Hidden Cloud Village.
Raikage Building.
The Third Raikage looked at Kakuzu, who walked in, and happily patted his shoulder.
That powerful Qi and blood made Kakuzu secretly startled.
Even without actually fighting, he could feel the Third Raikage's immense power.
"Kakuzu, from now on, you can stay in our Hidden Cloud Village with peace of mind. Perhaps one day you can even return to your roots."
Upon hearing the Third Raikage's words, Kakuzu was momentarily puzzled.
He asked in confusion, "Sandaime, what do you mean by that?"
The Third Raikage chuckled and explained, "According to our plan, we will invade the Land of Waterfalls soon."
"If we conquer the Land of Waterfalls, then you will no longer have to bear the identity of a rogue Ninja from Hidden Waterfall Village."
"And I have already heard from Yuzuru that when you defected from Hidden Waterfall Village, it was entirely the fault of those high-ranking officials in Hidden Waterfall Village."
Years ago, the high-ranking officials of Hidden Waterfall Village ordered Kakuzu to assassinate the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
After Kakuzu failed, he was imprisoned in the dungeon for not completing the mission.
In the Third Raikage's opinion, these high-ranking officials of Hidden Waterfall Village were completely persecuting their own Village's comrades.
After all, in that era, no Ninja could compare to Senju Hashirama.
If it were him, he would also kill those bastards.
After hearing the Third Raikage's explanation, a hint of gratitude appeared in Kakuzu's gaze towards Uchiha Yuzuru.
Everyone treated him as an S-rank rogue Ninja who had committed heinous crimes, unaware that he was once a hot-blooded young man who gave his all for his Village and his comrades!
Seeing Kakuzu's gaze, Uchiha Yuzuru spoke indifferently, "Because I have experienced similar encounters, I can empathize with you even more."
"Those corrupt power-holders only care about their own interests, and they always treat others arrogantly based on their own preferences."
"Just like what our Uchiha Clan suffered in Konoha, that's why I decided to unify the Ninja World."
"Time has proven that the system established by Senju Hashirama was wrong. I want to break it and clear away all the darkness in the Ninja World."
After hearing Uchiha Yuzuru's description, Kakuzu felt a surge of hot-blooded impulse throughout his body.
He hadn't felt this way in a long time.
Like Uchiha Yuzuru, he was also very dissatisfied with the current darkness of the Ninja World.
It's just that he only thought of escaping, while Uchiha Yuzuru thought of changing it.
From this perspective, Uchiha Yuzuru had already surpassed him by too much.
Thinking of this, Kakuzu said in a deep voice, "Yuzuru, I fully support your idea. Just tell me if there's anything you need me to do!"
Seeing Kakuzu's appearance, the Third Raikage couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
He, too, was persuaded by Uchiha Yuzuru in this way.
This kid, his charisma is truly great.
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After leaving the Raikage Building, Uchiha Yuzuru led Kakuzu to the Uchiha Clan Estate.
Seeing Uchiha Mikoto, Konan, Uzumaki Kushina, Pakura, Karura, and others, Kakuzu's gaze towards Uchiha Yuzuru was filled with confusion.
Finding so many women, how much time must be wasted on them every day?
But when he voiced his doubts, Uchiha Yuzuru just nodded perfunctorily, too lazy to say another word.
Kakuzu's current body structure was no longer quite human, so it was perfectly normal for him not to feel the pleasure that women could bring.
After a brief introduction, Uchiha Yuzuru said, "Konan, this is Kakuzu, a Ninja from Hidden Waterfall Village. His interest is making money. You can give him your account later."
Konan said in surprise, "That's great."
If someone helped her make money, her progress in making exploding tag would definitely increase significantly.
After getting the account, Kakuzu declined Uchiha Yuzuru's invitation to eat together and left the Uchiha Clan Estate directly.
Soldier pills were enough to replenish energy; he would rather spend the time earning more money than eating.
In response, Uchiha Yuzuru silently gave a thumbs up.
As expected of an Innate Sacred Body of Ox and Horse, his ideological awareness is truly high!
After dinner, Uchiha Yuzuru couldn't wait to take a bath.
After working so hard outside for so long, he could finally relax properly.
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Early the next morning, Uchiha Yuzuru arrived at Kumorai Gorge.
This place was located on the outskirts of Hidden Cloud Village, with only a huge lake and continuous mountains, rarely visited by people.
It used to be Killer Bee's place of life and Cultivation, but ever since Uchiha Yuzuru negotiated with the Eight-Tails, Kumorai Gorge had been left vacant.
It wasn't until Orochimaru pledged allegiance to Hidden Cloud Village that this place was chosen as Orochimaru's experimental base.
Walking into a seemingly ordinary cave entrance, Uchiha Yuzuru felt his eyes light up.
Under the strong financial resources of Hidden Cloud Village, the interior of the experimental base was astonishingly large, with flat walls and smooth stone slab floors illuminated by incandescent lights, creating an unusual aesthetic beauty.
Orochimaru walked out of the passage, a faint smile on his face.
Seeing Uchiha Yuzuru, Orochimaru slowly said, "Yuzuru-kun, long time no see."
Uchiha Yuzuru continued to walk deeper into the experimental base, while saying, "Orochimaru, how do you feel lately, and how does it compare to when you were in Konoha?"
Hearing this, a dreamy expression appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Yuzuru-kun, this is the best laboratory I have ever seen. I didn't have these conditions when I was in Konoha."
With the full support of Uchiha Yuzuru and the Third Raikage, the selection and construction of the experimental base were all carried out according to his ideas.
All kinds of the most advanced experimental instruments were also available.
The most crucial thing was that here he could openly conduct various experiments, and as long as he asked, he could get any experimental Materials.
In comparison, that dark and damp underground research institute in Konoha was far, far inferior.
Seeing Orochimaru's satisfied expression, Uchiha Yuzuru nodded, then threw a scroll into Orochimaru's hand.
"This is Hidden Waterfall Village's secret technique — Jiongu."
Orochimaru was stunned for a moment and asked in surprise, "Wasn't this secret technique already stolen by Kakuzu, a rogue Ninja from Hidden Waterfall Village?"
"Kakuzu is also a Ninja of Hidden Cloud Village now," Uchiha Yuzuru simply explained, then said, "Jiongu can continuously plunder hearts by transforming the body structure. As long as the heart beats, one can live forever."
"You can take some time to study it. Perhaps you can get some inspiration about immortality from it."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and his expression towards Uchiha Yuzuru became excited.
"Yuzuru-kun, no wonder even Tsunade doesn't reject some intimate contact with you. If I were a woman, I would probably develop unusual feelings for you too."
Uchiha Yuzuru couldn't help but shiver, crossing his arms over his chest, "No! Orochimaru, you can't repay kindness with enmity."
If other men said such things, he would think they were complimenting him.
But Orochimaru was different; this guy's gender was like Schrödinger's cat, it could change at any time!