CHAPTER NINETEEN= The Way.

Ainz was sitting at his desk when Tanya came in without knocking. He looked up at her as she made her way to his desk.

"What's going on?" he could sense something was wrong by the look on her face.

"There was an attack… Kakuzu, Temari and um… another ninja were killed… oh, Sai was his name," Ainz looked at her and stood up.

"What are the details?"

"Naruto was attacked outside the village during his training, he managed to escape and is safe here but…"

"They made their move… wait, Kakuzu is dead? Shouldn't he have been very hard to kill?" Ainz asked surprised as he claimed to nearly unkillable, Hidan even backed up his boast.

"Yes… and the reports say he was killed by a single attack…" Tanya frowned. Then Temari and this… Sai, were both killed by the same person?"

"We recovered what was left of their bodies, they seemed to have been killed by another… so we have at least two enemies on the attack,"

"But there, of course, will be more…" Ainz stroked his chin while thinking.

"How strong was this Sai?" Ainz asked but Tanya shook her head.

"Danzo would know better than I as he was a ROOT member, you should call him in here, right now he's organizing a search party for these enemy shinobi but…"

"But it will be ANBU against Akatsuki…" Ainz cast [MESSAGE] and shortly after Danzo entered with a grave look on his face.

"Lord Ainz Ooal Gown…" Danzo bowed with respect but rose quickly.

"The situation is…" Danzo began but Ainz raised his hand to stop him.

"Yes I know, Tanya has filled me in, what I would like to know is more about this "Sai" member that died… I have not met him yet," Ainz said. Danzo nodded.

"He was my most gifted ROOT member, I had very high hopes for him someday," There was a look of regret on Danzo's face.

"Then losing him… is a big loss in power for your group?" Danzo nodded at his question. Ainz thought for a moment.

"Tanya… it's time we finished your training…" Ainz suddenly said, as if to change the subject.

"Finish my?… Oh, you mean I need to go train under him…" Tanya frowned she knew he meant Orochimaru. The only ninja arts she could not learn were ones outside of her elements and the forbidden techniques that belonged to Orochimaru.

"He can teach you how to perform the resurrection Jutsu… why not try and bring Sai back using said ninja arts as a test when you feel you're ready," Ainz said nodding. Tanya smirked. Having a soldier that would obey her orders without question, no matter what the order was, definitely appealed to her.

"Fine… what about the other two?" Tanya asked.

"Well, Kazuku is too valuable to lose, and even if he acts like he does not care… I'm sure Gaara misses his sister… I will bring them back using [TRUE RESURRECTION]." Danzo chuckled. Tanya and Ainz both cast him a curious glance.

"Is something funny?" Tanya asked raising an eyebrow. Danzo stopped and shook his head, his professional demeanor returning.

"I find it a bit weird that you speak about to bring the dead back so easily… I still need to get used to this…" he said but Ainz shook his head.

"Unfortunately I do not have infinite uses of this spell… I won't be able to resurrect any more soldiers so flippantly… so make sure they stay alive this time…" Danzo bowed once more that he understood.

"I will go to bring them back… meanwhile Tanya…" Ainz raised his hand and cast [GATE]. A large black portal appeared where his hand was pointed at.

"This will take you to Orochimaru's lair… he's expecting you, but leave the scroll here." Tanya frowned but nodded that she understood. After a quick inspection that she had her things she slung the rifle over her shoulder and walked through the portal.

"Then I will continue searching for the invaders… they have no doubt infiltrated our borders…" Ainz nodded and Danzo left to do as he said he would.

The next thing Tanya saw was a dimly lit arena. Orochimaru was already there with a young boy next to him.

"Welcome, Tanya! We've been expecting you!" Orochimaru said, opening up his arms and palms in a welcoming manner. Tanya nodded in recognition of his welcoming and looked at the spiky-haired boy next to him that looked as old as she was.

"Oh, this is my protege, Sasuke," Orochimaru introduced him. Tanya also nodded toward him.

"What is his purpose? A training partner or something?" Orochimaru smiled wickedly.

