Naruto: Reborn as Yagura Karatachi

"Dead Demon Consuming Seal, huh?"

Orochimaru had heard of this forbidden sealing technique, though he didn't know the specifics.

Still, he waited patiently for Yagura to continue. Since the other party had brought out such a forbidden technique as a bargaining chip, there had to be something tempting enough for him.

"It's a forbidden jutsu that involves making a deal with the Shinigami enshrined at a Uzumaki temple," Yagura explained, emphasizing the words "Shinigami."

"By sacrificing the user's own life, the Shinigami will seal away the target."

It wasn't the Shinigami from another popular manga with a Soul Society. The true nature of this being remained shrouded in mystery.

Mysterious and unknown things—those were what Orochimaru loved most.

"Very well, I understand now," Orochimaru said, smiling. "It seems I can't refuse such an offer."

As for Kabuto...

Even though Orochimaru had invested a great deal of effort to secure this talented child, he wasn't irreplaceable.

Breaking up Orochimaru's inner circle and securing the benefits Yagura wanted from him—or through him—took priority.

Yagura turned to the other "beautiful snake" at his side.

"Sasori, from now on, you'll be in charge of Orochimaru."

Sasori's face instantly showed visible discomfort."…"

"He's just as obsessed with research as you are," Yagura said, barely holding back a grin. It was absolutely deliberate.

"I'll leave this important task to you."

Being "like-minded" was not exactly something Sasori appreciated.

But Yagura had already made up his mind to recruit this rotten snake, and nothing Sasori said could change that.

Putting Orochimaru under direct management made it easier to keep an eye on him.

After getting Sasori's reluctant nod, Yagura turned to Orochimaru.

"You have no objections, right?"

"Of course not," Orochimaru replied easily, his tone casual. "I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of chemical reaction this will cause. I'm quite eager to work with him."

After thinking for a moment, Yagura decided there was nothing else he needed to formalize with Orochimaru for now.

"Alright then. Welcome to Kirigakure."

Orochimaru lifted the corner of his mouth into a smile.

"I'm honored, Mizukage."

Now that everything was settled—

When employing someone, trust them; when in doubt, don't employ them.

Yagura casually tossed two scrolls he'd carried out of the village to Orochimaru.

"These are yours. Study them carefully."

One scroll, when unrolled, was indeed the forbidden jutsu known as Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

Orochimaru only gave it a quick glance before his entire being was captivated by it.

The other scroll was a space scroll used for sealing items—the kind every shinobi knew how to use.

Since it had been handed over along with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, it clearly wasn't just an ordinary item.

Orochimaru tried the standard method: injecting chakra to unlock the seal.

He failed.

"Oh, that one's a little more complicated," Yagura said lightly, drawing Orochimaru's curiosity further.

"I had the Anbu put a Kirigakure-specific seal on it."

Finally, he dropped the bombshell: "Inside is a life form that's essentially immortal... and capable of using Wood Release."

It was a White Zetsu body, formerly hosting Black Zetsu.

Even after Black Zetsu had been destroyed, the White Zetsu body remained, and Yagura had claimed it as his spoil.

Orochimaru's eyes lit up instantly! He stared hard at Yagura, his breathing growing heavy with excitement.

Rarely had anyone seen Orochimaru so visibly lose his composure.

Immortality—that was the one thing Orochimaru had always chased.

"An enemy who came looking for trouble not long ago," Yagura explained simply, "ended up being killed by me. This is part of the spoils."

He added, "You're free to study it. Just make sure to leave the body intact. You'll need it once you master Dead Demon Consuming Seal."

Orochimaru + Living Corpse Reincarnation + White Zetsu.

A loophole built to break the limitations of Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

Orochimaru had come to him of his own accord, and even if he hadn't mastered Living Corpse Reincarnation yet, given a few years, he surely would.

As for White Zetsu—it had fallen right into their hands.

Thinking of all this, Yagura clenched his fist silently, offering a quiet thanks to the "good people" who had made it all possible.

"When we get back to Kirigakure," Yagura said, "I'll have the Anbu unlock the seal for you. They're the only ones who know how."

Without missing a beat, Orochimaru had already slipped the two scrolls into his pocket—giving neither Yagura nor himself any chance to reconsider.

There was no need for Yagura to deceive him. After all, once the scroll was opened, the truth would be evident to anyone.

...

Mangetsu, who had purely tagged along for the ride, yawned exaggeratedly.

"So, everything's settled? Guess it's time to head back to the village?"

Down——

His poorly timed comment earned him a pair of dead-fish eyes from Yagura.

Mangetsu instantly caught on.

"What's the matter, Mizukage-sama? Don't feel like going back to work?"

Yagura answered righteously,

"Since we've come all this way, of course we should take some time to relax first."

Orochimaru: "...…"

He wanted nothing more than to hurry back to Kirigakure and unlock those scrolls.

In this moment, this former Konoha shinobi felt an even stronger sense of belonging to Kirigakure than the actual Mizukage did.

But his opinion—and even his objections—didn't matter. He had to listen to Sasori, and Sasori listened to Yagura.

The decision was made.

