"The Two-Tails Jinchuriki is at the southernmost edge of the village, on a cliff near the coast," Orochimaru explained. "There's soone watching over it, which is a bit of a nuisance. Only when Two-Tails goes berserk does the Sealing Team need to intervene."
"If we capture Two-Tails and leave, we can storm the place. If you have other plans, we'll need to make additional arrangents," Orochimaru added, uncertain how ambitious Kawakaze's goals were. He wondered if one Jinchuriki would be enough to satisfy him.
With Kawakaze's Flying Thunder God Technique, he wasn't worried about escape.
"You do understand ," Kawakaze said with a grin. "Let's take our ti."
Orochimaru sighed. "I knew you weren't a good person," he said, throwing a verbal jab.
"Haha~" Kawakaze laughed heartily, unfazed by the insult.
With their plans set, the two of them found themselves feeling hungry again.
"Can you cook?" Orochimaru asked, walking into the kitchen and noting the ample supply of ingredients—more than enough for both of them.
"I can eat," Kawakaze replied without hesitation.
"You owe one," Orochimaru said with a sneer, starting to prepare the ingredients himself. As expected, the young master of such a prestigious family wasn't going to cook. That one al in the Land of Rain must have been his entire repertoire.
"I love you, heart heart," Kawakaze teased, letting his hair down dramatically and making a heart sign with his hands at Orochimaru, his expression exaggerated.
"Get out of the way," Orochimaru snapped, visibly uncomfortable as goosebumps covered his skin. He was so disgusted he nearly gagged.
Only by recalling Pakura's image in his mind could he clear away the unsettling scene Kawakaze had created.
"Okay," Kawakaze said, obediently disappearing from Orochimaru's sight and finding a blind spot to wait in. It wouldn't do to keep making soone sick when there was food to eat.
Not long after, he heard Orochimaru call from the kitchen.
"Hey, co and serve the food."
Orochimaru, who was usually polite, had dropped the formalities, addressing Kawakaze with no honorifics at all.
"I'm coming," Kawakaze replied, unfazed. He wasn't impatient or annoyed—this was nothing serious. Once Aunt Snake's temper cooled, everything would be fine.
He entered the kitchen and took two plates from Orochimaru's hands. He had to admit, the bachelor's cooking skills were impressive. It was no wonder Pakura had been so captivated by Orochimaru's cooking.
"It slls good," Kawakaze said sincerely.
"Get out of here," Orochimaru snapped, kicking Kawakaze in the butt.
"A gentleman uses his mouth, not his hands. Do you understand?" Kawakaze grumbled, irritated by the second kick he had received from Orochimaru. He wasn't soone who took such treatnt lightly.
"Heh..." Orochimaru chuckled as he brushed past Kawakaze with two bowls of rice, not entirely sure why he had kicked him in the first place.
"We're all from the sa village. Can't you cut so slack?" Kawakaze said, feeling a bit embarrassed as he admitted his fault and followed Orochimaru to the table, taking a seat.
"Sorry, I don't do favors for anyone," Orochimaru replied, his arrogance evident. Even with the borrowed face of a Kumo ninja, his unmistakable deanor still shone through, though it slightly softened his usual nacing aura.
...
Bored out of their minds, the two began arguing as soon as the food was served, and it didn't stop until they finished eating. Kawakaze's childishness seed contagious, and Orochimaru could feel his IQ taking a serious hit.
"Shut up and get so rest. We need to gather information on Blue B tomorrow," Orochimaru said, reclaiming so composure as he got up and left the house to go next door.
Fortunately, both of them were pretending to be bachelors, or explaining their presence in these hos would have been tricky.
A peaceful night passed.
The next morning, Kawakaze and Orochimaru followed the daily routines of the two Kumo Ninja whose identities they had assud.
After a simple breakfast, they walked together to the Raikage Building.
Yota Katsumura's Sealing Team had recently been researching Fūinjutsu at the Raikage Building, working to improve the Iron Armor Seal. Without Kushina, they had no choice but to rely on their ingenuity.
anwhile, Sousuke Kitahara worked as a clerk in the Raikage Building, which explained his weak combat abilities.
"Pay attention to your words and actions. Listen more than you speak," Orochimaru reminded Kawakaze for what felt like the tenth ti. Kawakaze was already sick of hearing it.
When did Orochimaru beco such a nag? he wondered to himself.
"I know, I know," Kawakaze said, following Orochimaru's detailed information as he slowly made his way to the Sealing Team's office.
As Kawakaze pushed open the door, he saw that a few people were already inside. However, not everyone had arrived yet, and so were reading scrolls.
A few of them greeted him, and he casually returned the greetings, careful not to overdo it—he didn't actually know their nas.
To avoid drawing attention, he picked up a scroll and found an empty corner to sit in. Scanning a few lines, he noted the dense content on Fūinjutsu, which seed superficial compared to what Tsunade had taught him.
Pretending to read, he kept a watchful eye on the room's activities.
After so ti, the rest of the staff arrived. Led by the squad leader, the group resud their discussion from the previous day: how to strengthen the seal on the Tailed Beast while enabling the Jinchūriki to maximize its Chakra.
It was an excellent research direction, but the Kumo Ninja seed out of their depth. Upgrading their Iron Armor Seal to such a level would be no easy task. To Kawakaze, it sounded sowhat like the concept behind the Eight Trigrams Seal.
