In the dark underground base.
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses.
Yakushi Kabuto slowly clasped his hands together, forming a Summoning Seal, and murmured, "Lord Naraku... these three years, it's not only you who have been acting. I've had a tough time in front of Lord Orochimaru too!"
With those words, Yakushi Kabuto's hands suddenly slammed down onto the ground, watching the runes emerge, and shouted in a deep voice, "Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke rose out of thin air!
The next moment, the massive body of the Yamata no Orochi appeared!
This enormous Yamata no Orochi instantly overturned the base, even shattering the hill above, eight huge serpent heads roaring as their massive body was revealed!
One of the serpent heads slowly lowered, opening its gigantic mouth, from which Orochimaru's upper body slowly emerged.
"Kabuto..."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a grim smile, "I thought you'd forgotten I was still suffering!"
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto silently shook his head.
In his heart, Yakushi Kabuto sighed, actually, Orochimaru staying in Ryuchi Cave isn't suffering at all; it'll be real pain once he comes out!
Over these years, Yakushi Kabuto wasn't simply brushing off Orochimaru.
If the timing was right, Yakushi Kabuto was indeed ready to prepare a body for Orochimaru, hoping he could spend the rest of his life in a peaceful village.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru has never given up on seeking revenge against Uehara Naraku.
Even more unfortunately, Uehara Naraku has not given up on using the perpetually tormented Orochimaru, still expecting him to be of value.
No matter how Yakushi Kabuto tried hinting that Orochimaru and Uehara Naraku should let go of each other, both of them ignored his opinion, intending to see the other dead...
Their thoughts were too coincidental.
This truly is... a cursed relationship!
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses to conceal his complex emotions and looked up at Orochimaru, saying, "Lord Orochimaru, I finally have a body ready for your resurrection. I believe this body will certainly satisfy you!"
"Oh, so you're finally not afraid of Uehara Naraku?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, watching Yakushi Kabuto with a smile, "Aren't you worried that Uehara Naraku, upon discovering this, will kill you?"
"No."
Yakushi Kabuto shook his head, softly answering, "Not long ago, I discovered the secrets of the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue, completely betraying Lord Naraku, and now I've seized the Akatsuki's Rinnegan and Gedo Statue!"
"What?"
Orochimaru's face showed a hint of surprise, "Did you deal with Pain?"
Based on Orochimaru's understanding of Pain, he never believed Yakushi Kabuto could defeat the Rinnegan, how could such a thing happen!
If Yakushi Kabuto now possessed the power to kill Pain, wouldn't their former master-servant relationship have to be reversed?
"Just taking advantage of the situation..."
Yakushi Kabuto's lips curled into a smile, a touch of schadenfreude in his voice, "Because Pain was merely a puppet. The true master of the Rinnegan, Nagato, died in Konoha trying to capture the Nine-tail, giving me the chance to seize the Rinnegan."
"Oh?"
Orochimaru folded his arms, stood up from within the serpent head, and curiously looked at Yakushi Kabuto, "How did you manage that? Your strength shouldn't be able to overpower that Uehara fellow, right?"
"Relying on the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Jutsu."
After Yakushi Kabuto spread his palms, a golden figure suddenly appeared next to him; it was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
Yakushi Kabuto chuckled lightly and continued, "Lord Uehara Naraku was too greedy; recently, he wanted to control the peak power of the First Hokage, so I deceived him into believing that controlling too many Reanimation Ninja would weaken his control.
To avoid losing control over other Reanimation Ninja, Lord Uehara Naraku unexpectedly made me perform Reanimation on the Second Hokage, Fourth Hokage, and Uchiha Obito once again.
Thus allowing me to possess three ninjas skilled in Space-Time Ninjutsu."
After Yakushi Kabuto finished speaking, a space-time vortex appeared beside him, revealing the figure of Uchiha Obito.
A while later, Senju Tobirama's figure appeared beside Yakushi Kabuto as well.
At least on the surface, there were no flaws.
"Well done."
Orochimaru furrowed his brow and asked in a deep voice, "So, did Uehara Naraku resurrect the First Hokage through Reanimation?"
"No, it failed."
Yakushi Kabuto smiled and shook his head, his eyes undisguised in their ridicule, "That's the legendary God of Ninja... definitely not something a mere mortal can control!"
After speaking, Yakushi Kabuto continued softly, "For this reason, I also gave up on using Reanimation to resurrect Uchiha Madara, to avoid him going out of control..."
"Is that so..."
Orochimaru's eyes remained sharp, watching Yakushi Kabuto, and suddenly broke into a smile, "That's truly impressive, Kabuto. It seems with the power you now possess, I should obey your instructions in the future!"
"Lord Orochimaru, please don't say that."
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses, a smile forming on his face as well, "Though I am now very powerful, my respect for Lord Orochimaru has never changed... we'll continue to work together as equals, just like in the past."
"..."
Orochimaru squinted his eyes at Yakushi Kabuto.
This guy, Yakushi Kabuto...
He really has become ambitious as his strength grew!
This was just a tool he saved from Shimura Danzo, always following his lead, when have they ever been equals!
But this is the normal human mindset; anyone who gains the power that Yakushi Kabuto now has couldn't possibly remain beneath someone else!
After a moment of silence, Orochimaru nodded and said, "That's fine too, so where is the body you've prepared for me?"
Orochimaru remained very sensible.
Now was definitely not the time to fall out with Yakushi Kabuto.
Because he still needed Yakushi Kabuto's help with the body, once he gained tremendous power in the future, he'd then suppress or kill this traitor, Yakushi Kabuto!
Yakushi Kabuto waved his hand.
