Chapter 294: Choice

Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Choice

In Konoha Village.

On a rooftop not far from the Uchiha clan district, two figures clad in black robes stood silently.

They were none other than Orochimaru and Shinno.

Gazing toward the commotion in the distant Uchiha clan district, Orochimaru curled his lips, licked them, and chuckled. "The Uchiha really are in chaos. Looks like your plan worked."

Shinno smiled lightly. "You’re mistaken. Their plan worked!"

Like Orochimaru, Shinno had never truly regarded himself as a member of the Akatsuki. He had joined the Akatsuki merely to acquire technology and make it easier for him to carry out his own plans.

In his heart, there was only one supreme ambition—

the revival of the Land of the Sky.

Orochimaru glanced at the confident Shinno beside him. Although his expression remained unchanged, a faint trace of displeasure rose in his heart.

It was obvious that after devouring the power of the demon Mōryō, Shinno had not only grown tremendously stronger, but his confidence had also risen considerably.

So much so that when speaking with Orochimaru now, he no longer used the respectful form of address he once had.

That tiny change in how Shinno addressed Orochimaru undoubtedly reflected the change in his attitude toward him. Clearly, the Shinno of today no longer considered himself to be beneath Orochimaru.

Feeling the enormous, surging, and sinister chakra emanating from Shinno, Orochimaru couldn’t help but feel rather depressed.

There had once been a time when Shinno, Hiruko, and even Hyuga Kagami—the spy he had believed he could discard whenever he pleased—were all insignificant nobodies in his eyes, mere ants whose lives and deaths could be decided at his whim.

But now, Hiruko, Shinno, and even Hyuga Kagami had all turned their fortunes around, becoming powerful figures whom even Orochimaru had to be deeply wary of.

For Orochimaru, whose own strength had remained more or less stagnant, this was incredibly frustrating.

Seemingly noticing the fluctuation in Orochimaru’s mood, Shinno smiled. "Don’t worry. You should finally get what you’ve been wishing for tonight!"

Orochimaru replied with some regret, "It’s a pity I couldn’t find that Uchiha En!"

Shinno continued smiling nonchalantly. "What? Weren’t you always coveting Uchiha Itachi’s body before?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "He’s too young."

Although Uchiha Itachi was extraordinarily talented, he was only eleven years old, which was far from the ideal age for the Living Corpse Reincarnation. Even if Orochimaru managed to obtain Uchiha Itachi tonight, he wouldn’t immediately perform the reincarnation ritual.

In a tone that seemed half reminder and half warning, Shinno said, "That Uchiha En is Uchiha Shinichi’s subordinate. For now, you’d better not make a move against her!"

"Hmph!"

Orochimaru gave a quiet snort.

Orochimaru wasn’t the narrow-minded type to hold petty grudges, but being humiliated by a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl was something a powerhouse like him, who had roamed the shinobi world for decades, simply couldn’t let go of.

What irritated Orochimaru even more was that after he passed his request for information on Uchiha En to Danzo, Danzo actually told him that there was no fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl named "Uchiha En" in the Uchiha clan.

"That bastard Danzo has no sincerity whatsoever when it comes to cooperating!"

The more irritated he became, the more Orochimaru wanted to obtain Uchiha En’s body. He didn’t know why, but he had the persistent feeling that Uchiha En’s Sharingan was somehow different from those of other Uchiha.

That feeling came from his snake-like instincts.

He even felt that the pair of Sharingan in Uchiha En’s eye sockets were more beautiful and alluring than Uchiha Shinichi’s Mangekyo Sharingan.

At that moment, the assembled Uchiha clansmen, led by their clan head Fugaku, began making their way toward the Hokage Building.

From Fugaku’s perspective, rather than sit around and wait for the Third Hokage to gather all the village’s jonin, it would be better to seize this opportunity and head directly to the Hokage Building to demand an explanation.

If communication proved impossible, they could still launch a preemptive attack before the other side finished assembling its forces.

Watching the large group of Uchiha disappear into the distance, Shinno smiled. "It’s time to make our move. Let’s go!"

Orochimaru nodded.

In the next instant, the two figures flickered and vanished from the rooftop simultaneously.

Before long, Orochimaru and Shinno had infiltrated the Uchiha clan district.

With all the clan’s powerful shinobi having been taken away by Fugaku, there was practically no defensive force left within the Uchiha clan district. As a result, the two of them easily infiltrated the Uchiha clan head’s residence.

However, the moment they entered the courtyard, two kunai came flying straight at them.

Orochimaru simply raised a hand and blocked the kunai, while Shinno merely tilted his head slightly and avoided his.

Naturally, the one who had thrown the kunai from within the courtyard was Itachi, who had remained behind at the residence.

Staring at the two sudden intruders, his gaze settled on Shinno as his expression darkened.

"You... you’re Shinno?"

Shinno wasn’t wearing a mask, so Itachi immediately recognized one of the intruders as Shinno, the wandering physician who had once hired him and Hyuga Kagami to travel to the Land of Rice Fields.

Shinno smiled. "Uchiha Itachi. I didn’t expect you to still remember me."

Itachi then turned his attention to the young woman standing beside Shinno.

There was a cold, sinister aura about her. A kunai had clearly pierced straight through her palm, and blood was dripping from the wound, yet she seemed utterly unconcerned, as though the injured hand didn’t even belong to her.

At that moment, Orochimaru casually pulled the kunai embedded in his palm free and said, "You Uchiha really are sharp. I thought I’d have to sneak inside the house before you noticed us!"

Thud, thud, thud...

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the wooden corridor.

Itachi’s expression changed drastically.

"Sasuke, don’t come over here!"

Just from the frequency and weight of the footsteps, Itachi could easily tell that the person currently running toward them was none other than his young brother, Uchiha Sasuke!

Orochimaru smiled and immediately lunged at Itachi.

At the same time, taking advantage of Orochimaru tying Itachi down, Shinno’s figure flickered as he sped toward the direction the footsteps were coming from.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In an instant, Orochimaru and Itachi became locked in combat within the courtyard. Their kunai repeatedly collided, producing a series of piercing metallic clangs.

Meanwhile, Sasuke’s voice came from the other end of the corridor.

"Who are y—!?"

His shout was quickly cut short amid a series of muffled blows.

A moment later, Shinno returned to the courtyard carrying Sasuke. The boy’s gaze was unfocused, and saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing his younger brother captured, Itachi momentarily lost his composure. But he quickly suppressed his emotions and calmly asked, "What exactly do you want?"

Orochimaru stared almost obsessively at the pair of scarlet eyes in Itachi’s sockets and licked his lips.

"I want you!"

Itachi froze for a moment before answering without the slightest hesitation, "Let Sasuke go. I’ll go with you."

Shinno smiled. "It seems you really do love your little brother. In that case, we have even more reason not to let him go!"

At that moment, Orochimaru took Sasuke from Shinno’s hands and said, "Either you come with me, or you deliver Uchiha En into my hands. The choice is yours!"