For Owl, Orochimaru had a deep impression.
Previously, if not for the sudden appearance of Shinji taking Owl away in front of him, the Shinjutsu Conversion on Owl's body would likely have been taken into his pocket long ago.
Just as Orochimaru's Shinjutsu Absorption sensed Owl, Ichirō Fūma also sensed something, exclaiming: "I sensed the existence of a Shinjutsu near the God Tree!"
Orochimaru said: "He is Owl, mastering the Shinjutsu Conversion!"
"Conversion..." Ichirō Fūma's eyes lit up, saying: "This is also a very critical Shinjutsu, we must get our hands on it!"
Orochimaru curled his lip: "The opponent is right under the nose of Shinji, how to take it?"
Ichirō Fūma's expression froze.
This was the kind of feeling where one just sees a sliver of hope, only for the hope to be shattered in the next moment.
In Shinji's perspective, Orochimaru was hidden very well, causing him a slight worry that Orochimaru would become an unexpected variable during the final battle.
But in the perspective of Orochimaru and Ichirō Fūma, even though Shinji did not search with full force, he forced his range of activity to become smaller and smaller, leaving him with nowhere to hide.
However, after waiting for a while, the barrier did not open.
Orochimaru said: "It should not be fully ready yet! I know the style of the Research Institute very well; before the final activation, they will definitely finish the relevant preparation work in advance. We should still have time..."
Ichirō Fūma interrupted Orochimaru's words: "Do you sense it?"
Orochimaru's gaze narrowed, nodding lightly: "I sense it, Owl is moving away from the God Tree!"
Ichirō Fūma immediately said sinisterly: "Shinji is the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki; wherever the God Tree is, that is where he should be guarding!"
Previously, the reason Orochimaru did not dare to attack important targets like the Research Institute and various Hidden Villages was because he was not certain of Shinji's whereabouts, fearing he would be caught red-handed by Shinji!
Now that such a conspicuous God Tree was standing there, everyone knew Shinji must be guarding by the God Tree, so in this way, it made it easier for him to act instead.
Orochimaru nodded lightly: "Once Owl moves away from the God Tree, we will have the opportunity to act! I know that fellow's strength very well; as long as there is an opportunity for a sneak attack, I am confident I can take him down without alarming anyone!"
Ichirō Fūma also became excited: "As long as we seize Conversion, we will master five types of Shinjutsu, and our power will surge! At that time, we will immediately raid the Research Institute, then absorb all the Shinjutsu from Eida and Daemon, hahaha!"
Speaking further, Ichirō Fūma laughed loudly.
Orochimaru's mouth also hooked up high.
They both wished they could kill each other immediately to occupy this body alone, but they also knew that currently only by cooperating could there be a possibility of survival, so at this moment they both tacitly did not mention each other but instead envisioned the future.
Orochimaru's Shinjutsu Absorption and Ichirō Fūma's special sensing ability could both sense Owl, who possessed Shinjutsu, regardless of distance. So even if the two sides were separated by hundreds of kilometers, every move of Owl was under their surveillance.
After waiting for a long time, they finally waited for the opportunity to act. Thus, Orochimaru used Claw Mark to travel through space and arrived in a valley.
Restraining his chakra and aura, Orochimaru hid his figure behind a rock wall, looking far into the distance.
In the distance was a convoy, seemingly transporting some large machinery. With Orochimaru's eyesight, he could not distinguish for a moment what the transported machinery was for.
However, one point was clear, and that was that this machinery must be very important to the Research Institute, because the escorting personnel, besides the elite combat forces of the Research Institute like Delta and Zabuza, also included his target for this time, Owl!
Ichirō Fūma's tone carried uncontrollable excitement: "Is it him?"
"Mhm!"
Orochimaru responded.
Compared to Ichirō Fūma, he was clearly more calm at this moment.
...
Or rather, he understood Shinji a bit better than Ichirō Fūma, so even though the conditions for action were already met, he was waiting patiently.
Ichirō Fūma became a bit impatient: "Why haven't you acted yet?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes: "Wait a bit more!"
Hearing this, although Ichirō Fūma was anxious in his heart, he still shut his mouth and waited.
Orochimaru calmly scrutinized everyone in the convoy, finally landing on Owl, and began to observe intently.
Before this, he had always thought Owl had been killed by Shinji, so when he sensed Owl just now, he was very surprised.
However, his Shinjutsu Absorption had already confirmed it; the opponent was indeed Owl, and the Shinjutsu Conversion on his body was still there!
Orochimaru then looked at the machinery the convoy was transporting.
These pieces of machinery were very huge, and to avoid the machinery being damaged during the transport process, a large number of buffering devices were installed on the transport vehicles.
"Is it because the volume is too huge that there is no way to transport them using spatial doors?"
It was not strange for the Research Institute to transport materials, but requiring a Six Paths level combat force like Owl, who mastered Shinjutsu, to escort materials was very strange. Because among the researchers who did not lack Six Paths level members, space-time ninjutsu was not a rare thing; if there were truly important materials, they could be transported quickly through spatial doors.
So after confirming that the transported machinery was too huge and inconvenient for transport via spatial doors, Orochimaru let go of the doubt in his heart.
Orochimaru said: "I am going to act!"
Ichirō Fūma grinned cruelly: "Go quickly, I have already been unable to wait!"
Orochimaru waved his hand, and a Claw Mark flew out, heading straight for the distant transport convoy.
"What is that?"
"Be careful!"
"Enemy attack!"
The transport convoy soon discovered the flying Claw Mark and issued a warning.
However, the Claw Mark flew too fast; just as the warning sound rang out, the Claw Mark had already landed on one of the escorting shinobi in the convoy.
"What on earth is this thing?"
The shinobi possessed by the Claw Mark exclaimed while trying to scratch at the Claw Mark on his body, but found that no matter how he scratched, he could not pull off the Claw Mark, as if this Claw Mark was born and engraved on his body.
Delta flashed to the front of this shinobi: "Do not panic, let me see what it is!"
But just as Delta leaned closer, a hand reached out from the Claw Mark, swiftly grabbing Delta's neck, then squeezed hard with a
Crack
sound, crushing Delta's neck.
"!?"
Everyone around was stunned; even Zabuza, who rushed over, subconsciously stopped his steps, a shocked expression appearing on his face.
Delta was an android manufactured by Amado. With equipment updates one after another, her strength was long ago not what it used to be, being an elite combat force second only to the Six Paths level in the Research Institute. So no one expected her to be handled by a mysterious enemy in just one encounter.
While everyone was filled with suspicion, Orochimaru sprang out from the Claw Mark and with a flash lunged in front of Owl: "We meet again!"