"Something like that… I would like to see what you are capable of in combat… and the same for Sasuke, I think a fight between you two would benefit you both and tell me where you are in your training, as I understand it you are already learning elite level Jutsu arts… but I'd like to see how well you can incorporate them." he said shrugging. She looked at Sasuke who just had an unhappy look on his face.

"O...kay… and who will referee this fight… you?"

"Referee? No, this will be a battle until one of you falls…" Tanya looked at him in surprise.

"Falls? And what if one is killed?" She asked surprised. Orochimaru simply shrugged again.

"Death… does not concern Sasuke… and if he is able to kill you… then you will not be strong enough to learn my techniques in the first place… so hold nothing back!" he laughed. Tanay smiled… Orochimaru's method of training may closely resemble her own… people who survived hell in training were always better soldiers than the ones that did not… this was fine by her, plus this Sasuke did not look like much… she had seen him fight in the placement tests and wasn't impressed.

"Okay fine… then let's get this over with… but don't complain if I kill him…" Tanya said taking a spot that Orochimaru motioned for her to stand. Sasuke stood at the opposite end of her in the round arena that reeked of blood. This was clearly a place used to seeing slaughter and death.

Sasuke 's face and arm became covered in weird black markings that crawled across his flesh like a snake. Tanya had seen this kind of thing before and understood it was a power-boosting skill unique to Orochimaru. She used her own magic to instantly increase her speed and power. After casting her spell she would be able to follow his movements.

Sasuke decided to begin the fight. He kicked off at her but turned and ran literal circles around Tanya. She smirked as she could guess what he was trying to do. She could guess that he would attack as soon as she attempted to make any hand symbols. Instead, she quickly reached into a small personal space provided to her by Ainz and had a metal object in her hand.

She tossed it at her feet and it made a loud hissing sound as thick plumes of smoke surrounded her. She raises a face mask that hung around her neck like a bandana. The smokescreen blocked Sasuke's vision of her and realized she was using this to form her hand symbols.

"Sharingan!" Sasuke activated his eyes and they took on an ominous red glow. He could see her chakra past the smoke and smirked smugly.

"You have a lot to learn if you think a simple smokescreen will help you!" he snorted and ran into the smoke at her chakra signature. As soon as he charged Sasuke picked up Orochimaru clicking his tongue in disappointment and realized he had made a mistake.

Sasuke came face to face with a smiling Tanya, so close their noses were almost touching.

"Gotcha!" a sadistic smile swept across her face.

"Wha…" Sasuke was saying but his body was blasted as two grenades that Tanya was holding in her hands. He was able to raise his guard allowing his arms and legs to take the brunt of the blast. Tanya's body was destroyed but simply poofed out of existence.

The real Tanya was hovering above the arena. Orochimaru smiled as Sasuke's broken and bloody body fell to the ground but soon after turned into a white snake. Both of them had used a clone. Sasuke was already preparing for Tanya who was coming at him from above.

As three loud gunshots rang out Sasuke threw Kuni to intercept and deflect the bullets. She clicked her tongue in disappointment as her plan had failed. By now Sasuke's skin was turing grey and his eyes now were black and red instead of white and red. Even his body mass seemed to be growing.

"A transformation?" She realized he was still getting stronger. As she thought about how much power he could really raise he immediately swung at her like a wild beast. Tanya narrowly avoided the swipe the air from his attack blowing her hair back and dispersing the smoke from her canister with air pressure caused by his immensely powerful swing.

"Die…" Sauske moved at her like a dark lightning bolt, she could feel his killing intent and knew he meant to end her life in a single blow.

She tried to counter him with a rifle butt attack. But Sasuke read the attack and raised his arm, blocking it with forearm. She should have broken the bone he used to block but it seemed she failed to even leave a bruise.

"That attack should have shattered his bone…" Tanya muttered to herself. Sasuke jumped away from her as she did the same. He respected her strength and didn't press a minor advantage.

"He's smart too…" She was annoyed at how cautious he was being. He hunched over as two wings...no… hands? Two large hands came from his back with their palms opened up to the sky.

"He's still changing, no… He's not human?" Tanya had not seen anything like this before not associated with Ainz.

