Hiruzen persuaded me to die

Known as the demigod of the Shinobi World, the man who helped the Hidden Rain Village survive between the three great nations—the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth—is now a corpse, even strung up on top of the Rain Village tower!

Orochimaru remained expressionless.

When Pain summoned him directly to the Rain Village, he had already guessed that Hanzo might be dead.

But actually seeing Hanzo's body...

Orochimaru still couldn't shake the feeling.

In all fairness—

During the Second Great Ninja War, the Sannin fighting together could compete with almost any Kage.

But against Hanzo, he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were at a complete disadvantage.

They survived only because of Hanzo's "mercy."

Hanzo alone could not change the outcome of the entire war.

He was a demigod, after all.

Not the god of shinobi.

Even if the three of them had died, Konoha would have eventually won.

So, in the end, Hanzo chose not to provoke Konoha too much.

In fact, he even admired the three of them!

He gave them the title of "Legendary Sannin."

To this day, when anyone in the ninja world mentions the name Orochimaru, the first thing that comes to mind is that title—Sannin!

But…

Orochimaru's gaze slowly shifted away.

He no longer looked at the hanging corpse.

A title given out of pity after sparing one's life is nothing to be proud of.

"Rain Village now belongs to the Akatsuki,"Hyuga Naraku said with a sigh.

He wasn't surprised by the outcome.

Hanzo was just a demigod.

In terms of strength, he had reached the peak of Kage-level.

But Pain—

In chakra reserves and the nature of his ability—had already surpassed the Kage level!

"Hanzo seems to have been utterly defeated,"Naraku said softly.

"There's not even a trace of large-scale battle inside the Rain Village."

Orochimaru's eyes flickered slightly.

He understood what Naraku meant.

The well-known summon of Hanzo the Salamander—his highly poisonous salamander, Ibuse—There were no signs of it ever appearing!

In recent years, Hanzo had never left the Rain Village—not even his personal residence.

Which means—

The battle must have taken place within the village!

And more importantly—

Hanzo had been easily defeated and killed before he could even summon Ibuse!

"Is the Rinnegan really that powerful…?"

Orochimaru thought to himself.

No one knew Hanzo's strength better than he did.

That brilliant Body Flicker Technique alone made him nearly impossible to catch.

Yet even he was defeated so decisively.

Orochimaru's desire for the Rinnegan only grew stronger.

"There's nothing worth seeing here. Let's go inside."

Orochimaru shook his head and walked straight into the tower.

The demigod Hanzo—

Was now just a corpse.

Though he had once been thoroughly defeated by Hanzo...

Now, it was Orochimaru looking down at the corpse—Not the other way around!

As long as he lived long enough and discovered all the secrets of the world, he would eventually attain true power!

Hyuga Naraku chuckled and followed him.

Inside an underground base—

It had already been taken over by members of the Akatsuki.

In one of the rooms resembling a laboratory, muffled cries and shrieks echoed faintly.

"Orochimaru… you're still alive, huh?"

Sasori of the Red Sand—hidden inside his "Hiruko" puppet armor—spoke in a cold voice.

Orochimaru was technically his teammate in Akatsuki.

Not that it mattered much.

Most of the time, Orochimaru was nowhere to be found for days.

Sasori had warned Pain from the start: Orochimaru should not be recruited!

But Orochimaru ignored Sasori's tone, turning his head toward the next room.

"Is the chimera technique of hiruko ready yet?"

Whether his attempt to obtain the Rinnegan succeeded or failed—

He knew one thing clearly.

He would never be able to remain in the Akatsuki any longer!