Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master

Page 240

Nagato couldn't help but frown slightly.

……

The night passed quickly, and the dream ended.

The following morning, atop the central tower of Amegakure.

Nagato slowly opened her eyes, waking up from the lingering effects of the dream.

His consciousness returned to reality, but the last image from last night's dream lingered in his mind for a long time.

The Konoha boy who wore goggles and called himself "Obito".

"Obito...?"

Nagato murmured the name softly, gazing thoughtfully out the window.

The morning light streamed into the room, illuminating his pale, handsome face.

Just as Nagato was lost in thought, there was a gentle knock on the door, which pulled him back to reality.

"Nagato!"

Xiao Nan's cool voice rang out through the door.

"Are you awake? Scorpion wants to see Payne; he has something important to discuss."

Upon hearing this, Nagato sat up straight and quickly composed herself.

"I see."

He answered in a deep voice, and at the same time, with a thought, he connected with "Pain of the Deva Path" which was placed in the secret chamber of the tower.

In an instant, the tall figure with Yahiko's face opened his eyes and stood up from the dark room.

A few minutes later, in the conference room inside the tower in Amegakure Village.

Sasori of the Red Sand stood with his arms crossed in front of the table, his hoarse voice behind the mask revealing a hint of urgency: "Pain, when are we going to deal with Orochimaru?"

Scorpion asked directly, his voice icy and undisguised in its killing intent.

"His defection has caused the organization so much trouble, and he even turned against his own partner! I can't wait to feast on his corpse!"

Scorpion's words were sharp and direct, echoing in the quiet room.

Payne, seated at the head of the table, listened attentively with his eyes lowered, his expression unreadable.

Konan, standing beside Pain, noticed his expression change slightly upon hearing this and couldn't help but object, "No! We can't kill Orochimaru!"

Her cool voice sounded particularly abrupt in the silence.

Both Scorpion and Pain were taken aback by these words.

Scorpion turned to stare at Konan in disbelief: "What?! I can't kill her?!"

"Orochimaru is a traitor! Why isn't he executed?!"

Faced with Scorpion's questioning, Xiao Nan was speechless for a moment: "I...I..."

She was speechless, unable to utter a single compelling reason.

She had only blurted it out in a moment of panic, and only after calming down did she realize that she had openly pleaded for Orochimaru.

Xiao Nan bit her lower lip tightly, caught in a dilemma, and could only look away and stop talking.

Sasori of the Red Sand paused for a moment, then let out a sneer.

He narrowed his eyes, his expression full of suspicion and displeasure: "Hmph, I really don't understand you guys! Are you just going to let this go like this?"

Seeing that Konan looked troubled, Payne took the initiative to speak.

His tone was calm, like a high god looking down on all living beings: "Although Orochimaru betrayed the organization, he did not sell any information, nor did he commit any unforgivable crimes."

Pain slowly scanned the two people present, and then said, "Besides, Orochimaru is a rare talent, it would be a pity to kill him like this."

Scorpion paused upon hearing this: "Huh? Just because of that, you won't kill him?"

He stared at Payne, as if he doubted that he had heard correctly.

Payne stared at Scorpion silently for a moment, his voice devoid of any emotion: "Lock him up first. Keeping him alive might come in handy later."

Having said that, Scorpion could no longer refute it.

He snorted coldly and lowered his head somewhat unwillingly: "...Yes, I understand."

Despite their discontent, within Akatsuki, Pain's orders were divine pronouncements, and no one dared to disobey them.

Scorpion could only suppress his anger, and with a heavy flick of his sleeve, he turned and left.

Watching Scorpion leave the conference room, Xiao Nan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Before she could fully calm down, Payne slowly turned around beside her, his cold Rinnegan staring straight at her.

"Konan," Pain said in a deep voice, his tone unreadable, "Why...why didn't you want to execute Orochimaru just now?"

“I…” Xiao Nan’s heart tightened, and she avoided Payne’s sharp gaze, stammering, “Just like you said, I just think… keeping him around for the time being might be more beneficial to the organization.”

She offered a perfunctory explanation, but her voice grew softer and softer.

Payne did not answer, but simply stared at Konan in silence.

