An Attempt

"Bubble, bubble..."

A series of bubbles emerged from the nutrient tank, submerged in the pale green solution. Orochimaru furrowed his brows slightly, resisting the Genie's waking service.

Deep sleep and healing soul injuries—no matter which process it was, it was an immensely pleasant state. It was no wonder that even after recovering to his normal self, Orochimaru still instinctively chose to linger in bed.

Under normal circumstances, the Genie wouldn't mind Orochimaru taking his time to sleep in. However, if Obito were allowed to escape right now, there was no telling what kind of chaos this fellow would continue to stir up in the future.

An open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against. Moreover, he couldn't keep his attention focused on the Hidden Leaf Village every single moment; how could anyone possibly maintain a thousand-day defense against a thief?

Under the Genie's persistent mental pollution, Orochimaru gradually woke up. The moment he fully regained his consciousness, he abruptly opened his eyes, and a brilliant golden light burst forth from them.

Yakushi Kabuto, who was standing guard in the laboratory, noticed the commotion inside the nutrient tank and hurried over to check. Locking eyes with that pair of golden snake-like eyes, he froze in place.

For that instant, he almost thought that Lord Orochimaru had awakened a pupil-technique bloodline limit. However, the light quickly receded, seeming to revert to his usual slit pupils.

After being stunned for a moment and noticing the urge in Orochimaru's eyes, Kabuto finally snapped out of it and rushed to operate the device.

The water level in the nutrient tank dropped rapidly, and the glass cover retracted into the base. Orochimaru leaped onto the floor and stretched his body slightly, feeling an unprecedented sense of lightness.

The growth in his spiritual power had directly increased his chakra by twenty percent. Although not an astronomical amount, it was quite considerable. What was even rarer was that his spiritual aura was now solid and condensed, making his entire being feel brand new. Orochimaru almost felt a refreshing sensation reminiscent of his childhood.

Nearby, Kabuto started up the testing instruments, intending to help Orochimaru understand his current state more clearly, but Orochimaru waved a hand to stop him.

Orochimaru looked toward the upper right and asked, "How can we catch up with Obito?"

In just a short span of time, the Genie had already recounted the events of this night, and Orochimaru thoroughly agreed with the Genie's view—Obito had to be taught a lesson.

This vegetable patch known as the Hidden Leaf was not a place where Obito could just come and go as he pleased.

"It's very simple. Just turn on the scan."

The Genie smiled, its mist-like body already transforming into a fine line that extended endlessly outward.

"You can head to the Hyuga clan compound first. Criminals always love to return to the scene of the crime, and this psycho even more so."

Orochimaru drew the White Snake Sage's scale from a scroll, placed it against his chest, and brought his hands together, directly entering Sage Mode. With a flash, he vanished from the spot.

***

Today, the wind in the Hidden Leaf was somewhat restless.

After coming to negotiate peace and having already signed the agreement, the leader of the diplomatic delegation, Groya, appeared in the Hyuga clan compound and was killed on the spot by the head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hizashi.

That would have been one thing, but as luck would have it, Groya's corpse was caught red-handed by the Cloud Hidden delegation that arrived shortly afterward.

Following that, a series of fierce arguments erupted. The reactions from the Cloud Hidden delegation were especially sharp, with every single one of them exasperated and burning with fury.

The Hidden Leaf side called for everyone to remain calm and objective, repeatedly emphasizing that Groya's death was extremely bizarre and fraught with suspicion.

The Cloud Hidden delegation, however, refused to listen to a word. In any case, one of their men was dead, and he had been killed by the clan head of the Hyuga.

Human lives in themselves were not important, but if someone died at precisely the right time and place, that death could yield tremendous value.

The Cloud Hidden delegation could very well see the suspicious points in the matter, but this was a prime opportunity to tear up the non-aggression pact and even secure greater benefits for their village. How could they possibly spare the energy to care about how Groya had died?

They even believed their current actions were noble; after all, Groya could not be allowed to have died in vain.

Naturally, the Hidden Leaf would not relinquish the benefits it was about to secure. They repeatedly stated that they would thoroughly investigate the facts and give Cloud Hidden an explanation, hoping this would not affect the peace talks.

The two sides continued to argue endlessly...

On the Hokage Rock, Obito stood atop the stone sculpture of the Fourth Hokage, his eyes narrowed slightly. Even though only the faint whispering of the wind reached his ears, it was as if he could hear everything happening in the Hyuga clan compound.

Human lives, interests, sacrifices...

Although the reasons differed and the forms varied, in the ninja world, this kind of situation unfolded every single moment.

Obito had long since grown accustomed to it—until that night when the person chosen as the "sacrifice" was... Nohara Rin.

To this day, he had already uncovered the full sequence of events behind that incident.

Kirigakure had implanted the Three-Tails into Rin's body with the plan to use her to destroy the Hidden Leaf. Regardless of whether it succeeded or failed, Rin was destined to die, which was why Kakashi chose to strike her down.

The incident was not complicated: in order to protect the village, a single life was chosen to be sacrificed. Kakashi's choice was entirely correct.

Most crucially, this had also been Rin's own wish.

Yet Obito refused to accept it!

There had to be something wrong with all of this.

After venting his fury through a bout of retaliation in Kirigakure, Obito returned to the Hidden Leaf and controlled the Nine-Tails to rampage through the village, nearly recreating that exact scenario to see what his teacher, Namikaze Minato, would do.

The result, however, deeply disappointed him. Teacher Minato had also chosen sacrifice, mirroring Rin's past approach.

Sacrifice was merely a compromise born of helplessness. Teacher Minato was nothing special, falling far short of Madara.

Despite its many flaws, Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan sought to eradicate sacrifice from the very source, possessing the grand vision to end all suffering in this world.

Thus far, Obito had not entirely pinned his hopes on Madara's plan; he still held a shred of hope for this reality.

Gazing at the distant lights of the village, Obito remained silent for a long time.

Now, another difficult dilemma concerning "sacrifice and interests" had arisen. What would the Third Hokage do? What would the Hidden Leaf do?

He awaited the outcome of this incident with keen anticipation.

As the night grew deeper, the dark stone statue of the Hokage looked increasingly cold and rigid. A sudden gust of wind swirled, and a figure abruptly materialized atop the statue of the Third Hokage.

Orochimaru gazed at Obito's mask, a smile curling the corners of his lips. "The affair with the Cloud Hidden delegation... that was your doing."

Obito snapped out of his contemplation. Startled upon hearing this greeting, he quickly regained his composure, speaking in a raspy voice, "As expected of one of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru. I didn't expect you to find me."

"However, you're already too late. Things have reached this point, and you can no longer stop this from moving forward."

"Such trivial matters are of little concern to me to begin with," Orochimaru replied, shaking his head with a chuckle. "What interests me is your objective."

"This is an experiment," Obito said slowly, surprised that Orochimaru did not immediately launch an attack. "I want to see whether the Hidden Leaf will sacrifice lives in exchange for benefits, or suffer losses to avoid sacrifice."

"Then you are bound to be disappointed," Orochimaru said, raising an eyebrow. "In the Hidden Leaf, everyone acts for the sake of greater interests."

"Whether material or spiritual."

"Whether pursuing individual gain or serving collective interests."