Minato Namikaze said, "Right now, Orochimaru is being held under Jiraiya-sensei's watch. He's agreed that once he gets the mission scroll from Kabuto Yakushi, he'll return it to us."
"That simple?" Sasuke didn't quite believe it. Still, he quickly reacted and looked at the Fourth Hokage. "What conditions did he set?"
Naruto froze. "Conditions?!"
Minato spread his hands. He knew Orochimaru well enough.
"Going by his usual style, ordering Kabuto to steal Naruto's scroll was only secondary. His real objective was the condition he brought up."
That nauseating, scalp-tingling method was Orochimaru's favorite. He takes your things first, then puts forward a condition. Agree to it, and he gives the scroll back.
Commonly known as—
Getting something for nothing.
And Minato could even guess what would happen next. When you finally let your guard down, thinking Orochimaru had already gotten the intelligence he wanted and would return what he took…
…you'd find that it had long since been swapped out or torn to pieces.
Minato didn't know what Orochimaru had been like in the past, but by the time he himself became Jiraiya's disciple, Orochimaru had already turned into someone who would stop at nothing.
He had learned eighty or ninety percent of Danzo Shimura's tricks.
Based on the intelligence Minato Namikaze had uncovered, as well as on-site investigations conducted using Shadow Clones, Nono Yakushi's death still had many unresolved doubts. It was just that there were too many urgent matters at hand right now, leaving him without the energy to properly deal with them one by one.
Sasuke asked again, "So what conditions did Orochimaru propose?"
"The first condition was to tell him about the intelligence scroll."
"Not surprising," Sasuke said. "Even if he keeps that scroll, the mission bounty will still be settled under Naruto's name."
Minato nodded. "That's right. And so far, it seems the only ones capable of completing the missions in Naruto's scroll are the four members of Team Kakashi."
Namely, Adult Kakashi, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno.
This had already been apparent back during their earliest D-rank missions.
Young Kakashi could only complete the missions from Obito Uchiha's scroll, while the corresponding Adult Kakashi could only complete the missions from Naruto Uzumaki's scroll.
"So the only real concern is him finding out about our mission scrolls through other means and interfering from the sidelines."
Minato Namikaze continued, "But that wouldn't benefit him either, unless he planned to use it to force us to split that special mission reward with him."
Still, Orochimaru probably didn't realize that the vast majority of that mission reward couldn't be shared at all.
Obito and Naruto were furious. If Orochimaru really did something like that, it would be utterly despicable.
"As long as we're stronger than him, there's no need to worry about him getting in our way." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Minato. "So what else? What other conditions did he set?"
Minato said, "Orochimaru's other condition was for you, Sasuke, to become his disciple."
"What?!!"
The moment those words left Minato's mouth, everyone froze.
Sasuke himself was the most bewildered. Last time, he hadn't sensed even the slightest hint that Orochimaru had such intentions toward him.
"Why?!" Naruto slammed the table and jumped to his feet. Letting Sasuke follow that Orochimaru was way too dangerous in his eyes. "That guy Orochimaru is seriously messed up! There's no way he'd just kindly teach Sasuke for no reason, dattebayo!!"
"I think so too," Adult Kakashi said. "We haven't interacted much, but I've crossed paths with him once or twice. He's the kind of man whose motives are impossible to understand, and whose next move you can never predict."
Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean?"
Adult Kakashi replied, "Back when I was still in ANBU, there was a time when just his killing intent made me think I was about to die. But he simply walked past me, like he was toying with me, not caring in the slightest whether I reported him to the Third Hokage-sama."
...
In the Kamui's Dimension, Adult Obito Uchiha fell silent. "..."
He remembered that Akatsuki still had an unsettled score with Orochimaru.
'Should I look for a chance to have Itachi Uchiha retrieve the ring codenamed "Sky/Void"? And if possible, it'd be best to kill Orochimaru as well?'
After arriving here, he still hadn't seen Itachi Uchiha. Unaware that Itachi's dōjutsu had already been sealed, Adult Obito pondered this quietly.
"But…"
Young Kakashi suddenly spoke up. "Minato-sensei, if I'm not mistaken, are you planning to have Naruto and Obito become disciples of Jiraiya-sama?"
"?!"
This was something Naruto, Obito, Sasuke, and even Sakura and Rin had never expected.
