Chapter 85: The Scapegoat King: Orochimaru
"Believe it or not, I've cooperated with many people, like Nagato, like Obito. When working with Nagato, I found one thing very strange: why did his Rinnegan severely reject his body? As a member of the Uzumaki clan, he was being heavily drained by his own Rinnegan. Moreover, the Uzumaki clan doesn't seem capable of awakening the Rinnegan. That's highly unreasonable."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. He knew too many secrets, enough to unravel Madara's entire plan.
"Now, seeing your eyes, I think I understand what's going on."
"Oh? Have you studied Nagato's Rinnegan?"
Madara's expression darkened, because Nagato's Rinnegan was his own.
"When Nagato was on the verge of death, he came to me. I used Hashirama cells to extend his life. Surprisingly, his severely drained body showed no rejection of the cells at all—in fact, it developed resistance to their erosion."
Madara's heart tightened. He desperately wanted to know the state of his eyes. If something happened to them, it would be an unacceptable loss.
"Compared to Nagato's abnormal physical condition, I'm actually more curious about one thing."
"..."
Madara stared at Su Xiao, waiting for him to continue.
"Through multiple contacts with Obito, I sensed a seal on his heart. I wouldn't have noticed it initially, but I saw a similar seal near Nagato's heart. That allowed me to detect its faint, almost imperceptible fluctuations. This is very interesting. Those two seals make me wonder: has someone already orchestrated all of this?"
Su Xiao was gradually revealing the information he knew to Madara. The reason was simple: Obito was never a reliable partner. From start to finish, he was a pawn—Madara's pawn. When Madara discarded this pawn, Su Xiao might be caught in the fallout.
Madara was strong now, no doubt, but not to the point where Su Xiao couldn't contend with him. Su Xiao needed to confirm one thing: whether he could reach a consensus with Madara.
If they could, then the third phase of the "Large-Scale Plot Event" could develop into the strongest Madara. At that point, Kaguya Otsutsuki would have no role to play.
What Madara didn't know was that this was his chance to turn things around. Of course, it was also Su Xiao's chance to reap massive benefits. If he could establish a cooperative relationship with Madara, he could participate in the entire Fourth Shinobi World War.
The Fourth Shinobi World War wasn't long. It had already progressed over 40%. Only a few major events remained: Obito becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, then being controlled by Black Zetsu to revive Madara, who would become the new Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
After Madara became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, he would be ambushed by Black Zetsu and used as a sacrifice to revive Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Now, whether Madara would be ambushed depended entirely on his negotiation with Su Xiao. Other contractors also knew this plot, but they couldn't reach Madara. The key point was that Su Xiao met Madara as the instigator of the war, and as a founding member of the Akatsuki, he had been fully involved in the plans of Nagato, Obito, and others.
"Kid."
Madara's fingers curled, killing intent surging in his eyes.
"Think carefully about what you say next, unless you want to become a meatball."
Su Xiao smiled at Madara. The "meatball" he referred to was Madara's fate when Kaguya Otsutsuki devoured him—a black-and-white orb.
"Meatball?"
Madara naturally didn't know his future fate. Su Xiao was gambling that he could reach a consensus with Madara. If not, participating in the war would be meaningless—no, it would bring death.
Whether Kaguya Otsutsuki revived or the Allied Shinobi Forces won, Su Xiao would end up in a bad spot. He chose this method of negotiation because he could return to Reincarnation Paradise at any time. If negotiations failed, he would just retreat immediately and return to Reincarnation Paradise, significantly reducing the risk.
Moreover, over 80% of the information Su Xiao provided to Madara came from events he had personally experienced, all traceable. He wasn't relying on foresight; he was combining known intelligence with his own experiences to negotiate with Madara.
For example, capturing the leader, attacking Konoha with Nagato, assassinating the Kage at the Five Kage Summit, instigating the war—all things Su Xiao had done.
In Su Xiao's view, Kaguya Otsutsuki was a disgrace to final bosses. Aside from her powerful abilities, her combat experience was a complete mess.
In her complete form, she was driven off by Naruto in his Half-Six Paths Sage Mode. How ridiculous was that? Overall, Kaguya Otsutsuki was just a lonely, beautiful woman who had been sealed in the moon for so long that she had become somewhat dull.
Su Xiao doubted whether Kaguya Otsutsuki's combat experience was even on par with a Chunin.
Madara, on the other hand, was different. Though arrogant, if he obtained Kaguya's power, he could easily beat Naruto and Sasuke to a pulp. He had spent most of his life in war, and his combat experience and intelligence far surpassed Kaguya Otsutsuki's.
"If we can reach a mutually satisfactory agreement, you won't regret cooperating with me. Nagato cooperated with me, and I extended his life and helped him destroy Konoha. Obito cooperated with me, and I helped him instigate the Fourth Shinobi World War. You can ask Nagato and Obito about these two matters yourself."
Su Xiao needed a reliable partner now. Obito had been unreliable from the start, mostly coasting through battles and using Su Xiao as a workhorse. Su Xiao had long noticed this but ignored Obito's methods because, once the war began, Obito would fulfill his role as a pawn.
Clearly, Madara was the one playing chess. But behind him was another manipulator: Black Zetsu. Su Xiao would never consider cooperating with Black Zetsu—that would be even worse than working with Obito.
"Fine. Cooperating with you seems to have no downside for me."
Madara didn't know Su Xiao well, but he could see that Su Xiao's combat strength was considerable.
Hearing this, Su Xiao's smile gradually faded.
"Are you sure... you want to cooperate with me with this attitude? I'm not threatening you, but you need to think carefully."
Su Xiao's sudden change in attitude was because Madara showed no sincerity. For cooperation, both parties must first clarify each other's goals.
Madara had no idea what Su Xiao's goal was, yet he agreed without hesitation. The implication was clear: Madara wanted to use Su Xiao as a pawn.
"Unfortunately, you've lost this opportunity. When you regret it, there may be no chance left."
Su Xiao dropped his cigarette butt and turned to leave the forest with Bubu Wang and Amu.
Madara watched Su Xiao's retreating figure. For some reason, a foreboding feeling arose in his heart.
"Wait."
Madara called out, but Su Xiao ignored him.
"What... is your goal?"
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused.
"I want... a part of the fruit that tree bears."
"Fruit?!"
Madara could no longer remain calm.
"What do you know?"
"A lot."
"Impossible."
Madara clearly didn't believe it.
"You underestimate a ninja named Orochimaru. Through scientific research, he uncovered too many things, including the origin of ninja and chakra. Science is not to be underestimated."
Su Xiao had revealed too much to Madara. Fortunately, his strength was sufficient. But he knew the consequences of revealing the original plot to a character, so he needed a scapegoat.
In the Naruto world, who was more suitable than Orochimaru? That guy researched everything and was interested in everything—a natural scapegoat.
So far, Su Xiao had shifted the blame to Orochimaru many times, and Orochimaru had never complained because he was in a state of suspended animation. But judging by the timeline, Orochimaru should have revived by now.
Great Scientist Orochimaru had no idea that a massive scapegoat was about to land on his head. Whether he would be crushed by it depended on his survival skills.
If Orochimaru knew what Su Xiao was about to say, he would drop everything, rush over at full speed, and do everything possible to kill Su Xiao, telling Madara that none of those things had anything to do with him.