Yagura headed over to the local garrison outpost, greeting the stationed Kirigakure shinobi and publicly praising them for their diligence.

They ended up staying another half a day.

After all, returning to the village meant facing an endless sea of paperwork that never seemed to shrink, no matter how much he completed each day.

Might as well have a little fun by the sea first.

On the beach, Yagura slowly built a sizable sandcastle with his own hands.

"Once Orochimaru masters both Dead Demon Consuming Seal and Living Corpse Reincarnation, we'll be able to steal something right out of the Shinigami's stomach," Yagura mused.

He lifted his gaze, looking across the sea toward the distant continent and the village of Konoha.

His mood was excellent.

"Half of the Nine-Tails. Hiruzen Sarutobi must feel pretty secure, entrusting it to the Shinigami. All we need is to find a child from the Uzumaki Clan... and make them the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki~"

In complete secrecy, someone could actually steal half of a Tailed Beast from Konoha.

Everyone knew that half of the Nine-Tails' power alone could rival the combined might of several other Tailed Beasts.

When the Sage of Six Paths divided the chakra of the Ten-Tails, it went like this: one share to the One-Tail, one share to the Nine-Tails; one share to the Two-Tails, another share to the Nine-Tails; one share to the Three-Tails, another to the Nine-Tails... and so on. When he was done, there was still half left over, so he just gave all of it to the Nine-Tails.

...

Time flew by quickly during these busy days.

As soon as Konan received word from Elder Genshi about Yagura's movements, she didn't waste a second and set out immediately.

Mangetsu spotted her arriving, panting slightly from the rush, and eagerly came over to ask why she had come, then cheerfully led her to Yagura's location.

They found the Fourth Mizukage and Isobu idling away at the beach, fiddling with the sand.

Mangetsu called out, "Hey, what are you up to?"

Yagura hushed him immediately, concentrating carefully on the sandcastle he was building, which had grown several stories tall in scale and complexity.

"Quiet. I'm thinking."

Little Isobu pushed a bucket of water over to Yagura's side.

Yagura dipped his hand into the bucket, wetting it slightly before carefully reinforcing the sandcastle, filling the tiny gaps between the sand grains to strengthen the structure.

After a while, he gently brushed the sand from his hands and stood up, satisfied.

The setting sun over the western sea was dazzling. Yagura lifted his sunglasses slightly to see who had arrived, tilting his head curiously when he recognized her.

"Konan? What's the matter?"

Konan hesitated, then explained her purpose.

She understood very well—having embedded herself so deeply within Kirigakure, gaining a detailed understanding of its inner workings, leaving now would be like walking away with highly sensitive intelligence.

Even with Yagura's open-mindedness and Kirigakure's current openness, it still put him in a difficult position.

"You can go."

Seeing the shock in Konan's expression, Yagura laughed and waved it off.

"Relax. You haven't seen anything we're ashamed of. If you had, you wouldn't be leaving Kirigakure alive."

Konan realized she was just a reflection of a broader trend. Over the years, many people had come to the Land of Water to escape the wars.

After the conflicts ended, most of them chose to stay and settle down in Kirigakure; only a few returned to their homelands.

The attitude Yagura and the daimyo's office showed toward them was the same one he was showing to Konan now.

That said, Konan was a special case compared to ordinary civilians.

Yagura took a moment to shelve his leisurely mindset and added,

"When you get back, please thank your friends—Yahiko and Nagato—for me. Kirigakure's operations in the Land of Rain have gone smoothly, largely thanks to the Akatsuki's efforts."

The fact that he still remembered Yahiko and Nagato's names...

A rush of warmth and sourness flooded Konan's eyes. She bowed deeply.

"Yes! Thank you very much!"

Crash!

Seizing the opportunity while Yagura's attention was elsewhere, Isobu charged forward and rammed into the sandcastle Yagura had painstakingly built.

Hearing the sound, Yagura spun around—and upon seeing the destruction, his blood pressure skyrocketed.

"ISOBU—YOU LITTLE—MY MASTERPIECE!!"

Isobu, having smashed into the castle, looked completely satisfied.

"Weird... I just really wanted to crash into that hole."

"You a hermit crab now or something?!"

With a flick, Yagura shoved Isobu back into his own body to "reflect on his actions."

Did you know you just destroyed a future cultural heritage site? A sandcastle personally built by the Fourth Mizukage!

You owe me cultural pride! Tourism revenue! My dream of a cultural victory is ruined!

Watching Konan for a moment, Yagura's mind gradually shifted away from leisure and toward more serious matters—namely, Yahiko and Nagato.

"Konan, come with me. I want to introduce you to someone."

"Yes!"

With Konan following behind, Yagura led her back to Kirigakure's border camp and made his way straight to a particular tent—where Orochimaru was.

He wasn't the playful type, and after achieving his goal of joining Kirigakure and getting what he wanted from Yagura, Orochimaru had buried himself in his studies, turning into a full-fledged academic hermit.

Lifting the tent flap, Yagura found Orochimaru engrossed in the study of the Reaper Death Seal scroll.

"Hey, Orochimaru-san. I've brought an old acquaintance."

