"Wait, Lord White Cloud, you're being too hasty. I never said I was unwilling to make a deal. I am quite interested in the Byakugan... but I'm curious—what exactly does Lord White Cloud want from me?"
Kawaki Aoba turned his head, a smile playing on his lips. "That's more like it. I have nothing but sincerity toward you, Lord Orochimaru. I think it's in our mutual interest to build a friendship."
"After all, more friends mean more paths. If you ever find yourself... less welcome in Konoha, perhaps we can collaborate further."
Orochimaru remained silent, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Seeing this, Kawaki Aoba pressed on, wasting no time. "Here's what I want: Konoha's forbidden jutsu, the Reaper Death Seal. In addition, I want your Eight Branches Technique, and the lesser-known secret techniques from the various Konoha clans. That includes the Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Inuzuka, and Aburame."
Orochimaru's expression chilled. He now suspected the man before him was toying with him.
"Hahaha..."
Kawaki Aoba chuckled, noting Orochimaru's reaction. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Alright, I admit it—I got a little greedy. Asking for all that in exchange for a single pair of Byakugan is a bit much. But surely one or two of them would be a reasonable ask?"
At that, Orochimaru's features relaxed slightly, though his tone remained guarded. "The Reaper Death Seal is an Uzumaki clan technique, one that's been sealed away by the Third Hokage. Only the Hokage has direct access to it."
"As for the Eight Branches Technique—it's not ready. I'm still refining it."
"And the clan secrets... as long as they aren't the core techniques of the major clans, I can probably acquire some for you."
Kawaki Aoba tucked the Byakugan eyes back into his storage pouch. From his perspective, Orochimaru's offer was little more than an attempt to lowball him.
"It seems Lord Orochimaru doesn't see much value in this transaction. In that case, I'll take my leave."
He turned to go, but then stopped, glancing over his shoulder.
"Ah, right. Let me leave you with one tidbit—free of charge. The Byakugan isn't the limit of the Hyuga clan's potential. Just as the Uchiha's Sharingan evolves into the Mangekyō, the Byakugan also has the potential to evolve."
"I've said what I needed to say. I hope the next time we meet, Lord Orochimaru will have a more compelling offer. Goodbye."
Thick white smoke billowed around Kawaki Aoba, shrouding him completely.
The next moment, he vanished—teleportation activated. Orochimaru observed it all, eyes glinting like a serpent's.
He licked his lips instinctively. "A space-time ninjutsu? It resembles the Flying Thunder God Technique... or perhaps it's a kekkei genkai-based smoke technique. Smoke... could he be from the Iburi clan? Hm. I'll need to investigate this further."
"And the Byakugan... So the Hyuga Main Branch has lost a pair. I wonder who the unlucky one was."
While the Byakugan is unmatched in terms of sensory capabilities, Orochimaru had always seen it as inferior to the Sharingan—harder to acquire and less versatile in combat.
But now things had changed. A direct transaction could grant him a pair, and the claim that the Byakugan could evolve was more than enough to ignite his curiosity.
He recognized this was bait—but it worked. The stranger had succeeded in planting a seed of desire in his mind.
---
On the other side, Kawaki Aoba returned to his tent, dispelling the Transformation Technique and the shadow clone he had left behind as a decoy.
He lay on the bed, calm and composed, as if nothing unusual had happened.
That night, although he hadn't reached a deal under the alias "Smoker," it didn't matter. What mattered was the idea he had planted in Orochimaru's mind.
When Orochimaru eventually defected from Konoha—as he inevitably would—he'd have no qualms about acquiring those secret techniques for someone like "Smoker."
From Kawaki Aoba's perspective, he had no business coveting those techniques... but the temptation was too great. And this was the only path forward.
After all, who would ever connect him to the alias "Smoker"?
As the old saying goes: "What does Smoker do... have to do with me, Kawaki Aoba?"
---
The next day, both Kawaki Aoba and Orochimaru went about their routines as if nothing had transpired the night before.
Elsewhere, Minato Namikaze continued cutting down Sunagakure forces on the battlefield with his Flying Thunder God Technique. But his efficiency had waned—understandably, as the enemy was learning. Sunagakure's forces were no fools; they had stopped throwing their ninja at him en masse.
Even so, Konoha's progress was substantial. Minato's involvement had given the Leaf the upper hand, allowing them to seize control over key areas of the battlefield.
At this point, the last major position still under Sunagakure control was Kikyō Castle.
If they lost it, they would be severed from the rest of the Land of Wind. Ninja could still cross the desert—but supplies and reinforcements? Impossible. Their survival would hang by a thread.
With that in mind, all signs pointed to a final clash. Konoha's war council agreed unanimously: the decisive battle would take place at Mount Kikyō, just outside the castle.
Sure enough, by that afternoon, Chiyo of the Sand sent a formal declaration of war to the Konoha camp.
And the location? As expected—Mount Kikyō.
On the eve of the decisive battle, both Kawaki Aoba and Orochimaru received notifications summoning them to attend a Jōnin meeting.
Though labeled a "Jōnin meeting," it was, in truth, a small gathering of elite shinobi convened to assign battlefield roles and—at least in some cases—probe one another's motives. Some of the attendees, in particular, were curious about Orochimaru's intentions.
"Jōnin Orochimaru," began Nara Shikaku, speaking with deliberate tact, "tomorrow marks the decisive battle against Sunagakure. You once fought Elder Chiyo during the Second Shinobi World War. If you were to face her again, what would you say are your chances of victory?"
