Chapter 309: Driving the tiger away from the mountain
Taking advantage of the night, the Fourth Kazekage left the Sand Village.

After arriving at the agreed sand dunes, the Fourth Kazekage saw a figure that looked like Orochimaru. When he saw Orochimaru's appearance clearly, he couldn't help but frowned.

Judging from the other party's chakra and temperament, it is undoubtedly Orochimaru.

But judging from his appearance and gender, the other person was not the Orochimaru that he knew. Orochimaru was clearly a feminine male, so how could he suddenly become a female?

Orochimaru noticed the Fourth Kazekage's expression and chuckled, saying, "Long time no see, Mr. Kazekage. You look calmer than the last time we met. I almost didn't recognize you."

The Fourth Kazekage's face changed slightly, and he frowned and said, "Orochimaru, you have changed a lot, from a man to a woman. Do you feel that your identity as a man restricts you?"

Orochimaru shook his head: "I don't think so, but it's nice to change things up occasionally. If the Kazekage wants to change his gender, I can help you for free."

The Fourth Kazekage imagined the scene of his own sex change and felt a chill in his heart.

As a man, he could not accept becoming a woman. What's more, Orochimaru's words were humiliating him and a disguised way of scolding him for being timid.

After a cold snort, the Fourth Kazekage said to Orochimaru, "Let's talk business first. You said in your letter that you plan to purchase the ore from the Sand Village. What do you want to do with this ore?"

"I plan to build weapons, produce experimental equipment, and resell them to other organizations..."

After a pause, Orochimaru looked at the Fourth Kazekage and continued, "But what I want to do with the ore seems to have nothing to do with Lord Kazekage. The relationship between us is just that of buyer and seller, nothing more."

The Fourth Kazekage stared at Orochimaru for a while, then said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. With your financial resources, it's enough to directly purchase ready-made metals. There's no need to come to me specifically to buy ore."

"Let me guess, you may have encountered some difficulties, so you came to me?"

"My previous promise to you is still valid. As long as you are willing to join the Sand Village, I can give you a deputy position and let you get the protection of the Sand Village."

Orochimaru shook his head slightly:
"I have no intention of joining the Sand Village, but I have encountered some troubles recently. Danzo's men always send people to hunt me down and destroyed many of my bases in the Land of Fire."

"I came here this time to reach a cooperation with you and intervene in the war between Iwagakure and Konoha."

The Fourth Kazekage was not surprised to hear that Orochimaru rejected his invitation. If Orochimaru really wanted to live under someone else's roof, he would not have defected from the Konoha Village.

The reason why he invited Orochimaru again and again was just to humiliate this former opponent.

If Orochimaru was really willing to join the Sand Village, he didn't know how many people he would have to send to monitor the dangerous Orochimaru.

Moreover, once the news leaks out, it will lead to accountability from Konoha, making everything counterproductive.

When he heard that Orochimaru wanted to cooperate with him and intervene in the war between Iwagakure and Konoha, the Fourth Kazekage fell into deep thought.

He didn't know whether Orochimaru wanted to deal with Iwagakure to help Konoha, or take the opportunity to add insult to injury to Konoha.

If cooperation with Orochimaru cannot help Sunagakure break free from its constraints, then no matter what actions are taken, they will only be small-scale actions.

Thinking of this, the Fourth Kazekage asked, "What benefits can Sand Village gain from cooperating with you?" Orochimaru glanced at the Fourth Kazekage and said meaningfully:

"It was able to make the Sand Village cancel its alliance with Konoha and allow the Sand Village to gain the ability to control the Daimyo of the Wind Country. In the years since the end of the Third Ninja World War, the Sand Village must have been troubled by the Daimyo of the Wind Country."

Orochimaru's words touched the Fourth Kazekage's pain point, causing him to ask: "How do you plan to free Sand Village from its shackles? How do you plan to let Sand Village control the Daimyo of the Wind Country?"

"The method is very simple. As long as the daimyo's life is in danger, Sunagakure will have a reason to protect him. After that, whether you want to imprison or monitor the daimyo, you can proceed at your leisure."

After hearing Orochimaru's plan, the Fourth Kazekyo seemed to have thought of something and said with a smile: "You told me how to control the daimyo. Aren't you afraid that I will directly send someone to pretend to assassinate the daimyo?"

Orochimaru shook his head and smiled, saying:
"Except for a traitor like me, no one else in the ninja world has the ability to help you control the Daimyo. Besides, if the talks between us fail, I will kill the Daimyo of the Wind Country myself."

Hearing this, the Fourth Kazekage's eyes turned dangerous.

He knew that Orochimaru was not just talking casually. Orochimaru really had the ability and motivation to assassinate the daimyo. Once there was trouble on the daimyo's side, the entire Wind Kingdom would fall into chaos.

At that time, Konoha will definitely interfere in the affairs of the Wind Country.

However, if it was Orochimaru who carried out the assassination, the effect would be completely different. In order to avoid suspicion, Konoha would voluntarily give up interfering in the affairs of the Wind Country, and Sunagakure would also be able to occupy the moral high ground and put pressure on Konoha.

After a brief pause, the Fourth Kazekage said, "I have to admit that your proposal does tempt me a little, but compared to the benefits that Sand Village will gain, I want to know more about what benefits you can gain from it."

"I don't dare to trust the famous Orochimaru if you can't get any benefit from it."

Orochimaru hesitated for a second, then revealed his bloodshot eyes and said in a low voice: "I want to kill Danzo who betrayed me, and at the same time prove to Sarutobi Hiruzen that I am the best candidate for Hokage."

"It's OK that he lost to Minato Namikaze back then. After Minato Namikaze's death, he still held the position of Hokage."

After seeing this scene, the Fourth Kazekage began to believe Orochimaru and realized that the cooperation between Orochimaru and him was not just talk, but a real in-depth cooperation.

After all, before he became the Fourth Kazekage, he had already set his sights on the position of Kazekage.

After the Third Kazekage died in an accident, he spent a lot of energy and paid a lot of price to defeat his rival Ye Cang and send him to the Pure Land.

Therefore, he fully understood Orochimaru's unwillingness and was willing to use Orochimaru to achieve his own goals.

After trying to calm himself down, Orochimaru looked at the Fourth Kazekage:
"Mr. Fengying, cooperating with me is the wisest choice for you. However, let's start with the ore trade. I have heard that the output of ore in the Wind Country is very high."

“If the quality is OK, we can start our first cooperation.”

The Fourth Kazekage gestured to "follow me" and said with a smile, "The quality of the Sand Village ore is very good. You will know if you come with me to the mine."

(End of this chapter)