For a moment, Orochimaru’s expression remained unreadable. But within, his mind ed. *An outsider? Another anomaly, like those who occasionally stumbled into this reality?* He had entered such beings before—rarely—but they often brought with them peculiar powers and teology. Their presence always made Orochimaru cautious. *What kind of power does this one possess?*

  Hiding his intrigue, Orochimaru allowed a so curl on his lips. “Oh? Another filthy alien. What do you want?”

  Xaker chuckled, but there was something unnervingly calm in his amusement, like a predator toying with its prey. “Filthy, huh? Call me what you like. I’m here to offer my assistan destroying the Hidden Leaf. In exge, I require something from you.”

  Orochimaru’s curiosity piqued further. His golden eyes gleamed with i as he stepped closer, the folds of his Kazekage robes brushing against the stone floor. *Destroy the Leaf? Yes, this could be useful. The Leaf’s destru is my personal vea, after all.*

  “And what might that be?” Orochimaru asked, his toively casual.

  “There’s a certain rare metal hidden within the depths of the Leaf Vilge,” Xaker expined, his voice steady. “It’s the only thing I want.”

  Orochimaru’s smile faded slightly, repced by a calg look. He had heard rumors about straerials being hoarded in the hidden vaults beh Konoha—objemense value and power. It was not unon for the shinobi vilges to ceal such things, sometimes for fear of their potency, other times for purely political reasons. A valuable metal? *Perhaps a neon…*

  “And why,” Orochimaru said, his voice taking on a dangerous edge, “would I agree to this? How strong are you to demand such a thing?”

  Xaker’s smirk widened beh his helmet, aook a step forward, the weight of his presence filling the room. His aura was thick with the certainty of power, and for a moment, the shadows in the chamber seemed to shrink in his presence.

  “Let’s just say I’m as strong as, or perhaps strohan, the Third Raikage, Ay.”

  Orochimaru’s eyes fshed with i. The Third Raikage was a legendary figure—his strength unmatched by most. To cim such power was a bold assertion. But something about Xaker’s words rang with the fidence of a dangerous truth. Orochimaru’s mind raced, calg the implications. *For someoo pare themselves to such a titan… it’s not idle boasting.*

  A moment of silence passed betweehe tension hanging heavy in the air. Then, Orochimaru’s lips curled into a sinister smile, his amusement evident. He could feel the danger emanating from Xaker now—like a venomous snake coiled in the underbrush, its presendeniable. This was no mere “outsider.”

  “Iing,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “If you want to aid me, be my guest. But uand this—oals might align for now, but I have no tolerance for weakness or betrayal.”

  Xaker chuckled again, the sound devoid of fear. It was the kind of ugh one might expect from a predator just before it strikes. “Don’t worry, Orochimaru. I have no i in your petty schemes or your veas. I only care about the metal.”

  Orochimaru studied Xaker carefully, his golden eyes unblinking. *This one is dangerous, far more dangerous than I initially thought. I must tread carefully.*

  Still, Orochimaru was not oo trust easily. He was the master of manipution, after all, and no matter how formidable Xaker seemed, Orochimaru will always been a step ahead. *For now, I will use him. If he indeed help me bring ruin to the Leaf, then I shall py along. But one misstep and I will strike.*

  “Very well,” Orochimaru said finally, his voice smooth as silk. “Let’s see what you’re capable of, General Manager.”

  Xaker ined his head slightly, a smirk tugging at the er of his mouth. “You won’t be disappointed.”

  As the two men stood in the dim chamber, their partnership solidified in uneasy alliahe air seemed to grow heavier, charged with the weight of their mutual ambition. Each of them ying a dangerous game, but her of them inteo lose. In their world, there could only be one victor.

  In the shadows, a storm was brewing.

  Beyond the chamber walls, the Sand Vilge carried on, unaware of the dark maations unfolding within. Orochimaru and Xaker, two forces from vastly different worlds, had found on ground ihirst for power aru.

  For Orochimaru, the Leaf’s destru was a deeply personal vea, a means to prove his superiority and satiate his endless hunger for knowledge. He sought to unlock the ultimate mysteries of the human body, to trahe limitations of mortality. The Hidden Leaf, with its endless resources of chakra and its secrets, was the perfect battleground.

  For Xaker, it was a simple transa. The Hidden Leaf’s rare metal was the key to unlog his steps in his own goal, a quest that extended far beyond the scope of petty shinobi flicts. He had e from a world where power was not measured by strength of will or chakra, but by teological innovation, by the cold precision of maery and resource trol. But even in his world, such a rare metal could tip the ban unimaginable ways.

  Yet even as their alliance began to solidify, there were undercurrents of tensioween them. Orochimaru’s eyes glittered with a hunger for power that could never be quenched, while Xaker’s posture betrayed no such desire. *What drives him, I wonder?* Orochimaru mused. *He seems like a being of pure pragmatism—a businessman, not a warrior. But he is still dangerous.*

  For now, the partnership between the serpent and the armored outsider would hold. But both men knew, deep in their bohat nothing sted forever—not even alliances. *One day, I will e him,* Orochimaru thought, his golden eyes narrowing. *And if he is truly as strong as he cims… perhaps I will enjoy the challenge.*

  As the stars began to emerge over the desert sky, the Sand Vilge remained blissfully ignorant of the danger lurking within its walls.

  In the quiet of the night, Xaker stepped outside the chamber, gazing at the horizon. His armored figure stood tall, a stark trast to the flowing sands. The desert, vast and unfiving, stretched endlessly before him. But it was not the ndscape that anded his attention. No, it was the power he was about to unlock—the rare metal.

  Behind him, Orochimaru watched from the shadows, his golden eyes narrowing with i. Orochimaru’s smile widehe games were just beginning.