Orochimaru clapped in happiness upon seeing Sasuke finishing his transformation.

Tanya opened fire at him again, she'd use the distance to her advantage. Sasuke quickly looked up and side stepped between her bullets.

"He can see my bullets? How is that possible… Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Tanya crossed her hands and four other Tanya's appeared, immediately raising their guns and opening fire. Again he dodged her attacks, running in zig zags along the floor. His movements were deliberate and precise, he was reading the trajectory by studying the muzzle of her weapon. But as he was kept on the defence he couldn't mount any kinds of attacks as all the Tanyas did not let up their firing. Until he clones, as well as the real Tanya, had to reload.

"Enough!" Sasuke growled swinging his arms out as lighting infused shirken flew between her attacks. The Tanya clones jumped 'heroic style' in front of their real counterpart. Her human wall absorbed the attacks then popped out of existence with several loud POOFS.

By the time the real Tanya was revealed she was already preparing her next move. Her palm was opened up and lightning was gathering in it. Sasuke's eyes went wide with recognition of the lightning cutter Kakashi was famous for using.

"Oh lord… hear my words and answer my call…" Tanya's eyes lit up gold and the lightning gathering in her hand turned yellow and gold as opposed to blue and white. Sasuke took a few steps back, he could feel the energy from her even from this distance. Even Orichimaru who would always have a smug smirk on his face was frowning at what he saw.

"... give me the power to smite my foes in your glorious name..." The power did not stop mounting as she dashed at Sasuke.

There was a bright flash of light and she was gone. Sasuke looked around and he suddenly realized she was standing behind him, their backs to one another.

"When did she?" He was thinking when a realization came to him that he had been hurt.

"Eh?" There was just minimal damage to his chest… but that attack should have killed him he thought but there came a clapping from the side of the room.

"I see this was a mistake… Sasuke is nowhere near your level dear Tanya… I apologize for wasting your time." Orochimaru said with yet another sneaky smile. Tanya's attack had been so absolute that she was even afforded the luxury of sparing Sasuke's life with ease.

Sasuke stood there dumbfounded as his human form began to come back slowly. He simply stood there with the understanding he had been utterly defeated in a single attack he could not even see with his Sharingan…

"Good… then can we get on with it?" She looked at Orochimaru with a smirk of her own. He bowed and turned and beckoned her to follow. Her lessons of the forbidden jutsu would now begin.

Ainz Ooal Gown sat in the Hokage's office with Danzo. It had been two days since Tanya left for Orochimaru's lair for training. Danzo sat in silence as Ainz Ooal Gown formulated his master plan.

"Tanya is still learning with Orochimaru, I hope things are okay over there…" Ainz Ooal Gown muttered loud enough for Danzo to pick up. He cleared his throat a bit before speaking.

"My Lord,I'm sure The young Mistress will do fine, I've never seen someone take to the skills as fast as she has." Danzo said nodding. He was telling the truth, someone who had no knowledge of chakra and still able use ninja arts after only a few months of training was nearly unheard of. Danzo was always reminded of himself at that age when he looked at the young Tanya.

"Indeed… if she can learn to make bring back the dead…" Ainz Ooal Gown trailed off but Danzo knew the benefits of such an art could produce. Danzo wondered why his lord seemed to not be able to learn ninja arts.

Even when changing to a human he could not use any technique that required chakra. Spirit paper even acted as if nobody was touching it when trying to figure out his Lords elemental alignments. It was most curious but surely Ainz Ooal Gown would overcome this hurdle soon, he had complete faith in his Lord.

But there was still much to do and he had many reports he still needed to finish. After doing his duties with his Lord he left to take care of. The second stage of his Lords plan was about to happen and he'd need to have everyone ready.

Back in the dark lair of Orochimaru, another piece of Ainze's plan stirred awake.

Itachi opened his eyes. He was unable to move as weird roots that sprang from the wall had him captured. He could feel the drugs in his system still trying to keep him sedated.

A few seconds after waking he heard Ainzes voice in his head.

"Good Morning Itachi… how are you?"

"A-Ainz? I-I'm in the lower levels of…"

"Yes, I know where you are, but how do you feel?"

