Chapter 438 - 438: Thin Ice with Snakes

"Guidance from fate… or guidance from some kind of system?"

Akio narrowed his eyes in thought. The way Orochimaru described it really did sound like some external "system" interfering, but how the hell could something like that spread through blood? What was this, some kind of virus?

"…Wait, that doesn't add up." Akio suddenly recalled something and looked up.

"When Obito took over as Hokage, you said you didn't receive any 'guidance,' right?"

"That's correct…" Orochimaru licked his lips. "It seems you already have some idea where this 'power of fate' in your blood comes from."

"I really don't," Akio shook his head. If Orochimaru had basically gotten a stripped-down version of that "system," then something as major as a Hokage succession should have triggered guidance but it didn't.

Ever since maxing out his Yin Release and getting a massive boost in brainpower, Akio hadn't felt this mentally stuck in a long time… and yet here he was.

"…Damn. And I can't exactly drag Shikaku into this to help analyze it. What a mess. My blood's basically cursed." He exhaled, then shifted the topic.

"Leaving that aside… anything else you want to tell me? Like, say… your strength?"

Orochimaru nodded slightly.

"Following these 'guidances' has improved my power but only slightly. If I hadn't already reached my previous limit, I might not have noticed at all. In other words, it allowed me to break past my natural ceiling and keep progressing."

Akio frowned. So it really is tied to observation and progression…?

"There's more," Orochimaru added. "Even now, your blood continues to 'guide' me to recruit Kimimaro. Frankly, it's becoming quite a nuisance."

Akio's expression eased slightly. So it couldn't force outcomes only nudge them?

He stared at Orochimaru for a long moment.

"You're not feeding me a line, are you?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Akio took a deep breath. This was getting troublesome. For a moment, he seriously considered killing Orochimaru outright. Now that he had access to a spiritual plane, destroying a soul wasn't impossible… though with someone like Orochimaru, even that wasn't a guarantee.

"Ah… killing intent?" Orochimaru smiled faintly, completely unfazed. "You really are hiding something extraordinary."

Akio didn't deny it. At his level, he'd long since stopped bothering to conceal the fact that he had secrets, most people could guess as much anyway.

But Orochimaru was different.

The man was a scientist who would experiment on anything. Worse, he already had access to fragments of Akio's secrets through his blood. If word got out…

Akio would basically become a walking "immortality cheat code" everyone wanted a piece of.

And it's not the thief you see coming that's dangerous, it's the one waiting for the right moment.

"Actually, you don't need to worry about me," Orochimaru said calmly. "If anything, you should be more concerned about the leader of that 'Shadow Akatsuki.'"

Akio paused then realization hit.

"Right… The Sage of Six Paths said that guy was some poor soul who somehow woke up from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, originally just a White Zetsu. As for how he woke up…" Akio placed a hand on his stomach. "Black Zetsu. That bastard must've gotten hold of my blood."

"Which explains why he impersonated Pain and attacked Konoha… targeted Nawaki multiple times… and even killed your parents," Akio said, suddenly looking up.

Orochimaru's smile deepened.

"So that's it. My parents were just ordinary chunin; I never understood why they were targeted. Turns out… it was fate."

Akio fell silent, eyes half-closed. A heavy feeling settled in his chest.

"With everything including that version of me from a thousand years ago, it's starting to feel like all of this traces back to me… like I'm the only actor in a one-man play."

After a long pause, the killing intent in his eyes slowly faded.

"You gave me intel about Jiri before. I owed you one." Akio sighed. "This incident cancels that debt. No hard feelings."

Orochimaru nodded.

"Agreed."

Akio waved a hand.

"Then we're done here. Go clean yourself up and get some rest. Just don't let me catch you hiding anything from me… or well, I'm not great at threats. You get the idea."

Orochimaru smirked faintly.

"I understand. Then… about the 'guidance' to assassinate Hiruzen-sensei?"

Akio frowned.

"You actually want to go through with it? Konoha isn't something you can just mess with anymore. And you're seriously going to kill Hiruzen over some vague 'guidance'?"

Orochimaru shook his head.

"No. I want to test something. If the attempt fails, will the 'guidance' persist? The situation with Kimimaro has already become… inconvenient."

He paused briefly.

"And I'd also like to confirm a hypothesis. Or perhaps a hunch that five milliliters of your blood will only produce five 'guidances.'"

Akio blinked.

"You've got that kind of intuition?"

Orochimaru nodded.

Akio fell into thought. A fixed number of triggers… that's actually better.

Then his gaze flicked to the Kazekage's corpse and another problem surfaced.

If Orochimaru didn't impersonate the Kazekage and proceed with the plan, news of the Kazekage's death would spread. The Sand Village team might withdraw from the Chūnin Exams entirely. That would throw off the entire bracket and possibly wreck Akio's betting setup.

More importantly… there were still things Akio himself wanted to confirm.

Letting Orochimaru go freely didn't sit right with him.

"…Fine. You can go to Konoha," Akio said at last. "But you're only allowed to target Hiruzen. No attacking the village itself."

"I'll be watching the entire time, hidden. If you so much as make a single extra move… I'll kill you on the spot. No hesitation."

He looked Orochimaru dead in the eyes.

"You will die. Still want to go?"

Orochimaru didn't hesitate.

"Agreed. I have nothing to hide from you."

Like hell I can trust that, Akio thought.

Orochimaru was the hardest person in the entire ninja world to read. If Akio didn't have overwhelming strength on his side, dealing with him would feel like walking on thin ice.

But strength solved a lot of problems.

When you've got overwhelming power, everything else becomes manageable.

Akio mentally hyped himself up and suddenly, dealing with Orochimaru felt a lot more comfortable.

"If there's nothing else, I'll begin preparations," Orochimaru said.

Akio nodded and vanished instantly.

Orochimaru paused briefly, then turned and walked toward the corpses of the Kazekage and his guards.

A dozen minutes later — Konoha.

Akio reappeared beside Jiraiya.

In the distance, Naruto was bouncing around wildly on Gamabunta's back, putting on a full-blown spectacle as he tried to "win over" the giant toad boss.

The moment Akio appeared, Jiraiya spoke up urgently.

"Senior what's going on with Orochimaru? Why did he defect?"

"He's fine," Akio replied, scratching his head. "As for why he left… weirdly enough, it might have something to do with me."

"With you?" Jiraiya stared, completely thrown off.

Akio nodded, then suddenly let out a quiet sigh.

"Who's really pulling the strings here? Feels like I'm stuck in a one-man show… delivering lines to myself."

Jiraiya: "…?"

Since when did this turn into a musical?

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