenario, Madara gets revived, and they all get dragged into the chaos.

Then the Sage of Six Paths could just come and clean up the mess.

For now, Konoha had locked down all information.

Madara wasn't given any chance to lose his mind and come storming into the village for a battle.

Instead, he was left with nothing to do but stare off into the distance, reminiscing about his dear old friend.

"Lord Madara, the Cloud Village's defenses are tight. White Zetsu is struggling to locate the Rinnegan."

"Then let's cause some chaos."

Madara had little interest in such trivial matters. Without Hashirama, there was no thrill in battle.

If the Cloud Village wouldn't give them an opportunity, they would simply create one.

That was what Black Zetsu was best at, after all.

They might not be able to get their hands on the Rinnegan just yet, but that didn't mean there weren't other options.

Like the Jinchūriki.

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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01. 

DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING