121 Orochimaru’s Word Is Gold

After discerning the Hidden Cloud's intentions, Orochimaru realized that this time, he seemed to have outsmarted himself. Previously, if he had ignored Killer Bee’s strange behavior and done nothing afterward, he could have simply watched the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Rock clash foolishly. But now, due to the Hidden Cloud’s wariness of him, they would certainly abandon this reckless plan and instead adopt a more cautious approach.

No actual loss had occurred, but missing out on potential gains felt like a painful setback.

Yet Orochimaru did not regret or doubt himself for this. When he first encountered Killer Bee, he thought of acquiring another tailed beast test subject and taking the chance to cause trouble for the Hidden Cloud. Was there anything wrong with that? Absolutely not! It was his skill to deduce enemy strategies from the faintest clues.

The saying “too clever by half” held truth, but to abandon cleverness because of it would indeed be foolish.

For now, his plan was simply to find a way to make amends and set things back on track.

If he couldn’t trick the Hidden Cloud, he’d trick the Hidden Rock instead. Orochimaru declared his appetite was insatiable and never picky. Trickery was trickery, no matter who the target.

A smirk curled on Orochimaru’s lips as he looked at the somewhat hesitant Killer Bee and asked, “Not planning to talk with me?”

“What do you want to talk about?”

Killer Bee paused, furrowing his brows as he stared at Orochimaru’s malicious expression.

Both sides stood to lose a tentacle of Killer Bee’s, yet he was fearless. Compared to that, if he could help the village escape this quagmire, the time spent wouldn’t be wasted.

“You seem intent on persuading the village to abandon their plan to ambush the Hidden Rock,” Orochimaru said, “Out of fear of me, worried I might strike and severely damage the Hidden Cloud.”

Orochimaru smiled at the solemn Killer Bee and shifted his tone, “But your worries are utterly unnecessary. If I intended to severely damage the Hidden Cloud, I could have led an army to attack long ago.”

“Orochimaru, is that all you want to say?”

Killer Bee’s gaze grew cold as he stared at Orochimaru. “There could be many reasons you didn’t act before—perhaps you were injured, or you didn’t want the Uchiha clan to suffer heavy losses and weaken your standing in Konoha... But there is absolutely no way you wanted to let the Hidden Cloud off.”

Killer Bee had no trust in Orochimaru’s promises, nor would the village believe such nonsense.

Between great nations, there was no trust, only interests and timing.

If the village focused solely on striking the Hidden Rock now, they would wholly expose their backdoor to Konoha. Whether Konoha chose to attack or not, the suddenness of the event might cause hesitation.

But if they learned in advance and had time to consider, everything would be entirely different.

Moreover, it was Orochimaru—the cunning warlord—who had uncovered the village’s plan.

The village had taken such a bold stance; it was not in Orochimaru’s character to sit this out.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk... I truly have no interest in the Hidden Cloud. Don’t believe me?”

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, his smile cold and maliciously clear. Even Shisui and his companions nearby wore strange expressions, caught between wanting to laugh and fearing to do so.

“Fine, trust between us is too much to ask. Let me present ironclad evidence instead...”

Orochimaru laughed and produced a set of paper and brush from a scroll. With a flourish, he wrote a line of text and attached it to a kunai.

Whoosh—

Amid the slicing wind, Killer Bee caught the harmless-looking kunai, unfolded the paper, and his face immediately changed.

He looked up at Orochimaru and exclaimed, “This can’t be true!”

“Nothing’s impossible. Others might not see it, but the Fourth Raikage is definitely aware. You can confirm it with him.”

Orochimaru’s expression was filled with meaning. “Actually, the Hidden Cloud has no other choice—either trust me or prepare for me to lead a shinobi army to attack the Land of Lightning. Either way, one of the Hidden Cloud or Hidden Rock must suffer.”

“Tsk, tsk... The Hidden Rock is not present and has no say, but you still have options.”

Killer Bee’s expression shifted repeatedly at these words. After a long silence, he said with difficulty, “This isn’t my decision to make. I’ll inform my brother and let him decide. Wait and see.”

Orochimaru nodded slightly. After Killer Bee finished speaking, he immediately dispelled his shadow clone, leaving only a twisted octopus tentacle behind.

Feeling the immense tailed beast chakra within, a smile appeared on Orochimaru’s face.

...

At the border of the Land of Lightning, Killer Bee suddenly opened his eyes in a hidden chamber, his expression shifting.

After the shadow clone was dispelled, he retained all memories and understood everything that had happened to him.

Especially the cryptic words Orochimaru wrote on the paper.

“True or false, I’ll ask my brother and find out.”

Killer Bee took a deep breath and immediately initiated contact with the village.

...

After a moment of flickering, the image of the Fourth Raikage appeared on the screen. He lay in a hospital bed, his waist wrapped in bandages.

“Bee, did it succeed?”

Killer Bee nodded, then shook his head. “Brother, is there anyone else with you? I have something important to report.”

The Fourth Raikage frowned, sensing something off about Killer Bee. Yet he absolutely trusted this half-brother. He waved his hand, dismissing the medical nin and setting up a soundproof barrier.

“My ice-cold beauty wife”

“... You can speak freely now.”

Killer Bee recounted his experience rapidly. When he reached Orochimaru’s words on the note, he hesitated briefly before saying, “Orochimaru said that during that battle, he could have killed you but held back at the last moment. Is that true?”

Silence fell across the screen.

After a long moment, the Fourth Raikage spoke hoarsely, “I did feel it—there was energy in that sword that wasn’t released. I considered that possibility but later thought it might be my illusion because it was just too...”

Strange!

Killer Bee completed his brother’s unfinished thought in his mind but was filled with endless doubt.

Regardless of Orochimaru’s reasons, the two involved saying this made it highly likely to be true.

And it was worth taking a gamble on.

Killer Bee asked, “Brother, should we still proceed with the raid on the Hidden Rock?”

“... Yes, it must be done. The village cannot sink deeper into the mire and be boiled like a frog in warm water.”

After a moment of thought, the Fourth Raikage slammed his hand on the hospital bed and said resolutely.

He then looked at Killer Bee, “Orochimaru’s attitude can’t be explained. Keep this to yourself and don’t tell others. Consider this mission accomplished.”

“Yes, brother.”

Killer Bee understood and nodded in agreement.

After this exchange, the two stared at each other silently, and the chamber grew quiet.

After a while, the Fourth Raikage muttered, “Damn it, this was supposed to be the village’s last-ditch counterattack. Why does it feel so frustrating now?”

Hearing this, Killer Bee nodded. Brothers shared one heart, and he felt the same.