After meeting with Orochimaru,
Uchiha Yu had him retrieve the Uchiha clan's forbidden technique scroll for Izanagi.
He also took from Orochimaru's collection of rapid-strength-enhancing experimental drugs a red pill—a drug that consumed lifespan in exchange for unlocking the body's full physical potential.
Thus began the defection plan.
At that time, he had only been in this world for two days. If he'd had more time—even just a month—things wouldn't have turned out this way for the Uchiha.
But he only had one week.
The mission alert "Countdown to the Night of the Massacre" was like a death knell, constantly reminding him how long until the executioner's blade fell upon him.
Uchiha Yu lowered his gaze, interrupting his train of thought, then turned again to Kimimaro and calmly asked:
"Is Orochimaru in position?"
Kimimaro shook his head and replied,
"My lord is still behind us, handling some minor matters. But once you initiate your move, he will appear on time without fail."
"Good." Uchiha Yu glanced at Kimimaro and said, "Tell me how you two communicate in real time. The plan has changed. I need him to handle something immediately."
"No problem."
Kimimaro relaxed his brows and, without hesitation, crouched down. Fixing his eyes on the ground, he formed a string of hand seals:
Boar – Dog – Rooster – Monkey – Sheep—
His fingers weaved quickly, and he pressed his hand against the rocky ground to activate the summoning technique.
Black sealing lines spread across the ground.
Poof—
A cloud of smoke dispersed.
A small white snake appeared—its body long and slender, speckled with markings on its scales, small-headed, resembling a pig-nosed viper.
Its appearance caught the attention of the surrounding Uchiha.
The little white snake flicked its tongue, opened its mouth, and spat out a large black scroll—three times its body size—and a pen.
Kimimaro picked up the scroll and pen and handed them to Uchiha Yu. "This is how my lord and I communicate."
Uchiha Yu accepted the items, spread the scroll on the ground, and signaled Izumi to plant a torch beside him. She obediently turned away.
The other Uchiha members also turned their gazes elsewhere.
Uchiha Yu took up the pen and wrote down the task he wanted Orochimaru to complete. Once finished, he rolled up the scroll and handed it to Kimimaro.
Only then did the others turn their heads back.
They saw Kimimaro place the scroll before the little white snake. The snake opened its mouth, bit down on the scroll, slowly swallowed it, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
With that done,
Uchiha Yu scanned the crowd. He saw that Tamao, Minami, and the other Uchiha who had helped wipe out Root operatives earlier were showing signs of fatigue.
They had just taken down another of Shiranami's subordinates, and continuous combat had left their chakra reserves severely depleted.
"Take some soldier pills and keep moving," Uchiha Yu said calmly, not rushing them, but allowing them time to recover.
Kimimaro's eyes flickered with curiosity, as if struggling with a question. After a moment's thought, he finally asked:
"Though you've already proven your strength, the dangers ahead…"
Before he could finish his sentence—
The Uchiha began swallowing soldier pills.
Uchiha Yu walked past Kimimaro expressionlessly and said coolly, "Just watch."
"…"
Kimimaro's eyes widened slightly, then his expression returned to normal. This man was even more prideful and cold than his own master.
What he had meant to say was:
If Yu and the others failed to hold off Konoha's elite pursuit squads in direct combat, Orochimaru would abandon them without hesitation and drop the plan altogether.
The team pressed forward, continuing northwest.
Uchiha Yu was fully aware that once they reached the Valley of Judgment, he would be facing:
Uchiha Itachi, Obito, clan heads from Konoha, elite ANBU trackers, Konoha's allied forces, a swarm of bounty hunters and rogue nin—an endless tide of enemies.
But it didn't matter.
No matter how many came,
To someone like Uchiha Yu—who had mastered his Mangkeyo—it made little difference.
---
…
…
Clouds began gathering in the night sky.
Moonlight dimmed.
A shadow loomed.
