On the other side, in a laboratory in the Land of Rice Fields.
The entire reconnaissance squad had been captured, including their captain, Anko.
Right now, Kabuto pulled aside the fabric on Anko's shoulder, exposing the Heaven Cursed Seal there. He could clearly feel that Orochimaru had not died.
So he took out a chunk of cursed-seal material from his own body and pressed it against Anko's curse mark.
In the next second, that cursed-seal material absorbed the power of the seal, transforming into a snake's head that drilled out of Anko's shoulder. The massive snake head opened its jaws wide. Inside that maw, Orochimaru was revealed!
"Orochimaru-sama! You really are still alive!"
Guren's eyes burned with fanaticism. She was obviously a complete brain-dead fangirl of Orochimaru, the type of woman who was willing to offer up her body to him, and not in the sense of sharing it, but in the sense of letting Orochimaru take it over entirely. For Guren, the idea of sharing one body with Orochimaru was probably a beautiful dream.
Orochimaru slowly slid out from the snake's mouth, his hoarse laugh as cold and sinister as ever. "I didn't expect you, Kabuto, to be the one who chose to revive me."
Kabuto smiled. "Orochimaru-sama, I've always been your successor. Of course I'd look for ways to bring you back. What's so strange about that?"
"Is that so? But I get the feeling your ambition has grown larger than mine."
Orochimaru was no fool. "Anko's curse mark is essentially one of my clones. I've already learned everything that happened from within the seal. Kabuto, you simply want to借用 my hand to obtain the Edo bodies of the First, Second, Third, and even the Fourth Hokage, then use them to support your side in this war, isn't that right?"
Kabuto did not deny it. "Indeed. After all, I don't have those Hokage corpses. Only you, Orochimaru-sama, would be willing and able to help me with that."
Orochimaru shook his head. "Unfortunately, I have no interest in conflicts started by others, so I don't intend to take part."
However, Kabuto had already prepared his counter. He guided him patiently. "Does Orochimaru-sama mean to say you're not even interested in Sennin-gan (Sage Eyes)?"
This time, Orochimaru fell silent.
It was clear Kabuto understood perfectly what Orochimaru wanted.
Orochimaru wanted to master all ninjutsu and pursue the power of immortality, and Sennin-gan (Sage Eyes) were precisely the realm he had never yet been able to reach.
His previous desire for Sasuke's body was, at its core, nothing more than a means to settle scores with Itachi.
But Orochimaru had never abandoned his pursuit of power and eternal life.
Now, the Rinnegan was shining right there in Kabuto's eyes. "You've gotten much smarter, Kabuto. You even know how to bait me. And I have to admit, it worked. So then, what do you want me to do in exchange for letting me study your Rinnegan?"
Kabuto's smile turned triumphant. "Orochimaru-sama, saying it like that makes us sound like strangers, doesn't it? We're teacher and disciple working together. You bring out the Hokage with Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) and join Lord Madara's Tsuki no Me Keikaku (Eye of the Moon Plan. Once it succeeds, both Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji, who has already awakened the Tenseigan (Reincarnation Eye), will be within reach, won't they?"
Sasuke and the Tenseigan, huh?
No doubt about it, Orochimaru was very interested.
Sasuke's body was something he had always wanted, and Neji, who had newly awakened the Tenseigan (Reincarnation Eye), naturally drew his attention as well.
Both the Tenseigan (Reincarnation Eye) and the Rinnegan were Sennin-gan (Sage Eyes). The Tenseigan evolved from the Byakugan, while the Rinnegan evolved from the Sharingan. However, Sharingan was highly incompatible with those who did not possess Uchiha blood, almost impossible to sustain, and the Rinnegan was likely the same. The Byakugan, on the other hand, could be transplanted onto practically anyone and still function. In that case, would the Tenseigan work the same way?
The more he thought about it, the more intriguing it became.
Orochimaru couldn't help extending his long tongue and licking his entire face from chin to brow.
Karin and Suigetsu immediately felt their scalps go numb and instinctively ducked behind Jugo, as if afraid that the great snake might suddenly swallow them whole.
In the end, Orochimaru said, "Your idea is interesting. It might be worth a try. However, I need my arms restored, and my teacher Sarutobi's soul must be brought back as well. We'll go to Konoha's Uzumaki shrine first. There's something I need to retrieve."
Meanwhile, on the First Division's defensive line.
Darui, Asuma, and the Ino–Shika–Cho squad were struggling just to hold on.
Facing the formidable Obito together with four Edo Tensei jinchūriki (Tailed Beast hosts), Darui and the others truly had no answer.
They didn't have many top-tier fighters here to begin with, and they'd already been hit by a Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bomb) earlier. Their morale had basically hit rock bottom. Only a few of them were still resisting, cornered and desperate.
Fortunately, back when they were trying to stop Dan, Hiashi, and the other Edo bodies, they had specially set up a Shishienjin (Four Violet Flames Formation) in this sector. It had never been fully dismantled, so they could still make use of it.
Shikamaru immediately thought of this and gave Ino a look.
The Yamanaka clan had a technique called Shinshin no Jutsu (Mind Transmission Technique), which allowed them to speak directly to others in their minds without fear of being overheard.
Ino used it at once. After learning of Shikamaru's plan, she hurriedly relayed it into the minds of all their teammates.
The group exchanged glances, understanding one another instantly.
Then they fought as they retreated, luring Obito and the four jinchūriki toward the barrier device.
They couldn't make it too obvious, of course. They still had to occasionally show signs of counterattacking so Obito wouldn't notice anything.
Fortunately, after the Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bomb) barrage just now, Obito had regained his confidence and, like Sasuke, had fallen into that bad habit of getting cocky. He simply didn't believe that a few nobodies could do anything to him, so he wasn't particularly wary.
And because the fighting distance was close, he didn't bother having the four jinchūriki form up in a tight encirclement around him.
Just as Obito was at his most arrogant, Darui, Asuma, Choji, and Ino moved into four positions and activated the barrier at the same time.
"Shishienjin (Four Violet Flames Formation)!"
Obito's own overconfidence had led him to cluster together with the jinchūriki, and the formation's area of effect was large. Only that combination allowed them to successfully trick him and the four jinchūriki into the barrier's range.
Seeing the barrier erupt around them, Obito merely gave a cold snort and vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already outside the formation.
He had Kamui, after all. A mere barrier couldn't possibly restrain him, and he wasn't remotely afraid of such ants playing tricks. With Shinra Tensei, he could even blow the whole formation away if he felt like it.
Only, in the next second, he found he couldn't move.
Off to the side, Shikamaru was holding a hand seal and finally let out a breath of relief. "I knew you had Kamui. There's no way I wouldn't factor that in. I've been waiting for you to phase out. I claimed every shadow in the area ahead of time, just so that the instant you emerged, I could use Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) to pin you down."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]