Karin had already activated her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and summoned her pink “Gundam.”

  Hearing her call out, Senshi narrowed his eyes and grinned.

  “Don’t worry, we were just talking business. But it looks like the other side wasn’t very sincere.”

  With that, he couldn’t help inwardly pining about Obito. Showing up empty-hao ‘iate?’ Total waste of time. At least he now had a bead on Obito’s whereabouts.

  Indeed, just a moment ago, Senshi had left a marker inside Obito’s Kamui dimension. If he wao catch Obito ter, the guy couldn’t possibly run far.

  Right then, someo through the forest, arriving at their location with a few quick bounds. It was her than Orochimaru. He g Karin, surrounded by that pink Susano’o, and—spotting the strikiernal Mangekyō in her eyes—couldn’t help feeling envious.

  He’d already e to appreciate the terror of the Sharingan when he fought Itachi. If only Senshi were willing to hand Karin over, he’d skip all the trouble. But Orochimaru didn’t push that—he was worried if he even hi it, Karin might e charging at him in her “Gundam,” and that would be more trouble than it was worth.

  Besides, his ret misadveh Itachi had taught him an important lesson: If you want something dht, leave it to a professional. If Senshi fought Itachi, the oute would almost certainly be different. But Senshi had already said he didn’t want to break with the Akatsuki, so capturing Itachi was off the table—leaving Obito as Orochimaru’s only viable option.

  Approag Senshi, Orochimaru exhaled a long, helpless sigh and got straight to the point:

  “Lord Senshi, if it has to be Obito…so be it. I’ll pay the fee!”

  Senshi was a bit surprised Orochimaru came back so quickly—he’d named a sky-high price of one hundred million ryō for the ission. That wasn’t just a few tens of millions; it was an astronomical sum. Still, Orochimaru wouldn’t be getting fleeced for no reason—there robably no one else in the shinobi world who could hahis mission. After all, thanks to Obito’s Kamui, you needed space-time powers just to keep him from esg. And if Orochimaru also wanted Obito’s other Sharingan, currently with “50-50” Hatake Kakashi, that was tricky io begin with—never mind infiltrating Konoha to snatch it.

  Truth be told, the Sharingan caused as many problems for Kakashi as it solved: he didn’t have Uzumaki physiology with near-limitless chakra; nor did he have Hashirama cells to freely power the eye. On top of that, he only had the oo begin with, limiting its full potential. Later, he’d even develop Chidori, a unique Lightning Release teique that required no Sharingan at all. Clearly, Kakashi would still have bee formidable without it.

  Standing on the wooded path, Orochimaru finished speaking and waited for Senshi’s reply. In his view, Senshi was the only one who could pull off this task. Senshi thought so too. Although going to Konoha, he’d best not walk right up to the main gate—after all, the two gate guards there might be “Six Paths–level” security forces. In future aro matter who assaults Konoha—Nagato or anyone else—they practically never e in through the main gate. Perhaps they’re afraid of crossing that unstoppable pair: “Six Paths Hagaetsu” and “Six Paths Kamizuki Izumo.” Joking aside, once you’re inside Konoha, you also have to remember o uimate any so-called “genin.” In this vilge, “lowly” ninja have a habit of pulling off the impossible—like in the fabled i where the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist got turned into a “Three Treasures of Good Fortune” by a single Konoha genin. Not to mentioorious “Eternal Genin,” Maruboshi Kosuke…there’s o these “Konoha tall tales.”

  Senshi didn’t pn to dee Orochimaru’s job, though. The only question was whether Orochimaru could really produce such a massive sum of money. Eyeing Orochimaru, Senshi asked exactly that:

  “You got a hundred million ryō lying around so quickly? You’ve got all those bs, equipment, experimental materials, a troop of subordinates on your payroll. Are you sure you scrape together that much without messing with me? Because if you’re pying games, you won’t like what happens. Lab work is expensive—how could you have saved that much?”

  Senshi knew Orochimaru well. Sharing those details out loud left Orochimaru with a sour expression. Indeed, in the shinobi world, the most critical factor is often information. Why had Asuma Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist suffered iain enters? Because intelligence make or break you. Orochimaru had bases all over and many underlings, but hearing Senshi casually recite the details of his operations was hardly pleasant.

  After a short pause, Orochimaru said:

  “At the moment, no. But soon, I will. I have ways of acquiring that much. So long as you accept the mission, I take steps to secure the funds.”

  He had no iion of cheating Senshi. sidering the huge gap in power between them, if Orochimaru tried anything funny, Senshi might just take a Konoha job to arrest the “missing-nin Orochimaru” on the spot. Orochimaru soon added:

  “Based oel you provided, Obito’s other Sharingan is in Konoha. So you start anytime. I want you to deliver me a living, plete Uchiha— not a one-eyed version!”

  (Too bad Shisui was goherwise that “Susanoo with one eye” guy might dispute whether both eyes were truly needed.)

  [Ding! A new employment mission has beeed!]

  [t: Orochimaru]

  [Mission Objective: Capture Obito arieve his sed Sharingan.]

  [ission Fee: 100 million ryō]

  [Mission Rank: S]

  [Mission Reward: 100,000 Employment Points]

  Seeing that pop-up, Senshi didn’t hesitate. Evidently, Orochimaru was serious, and yes, he did have a way to cough up the hundred million. Senshi smiled indifferently as Orochimaru spoke.

