Chapter 13: The Bait

Though Amegakure was relatively closed off from the outside world, the legend of the Sage's Tomb still made its rounds.

People whispered about it over meals, engaging in all sorts of wild speculation. Even Kakuzu found himself intrigued—not because he cared about the Sage's inheritance or the secrets of immortality. After all, Earth Grudge Fear had already granted him longevity. What he was after was the burial treasure—gold.

As the rumors spread, they grew increasingly exaggerated. Everyone claimed the tomb was filled with endless riches—gold, silver, and jewels beyond imagination. With a temptation like that, how could Kakuzu possibly resist?

He was ready to set off on a spontaneous tomb-raiding adventure. But Getsushoku rejected his invitation to team up. After all, the Sage's Tomb was his own creation. Of course he knew exactly what was inside.

He was the one who had started it all.

Pain and Konan were the ones fanning the flames of the rumor, though even they didn't know the full truth. They believed the tomb actually existed, and that Getsushoku had merely caught wind of it and wanted to use the opportunity to stir chaos across the shinobi world.

This time, Konan personally took action, while the other members of Akatsuki remained in the dark. Pain probably saw it as a good opportunity to weaken the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Originally, Getsushoku had only intended to bait Orochimaru. The Sage's so-called "secret of immortality" would undoubtedly draw that slippery snake in. But later, he decided to go bigger—dragging every hidden village in the entire shinobi world into the trap.

The so-called Sage's Tomb... was nothing more than bait.

Of course, while the tomb itself was fake, the treasures within were real enough. The tomb also contained legitimate records of shinobi world history.

In the system shop, gold and high-grade replica treasures weren't too expensive. Mixing truth and falsehood—some real items, some fakes—was the only way to lure the Five Great Villages into coveting it.

...

The terrain in the Land of Stone was much like that of the Land of Wind—endless yellow sand as far as the eye could see. Rasa led a squad swiftly across the barren landscape.

Baki was close behind, though Chiyo and Ebizō were absent from this unit.

"The spy we planted in Iwagakure sent word—Ōnoki has started making moves," Rasa said grimly.

"We need to pick up the pace."

Soon, the Sunagakure forces reached the outskirts of the tomb.

That was when Baki spoke up.

"Kazekage-sama, you dispatched scouts ahead of time to guard the tomb entrance, didn't you?"

Rasa nodded. "Yes. I sent several small teams. They were ordered to disguise the entrance and wait for the main force to arrive."

"This is bad! Kazekage-sama, look!"

Rasa followed Baki's gaze. The tomb entrance lay completely exposed. Not a soul was in sight.

"What? What's going on here?!"

"Kazekage-sama, Kazekage-sama...!" A faint, feeble voice reached their ears.

Rasa quickly followed the sound.

Behind a large boulder, a few Suna shinobi lay in tatters, their clothes torn and bodies covered in blood. Severed snake corpses were scattered across the ground.

Rasa's eyes widened. "What the hell happened to you?"

"We did as ordered, Kazekage-sama. We disguised the tomb entrance, and at first, we managed to mislead a few search parties," one ninja croaked. "But then Orochimaru showed up. He summoned a horde of snakes to sniff out the entrance. We tried to stop him... but we got beaten to a pulp."

Another ninja whimpered, on the verge of tears. "Orochimaru said that if not for the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha, he would've killed us all without a second thought!"

"That bastard!" Rasa growled through clenched teeth. "Konoha is far from the Land of Stone. How did Orochimaru get here so fast?!"

One of the wounded shinobi replied, "Kazekage-sama, I overheard Orochimaru saying that the information about the Sage's Tomb has already spread. Now the entire shinobi world knows it's located at the border between the Land of Stone and the Land of Smiths."

Rasa paled. "The word's already out?"

The border between the Land of Stone and the Land of Smiths was in the far west—adjacent to the Land of Wind. The Land of Earth was separated from it by the Land of Stars. The other three great nations—Water, Fire, and Lightning—were all far from here. That was why Rasa had only prepared for a confrontation with Iwagakure.

But now things had changed. Konoha was reacting far quicker than expected.

Given the circumstances, Rasa had no time to worry about the injured.

"Get the wounded to a safe place to rest. The rest of you—follow me. We're entering the tomb!"

And with that, Rasa hurried off with his troops.

The abandoned wounded reached out with trembling hands, wanting to speak but stopping themselves. Seriously, not a single medical-nin in the squad? Couldn't they at least get some basic treatment first?

They tried to stay quiet, but in the end, they couldn't suppress their frustration. A bitter look crept across their faces.

...

Meanwhile, inside the tomb, Getsushoku wandered the halls, wearing his mask.

He had quietly slipped away from Amegakure, leaving only a clone behind to keep up appearances in Akatsuki.

With Orochimaru drawn in, how could Getsushoku—bent on revenge—possibly miss such a grand occasion?

A few moments later, the faint sound of footsteps reached his ears. Getsushoku immediately activated the Mayfly Technique, merging into the tomb wall and leaving only a single eye exposed to observe.

In his field of vision appeared a long-haired man with pale skin and vertical-slit pupils, calmly walking down the corridor.

Getsushoku narrowed his eyes. "Orochimaru… so you've finally arrived."

Orochimaru abruptly stopped, sensing that someone was watching him. He turned to face the wall.

"Nothing?" His brows furrowed slightly, growing even more cautious.

Getsushoku remained hidden, the corners of his lips lifting ever so slightly.

"The star of the show has taken the stage. I hope you enjoy the performance I've prepared for you, little snake."

Orochimaru continued walking. Seeing that nothing unusual had occurred, he relaxed slightly.

He was well aware that this tomb would attract many. But he wasn't looking for conflict—he was here only for the secrets of immortality, not for a brawl.

Still, doubt flickered in his eyes.

"Does the secret of immortality truly exist?" he murmured. "If the Sage attained immortality… then why does he have a tomb? Could it be that he only achieved longevity, not true eternal life? No matter how long one lives, time always wins in the end…"

Orochimaru was more cautious than ever now. Just hearing the name of the Sage of Six Paths filled him with an inexplicable sense of revulsion. These changes stemmed from the recent string of nightmares he had suffered.

Not one, but a series of nightmares—like an ongoing saga. He dreamt of disasters engulfing the shinobi world… of himself being destroyed by the Sage of Six Paths. The scenes were fragmented, like shattered glass, but Orochimaru was clever enough to extract a wealth of information from the smallest details.

At first, he suspected he'd fallen under a genjutsu. He checked himself repeatedly but found no trace of it. Eventually, he began to believe that he had awakened a kind of precognitive ability. Jiraiya once told him that the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku could foresee the future in his dreams.

But the visions Orochimaru saw often contradicted each other. He couldn't determine what it meant—perhaps... they were glimpses of different possible futures?

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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