"Yōta, what do you think?" the squad leader asked, frowning as he noticed Kawakaze's silence. This type of discussion required input, and remaining quiet wouldn't do.
"Er..." Kawakaze hesitated, realizing he could no longer feign ignorance. Thinking quickly, he responded.
"This is a good research direction, but shouldn't we base it on reality?"
"What do you an?" The squad leader's frown deepened, clearly confused by Kawakaze's statent.
Under the squad leader's persistent questioning, Kawakaze had no choice but to continue, hoping not to expose himself. Orochimaru would never let him live it down if he did.
"What I an is, we're just armchair strategists here. Why don't we ask Lord Blue B to spend so ti with us? By experiencing the Iron Armor Seal on him firsthand, we can make more practical improvents."
Kawakaze's suggestion made sense without sounding suspicious. Since improving the Iron Armor Seal was a direct order from the Raikage, asking for Blue B's cooperation seed reasonable.
"I'm just afraid Lord Blue B might not have the ti," the squad leader mused before making a decision. "Sato, go find Lord Blue B and see if he's available."
"Yes." A short, stocky Kumo Ninja left imdiately to carry out the order.
Kawakaze wasn't sure if Blue B would actually co. If the Two-Tailed Jinchuriki was already a problem, then Blue B, as a key combat asset, might not be available. Still, getting rid of Blue B would have a much greater impact than capturing the Two-Tailed Jinchuriki alone.
"Okay, let's continue the discussion. We'll decide further when Lord Blue B arrives," the squad leader said, resuming the conversation.
Once again, Kawakaze faded into the background, carefully maintaining his cover.
...
Orochimaru arrived at Kitahara Sousuke's workplace, guided by the information obtained during the interrogation.
Due to Sousuke's lack of strength, the work assigned to him was largely unimportant, mainly dealing with docunts or running errands.
Orochimaru had just sat down when soone called out, "Sousuke Kitahara!"
"I'm here," Orochimaru replied imdiately.
"Sousuke, take this docunt to the Raikage's office," the man instructed.
Orochimaru felt an urge to refuse but, judging by the tone and expectation, this seed to be the type of work Sousuke usually handled.
"Yes, my lord," Orochimaru said, suppressing his irritation.
The man gave him a doubtful look—sothing seed slightly off—but it wasn't significant enough to pursue further. He rely nodded and urged Orochimaru to hurry with the delivery.
Carrying the docunt, Orochimaru felt an unusual unease. If Kawakaze found out about this, he would mock him relentlessly for the rest of his life.
Following the signs to the Raikage's office, Orochimaru paused outside the door to compose himself before knocking.
Bang bang~
"Co in," ca the Raikage's commanding voice.
Pushing the door open, Orochimaru stepped inside and imdiately noticed the Raikage seated with an air of authority, exuding far more dominance than Orochimaru's own Sensei ever had.
"Sousuke again, delivering docunts?" the Raikage remarked casually. "Put them on the table."
The Raikage seed familiar with Sousuke, adding to Orochimaru's determination to keep his responses minimal.
"Hmm," Orochimaru murmured softly. He walked up to the desk and placed the docunts on it.
As he glanced at the table, his eyes caught sight of two photographs marked with bold red crosses. The faces in the photos were unmistakable—one was his own, and the other was Kawakaze's.
"What, have you t them?" Raikage asked, noticing a fleeting look of distraction on Orochimaru's face.
"No, I was just curious and looked at them twice," Orochimaru replied, his heartbeat quickening. Being exposed at such close range to Raikage's overwhelming power was nerve-wracking.
"Oh, the two bastards from Konoha. If you see them, stay far away and report it imdiately," Raikage instructed.
Raikage didn't suspect him at all. It never crossed his mind that Kawakaze and Orochimaru had already infiltrated his building. The operatives he had sent out were still scouring for information, assuming the two intruders hadn't even arrived yet.
"Yes, Lord Raikage. I'll take my leave," Orochimaru said, bowing slightly before exiting as Raikage waved him off.
Once outside, Orochimaru realized he was drenched in cold sweat. Damn, calling a bastard... I'll see to it that Kumogakure is torn apart.
Wiping his forehead, Orochimaru made his way back to his workstation. Kawakaze had expressed no issues with Orochimaru approaching Blue B, but the timing for the opportunity remained uncertain.
Returning to his desk, Orochimaru distractedly worked on processing docunts. As a disciple of the Hokage, these simple tasks were second nature to him, and he avoided making any errors that could arouse suspicion.
anwhile, Orochimaru worried whether Kawakaze might slip up, especially since he himself had just co dangerously close to Raikage.
At that mont, Kawakaze was observing Blue B as he entered the room under Sato's guidance. Blue B's expression was grim, and his first words startled everyone present.
"Watching Jonah grow weaker day by day has affected as well. Recently, I can't stop thinking about the horror of death, and the Eight-Tails inside has been getting a little restless."
He paused briefly before continuing, "Can the Iron Armor Seal on my body be strengthened a little more?"
Kawakaze's eyes lit up as he listened. This was an unexpected stroke of luck. The more disturbed Blue B was by the Eight-Tails, the better the chances of Kawakaze's plans succeeding.
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