Minato gave an awkward chuckle. "Looks like you saw right through me. That was indeed what I had in mind."
Young Kakashi said, "If that's the case, then if Sakura and Rin become Tsunade-sama's disciples, and Naruto and Obito become Jiraiya-sama's disciples, it feels like Sasuke and I would only have Orochimaru left to choose from. After all, when it comes to how the Three Great Sage Regions are divided, our contracts with the Sages were arranged that way too."
Sasuke, of course, felt the same unwillingness to fall behind as Young Kakashi.
Naruto possessed a special kind of strength. Even though he was usually scatterbrained, when he truly faced a powerful enemy, he could unexpectedly unleash potential that didn't lose out to even genius shinobi.
Obito had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, gained Hashirama's cells, and absorbed components of White Zetsu. According to Yamato, Obito's current recovery ability was almost on par with Naruto's as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. In the future, he might even have the chance to awaken Wood Release as well, thanks to Hashirama-sama's cells.
Sasuke was anxious.
Young Kakashi was even more anxious.
The last time they crossed into their parallel world, he had protected Obito and Rin yet remained completely helpless against Iwagakure. That feeling was something he never wanted to experience again. He never wanted Obito to gamble his life to protect him and Rin ever again.
Neither he nor Rin wanted to see that scene a second time either. The moment Obito used his Mangekyō to carry them through the massive boulders and escape the stone cavern, only for his body to be torn apart by Wood Release immediately afterward.
What frightened them even more was the possibility that their Obito might become the Masked Man of this world.
Minato Namikaze lowered his eyes. "I understand how anxious you both are. But Orochimaru truly isn't a good choice as a mentor. More importantly, I believe his decision to choose Sasuke definitely has an ulterior motive."
Sasuke didn't think much of it. With the Uchiha clan already wiped out, he couldn't imagine what he still had that would be worth scheming over to someone like Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.
"The Sharingan," Naruto suddenly blurted out. "He's not eyeing Sasuke's Sharingan, is he?!"
Sasuke shot back, "Compared to me, Obito and Itachi are already at the Mangekyō level!"
The words came out a bit sharp, but Naruto understood. Sasuke was just desperate to get stronger.
Realizing his tone had been harsh, Sasuke explained awkwardly, "Each time we cross worlds, it gets more dangerous than the last. Even when there's no immediate threat, if we don't keep improving ourselves, it'll be hard to solve the problems in those parallel worlds again."
That was something Obito, Young Kakashi, and Rin all felt deeply.
Minato Namikaze himself wasn't the kind of jōnin instructor who would interfere with his subordinates' choices. Besides, Young Kakashi was already a jōnin now as well.
But Orochimaru…
He was clearly beyond what Minato Namikaze could tolerate.
"Other than him, is there anyone who understands Ryūchi Cave better, who can teach us the Senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave?" Sasuke pressed Minato. "This intensive training period only lasts two weeks."
If by then Naruto became so strong that he no longer even put Sasuke in his sights…
Just imagining that possibility was enough to make Sasuke's mindset collapse.
"And besides, wasn't this Orochimaru's condition for returning Naruto's mission scroll?"
The moment Sasuke finished speaking, Naruto slammed the table and snapped back, "I lost that scroll because I was careless! There's no such thing as using you as a bargaining chip! Just give it up already! Orochimaru is definitely not a good person!!"
Minato quickly stepped in to calm them down before Sasuke could retort. Otherwise, the two of them would have ended up fighting on the spot.
"There's still plenty of time, so there's no need to rush," he said. "Your fundamentals aren't solid yet. Before that, I, this soon-to-be Hokage, can still teach you myself. Hahaha."
Those words really did calm Naruto and Sasuke down.
Honestly, if someone had told their past selves that the legendary Fourth Hokage would personally teach them, Naruto would have been so excited he'd jump three feet into the air. Even Sasuke, who always put on a cool front, would have been flustered beyond belief, repeatedly asking if it was really true.
Minato Namikaze continued, "Rin and Sakura won't be able to become Tsunade-sama's disciples so quickly either."
Sakura: "!!"
Rin: "?!"
The two exchanged a glance. "Why is that?"
Minato lowered his eyes. "As one of the legendary Sannin, Tsunade-sama didn't participate in the Third Ninja World War. Do you know why?"
