A Hundred Steps Ahead

The Friend of My Enemy

CHAPTER 19: The Friend of My Enemy

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"Otogakure?" An old man scoffed as he barged into the room, his bodyguards right at his heel. "You managed to escape Akatsuki and their damn rain just to settle at this dump?"

The man sitting in front of him chuckled, "I take it the travel was not enjoyable?" His golden eyes glinted with amusement as he tapped the handle of a teapot, "Tea?"

"No, thank you. God knows what concoction you've decided to experiment on this time." The elder of the two grumbled as he walked forward to take his seat. "Now, on to business. Time is of the essence. The longer I'm here, the higher the chance that Senju brat goes snooping around the village."

"That same Senju brat is my former teammate. And she's the current Hokage, not you, Danzo." The man let out a mocking smile. "Really, you should try to treat people with more respect."

"Well, I remember that you failed to take over Konoha and the Uchiha brat managed to escape from you during the exam, Orochimaru. The way I see it, we're both failures." He scoffed. "Now, on to business. What is Akatsuki's goal?" Danzo gestured to the small pile of files lying on top of the desk. "World Domination?"

Orochimaru hummed, "Something along those lines. Tell me, old friend, how much do you know about the Tailed Beasts?"

Danzo pursed his lips. His eye looked at Orochimaru to see if this was a trick question. "There are nine of them. I've read that they're made out of the chakra from the Ten–Tailed Beast by the Sage of Six Paths himself. Obviously, extremely dangerous – even when they're all sealed to a human."

"You're well-read for a senile, old man." The Snake Sannin smiled, "The Akatsuki believes in a fantasy that collecting all nine beasts would give them the image as the strongest among all nations. Without the tailed beast, the leader believes that no one would dare challenge their reign."

"And? What will happen next?"

"Peace. World Peace." Orochimaru reached out to the teapot and poured himself a cup, "As ironic and barbaric as it sounds, they believe that world peace will be achieved."

Danzo snorted, "There is no such thing as peace. What a childlike dream." He stood up, "To think that such an organization is being wasted on a useless fantasy."

Orochimaru hummed, "Maybe. Maybe not. Despite what you say about their goal, even I am not comfortable with the thought of clashing against their members." He paused to take a sip, "Danzo, my payment? A deal's a deal. I lingered under that organization because you asked me to. All those years that I could have spent on my precious research was wasted for that little favor."

"Of course," the old man gestured to one of his men.

A nondescript ROOT shinobi walked forward and placed three folders on top of the desk.

"Everything about the Haruno Trio that you've asked. From their merchant business, taxes, properties, business plans, scheduled business travels for the next six months, and even Haruno Sakura's mission reports." Danzo nodded to the folders, "I always keep my word, old friend."

Orochimaru placed his cup aside and caressed the folders with gentle hands. "Oh, it's always a pleasure doing business with you, Shimura Danzo." He smiled.

Danzo nodded before turning to leave, "You'll hear from me when it's safe for me to send you a letter. Tsunade's been getting bold with gathering evidence against me and ROOT."