After a long silence, he stood up, walked over to Konan, looked down at her downcast face, and slowly said, "Konan, the reason you were unwilling to kill Orochimaru..."

"Is it because of Jiraiya-sensei?"

Xiao Nan's delicate body trembled violently, and she suddenly looked up: "What—?!"

She met Payne's gaze, a mix of guilt and panic welling up inside her.

Last night in the audience, Jiraiya's sudden plea echoed in his ears again: "Could you, for my sake, spare his life..."

Thinking about this, Xiao Nan was in a state of utter confusion.

She turned her head away hastily, denying in a flustered and awkward manner, "It has nothing to do with him! It has absolutely nothing to do with him!"

Chapter 199 Danzo stumbled upon Tsunade's good deed and wanted to join in.

Cold water droplets dripped slowly down the damp wall, making a clear ticking sound in the silent dungeon.

In a dark corner of the Amegakure dungeon, a slender figure sat quietly in the center of the cell, his golden vertical pupils gleaming slightly in the darkness. It was Orochimaru, who had been captured by the Akatsuki organization not long ago.

At this moment, Orochimaru was filled with confusion.

Several days have passed since he was imprisoned in the dungeon of Amegakure, and he feels as if he has been forgotten.

Apart from the day he was first imprisoned, when Sasori of the Red Sand used a puppet to mock and ridicule him, neither Pain, the leader, nor Itachi Uchiha, whom he had long coveted, ever appeared again.

There was no interrogation, no questioning, and no punishment or torture.

It seems everyone has lost interest in this traitor.

He had considered being intimidated, threatened, and even subjected to various cruel forms of execution.

But to his surprise, he was ignored.

This feeling of being completely ignored was incredibly humiliating for the ever-arrogant Orochimaru.

As one of the "Three Legendary Sannin" who struck fear into the hearts of the entire ninja world, how could Orochimaru have ever been treated with such indifference?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes, secretly lick his lips, and let out a low, cold laugh.

The sound echoed in the narrow cell.

However, all that answered him was the cold echo of water dripping from the corner of the wall.

Orochimaru looked up and stared at the only small window outside the cell, where the light filtering through the windowpanes was dim and cold.

He judged that it was probably early morning, and a light drizzle was still falling outside.

Rain dripped incessantly down the windowsill, just like the endless rain curtain in the village outside.

Just then, a heavy scraping sound suddenly came from the quiet corridor.

The sound of metal scraping against the ground, like a "clattering" sound, came from afar and broke the deathly silence of the dungeon.

Orochimaru's pupils contracted upon hearing the sound, and his previously half-closed eyes suddenly lit up with a glint of excitement.

"coming!"

He suddenly sat up straight on the ground, straining his ears to listen to the approaching footsteps.

The distinctive metallic clanging sound echoed in the empty corridor, reminding Orochimaru of a familiar figure.

Or rather, a familiar puppet.

"Hiruko... Ah, I really miss it."

Orochimaru chuckled softly, his voice carrying a chilling pleasure.

He had heard the mechanical sounds of his old partner's puppet, Hiruko, countless times.

Hearing that voice again now, he almost immediately concluded that the person was none other than Scorpion.

Before long, a tall, heavy figure came to a stop in the shadows outside the cell door.

In the dim light of day, one could see that the person was completely covered by a rough, heavy black cloak, with the brim of the cloak hanging low, revealing only the lower half of their face.

However, the sharp metal toes peeking out from under the cloak, and the strange bulges on his shoulders and back, clearly revealed his identity—he was none other than Sasori's puppet, "Hiruko".

"Hmph, Orochimaru."

A hoarse, hostile voice emanated from within the puppet, demanding, "What exactly did you say to Payne?!"

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru, standing behind the cell door, raised an eyebrow slightly, but his usual mocking smile quickly appeared on his face: "Oh? This is truly interesting?"

His tone was languid and flippant, and he didn't take the barbed questioning of the newcomer to heart.

However, Orochimaru's mind was racing.

Since being captured, Payne has never shown his face, so how could he have had the opportunity to talk to him?

Orochimaru smiled inwardly upon hearing this, becoming even more certain of himself.

He squinted slightly, slowly stood up, and walked to the iron bars, looking through the rusty fence at the dark figure outside the gate.

"It seems... someone's expectations have been dashed."