Chapter 552: The Land of Moon Submits
Land of Whirlpools, Snake Pit Village.
Orochimaru was looking at a letter delivered by one of Danzō's men.
Danzō, having fallen from grace, didn't dare come to see Orochimaru in person and had sent a letter instead.
The letter briefly outlined his thoughts on counter-attacking Konoha.
Danzō invited Orochimaru to join him, offering the Byakugan of the Hyūga main family as payment.
To be honest, Orochimaru currently looked down on Danzō.
He was annoyed that Danzō, even in his current state, still referred to himself as the Hokage and treated Konoha's assets as his own, offering up the Hyūga Byakugan as if it were a reward to be bestowed.
The letter had been sitting in the Snake Pit Village for days. Orochimaru hadn't bothered to read it.
Today, however, he had received intel about Iwagakure's "Immigration to the Moon" plan and Danzō's raids on the Land of Fire's ports. So, Danzō and Iwa are mixed up together again.
Anyone who gets involved with Ishiro can't stay quiet. This was a rule Orochimaru had come to recognize.
Only then did Orochimaru retrieve the letter.
After reading it, although Danzō's tone was grating, the offer was tempting: the Hyūga main family. That was, indeed, his goal.
"White Zetsu, go get Black Zetsu. If he refuses to show himself, tell him to never show himself again," Orochimaru said to a White Zetsu clone lying on an operating table.
The White Zetsu clone calmly sat up, hopped off the table, and sank into the ground.
It had grown accustomed to Orochimaru's experiments. Sometimes, it even felt that lying on the table and receiving various nutrient infusions was a more interesting life than it had before. It even slept better on the operating table.
A long time later, Black Zetsu appeared, attached to the White Zetsu. "Orochimaru, what do you want?"
Black Zetsu had been avoiding him. Orochimaru still hadn't given up on researching his body. He had only paused because he couldn't find a way to damage him.
Orochimaru said, "I had a fight with the Tsuchikage. I want all the intelligence you have on Iwagakure."
Orochimaru understood Ishiro. If that man-kun didn't gain a significant advantage in one encounter, he was likely to bring a whole crowd of Kage-level shinobi to cause trouble the next time.
Black Zetsu considered it. This wasn't a big deal. Besides, Iwa was their common enemy. He was happy to see Orochimaru confront Ishiro.
"Iwa regularly screens for White Zetsu clones, and the Tsuchikage has terrifying sensory abilities. We haven't been able to get close for years. Therefore, what I know about their recent changes is about the same as what you know."
"Including their two Jinchūriki, Iwa has eleven Kage-level shinobi."
"The other nine are the Tsuchikage (Ishiro), Ōnoki, Ikura, Kitsuchi, Kawakita, Shinya Matsutani, Deidara, Uchiha Sōkai, and Uchiha Izumi."
"Of those, I know the most about Sōkai and Izumi. Those two are oddities. Their actual strength is likely only at the Elite Jonin level, but they awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, giving them Kage-level combat power."
Orochimaru frowned and cut him off. "What do you mean?"
Back when Orochimaru was in Konoha, no Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō. In his mind, an Uchiha's strength and dōjutsu were proportional.
Black Zetsu explained, "You can understand it this way: their bodies are only Elite Jonin, but their eyes grant them power comparable to a Kage. Without those eyes, they are nothing."
He paused, and seeing Orochimaru was silent, continued: "Their dōjutsu are unknown. Based on their battles, I have some guesses. Uchiha Sōkai has a tracking dōjutsu. The specifics are unclear, but he has located us several times. The base where the Demonic Statue was stored... he's the one who found it."
"Uchiha Izumi's dōjutsu absorbs the dōjutsu of others and converts it into her own."
As he said this, Black Zetsu glanced at Orochimaru's Byakugan.
Orochimaru frowned. "Can she absorb the Byakugan's power?"
Black Zetsu shook his head. "Uncertain. But she can absorb both Mangekyō and three-tomoe Sharingan."
He then added grimly, "Most importantly, Iwa doesn't just have those two pairs of Mangekyō. Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan may have also fallen into their hands."