  “Don’t worry. Leave it to me—I’m a pro.”

  Orochimaru had no doubt of his petence. After all, it was hard to find anyone else in the shinobi world who’d pleted so many missions with a 100% success rate. Still, Senshi couldn’t help w how Orochimaru had been pushed to take this step so quickly. Maybe it was that disastrous fight with Itachi. Or maybe something else had triggered him.

  Having accepted the mission, Senshi heard Orochimaru ask:

  “How long do you o it up?”

  Instead of answering directly, Senshi replied with a question:

  “How soon do you want it done?”

  Orochimaru thought for a moment:

  “Within three months. you deliver a living Uchiha with both eyes in that time?”

  Senshi nodded firmly:

  “Not a problem. Just get my ission ready, then wait for word.”

  Orochimaru had zero doubts about Senshi’s reliability. Handing this off to him, Orochimaru po start gathering the ission money. He’d have to find some hapless “big spender.” Obviously, he might go running to an old buddy: Danzo. Through Danzo, he might “extract” funding to cover the expense—since Danzo relied on Orochimaru’s researany of his own shady projects.

  So, leaving Senshi behind, Orochimaru headed out in good spirits. As he walked, he told himself:

  “No doubt about it—Senshi has the skill. And from my fight with Itachi, plus all the intel I’ve gathered on the Sharingan, I’m more vihahat the Uchiha body is the perfect vessel. Once I have it, with my talents, I’ll soon be able to unleash the ’s full power.”

  Just as Orochimaru went to secure the fee, Senshi was readying to act. If Orochimaru asked him to capture other Uchiha—like Itachi or Sasuke—Senshi might weigh the pros and ore carefully. But capturing “Obito the shit-stirrer,” whose Kamui had forcibly tried t him in? No need for sed thoughts. Besides, Obito had basically just tested him, funting his Mangekyō and ign Senshi’s “tattoo powers.”

  Meanwhile, Orochimaru wasn’t bluffing. The moment he left, he hurried off to tact Danzo, the ‘First Hokage of Pots ales’ and secure the money. With Danzo’s bag, he’d gather enough experimental funds to carry out their mutual dark dealings.

  Somewhere in Konoha’s Root base:

  “Achoo!”

  Danzo sneezed out of nowhere. He silently grumbled, “Those evil Uchiha brats…there are barely a handful left, yet still they cause trouble.” He had no idea that via a of cause and effect, he was about to lose a hundred million ryō thanks to the Uchiha.

  Ba Senshi’s side, once Orochimaru departed, he started preparing for the mission. If someone asked him to take dowher remaining Uchihas, he might hesitate. But Obito, the prime “problem child” of the ninja world? No problem. Besides, Obito had just tried to Kamui him without a single .

  When Orochimaru went off, he was visibly tent. Before long, Senshi was about to leave as well. At that moment, Karin, gng up at him, asked curiously:

  “Senshi, we’re going after Obito, so that means we have to go to Konoha again, right?”

  Historically, the Land of Whirlpools had been Konoha’s close ally, but when her homend was destroyed, Konoha hadn’t been able to help them. Karin, as an Uzumaki desdant, khe story well but had never seen Konoha herself. So if she got to go there with Senshi—ahem, for a mission—she’d be delighted.

  Senshi nodded with a slight smile.

  “Yes, Karin. We’re in for a busy stretch. But before we head to Konoha, let me fill you in on ‘Konoha’s Urban Legends.’”

  Karin’s pretty Mangekyō eyes fshed with fusion. Tilting her head, she asked:

  “Urban legends? What do you mean?”

  With a serious face, Senshi expined:

  “They’re special tidbits of intel about Konoha that few outsiders know. First off, avoid using your Sharingan around Konoha, or they might brand you an ‘evil Uchiha.’ , if you run into a green-skinned, kappa-like ninja who keeps shouting about ‘youth,’ don’t say the word ‘youth’ within earshot—he might go berserk. And then there’s…”

  He rattled off a string of so-called “Konoha Tall Tales.” Karin listetentively, practically tempted to pull out a notebook from her Kamui dimension and record every bit of nonsense. Senshi described how Konoha apparently had so much talent they statiowo Six Paths–level guards at the main gate, forced another potential Six Paths–level shinobi to open a ramen shop, and so on—purely to eain her.

  After joking around, he activated his Kāma space-time ability, juring a dark-red, bck-hole-like portal in front of them. A momehey reappeared in their own room.

  “Karin,” he said casually, “go pack up; we’re about to head out for a while.”

  “Okay!”

  Karin bustled around in her bedroom, anizihings. Then she ran to the kit, st her cookware in her Kamui dimension. At this stage, her usage of the Sharingan was basically limited to “Gundam Cooking Mode.” The First Hokage, Hashirama, once admired Madara’s creativity in summoning Susanoo with a Tailed Beast overy. If he ever saw Karin frying meals in a pink Susano’o, he might marvel at how the “innovative spirit of the Uchiha” had been passed down.

  Once she fihe two of them dashed over to Kakuzu’s door. Senshi kicked it open—but trary to his usual sario of sg Kakuzu out of bed, he found Kakuzu already sitting there calmly, legs crossed, as though he’d been expeg him.

  Bleam