hotmtlnovel Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Orochimaru's Optimism—Is Returning to Konoha Really That Bad?
Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Orochimaru's Optimism—Is Returning to Konoha Really That Bad?
Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Orochimaru's Optimism—Is Returning to Konoha Really That Bad?
The Eight Gates, as Akira Uchiha sees it, are divided into two parts.
One part consists of the first to seventh gates, which continually increase chakra levels-the higher the gate opened, the greater the chakra boost. However, the burden on the body also increases, though these gates can be closed.
The other part is the eighth gate.
Consider Might Guy in the original series: when he first opened the seventh gate, he defeated Kisame.
But does that mean he had to open the seventh gate just to beat Kisame?
And when he opened the seventh gate again to face Uchiha Madara, how did Madara react?
"Blue steam? Looks like I've been underestimated."
This shows that even with the seventh gate open, in Madara's eyes, it wasn't much. His casual attitude was similar to when he faced the Five Kage.
So, with the seventh gate open, Might Guy was still just at a Kage-level.
But what about the eighth gate?
Even Madara in his Six Paths form was overwhelmed!
When Guy entered the Night Guy mode, he almost killed Six Paths Madara with a single kick. Compare the combat power: in his normal form, Madara toyed with the Five Kage with ease; Might Guy opening the seventh gate was about on par with a Kage-level opponent.
But in the eighth gate, Guy could dominate Madara even in his Six Paths form!
The difference in power between the seventh and eighth gates is evident.
Similarly, Akira Uchiha has opened both the seventh and eighth gates and experienced their power firsthand.
That's why he says the eighth gate, the Gate of Death, is an incredibly overpowered ability. When Jiraiya said that with the seventh gate open, Akira's strength could be described as around 80,000 on the Kage-level scale of 10,000 to 100,000, Akira agreed.
But with the eighth gate open?
That's easily 1,000,000 or more!
No wonder it's a life-threatening technique-none of its moves are simple!
After discussing the scale of 10,000 to 100,000 representing Kage-level strength, Akira and Jiraiya went on to assess the relative strength of various Kage-level shinobi in the ninja world.
They talked about the Raikage, the perfect Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Killer Bee, the Kazekage, Uchiha Itachi, and others.
As they chatted, the days passed quickly.
Finally, Akira and Jiraiya arrived in the Land of Rice Fields.
After a brief investigation, they found the location of the Hidden Sound Village.
Inside a stone chamber, the three sat down.
"Orochimaru, your living conditions aren't exactly great, are they?" Jiraiya remarked, looking around the damp and dark room. He couldn't understand why someone would choose to live underground like this.
"It can't be helped. Snakes, after all, prefer such environments," Akira thought to himself. He knew that in the original series, Orochimaru's true form was that of a giant white snake. Who knows if Orochimaru had already taken on that form by now?
"First of all, let me congratulate you two. You've really boosted Konoha's reputation-now the other three ninja villages don't dare to covet Konoha anymore!" Orochimaru began, ignoring Jiraiya's comment and instead offering his congratulations.
With that, Orochimaru's gaze turned to Akira. "Especially you, Akira. Severing the leg of the Third Tsuchikage has shaken the entire ninja world! I still remember our first meeting barely six months ago. To see how much you've grown in such a short time-it's truly astonishing!" "Thank you for the compliment," Akira replied politely. As the saying goes, it's hard to strike someone who's smiling at you, and with Orochimaru praising him like this, Akira couldn't help but respond courteously.
"It seems your abilities extend beyond just predicting danger," Orochimaru continued, turning the conversation to Akira's abilities. Orochimaru had known about Akira's supposed ability to foresee danger. But now, it seemed Akira had used that ability to locate him here at
the Hidden Sound Village.
Akira smiled, neither confirming nor denying Orochimaru's guess.
Seeing Akira's reaction, Orochimaru realized he was probably right. After a brief pause, he asked, "So, what brings you to the Hidden Sound Village, Akira?"
"Konoha is in need of capable people right now, so I've come to ask you to return to Konoha,"
Akira said bluntly, revealing the purpose of his visit.
Hearing this, Jiraiya stared intently at Orochimaru. Over the years, he had tried countless times to convince Orochimaru to return to Konoha, but to no avail. Could this really be the moment where Orochimaru would finally agree?
"And if I refuse?" Orochimaru asked after a moment of silence.
"I'm not asking for your permission—I'm informing you," Akira replied, his voice firm. As he
spoke, he formed hand signs, and the crow with Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō sharingan
appeared, perched on his shoulder.
"Alright, I'll agree," Orochimaru said immediately. Seeing the crow with the Mangekyō Sharingan, Orochimaru knew he had no choice. Better to agree willingly than to be controlled
by Kotoamatsukami.
After all, he had already betrayed the Akatsuki. Hiding in the Hidden Sound Village wasn't much safer than returning to Konoha. At least in Konoha, he could seek protection. Moreover, the main reason he left Konoha was his disappointment in the old and corrupt leadership and his loss of the Fourth Hokage position to Minato Namikaze. Now, those reasons were irrelevant. The corrupt leadership was gone, and the matter of the Hokage position was long behind him.
Given these changes, Orochimaru thought to himself that returning to Konoha might not be
such a bad idea.
In this moment, Orochimaru's mindset was reminiscent of the 'Itachi Paradox'—making a difficult choice that seemed counterintuitive, yet ultimately served a greater purpose, even if it wasn't immediately clear to others.
Of course, if it ever became necessary, Orochimaru could always betray Konoha again. But if
he were controlled by Kotoamatsukami, he would lose that option.
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 181 at patreon.com/Emiko1.