Orochimaru's Byakugan narrowed. Fugaku's eyes? He had clashed with that dōjutsu once and had his suspicions about it. It was a troublesome, time-related ability.
Seeing Orochimaru's expression, Black Zetsu chuckled. "Orochimaru, you fought him. Do you know what his Mangekyō does?"
Orochimaru shot Black Zetsu a glance, didn't answer, and said flatly, "Continue."
Black Zetsu cursed Orochimaru's ancestors internally but kept a smile on his face.
"I once had a White Zetsu ask Itachi Uchiha for intel on Sōkai and Izumi. In exchange, Itachi told me that the Tsuchikage has Shisui Uchiha's other Mangekyō Sharingan."
Orochimaru was confused.
Black Zetsu said, "Shisui's dōjutsu is Kotoamatsukami. It can rewrite a target's will. One eye is with Iwa, the other... is with Danzō."
A chill shot up Orochimaru's spine.
He glanced at the letter from Danzō lying on his workbench.
As I thought. Danzō can never be trusted. That was a close call. I almost fell for it.
But...
Orochimaru stared at Black Zetsu. This bastard... he had this critical information and never told me.
Black Zetsu, unnerved by the stare, quickly added, "Finally... Obito Uchiha's Sharingan also likely fell into the Tsuchikage's hands."
Orochimaru's Byakugan snapped open, staring at Black Zetsu like a viper about to strike.
He said, one word at a time, "Say that... again."
Black Zetsu knew why he was furious. When they first partnered, Black Zetsu had said Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan was likely destroyed. Now he was saying that eye—the one with the space-time jutsu—was still out there.
Black Zetsu quickly explained, "Orochimaru, calm down! Let me explain! I truly believed it was destroyed and that the Kamui dimension was cut off. The only other connection was Kakashi Hatake's eye, but as a non-Uchiha, he couldn't possibly enter that dimension."
"But... a few days ago, I discovered that items from inside the Kamui dimension had appeared in the shinobi world, in the direction of Iwagakure. That's why I reversed my judgment."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's mind raced, connecting it to Ishiro sealing the passage at Uzushiogakure. A single figure came to his mind: Akino Atsumi.
He now had a theory. Ishiro hadn't used the eye to enter Kamui. He had used space-time ninjutsu. That stunt with closing the passage must have been an experiment.
Orochimaru didn't share his theory. Instead, he said in an icy tone, "Black Zetsu, you sensed this... because a part of your own body was in there, wasn't it?"
Black Zetsu's heart skipped. He instinctively recoiled.
He had attached small pieces of himself to items in the Kamui dimension. That was how he'd sensed it.
How does Orochimaru know? Did a White Zetsu leak it? Impossible! The ones I sent him were newly created!
As he was trying to figure it out, Orochimaru said sinisterly, "I want a piece of your body."
It wasn't a request. It was an ultimatum.
If he refused, their partnership was over.
Black Zetsu hesitated. He needed Orochimaru. He still hadn't figured out the details of the Edo Tensei.
He took a deep breath. It's not time to break with him yet.
Black Zetsu painfully split off a small piece of himself.
Watching Orochimaru eagerly take the sample and turn to his experiments, Black Zetsu grit his teeth and turned to leave.
He had one more, very important piece of intel to share, but now... he had no intention of doing so.
I need to go to Konoha, he thought. It's time to set my plans in motion.
Just then, Orochimaru, his back still turned, asked, "Tell me more... about the Moon."
Black Zetsu, already halfway into the floor, paused. He re-emerged and told Orochimaru the story of Hagoromo and Hamura.
Of course, his excuse was: This is all just what Uchiha Madara told me.
Iwa's "Immigrate to the Moon" plan was now confirmed as real by the entire shinobi world.
The Land of Snow, being the closest to the passage, had already completed its first wave of immigration.
Kiri, Kumo, and Konoha all took the same action: they sent spies to infiltrate the immigrant populations.
The plan also attracted the interest of smaller nations.
Countries like the Land of Fields and the Land of Moon saw that the Land of Hot Water was being allowed to colonize, and they grew restless. They began sending envoys to Iwagakure, offering their allegiance in exchange for a piece of the pie.
