Chapter 30.1- One Thousand Hands

Finding Orochimaru on the island was not hard. And if anything, it turned out that Sakumo had been understating things a quite bit. The man had half his stomach cut open. “You should see Kinkaku” was all the Snake shinobi had said when I expressed concern about his state. Of course, he knew the mystical palm jutsu so if he wasn’t using it then there had to be ample reason for that. I couldn’t check either. It was rude to scan people with doujutsu without permission. Also, I found that I didn’t care much about keeping Orochimaru alive. He would be a loss for the village but when weighed against the danger he’d pose in a few decades, it wasn’t even a question as to whether he was better off dead or not.

“So we trade the Jinchuriki for Shimura-san. Not the best of deals” Orochimaru said and I just barely managed to avoid chuckling at his words.

“There’s not much we can do with the Jinchuriki either way. Taking her back to the village courts disaster. And it’s not like we have a host ready and raring to go.”

“I still say we kill her and leave. That’s what Danzo would want as well. We deny Iwa a future asset. If the Four tails reforms in four years, then it will be here at the edge of the sea borders between Kumo and Kiri. They’d fight over it. Kumo is already down a tailed beast so they’d want the Yonbi and Kiri has two dead Jinchuriki so they’ll definitely be out for it. It’s Iwa’s property so they want it as well. We kill her here and we can be damned sure whatever alliance they have won’t last long.” I put in my two cents. Getting rid of Danzo here would be even better than getting rid of Orochimaru. Pain, Orochimaru, Kabuto, so many threats would not exist if the fucker just died here and now.

“No. We leave no comrade behind” Sakumo said and his word was final. Of course it was. He had seniority here. He’d been a Jounin longer than both Orochimaru and I and had been the one implicitly recognised as Second in command.

XXXXXX

In the end, arranging the exchange was easy. Sakumo just flared his chakra signature and in minutes, the Kinkaku force were on their way, escorted by a contingent of Iwa shinobi that arranged themselves around Kitsuchi, Ohnoki’s son, who looked about a few years younger than the Sannin if anything. “So you want to make a hostage swap?” The silver haired Kumo shinobi asked with a sharp smile on his face.

“Yes. The Yonbi Jinchuriki for one of ours.” Sakumo said, gesturing the black haired girl whose name I still hadn’t managed to get.

“Quite an offer. I have a counter offer of my own. Why don’t we just kill the both of you and take the Jinchuriki” His smile widened and bloodlust leaked from his very pore.

“We’d kill her and then you’d have lost Iwa their four tails and -“

“You could try” Sakumo cut in instead, still as the grave.