Beside him, Uchiha Obito opened his Kamui Space and tossed out a White Zetsu, but this White Zetsu was covered in a messy array of curse seals.
"This is the body I've prepared for Lord Orochimaru."
A trace of pride flashed across Yakushi Kabuto's face as he looked at the White Zetsu in front of him, chuckling softly: "Apart from the Wood Release Bloodline, it also has the legendary Rinnegan..."
"Rinnegan!"
A bright light suddenly flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.
The Rinnegan was one of the bloodlines he had always sought to acquire. Orochimaru's desire for the Rinnegan exceeded even the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo Sharingan!
But his fear of Pain's strength had gradually extinguished that thought, shifting his focus to acquiring another type of Mangekyo Sharingan.
Now Yakushi Kabuto was even willing to implant the Rinnegan into his body?
Is this guy really so willing?
Could there be some conspiracy behind this?
Just as Orochimaru was about to ask, Yakushi Kabuto suddenly spoke: "However, there's a condition for giving this body to Lord Orochimaru..."
"Oh?"
Orochimaru shifted his gaze from the White Zetsu on the ground back to Yakushi Kabuto: "What condition? Tell me upfront..."
This makes sense.
After all, the Rinnegan isn't just some cheap vegetable.
If Yakushi Kabuto is willing to give even the Rinnegan, it seems that what he wants from him must be quite extraordinary.
"I hope Lord Orochimaru can cooperate with me on an experiment."
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses, a bright light in his eyes: "Help me conduct an experiment to revive the Gedo Statue and become the Ten-tails Jinchuriki! I want to see the power of the Six Paths Sage firsthand!"
A flicker of madness and obsession flashed across Yakushi Kabuto's face: "Lord Orochimaru, this is the secret I've painstakingly extracted from the Akatsuki Organization!
The Ten-tails is the monster sealed by the legendary Six Paths Sage to save the world; the Gedo Statue is the Ten-tails' shell. Once someone becomes the Ten-tails Jinchuriki, they can obtain the legendary power that only the Six Paths Sage could wield!"
"..."
Orochimaru's gaze flickered slightly.
After a long while, the shock within Orochimaru gradually faded.
This Orochimaru, known for his cunning and scheming, glanced at Yakushi Kabuto and said in a low voice: "Kabuto, this experiment must be very dangerous, right?"
"Of course."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded and chuckled: "Lord Orochimaru, how could there possibly be no danger in becoming the legendary Six Paths Sage?
The Ninja World has seen many years, but not everyone can become a Jinchuriki; each Jinchuriki risks having their consciousness devoured by the Tailed Beasts, let alone the Ten-tails formed by nine Tailed Beasts gathering together. The danger of becoming the Ten-tails Jinchuriki is exceptionally high!"
"..."
Orochimaru fell silent once more.
This bastard!
No wonder Yakushi Kabuto wants to save him!
However, given the current situation, it's absolutely not the time to turn hostile.
After a moment, a smile appeared at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth. He extended his tongue, licking his lips: "Alright, I agree."
"That's good."
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses, mimicking Orochimaru and licking his lips, his face revealing a hint of a threatening smile.
"Then let's have a successful collaboration together."
Orochimaru ignored Yakushi Kabuto's threat.
Once he's acquired the body below with the Rinnegan and the power to counter Yakushi Kabuto, who cares about the Ten-tails Jinchuriki experiment?
No, he can care.
But certainly not now.
After all, even Orochimaru has a bit of a craving for the power of the Six Paths Sage, but he cares more about his own life.
"Oh, I should have known Lord Orochimaru would agree so straightforwardly.
Yakushi Kabuto's face revealed a hint of regret: "Unfortunately, because I was worried Lord Orochimaru would renege and refuse to become the Ten-tails Jinchuriki, I specially used Lord Orochimaru's name to declare the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War on the Five Great Countries' Ninja Villages..."
"What!"
Orochimaru was a bit dumbfounded.
What the hell is the situation now?
What has this bastard Yakushi Kabuto been doing behind his back?
This bastard actually used his name to start a Fourth Shinobi World War against the Five Great Countries' Ninja Villages, has this bastard gone insane!
That involves the Five Great Countries of the Ninja World!
How could they possibly win!
Though Orochimaru knew Yakushi Kabuto certainly harbored ill intentions, he never imagined that Yakushi Kabuto would mess things up to this degree!
"Now the Five Great Countries in the Ninja World have gathered tens of thousands of ninja, including people from the Akatsuki Organization, and perception ninja are searching everywhere for Lord Orochimaru's whereabouts. Perhaps they'll soon find this place..."
Yakushi Kabuto spread his hands, his smile barely concealed: "Our strength definitely cannot contend with theirs, so unless Lord Orochimaru is willing to become the Ten-tails Jinchuriki and transform into the new Six Paths Sage..."
"..."
The situation is worse than Orochimaru imagined.
The Five Great Countries haven't issued some bounty; they've truly begun a war on the scale of the Ninja World!
Orochimaru gritted his teeth, his anger barely concealed, his voice seeping through his teeth: "Kabuto, you've calculated everything, is this your way of pushing me into a corner?"
"This is unavoidable."
Yakushi Kabuto shook his head, sighing heavily: "Lord Orochimaru, because of the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue, we've certainly offended Uehara Naraku..."
After saying this, Yakushi Kabuto suddenly showed a smile: "Of course, I don't care, I have three Reanimation subordinates skilled in Space-Time Jutsu, who can always escape."
Yakushi Kabuto's gaze subtly shifted to Orochimaru, his smile grew even more intense: "As for Lord Orochimaru's fate, I am not in a position to guarantee it..."