"...druggy still…"

"Alright, well you're friend will be coming soon… just wait for him to show himself."

"My… friend?" Itachi was confused.

"Indeed…" and the [MESSAGE] ended. Itachi wondered who he could mean when after a while something weird happened.

In the room Itachi was held there were several scientific looking things all around him from weird machines to vials filled with bubbling liquid, and when those bubbles in the strange liquid suddenly froze in place Itachi knew who Ainz was talking about and he frowned.

"Time has stopped…" Itachi thought to himself, his keen eyes allowing him to sense things in this vacuum of time. Then a hulking black figure appeared in the room. It had tentacles waving from behind it pitch black goat face, it's burning red eyes settled on Itachi. It was the creature that he had "killed" earlier before all this happened… Pann.

Pann silently walked over to Itachi, grabbed the robe of his chest and easily ripped him free of the vines he was imprisoned in. Itachi recognized Pann was sent my Ainz to free him but…

"This is fine but as soon as time starts again Orochimaru will know I've escaped…" He thought to himself but Pann seemed to hear his thoughts as Itachi's eyes darted to a camera that was keeping watch on the prisoner. Pann placed an open palm to the hollow area Itachi had been in. the ninja could barely make out two words from the assortment of goat bleats when the beast spoke…

"GreAteR IlLuSiOn." Then Itachi appeared back on the vines, but it was an illusion… an illusion his Sharingan could not see through… had he not heard the words "illusion" he would have assumed it was just a clone. Either way… if his sharingan could not see through it, it would fool Orochimaru's cameras.

Once they were out of the room time began once more.

"Where is Sasuke?" Itachi asked Pann who ignored him. Itachi clicked his tongue.

"So then… what? What's my mission from Ainz? I agreed to help him only because he promised me he'd take Sasuke away from this place…" Pann stopped and glared at him with his hate filled eyes. He then pointed to a long corridor.

"CoLlEcT… SeCrEtS…" Pann said in the same weird bleating goat voice. That made sense to Itachi… of any ninja, Orochimaru would definitely have the most "secrets", and Ainz, it seemed, wanted these secrets.

"What about my side of the deal? Who will rescue Sasuke?" Itachi demanded, which unnerved him, in this situation he would have no chance against Pann. If Pann had pupils he would have rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"tAkEn CaRe… Of." Pann bleated back. Itachi tilted his head. He wondered who would be in charge of his brother but… could he even trust the words of this thing? Pann handed Itachi a weird-looking scroll, one he's never seen before.

"What is this?" Itachi asked, not able to read the weird language on the scroll.

"PeRfEcT uNkNoWable" The monster said these words like Itachi should know what they meant.

"Okay fine… and what will you be doing?" Itachi asked. Pann simply walked behind Itachi and melted into his shadow, only his burning red eyes could be seen in the blackness.

"WaTcHiNg… YoU…" It bleated then became silent as the scroll in his hand burned up and the shadows around them suddenly widened and clung to his body. Itachi smirked, he knew a stealth ability when he saw it...

"Ainz never leaves anything to chance huh? He may be more paranoid than that man…" The way things were going Ainz would find himself toe to toe with the leader of his former group soon…

Itachi wasted no time and ran to the lower section of the compound. He expected to run into some kind of resistance but there was nothing or nobody. He ran, avoiding traps and cameras easily till he arrived to a sealed door.

"A seal…" Itachi frowned. Getting past this would take time and Orochimaru would be alerted the second it was broken. If he were a deal expert this could be circumvented but that was area he lacked much knowledge in.

"GrEaTeR TelePorTatiOn" His shadow spoke and suddenly he was on the other side of the door. Itachi was a bit taken aback from the spell but quickly put his mind to the task at were numerous things to inspect from sealed boxes to even heavier sealed scrolls.

"I wonder what I'm supposed to be stealing?" Itachi wondered out loud. His "mission objective" was vague at best. Then, almost to answer his own question his eyes landed on several glass jars with various body parts inside them, some just skin or hair. The labels were all he needed to read to know this was what Ainz wanted.

