They soon shifted naturally into discussing the invasion itself.
Orochimaru tapped a finger against the arm of his chair, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
"My next step is simple," he said. "I'll go eliminate Rasa and take his place."
His lip curled faintly, a flash of disdain slipping through before he smoothed it over.
In his personal estimation, Rasa barely qualified as a proper Kage at all in strength.
Sunagakure was arguably the weakest of the so-called great hidden villages, followed by Kirigakure, whose decline came from internal bloodshed rather than poverty.
Suna's weakness, by contrast, stemmed entirely from its lack of national resources.
Not to mention that the only reason Rasa wore the Kazekage title, in the first place, in his opinion, was his bloodline pedigree. Orochimaru knew that well.
He even knew the methods Rasa had used during the Third Shinobi War, how he quietly removed a celebrated kunoichi of his own village just to secure his rise to power.
So, even before Orochimaru's own strength had skyrocketed over the last two and a half years, thanks to the trade with Kimimaro and the research breakthroughs he had gained from it, he felt he could have disposed of the Fourth Kazekage without difficulty.
Orochimaru then further explained to Kabuto that with his Power of the White Snake body fully modified, he considered himself the absolute master of substitution techniques as well.
Perhaps, even the best in the world. That alone made impersonating Rasa successfully feel like child's play.
"That's why I can confidently push all of Sunagakure to betray Konoha with only a few days' notice," Orochimaru said. "With their backward loyalties and his precious clan pedigree, they'll follow their Kazekage without question, whether it's Rasa or me wearing his skin."
Kabuto listened as Orochimaru went on.
In recent weeks, Orochimaru had not only coaxed Konoha into recognizing Otogakure's "official" status and even now allowing them to participate in the following Chūnin Exams, despite the village being little more than a phantom on paper, proof that Hiruzen truly was slipping into senility, but he had also forged a secret alliance with Sunagakure based on that rising legitimacy in the eyes of those in the know.
They had been easy prey; their village was poor, almost starved of resources, needing any kind of support.
Whether because of Rasa's incompetence or simple weakness, the Wind Daimyō had further recently slashed their meager funding to the bone and redirected most mission contracts straight to Konoha.
That left Suna's shinobi in a very humiliating position nowadays, forced to crawl to their supposed new ally, begging Konoha not to take every mission that kept them barely afloat, masking their desperation behind the flimsy excuse of "forming the alliance."
But that "alliance" had never been anything more than a farce.
A quiet vassalization.
A submission dressed up as diplomacy.
Of course, resentment festered beneath it.
And that resentment was exactly what Orochimaru planned to use, slipping into Rasa's place and pushing Sunagakure toward the one decision they were already primed to accept if they got the chance.
Attack Konoha alongside him.
"Orochimaru-sama… so that was when you observed him and copied everything you needed from Rasa?" Kabuto asked, his instincts as a spy kicking in immediately.
Orochimaru nodded.
"During those private meetings, when we discussed our own alliance, yes. I watched him very closely, his mannerisms, his habits, the cadence of his speech. It gave me everything I needed. Now I can dispose of him swiftly and continue acting as the Kazekage quietly until the very moment of invasion."
As Rasa, he would convince Sunagakure that Konoha was weak. That siding with Otogakure would give them the perfect chance to strike back. That a crippled Konoha, broken leadership, political instability, and shattered morale would leave room for both Suna and the Land of Sound to gain influence. Or in the case of Suna, simply regain some.
"In fact," Orochimaru added, voice low with amusement, "Given their situation, convincing them will be trivial."
Kabuto noticed the casualness in his tone. Years ago, Orochimaru might have cared more about the potential obstacles. Now he didn't.
He had become stronger, "Peak Kage level", in his own judgment, because of Kimimaro's cooperation and the research he gained then.
That confidence seeped into everything he said.
Sunagakure's desperation, Rasa's weakness, Konoha's arrogance…all of it made the invasion feel less like a gamble and more like an inevitability.
Orochimaru didn't even bother pretending otherwise.
His smirk soon thinned as he shifted the topic again.
"Once everything begins, my own troops will move," he said. "Not just the ones already inside for the exams. The external units will break through Konoha's perimeter at the same time Suna's forces advance."
Kabuto's glasses caught the candlelight as he turned slightly. "Danzo will enable that, I assume. Otherwise, the Hyūga patrol ring would never allow an outside force anywhere near the walls."
Orochimaru nodded once, amused by how quickly Kabuto pieced things together.
"Of course. We won't send overwhelming numbers, just a compact force of jōnin and chūnin. Enough to destabilize. Danzo will open… small gaps. Cracks in Hyūga surveillance, holes in the patrol matrix, and the overall defenses, a convenient distraction or two. More than enough to slip in unnoticed."
Kabuto inclined his head. "But, this is not why you valued Suna so much for this attack?"
"Ah," Orochimaru breathed, eyes briefly narrowing in pleasure. " You're right again. It's because their jinchūriki will actually be the spearpoint of this entire operation. Once the final stage of the exam begins, and the entire chaos kicks off as well, Rasa's son will have to unravel exactly where I want him to. Massive casualties and widespread panic will follow like an avalanche."
He let that image sit a moment, then continued as if discussing theater choreography.
"I've also prepared a few gifts. Unique massive hybrid snake transformations I developed recently. And the Sound Four… they've mastered the Four Violet Flames Barrier. It will be quite the spectacle."
A thin chuckle escaped him.