Students from both teams shook their heads. Even Adult Kakashi hadn't known about this.
"Because Tsunade-sama has lost her will to fight… or rather, she's currently unable to fight."
The others suddenly remembered. "That's right! When we traveled to another parallel world before, Tsunade-sama seemed to be afraid of something!"
"Hemophobia," Minato said. "But please don't spread this around. I only heard about it from Jiraiya-sensei." He had tried to help smooth things over with Jiraiya-sensei, hoping Tsunade would be able to accept Sakura and Rin more easily.
But Jiraiya had also told Minato that Tsunade's will had already been worn down.
Including the deaths of Dan Kato and Nawaki.
Hearing that the three of them were still standing on the same starting line, Sasuke and Young Kakashi finally felt a little more at ease.
Minato said, "Alright, we'll stop here for now when it comes to the mission scrolls. I'll find a way to negotiate with Orochimaru again about Naruto's scroll."
As he spoke, he rubbed the top of Naruto's head, who was frowning in guilt and frustration.
"Solving my son's problems is always a father's responsibility. Leave it to me. After all, I am the future Fourth Hokage."
It was the first time Minato had ever said something like that. Even though he sounded confident, he was actually quite embarrassed inside.
Naruto, however, took it completely to heart. It felt as if he had a small notebook tucked away inside him, patiently waiting to fill in all the affection, companionship, and important moments he had missed growing up, checking them off one by one.
Minato Namikaze led them off for special training.
From the shadows, Itachi Uchiha stepped out and stopped behind Minato.
His tone was respectful, yet carried a faint trace of reproach.
"You shouldn't have told him."
Minato knew exactly what he meant. He was referring to revealing Orochimaru's second condition to Sasuke.
"Sasuke will be turning thirteen soon," Minato said. "Itachi, he's no longer the baby you once held in your arms, needing you to make every decision for him. He needs to be able to make his own judgments."
After a long silence, Itachi spoke again. "Sasuke is like a blank sheet of paper. He's too easily influenced by emotions from the outside."
Minato was honestly at a loss with this young man named Itachi. Every time he thought Itachi had finally come to terms with things, he would dig his heels in all over again.
"So what, you plan to stain that blank sheet from the very beginning?" Minato said. "Or protect him until the day you can't anymore? Have you ever thought about what happens to him after that?"
"If you hadn't appeared," Itachi said quietly, "I had already planned everything."
Have Sasuke kill him, the missing-nin, and return home in glory.
"I don't know what kind of plan you had," Minato replied, "but forgive me for being blunt. Sasuke himself would never accept it."
This time, Itachi said nothing. He knew Sasuke wouldn't accept it, but in his mind, it was the best option available.
"Alright," Minato said. "I won't let Sasuke actually go to Orochimaru."
"Thank you. I'm deeply grateful," Itachi said sincerely. "Orochimaru approached me before as well. His Living Corpse Reincarnation technique requires him to change bodies periodically. The one he's been cultivating, Kimimaro, is close to failing due to the strain of his powerful Kekkei Genkai. That's why his interest in Sasuke is undoubtedly to raise him as a new vessel."
Minato nodded. It was possible Orochimaru had drawn inspiration for Living Corpse Reincarnation from the relationship between tailed beasts and jinchūriki.
No matter what, if that was the case, then Sasuke absolutely had to be kept away from him.
Itachi vanished with a Body Flicker.
...
Within Kamui's Dimension, Obito Uchiha had heard Minato Namikaze mention "mission scrolls" again and again. That repeatedly referenced object made Obito take out the scroll that had inexplicably appeared in his space once more.
Inside were two items that could barely be called missions.
[Mission Rank: SSS]
[Mission Objective: Prevent the Fourth Shinobi World War]
[Mission Rank: B]
[Mission Objective: Rescue Obito Uchiha]
Among them, the B-rank mission was already marked as completed.
The so-called mission reward was another small scroll in his hand, containing nothing but a string of coded symbols.
[Mission Rank: A]
[Mission Objective: Impersonate Madara Uchiha and converse with Hashirama Senju]
Right before his eyes, the seal on the third mission was released.
"..."
What the hell is this supposed to be?! Does it have any idea how many years Hashirama Senju has been dead?!