Chapter 42: Obito's Methods

Orochimaru's body was unique, having almost entirely transformed into that of a serpent, yet he had transcended the limitations of mere snakes, reaching into unknown realms. Any part of his body could sprout a snake’s head to launch a surprise attack. Without any visible movement, the snake head implanted with a Sharingan at his neck withdrew and vanished.

Orochimaru licked his lips. Obito had arrived.

Obito finally reached the deepest part of the snake's lair. Despite his anxious journey, his fears proved unfounded—Orochimaru had let him in without any resistance whatsoever.

This left Obito feeling rather vexed. Was this not a lack of respect for his opponent?

“Orochimaru!” Obito shouted in anger.

He was truly annoyed—even a couple of minor henchmen would have been better than being allowed in completely unchallenged.

Was he, Obito, really so undeserving of vigilance?

Orochimaru offered a faint smile. If Obito didn’t make a move, neither would he. The reason was simple: it was too much trouble, and there was nothing on Obito that Orochimaru desired. There was simply no motivation.

Obito’s demeanor began to shift—he possessed two personas: one frivolous and talkative, the other serious and profound. Normally, he was the joking, loquacious Obito, but whenever the Eye of the Moon Plan came into play, he became solemn and brooding. To the outside world, he was the legendary Madara Uchiha.

“Orochimaru!”

Obito’s tone grew deep and grave as he spoke coldly, “Do you know who I am?”

The mere mention of Madara Uchiha’s name demanded respect from everyone in the shinobi world. That name had once cowed an entire era. Obito intended to use it to subdue Orochimaru, then teach him a lesson with his spatial abilities.

He wanted to make Orochimaru understand that the Akatsuki was not to be trifled with.

“Oh? Aren’t you Obito Uchiha?” Orochimaru replied.

“Yes, I am Uchiha Ob... Huh?!”

Obito froze mid-sentence—Orochimaru had called out his true identity!

Normally, Orochimaru should have worn a serious, puzzled expression and asked him who he was, and when Obito, in his deep voice, revealed himself as Madara Uchiha, Orochimaru would have turned grave, feeling immense pressure. But now Orochimaru had unmasked him outright—what was going on?

Obito’s pupils shrank. He immediately thought of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. Only those two knew his true identity—had one of them secretly allied with Orochimaru?

Even though his intimidation had failed, it was no big deal. Obito quickly thought of another way to threaten Orochimaru—with his Mangekyō Sharingan.

His Mangekyō Sharingan wielded the power of space, and so far, only the Fourth Hokage had ever wounded him. At present, he had no equal.

The power of space alone was enough to serve as a deterrent.

Obito said coolly, “So, do you know my abilities as well?”

Orochimaru replied, “The power to traverse alternate dimensions.”

“Haha, but you can’t possibly kno—”

What?! You know that too?!

Obito was once again cut short, forced to swallow his words—Orochimaru knew that as well.

Whoever was secretly in league with Orochimaru had truly gone too far—giving away information on his abilities was as good as selling him out completely.

Obito suddenly thought of Deidara, Sasori, and Nagato. All three had failed when attacking the Sound Village—was it because of this traitor?

In truth, Orochimaru’s ability to thwart Deidara, Sasori, and even Pain stemmed not only from his rebirth, but more importantly, from his current formidable strength. Except for those who were dead or sealed away, Orochimaru now stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.

But Obito was unaware of this, convinced there was a traitor in their midst. This delicious misunderstanding made him begin to suspect both White Zetsu and Black Zetsu, and he resolved to test them in the future.

At this moment, White Zetsu and Black Zetsu were still tunneling underground, not yet having reached the Sound Village, completely oblivious to the blame that had already been placed upon them.

...

Orochimaru shook his head and said, “Obito, there’s no need for pretense. I’ll be direct—the Rinnegan and the Ten-Tails’ vessel, I’m taking them. You’d best leave now.”

Obito had nothing that Orochimaru coveted; if anything, his spatial power piqued some interest. But he already possessed Kakashi’s Sharingan—Obito’s was unnecessary.

Orochimaru couldn’t be bothered to fight Obito—it was too troublesome. Ideally, Obito would simply take his advice and leave.

“Heh.”

Obito gave a soft laugh, full of disdain for Orochimaru’s words.

“So what if you know I have spatial abilities? Can you do anything about it?”

Indeed, spatial powers were unlike any other—so what if Orochimaru knew? Did Orochimaru possess spatial powers as well? That was the source of Obito’s confidence.

...

Elsewhere, Kabuto Yakushi and Kimimaro were discussing the direction of their army’s creation when a subordinate approached Kabuto.

“Kabuto-sama, two prisoners from the Leaf Village are up to something!”

Someone had discovered that Naruto and Sasuke had infiltrated Orochimaru’s lair. That area was currently off-limits, about to become the battleground for Orochimaru and his intruders. For prisoners to sneak in now could only mean trouble.

Kimimaro immediately stood up. “I’ll deal with them!”

Kabuto held him back. “Where do you think you’re going? Are you trying to cause trouble for Lord Orochimaru?”

Kimimaro frowned. “But the Leaf prisoners—”

Kabuto cut him off. “But what? Don’t you trust Lord Orochimaru? You’d only be in the way.”

Kimimaro’s frown deepened. He felt Kabuto’s words made sense, but if the Leaf prisoners threatened Lord Orochimaru, could he really do nothing?

Kabuto suggested, “If you really want to help, go organize the water and fire-style shinobi. Lord Orochimaru likes cleanliness. When he’s finished killing, you can clean up the corpses and beautify the environment. Lord Orochimaru will be pleased.”

Kimimaro: “...”

He’s making me sweep the streets again!

...

Naruto and Sasuke slipped into the snake’s lair. Naruto already had the layout and led Sasuke straight to the deepest underground level.

Naruto said, “When the time comes, you distract Orochimaru with genjutsu, and I’ll use the Wood Dragon Technique to drain his chakra!”

Sasuke nodded. “I’ll throw in a burst of flame for good measure.”

He had yet to reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan ability to anyone—a black flame said to be the strongest physical fire.

This made Sasuke quite eager.

The two of them crept to the lowest level and saw Orochimaru and the intruder still locked in a standoff.

...

Orochimaru smiled faintly—so, two more little mice had arrived.

Towards Naruto and Sasuke, Orochimaru felt a certain special sentiment, not just the interest of an experimenter toward his subjects.

In his memories from before his rebirth, these two had “saved” the world.

It was as though they carried a kind of special destiny.

But in truth, they had only briefly ended the war. In the end, the Five Great Nations would inevitably descend into conflict again, just as they did after the death of the First Hokage.

When the First Hokage lived, there was peace out of respect for his power. But after his death, war erupted.

For Naruto and Sasuke’s generation, it would be the same. With the old rulers gone, new ones would eventually bring war.

Obito also sensed Naruto and Sasuke’s arrival, but paid them little heed. In fact, he didn’t care much for Orochimaru, either.

Spatial jutsu was simply too unassailable.

Obito said, “Orochimaru, I’ll be direct as well. I’m taking back the Rinnegan and the Ten-Tails’ vessel. I’ll also reclaim the One-Tail and the Nine-Tails. And then, I will kill this body of yours and destroy the Sound Village.”