"I will publicly isolate and execute Hiruzen. Using the bodies of the previous Hokage, no less. Shock, awe, despair. Konoha will crumble. Danzo will take the throne, of course, but the village will be weak and fractured. He'll have no choice but to lean on me. And from there… influence becomes control."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "And Sasuke?"
Orochimaru's smile sharpened with predatory intent.
"I'll mark him myself," he said. "A personal visit, a small interruption to my Kazekage role. I'll leave him the Cursed Seal… then a few hints. We will see whether he's ready to leave immediately, anytime soon, or simply needs a little more time to mature and ripen."
He spoke of it the way a sculptor discussed stone.
Cold. Patient. Certain.
Orochimaru's gaze drifted toward the far wall, as if picturing something only he could see.
Kabuto glanced at him, sensing where this was going.
Orochimaru's smile curved, thin, and serpentine.
"After all, my current body is far stronger than before, and I am not as hopeless and desperate. If I replaced it now with his right away, it might even count as a setback. Sasuke is still too tender. Too green. Too young. A promising fruit, yes, but not yet ripe enough to justify the exchange."
Kabuto's eyes narrowed behind his lenses. "So you intend to let him grow at first a bit, even if we end up taking him?"
"Of course," Orochimaru replied, amused. "You don't slaughter a calf the moment it's born. You fatten it. Let it develop. Let it struggle, suffer, sharpen… until the potential becomes something worth taking."
He tilted his head, the candlelight carving long shadows across his face.
"I will just plant the seed with the Curse Mark. A taste of power, a whisper of desire. Then we wait. When the time is right, when he has shed the last of his innocence and discovered what hatred can really sculpt… I will claim him."
His tongue flicked briefly against the corner of his mouth.
Kabuto lowered his eyes, quietly impressed, quietly unsettled.
Orochimaru only chuckled under his breath.
Kabuto let the previous topic settle, then gave a thin, knowing smile.
"Konoha won't stand a chance," he said lightly, almost mockingly. "With you leading this, Orochimaru-sama… they'll crumble before they even understand what happened."
Orochimaru accepted the compliment with the faintest curl of his lips.
Kabuto hesitated after that, fingers pausing on his glasses.
Something flickered across his face, and he finally voiced the question that had clearly been circling his mind.
"There is… one more thing I wanted to ask," he said. "Will you also invite the mysterious figure you cooperated with a few years ago? The one you mentioned only in passing."
Orochimaru blinked once.
Then a soft, amused breath escaped him, as if surprised Kabuto had held onto it so much and remembered to bring it up even now.
"My, my. You really do pay attention," he drawled. "And here I thought I had been… careful."
Kabuto stiffened slightly. He knew Orochimaru didn't share his secrets lightly.
After all, Orochimaru wasn't naïve enough to hand his full history to any subordinate, even the most loyal.
He had never spoken of the details of that clash with Kimimaro's group.
Kabuto had been in Konoha at the time, so there was no way he could know anything concrete.
Orochimaru had never revealed their identities, their abilities, their potential, what was actually traded between them, or how exactly he had solved the fatal limitations of his current vessel, extending its lifespan for years, perhaps decades, maybe even indefinitely with further breakthroughs.
At most, he let a few hints slip. Small, casual remarks here and there that the "vessel issue" was no longer a concern.
And sometimes, a fleeting display of new strength that left Kabuto even more convinced he was following the right man.
He'd only ever implied that there was someone… unusual out there. Someone he had collaborated with one time. Someone who had provided some of the crucial components for those breakthroughs.
And that was all Kabuto had to work with.
And yet… the question had slipped out.
Orochimaru tilted his head, golden eyes narrowing with playful warning.
"That topic," he said softly, "is not one I encourage my subordinates to poke at."
Kabuto bowed his head immediately. "My apologies, Orochimaru-sama. I spoke out of turn."
A beat passed.
Then Orochimaru smiled. Not kindly. Not cruelly. Just… entertained.
"But yes," Orochimaru said. "He will be there. I've already informed him, and he accepted immediately… though I still can't quite read his motives." A soft curl touched his lips. "He'll bring his own people as well. You'll understand once you see them."
His voice dipped, almost amused, almost warning.
"But tread carefully around them, Kabuto. We cooperated only once in the past, and only because our interests briefly aligned. This time is the same. Nothing more."
Orochimaru's voice lowered, carrying a note of something he rarely expressed.
Respect.
He still remembered that encounter.
Their strength, their potential, their bloodlines… and that boy's especially.
Kimimaro Kaguya.
That calm defiance.
The way they all held the line against him, refusing to break, even when they should have.
He let the memory linger, smirking faintly.
"And our little negotiation afterward… equal grounds, wasn't it?" He murmured inadvertently.
Kabuto's eyes widened a fraction.
Equal grounds?
Someone Orochimaru considered that valuable?
Before he could ask anything more, Orochimaru's tongue brushed across his lips in amusement.
"You will understand soon enough," he said. "And I suspect you'll be… very surprised."
Kabuto swallowed once, nodding slowly.
"Understood, Orochimaru-sama."
"You should return to Konoha now and be ready for everything…" Orochimaru said in the end.
Kabuto bowed his head in acknowledgment.
For him, with his skills and Danzo's covert support, slipping in and out of the village was trivial at this point.
He simply turned and left without another word, footsteps fading into the stone corridors.
Orochimaru remained where he stood, alone in the candlelit chamber.
The flames swayed, shadows crawling up the walls like serpents.
"Things are about to get very interesting," he murmured, a thrill curling through his voice.
Exactly the way he liked it.
Because, when the world began to move, Orochimaru always moved with it.