This was especially true for the Land of Moon, which was caught between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Lightning.
The Land of Moon's envoy told Iwa that their nation had information on the "Star" that Iwa had been searching for.
Finding the Star of Hoshigakure was a personal order from Ishiro. No one else knew its importance, so the report went directly to him.
Ishiro personally met the envoy. He promised that if the information was good, Iwa would establish a branch in the Land of Moon and allow them to join the colonization effort. In short, they would receive the same treatment as the Land of Hot Water.
The overjoyed envoy spilled everything.
The Land of Moon had always been in Kumo's shadow. But now, Kumo was weak, and Iwa was strong. The Land of Moon's Daimyō was desperate to switch sides. He had been waiting for Kumo to suffer another defeat, but the Moon colonization news had forced his hand.
After hearing the envoy's report, Ishiro left Iwagakure alone. He wasn't worried about a trap; with his sensory abilities, no one in the shinobi world could ambush him.
That afternoon, he arrived over the Land of Moon.
Long ago, Ishiro had taken the special rock from under two of the lakes here. The Hoshigakure remnants, the envoy said, were hiding under another one.
Ishiro landed at the specified lake. His Mind's Eye passed through the water and the hard rock bed, instantly locating the Hoshi-nin.
Their chakra is all raging and unstable. This is it.
Ishiro formed seals, slapped the ground, and used a large-scale Water Release, pulling the entire contents of the lake out and dumping it nearby.
Then, an Earth Release jutsu split the hard rock bed, opening a massive fissure.
Down in the fissure, Ishiro saw the Hoshi-nin base. He paused.
The ninja below were in a standoff, split into two factions, weapons drawn.
As they were staring each other down, the ceiling suddenly split open. They all looked up in shock.
As Ishiro paused, the lake water began to flow back into the fissure.
His gaze left the ninja and fell on the object between them: the Star. It was a black, pulsating orb, radiating a bizarre purple energy.
Ishiro raised his hand. "Banshō Ten'in."
Before the stunned ninja could react, the Star flew into his hand.
Ishiro sealed it in porcelain, then calmly put it in a scroll.
Only then did the Hoshi-nin react.
A few hotheads immediately formed seals and shouted, "Mysterious Peacock Method!" Chakra wings formed on their backs, and they flew at Ishiro.
A few of the others, however, recognized him. "Come back! That's the Tsuchikage!"
One of the attackers hesitated, then grit his teeth. "It's just one man! All of us together can kill him and avenge our predecessors!"
Ishiro finished storing the scroll, looked down, and formed a cross with his hands. A blue beam shot out.
Boom!
A moment later, the entire hidden base, and all the ninja still inside it, had been vaporized.
The few who had flown out were lucky to have escaped. But seeing that terrifying Light Release, they froze, then turned to flee.
Ishiro formed a hand seal. A Sage Art: Gale Release jutsu caught them, and they fell from the sky.
After dealing with the Hoshi-nin, Ishiro returned to Iwagakure with the Star.
The entire "battle" had lasted only a few seconds.
Back in Iwa, Ishiro gave the Star to Ikura to have it researched. He didn't need it right now.
Ishiro was a man of his word. He sent Kawakita to the Land of Moon to dissolve their local village and establish a new Iwa branch. He also authorized the Land of Moon to begin immigration.
This dual-branch construction (one on the Moon, one in the Land of Moon) was good for Iwa. It created more posts for their surplus of ninja.
Ikura and the others were only concerned about Kumo spies infiltrating the immigrant population.
Ishiro's response was three words: "Not. Necessary!"
Ikura, seeing his expression, understood and dropped the subject.
No one in Iwa's high command was worried about Kumo's reaction. They knew the Fifth Raikage, Darui, was not the Fourth. He wouldn't dare provoke Iwa now.
As for Konoha, they were too busy with Danzō. As for Kiri, they were all talk.
And just as they predicted, only Kiri sent a meaningless letter of protest. Konoha and Kumo were silent. Konoha pretended it wasn't happening. Kumo just shifted a few troops to their border with the Land of Moon, and did nothing else.
(End of Chapter)
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