On the border of the Land of Fire, in a damp and gloomy cave, a Root operative was stumbling out in retreat—
Only for a flash of white webbing to shoot from the darkness, binding his legs in an instant.
Thud—
"Argh!!"
The Root ninja crashed to the ground, gasping for air, his body spent. Trembling, he looked back in horror.
In the shadows of the cave—
Wearing a Sound Village forehead protector, with dark skin and a face covered in curse mark patterns, Kidōmaru stepped out slowly.
He had three pairs of arms, resembling a spider.
The Root ninja, upon seeing him, looked as if they'd seen a demon. They tried to resist, but their legs were bound, and they couldn't move.
"Why run? Dying tonight is your true destiny!"
Kidōmaru sneered as he approached the Root ninja. He raised three of his right arms—one pressed down on the man's head, one gripped his throat, and one grabbed his chest.
Crack!
With a brutal twist from the middle arm, the Root ninja's eyes bulged, his throat crushed. He couldn't even scream—he suffocated to death.
Kidōmaru tossed the corpse carelessly outside the cave.
Splat—
Footsteps echoed again inside the dark cave—light, unhurried, and accompanied by a raspy, deep voice filled with amusement:
"Danzo is dead. Luckily, the old man never knew about these secret research bases he built on the Fire Country's border."
Kidōmaru dropped his cruel expression and stood obediently to the side of the cave wall, head bowed, respectfully awaiting the arrival of the powerful figure hidden in the shadows.
As the footsteps approached,
Kidōmaru held his breath.
A tall man emerged from the darkness, bathed in the last rays of moonlight.
He wore a robe adorned with fire-patterned clouds. His skin was paler than moonlight, his features delicate and sinister, and his golden pupils betrayed an unhidden ambition and arrogance.
"Hiss~"
Orochimaru licked his lips with a serpentine tongue. As the last glimmer of moonlight was swallowed by clouds, he smiled eerily and said flatly:
"That old fossil Danzo really left me quite the inheritance. Go, bring back all the research data and materials from this base to the Sound Village."
"Yes—!"
Kidōmaru nodded respectfully, trying his best to suppress the excitement in his breathing and body.
He turned and headed deeper into the cave.
From the shadows, a team of Sound Village ninja moved in an orderly fashion, following Kidōmaru to carry out the materials.
Orochimaru glanced toward the northwest and couldn't help but sigh. He truly regretted not meeting Yu sooner.
That man's "Konoha Collapse Plan" had struck a nerve deep within Orochimaru's heart.
In Yu, Orochimaru seemed to see a reflection of his younger self.
Moreover, Yu had assassinated Danzo during his defection and dealt a heavy blow to both Root and the Konoha ANBU. This had come as a huge and pleasant surprise.
With Danzo dead,
Orochimaru found an excuse to temporarily leave the Akatsuki and come to take over Danzo's hidden assets within and outside the Fire Country.
"It's about time to fulfill our agreement. Uchiha Yu, I hope you won't disappoint me."
Orochimaru smiled with anticipation. Suddenly sensing something through his chakra, he formed hand seals and performed a summoning technique.
A puff of smoke dispersed.
The white snake appeared and slithered up his body, coiling around his right arm, and then spit out the scroll into his palm.
Orochimaru glanced at the message from Kimimaro. It contained just a single line:
"Seize Kakashi's Sharingan.
—Uchiha Yu."
—-—
P.S.: Before leaving the Akatsuki, Orochimaru was already stockpiling resources for the Sound Village.
Kimimaro was taken by Orochimaru when he was very young—he's likely been with Orochimaru longer than Kabuto.
In the current timeline, Orochimaru is about to leave the Akatsuki. In the original story, this is the period when he had just lured Kabuto, who had recently killed Nonō.
After Itachi joined Akatsuki,
Orochimaru tried to take his body, but Itachi retaliated. Kabuto saved Orochimaru.
°°°
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