Chapter 54: Encounter with Itachi and Kisame

Shikamaru’s expression remained unchanged. What a hassle, he thought, knowing that explaining would be pointless—he didn’t expect them to understand, either.

Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction at Shikamaru’s composure, but his mind pondered: so it really was Itachi Uchiha manipulating things behind the scenes?

“Orochimaru-sama, Itachi Uchiha found us and wants us to form an alliance with the Ideal Nation—an inside-outside collaboration to rebel against the Sound Village,” Shikamaru explained.

Lord Hyde, the ruler of the Ideal Nation, seized upon Shikamaru’s words to add, “It was a guy named Itachi Uchiha—he wore a black cloak with red clouds. He also had a partner, squinty eyes, looked like a shark!”

Itachi Uchiha had investigated the Ideal Nation, uncovered the secret of the Grell Stone, and infiltrated the Sound Village for information, setting the stage for this rebellion.

Yet, what Itachi could not have foreseen was that Orochimaru would catch on just as the plan began to unfold.

Itachi Uchiha was no ordinary adversary; any scheme he devised would never be as simple as it appeared.

Orochimaru declared, “Follow the crow, we’re going to find Itachi Uchiha.”

Lord Hyde was a bit bewildered—shouldn’t their main goal be to locate the Grell Stone’s vein? Why search for Itachi Uchiha?

Shikamaru crossed his arms and closed his eyes in contemplation, quickly deducing Orochimaru’s intentions.

Itachi had sent the three of them to negotiate an alliance with Hyde, but that was only part of his plan. The other purpose was to distract Hyde and secretly seize the Grell Stone’s vein.

He intended not only to exploit Hyde completely, but also to use the entire Ideal Nation as cannon fodder—a ruthless strategy.

Hyde was still unaware, but his instincts for survival—submitting to the strong, bullying the weak—had saved him. When faced with a true menace, he knew to be meek, especially with Orochimaru.

“Orochimaru-sama, no need to go on foot—I have a moving fortress. Let’s ride in that,” Hyde offered eagerly.

Everyone boarded the mobile fortress, guided by the crow, setting out to find Itachi Uchiha.

…

Itachi Uchiha and Kisame, led by the old man in the tall hat, arrived at a mountain valley. Inside was a deep pit; jumping into it led them into a building.

The interior was spacious, with stone murals covering the walls, depicting the history of a nation.

At this point, the old man trembled, his mind cleared as the illusion was dispelled.

He looked around at the murals in confusion and fear, despair etched on his face.

“This is the entrance to the Grell Stone’s vein!”

He had guarded the secret of the Grell Stone, waiting for the day the royal family would come to destroy it, but now it had been discovered.

“You don’t understand the power you’re dealing with! I’ll fight you to the end!”

The old man drew a dagger and, in utter despair, lunged at Itachi Uchiha. If the power of the Grell Stone’s vein fell into the hands of the wicked, the world would be plunged into catastrophe.

One misstep, and even the earth itself might be destroyed.

A shuriken pierced the old man’s heart, ending his life. Itachi Uchiha, expressionless, withdrew his hand.

So what if the earth was destroyed? There was already more than one force on this planet capable of annihilating it.

Kisame glanced coldly at the old man’s corpse, then turned his attention to a stone sculpture—the seal of the Grell Stone.

“The power of the Grell Stone is sealed here. So, if I break the seal, it’ll be released?” Kisame muttered, running his fingers over the sculpture. His giant sword swung down.

Crack.

The sculpture shattered instantly—it was not sturdy at all.

A surge of green energy poured forth, the power of the Grell Stone’s vein erupting.

…

Orochimaru and the others followed the crow in the mobile fortress. The sheer size of the fortress intrigued Orochimaru.

After piloting the moon, he had grown interested—this fortress was like a miniature version of the moon.

“Orochimaru-sama, this is the castle’s designer,” Hyde presented the technician to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru nodded, formed hand seals, and summoned three shadow clones, encircling the designer as he descended.

He intended to fully understand the mechanics of the mobile fortress; in the future, such fortresses would be mass-produced.

“Orochimaru is truly unfathomable,” Shikamaru murmured.

Before he met the man, Shikamaru could only observe Orochimaru’s actions from afar, and even then, he couldn’t find any way to defeat him.

Now, walking at his side and witnessing Orochimaru’s endless curiosity and drive for knowledge, Shikamaru’s conviction in Orochimaru’s invincibility only deepened.

While others lazed about, aimless, thinking only of idleness, Orochimaru had goals, initiative, and talent—how could they possibly hope to win?

Unless fortune struck them like a bolt from the blue—a gift from the heavens.

Sakura and Rock Lee were furious with Shikamaru. Why was he so submissive toward Orochimaru? Orochimaru was, after all, the villain who destroyed the Leaf Village!

“Shikamaru, are you going to betray us?” Sakura asked quietly.

Rock Lee’s face was grim, his head bowed, a shadow darkening his expression. “Shikamaru, have you forgotten your comrades? Have you forgotten those who died in the Leaf Village?”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, exasperated, at a loss with these two. They were always wise after the event.

Where were they earlier? If they didn’t appreciate being saved before, what’s the point in questioning him now?

If they had the guts, they could confront Orochimaru themselves.

Shikamaru rubbed his brow—his head was aching.

…

When Orochimaru and his party arrived at the Grell Stone’s vein, they found the sky saturated with green energy, vast tides of power surging and bursting forth.

“This… is the vein of the Grell Stone!” Hyde exclaimed in shock.

He had no idea how they’d found the vein; weren’t they searching for Itachi Uchiha?

Yet his small eyes glimmered, ambition quietly rekindling—if he could obtain the power of the Grell Stone’s vein, wouldn’t Orochimaru be powerless against him?

Wouldn’t the tables turn?

“So this is the power of the Grell Stone?” Orochimaru gazed through the storm of energy toward the two figures at its heart.

One was Itachi Uchiha, the other was Kisame.

“Um… Orochimaru-sama, I’ll take Timcy in first to scout ahead for you,” Hyde said, dragging Timcy into the energy storm, not caring whether Orochimaru approved.

Greed nearly overflowed from his eyes.

At the heart of the storm, Itachi and Kisame seemed to sense their arrival, turning to face them, their features obscured.

But as Hyde and Timcy entered the storm, they were torn apart—not by the frenzy of energy itself, but by someone manipulating the raging power to kill.

“I didn’t expect you’d come,” Itachi Uchiha’s voice drifted out, calm and cold.

The sound resonated with the energy storm, like a beast roaring at Orochimaru. Orochimaru had arrived too late; Itachi now held the absolute advantage.

Orochimaru smiled, replying, “Nor did I expect you would discover such power.”