"Hokage 1. Hokage 2. Hokage 3. Gambler. Idiot." Itachi said out loud as he read off their labels.

In another part of the compound Tanya was immersed in her training. She had been studying under Orochimaru for 48 hours straight, never taking or needing a break.

"You are very close to learning this forbidden technique of mine… I've never had a pupil like you before…" Orochimaru said looking the body of Tanya up and down. She stopped and looked at him suspiciously.

"I hope you're not getting any weird ideas!" tanya said as she was going over the details he'd been teaching her. Orochimaru chuckled.

"My Dear Tanya… all I have are weird thoughts…" he laughed again. She looked at him with then went back to her studies. There was so many things to teach her that they had each created clones and each clone pair were undergoing different studies. When Tanya ended the clones lives she would absorb all their knowledge about what that clone had been taught. Using this method they were able to cover six times the ground a normal class would. Of all the uses of clone jutsu, this was easily their best benefit.

"So how much longer?" Tanya asked. She was referring to when she could undo her clones to gain what they learned… she had a grasp of what she needed to do but the finer points still escapered her, something that would be filled in when she ended them.

"Not much longer… our groups will be finished soon, why not finally take a rest, I will provide a room…"

"I don't need rest… and I'd rather not drop my guard around you." Tanya said flatly. Orochimaru simply grinned and nodded.

"You are indeed very smart… smarter than most…" he chuckled to himself. After a while, her teacher's head popped up.

"Okay… end your clone jutsu… the lessons are completed." Tanya did as instructed. Suddenly all the missing puzzle pieces of the jutsu came into place and she understood everything there was to know about it.

"Oh… I see… then… incredible… yes…" tanya remarked to herself as she mused over the jutsu.

"Once you perform this jutsu… you will be unable to enter heaven," Orochimaru said at last as she came to understand the forbidden art. Tanya only laughed at the joke.

"Then I'll be going… your end of the bargain is completed," she said as she got up and began making herself presentable. She reached into her breast pocket and took out a scroll, but not one the ninja's of this world would use. It burned up with a ghostly blue flame before it was consumed. This was the [MESSAGE] scroll Ainz had provided her.

"I'm finished…" is all she said before a familiar black portal opened up and she stepped through with no hesitation. Orochimaru simply waved goodbye. As soon as she was gone the pale skinned ninja turned to the shadows.

"Is Itachi still in the lab?" Kabuto stepped from the shadows with a smile.

"Yeah Lord Orochimaru… the surveillance still has him and there has been no change in his physical state since we strung him up… why?" Orichimaru shook his head and squinted.

"I was sure he'd tried to escape or… some other event would have happened by now… there is no way Ainz would let him fall into my hands that easily…" He mused and made his way to the lab.

"Does it matter? All we needed was his DNA… something I acquired right away from him… what other use…"

"Bait… he was bait but…"

"Ainz did not bite?" Kabuto asked, tilting his head. Orochimaru laughed loudly.

"I will go see if he has… anyway I just need him to feel like he's leading this little dance of ours,"

"If I may ask my master… what do you hope to gain from this alliance with The New Hidden leaf? It seems to me we have had everything you needed for some time,"

"Oh my dear Kabuto… we have all that and more… but one never passes an opportunity like Ainz, I don't seek to gain anything from him personally..."

"Then what do you…" But the Ninja stopped his subordinates dialogue with a raised hand.

"But he's dangerous my Lord… if we end up fighting…"

"No… Ainz is a temporary problem… his only concern is returning back to someplace called Nazarick… I assume his home world. When he eventually leaves this world… we will have such a fun time picking through the remains of this world he leaves in his wake." The sly ninja said smiling.

"Then you do not tend to fight him? Even after he betrays us yet again?" Orochimaru shook his head.

"No, I am certain he already has, but he operates at such a level that it's best to let him win… Ainz is a storm that is simply passing over this world… we only need to lay low and wait him out…" Orochimaru chuckled once more as he left to go check on his prisoner who he assumed would not be there.

"Besides, he will soon become very busy… we can move easier after that," Kabuta didn't know what his Master meant by that but he'd be ready either way.