Capítulo 98: Tug of Heart
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Orochimaru, his pale face breaking into a grin, turned to Roshi. "Oh, yes," he confirmed, his voice dripping with amusement. "We indeed have such a method. We extracted Shukaku from Gaara, the jinchuriki of the One-Tail, and he lived."
Utakata, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up, his voice brimming with cautious hope. "So, there's a chance we could be free of our beasts?"
Orochimaru chuckled darkly, his eyes glinting with cruel mirth. "Yes, there is," he said. "However, there's a small catch."
The two jinchuriki shared a look, their expressions filled with a mix of hope and trepidation. "What is it?" Roshi asked, his voice noticeably tenser.
"The condition for this procedure," Orochimaru began, his grin widening, "is that you will have to join the Akatsuki. Gaara is a part of us now, and so should you if you want to free yourselves from your tailed beasts."
As the implication of Orochimaru's words sank in, the two jinchuriki were thrown into silence, their faces mirroring their inner turmoil. To gain their freedom from the tailed beasts that had dominated their lives, they would have to join an organization known for its ruthless, destructive agenda.
Roshi, his face hardened by years of hardship, was the first to respond. "So, we trade one cage for another, is that it?"
Orochimaru simply shrugged, as though unconcerned. "That's one way to look at it," he admitted, "but I think you'll find that the Akatsuki offer more freedom than you've ever known. It's not every day one gets an opportunity to change their fate, wouldn't you say?"
Jiraiya, hidden in his frog form, felt his heart lurch at Orochimaru's proposal. The idea of two more jinchuriki potentially joining the Akatsuki was a prospect that filled him with dread. He couldn't just sit back and watch them walk into the jaws of the enemy.
Steeled by the sudden urgency of the situation, he was about to emerge from his disguise when Orochimaru's voice echoed through the quiet afternoon air. "Finally making a move, Jiraiya?" he called out casually, his gaze directly on the innocuous frog by the bridge.
Jiraiya froze, taken aback. His eyes widened in surprise, his throat tightening in shock. No one had ever detected him before while he was in this form. The silence was stifling, the air suddenly dense as though it carried the weight of the revelation. His mind was racing, attempting to process what had just transpired.
Orochimaru's lips curled into a lazy smirk, his golden eyes gleaming with a perverse sort of delight. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you, Jiraiya?" he drawled. "You've always been terrible at hiding your chakra."
A beat of silence followed, the tension hanging heavy like a shroud. Finally, shaking off the shock, Jiraiya let his transformation fall. His figure expanded from the small frog to his usual towering form, his long white hair fluttering in the breeze. He stood tall, his face solemn as he met Orochimaru's smug gaze.
"Orochimaru," he said, his voice steady despite the whirlwind of thoughts in his mind. "I didn't come here to play games."
Orochimaru chuckled, his amusement apparent. "Then why are you here, Jiraiya?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "To try and convince me to come back to the village? To stop me from my experiments? Or maybe, to ask me to let these two go?" He gestured towards Roshi and Utakata, who were watching the exchange with wide-eyed silence.
Jiraiya's gaze hardened, his determination resolute. "I'm here to stop you from taking advantage of them," he retorted, his voice laced with a protective edge.
Orochimaru's laughter echoed across the area, loud and taunting, a chilling juxtaposition to the serene landscape. The sound sent a shiver down the spines of the hidden shinobi, his amusement resonating with a cold, unnerving quality.
"Taking advantage of jinchuriki?" he scoffed, the derision clear in his voice. "You mean, like the villages do? Like you do?" His tone was spiteful, each word carefully calculated to sting. The implication hung heavy in the air, a challenge thrown brazenly in Jiraiya's face.
Roshi and Utakata flinched at Orochimaru's words, their faces hardening. The bitterness in their eyes was painfully clear, a tangible reminder of their shared, unfortunate plight. It was an undeniable fact that the jinchuriki were regarded as weapons by their respective villages, their humanity overlooked in favor of the immense power they harbored.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at Orochimaru's accusation. "We don't take advantage of them," he countered, his voice firm, "We protect them."
Orochimaru laughed again, the sound even more jarring than before. "Protect?" he sneered. "Is that what you call it, Jiraiya? How amusing. You 'protect' them by imprisoning them in their own bodies, condemning them to a life of fear and loneliness. You treat them as weapons, not as human beings. And yet, you have the audacity to accuse me of taking advantage?"
The Sannin's words were sharp, calculated to incite the deepest of wounds. And they hit their mark, the impact evident in the stiffening of Jiraiya's stance. Roshi and Utakata, meanwhile, wore expressions of shock and resentment, their fists clenched at their sides. They had been reminded of a harsh truth, one that they had spent their lives struggling against.
Orochimaru, clearly pleased with the discomfort he'd inflicted, continued his tirade. "You see, Roshi, Utakata, the Hidden Villages might claim to protect you, but they only do so out of fear of the immense power you possess. You are tools to them, nothing more. The Akatsuki, however, we see you for what you truly are: individuals of incredible strength and potential."
His golden eyes flickered with anticipation, a chillingly predatory glint. "I won't sugarcoat it. Yes, you will have to work for us," Orochimaru admitted, his voice brimming with false sincerity. "But consider this. Is it not better to ally yourself with those who value your strength, rather than with those who fear and resent it?"
He paused, allowing his words to sink in before he delivered the final blow. "Gaara, the jinchuriki of the One-Tail, has already joined us. He's free from Shukaku, and he found his place within the Akatsuki. He found freedom. And so can you, if you choose to join us."
His words hung in the air, their implications looming large over the bridge. To Roshi and Utakata, the offer held a dangerous allure. Freedom from their Tailed Beasts, from the burdens they had carried all their lives, it was a prospect too tempting to disregard outright.
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