Shikaku's tone was measured, and his choice of title was precise. Now head of the Nara clan, he no longer called Orochimaru "Lord," reflecting his responsibility and neutrality in clan politics.
But Orochimaru, ever perceptive, easily saw through the real purpose behind Shikaku's question. The inquiry about Chiyo was merely a pretext—the true concern was whether Orochimaru, harboring dissatisfaction, might withhold his strength in the coming battle.
Shikaku was overthinking it. If anyone wanted this war to end quickly, it was Orochimaru.
"This war has gone on long enough," Orochimaru said coolly. "I'd prefer to return to the village and continue my research."
He wasn't lying. The crude conditions of the front lines offered no room for refining his experiments or validating his theories. Remaining here was a waste of both time and potential.
Afterward, Shikaku turned his gaze to Kawaki Aoba. Though the two had once worked together, Shikaku still found Aoba unreadable.
Originally, he had assumed Aoba might compete with Minato for battlefield acclaim. But since arriving in the Land of Wind, Aoba had remained conspicuously low-key. Not only did he show no signs of youthful ambition, but he also avoided the battlefield limelight entirely.
If not for Aoba assuming command of over 1,000 shinobi from Orochimaru's division, Shikaku might have written him off as someone indifferent to fame, power, or purpose. But that bold move raised deeper questions:
What was Aoba relying on? What gave him the authority to take command from Orochimaru, and how could he be certain those same shinobi would still follow him once the war ended?
"Aoba-san," Shikaku said at last, "do you have anything to add regarding tomorrow's operation?"
Kawaki Aoba simply shrugged.
"A battle we're destined to win? What's there to say? I'm not the commander-in-chief here. I'll follow orders."
His tone was light, even casual. If Orochimaru was the one most eager for the war to end, then Kawaki Aoba was certainly the most relaxed.
He had good reason to be. His Super-Kage-level strength gave him unmatched confidence. Even if both Orochimaru and Minato failed, he could end this war by himself.
But he doubted it would come to that. Between Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, the elite Ino-Shika-Chō trio, and the possibility of Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest summons, there was no conceivable way Konoha would lose this battle.
After hearing from Orochimaru and Aoba, Minato and Shikaku exchanged a quiet look and nodded. Their concerns were put to rest.
It wasn't that they distrusted the two, but in a high-stakes war, even internal alliances could be disrupted by shadowy actors—Danzo Shimura, for instance.
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio had already thrown their support behind Minato as the Fourth Hokage. They were well aware of Danzo's behind-the-scenes efforts to obstruct Minato's candidacy.
Recently, their operatives had even intercepted members of Root and extracted sensitive intel—thanks to Yamanaka clan techniques. Among the revelations: Kawaki Aoba's deployment to the Wind Country was engineered by Danzo, and Orochimaru had made secret dealings with him.
In times of war, such disappearances were commonplace. One missing Root agent? Not surprising. A few squads going unaccounted for? Not unusual.
With the political undercurrents acknowledged, Minato began outlining the plan for tomorrow's offensive.
Aside from Aoba's 1,000-strong unit, most Jōnin would lead specialized strike teams. Since this would be the final engagement, Konoha distributed the last reserves of explosive tags. While expensive, the goal was to minimize allied casualties.
Finally, Minato turned toward Kawaki Aoba with specific instructions.
"Aoba, your unit will launch a flank assault on Sunagakure's lines. If possible, delay or engage Chiyo, Ebizō, Rasa, or Pakura. Holding just one of them would make a difference."
Aoba nodded calmly. "Understood. Leave the flank to me. If any of the four show up, I'll contain them."
He said "contain," but in truth, he'd need to be careful not to kill them outright. Overplaying his strength would raise too many questions.
Although Sunagakure had formally declared war, that was just a technicality. This final clash near Kikyō Pass was always going to happen.
---
The next morning, Kawaki Aoba led his elite, unnamed unit to a position in the Gobi Desert near Mount Kikyō.
This lone mountain stood like a sentinel in the vast arid expanse. A strange sight—rock and scrub amid rolling sand. Sparse patches of green peeked through the dry soil.
A nearby Jōnin observed Aoba squatting near a shrub, unusually intrigued. Curious, he asked, "Aoba-sama, have you found something? Can I help?"
Aoba chuckled and responded, "Qingke, you're one of the more learned Jōnin. Tell me, what do you think of this Gobi Desert?"
Qingke blinked. "Barren, sir."
"Exactly," Aoba replied. But he shook his head and added, "Still… it's strange, isn't it? For hundreds of years, the nobles of Kikyō Castle must have considered cultivating this land. And yet—here it is. Unchanged. Barren."
Qingke frowned. "But… isn't that just how the Wind Country is? How could it be changed?"
Aoba didn't answer right away. He understood that most shinobi, even skilled ones, lacked broader knowledge. But the ninja world did possess science—chakra technology, to be precise. Unorthodox and uneven, yes, but real.
Take the Land of Snow for example. Its daimyo used chakra tech to build a heating system, warming a snowbound nation into springlike comfort.
Given the Wind Country's size and its long-standing struggle for usable land, why hadn't similar efforts been made here? The Gobi Desert, with its mineral-rich soil, should be far easier to reclaim than a true desert.
Twenty or thirty years of chakra-tech development had passed since the Warring States Period. And yet—no progress.
That suggested more than just nature. There were man-made reasons for this stagnation. And likely… insurmountable ones.
Without replying, Kawaki Aoba activated his Kenbunshoku Haki—his Observation Haki—and extended his perception deep underground.
One kilometer… two kilometers… three kilometers…
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