"Old acquaintance?"

Orochimaru looked up in confusion, rolling up the scroll—and then saw Konan following behind Yagura.

Konan recognized him instantly.

As a child wandering in the Land of Rain, she and her friends had once encountered the Legendary Sannin. That was the first time she had met Jiraiya-sensei, who would later become their mentor.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya's companion, had been the one to suggest killing them back then.

"Oh... Jiraiya's little student," Orochimaru muttered.

Seeing the wary look flare up in Konan's eyes, Orochimaru finally recalled where he had seen her before.

It had been ten years ago—at the time, Konan and the others were just kids, and he hadn't recognized her immediately.

It wasn't until he associated her with Jiraiya's disciples that he remembered.

If Jiraiya hadn't whimsically decided to take in those three children from Amegakure, Orochimaru wouldn't even remember the face of another war-orphaned child.

"Konan, Orochimaru-san is one of us now, a shinobi of Kirigakure," Yagura said, quickly smoothing over Konan's obvious unease.

He sat down across from Orochimaru, his demeanor shifting as he got down to business.

On the way over, Yagura had sorted through Konan's concerns—and the timeline they were currently facing.

Konan had mentioned having a bad feeling. It sounded vague, even to her, but Yagura had taken it seriously.

...

Yagura rapped his knuckles on the table.

"Orochimaru-san, answer me honestly. What's going on inside Konoha lately?"

Normally, no village would allow someone with insider knowledge to just leave.

Orochimaru was a prime example of this.

"What kind of situation do you mean?" Orochimaru asked lazily.

"Don't play dumb."

Yagura pressed him.

"You were expelled from Konoha because you backed Shimura Danzō, who lost to Namikaze Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi, right?"

Having lost his chance at becoming Hokage, Orochimaru had long since lost interest in Konoha's politics. He replied half-heartedly,

"Mm. If that's what you're asking, then yes."

Yagura wasn't satisfied with that attitude.

"When you left, what was Danzō up to?"

Orochimaru actually knew the answer.

After a brief, thoughtful glance at Konan, he smirked at Yagura.

"Take a guess."

The answer: Shimura Danzō had gone to the Land of Rain.

Yagura didn't bother engaging in Orochimaru's teasing.

Resting his chin on one hand, he began analyzing the situation facing Yahiko and the Akatsuki.

Danzō's involvement meant that Hanzo of the Salamander was preparing to move against Yahiko's Akatsuki.

As for Nagato, Yagura had little personal stake.

Kirigakure was too far from the Land of Rain; he couldn't offer direct support without stretching himself too thin. He was the Mizukage, after all, not a rogue ninja.

Still, Yahiko's Akatsuki now faced enemies like Hanzo, Danzō, and even Uchiha Obito.

Sending Kirigakure shinobi into Akatsuki? Yagura would lose sleep over even one of them dying.

After much thought, Yagura had decided to intervene indirectly—by using money to bring Kakuzu to Yahiko's side early.

First, it would prevent Hanzo from crushing Akatsuki before they fully formed.

Second, Kakuzu would get to know Yahiko's team early, making him more likely to side with Nagato's Akatsuki later on.

And if Kakuzu died... well, Yagura wouldn't exactly mourn.

But now, circumstances had changed.

He had Konan at his side—a willing exchange student from Akatsuki—and Orochimaru.

His options had expanded.

He had a chance to deny Obito the advantage he sought.

And Yagura wasn't about to make things harder for himself.

...

"Orochimaru-san, you must have a way to contact your old teammate, Jiraiya," Yagura said.

After decades together as comrades, he didn't believe Orochimaru would have no means of reaching him.

Without waiting for confirmation, Yagura continued,

"Get in touch with him. Tell him his three disciples in Amegakure are in trouble."

Kakuzu alone wasn't enough to counter Hanzo, Danzō, and Obito.

But if Jiraiya joined the fray... Nagato might just survive.

Orochimaru chuckled dryly.

He had deliberately severed ties with Jiraiya after defecting from Konoha.

And yet, with just a few words from Yagura, he now had to pull Jiraiya out of his "blacklist."

He glanced at Konan. The woman's eyes were already brimming with hope at the thought of seeing her teacher again after so many years.

Then came Yagura's calm, trustworthy voice. "Konan, come here."

Moved beyond words, Konan felt her gratitude toward Yagura deepen. In her heart, he now stood alongside Jiraiya-sensei as one of her life's greatest benefactors.

"Fine," Orochimaru said.

Having just received a massive favor from Yagura himself, he knew he couldn't refuse.

Besides, it was just relaying a message—he didn't have to meet Jiraiya personally.

"Summoning Technique!"

With a puff of smoke, Orochimaru summoned a small toad carrying a long scroll wrapped around its body.

"Ribbit... it's been a long time," the toad said, clearly surprised to see Orochimaru after so many years.

Turning to Konan, Orochimaru instructed, "Write your message to Jiraiya here. This little guy will deliver it."

Yagura nodded his approval.

Trembling slightly from excitement, Konan picked up the brush and began to write.

...To Jiraiya-sensei, if you are reading this...

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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