Chapter 301: Uncovering the Snake's Scars
Orochimaru's Hidden Laboratory, Land of Fire.
The sudden appearance of a spatial distortion ripped open the silence of the hidden underground laboratory.
"This is a Space Ninjutsu!"
Before Orochimaru, who was hunched over a complex sealing array, could react further, a figure emerged from the swirling vortex.
The figure, obscured by the long black Akatsuki cloak, was imposing. Its single visible eye glowed with fierce, terrifying crimson energy.
Three jet-black tomoe spun rapidly around the pupil, instantly connecting and twisting to form a bizarre, complex pattern—the Mangekyō Sharingan!
In an instant, an irresistible, chilling ocular power erupted from the eye, aimed directly at Orochimaru.
The moment Orochimaru sensed the ocular power invading his consciousness, his powerful, snake-like chakra instinctively began to flow in reverse, attempting to break the Genjutsu.
But it was no use. The counter was too slow, the dōjutsu too powerful.
"Ugh!"
Orochimaru grunted, a choked sound of pain and supreme effort.
His heart was instantly filled with immense, paralyzing shock. His body was completely unable to move! His muscles were locked.
"How… how is this possible?!"
Orochimaru's mind, usually cold and precise, was in turmoil! His body was practically immune to standard mental manipulation, yet this forced paralysis was absolute!
Then, Orochimaru immediately recognized the identity of the intruder.
The person before him was the same mysterious masked man who, along with him and Zetsu, had participated in the disastrous siege of Uchiha Akira in the Uchiha Clan Territory months ago!
Of course, he was no longer a mystery. Uchiha Akira had long since completely exposed his identity to the world.
Uchiha Obito!
The Konoha hero, Kakashi's long-lost teammate, who was once thought to have died a glorious death in the Third Shinobi World War!
Orochimaru was pinned to the spot, unable to move a single finger, only able to utter strained sounds from his throat.
"Uchiha… Obito!"
"What do you… what do you want with me?! Are you here to finish Danzō's old work?"
Uchiha Obito walked slowly closer, his steps deliberately heavy, echoing in the sterile silence of the laboratory.
He looked around at the grim surgical instruments, the containment tubes, the horrific experiments.
"Tsk, tsk," Obito let out a sigh, feigning profound regret.
"As expected of Senior Orochimaru. Even after all these years, you are still so fond of conducting messy, unethical experiments on yourself and others. Never change, do you?"
Orochimaru's eye twitched violently beneath the powerful Genjutsu.
"Enough with the nonsense, child! I warn you, I have defenses!"
"What exactly do you want?! I am not some street urchin you can hold captive!"
Uchiha Obito spread his arms and said, in a condescending, matter-of-fact tone.
"Of course, Senior. I am here to discuss something truly beneficial: cooperation."
Cooperation?
Hearing those two words, Orochimaru's lips, currently unable to move freely, curled into a silent, savage scoff.
He was pinned and paralyzed, completely at the mercy of this masked brat. And this culprit was shamelessly talking about "cooperation" with him?
"Cooperation?"
Orochimaru's voice, though strained, was filled with undisguised sarcasm.
"I see no logical or sufficient reason to cooperate with you, Uchiha! Your plans are too grandiose, your methods too crude!"
Uchiha Obito approached, stopping right beside Orochimaru's frozen form.
"The reason is simple, Senior. Undeniable."
"Because we share one, great, powerful, and utterly loathsome common enemy."
"Uchiha Akira."
Orochimaru fell into a brief, deep silence. It was true. His last encounter with Akira had been a complete, humiliating failure, costing him resources, face, and even the respect of his former subordinate, Kabuto.
"How about it, Senior Orochimaru?" Obito continued, leaning close, his voice dangerously soft.
"Teaming up against Uchiha Akira? You wouldn't possibly refuse this proposal, would you?"
"After all, let's be brutally honest. By yourself, Senior, you probably can't even cause him a slight bit of trouble now."
Orochimaru's breath hitched. He fell into a prolonged silence, his mind battling the insult.
After a moment of tense thought, Orochimaru spoke again, his tone one of wounded pride and furious denial.
"My score with Akira is my business. It has nothing to do with your pathetic little group!"
"I will settle the score with Uchiha Akira... myself! When my Edo Tensei is perfected, he will pay!"
"Oh?"
Uchiha Obito laughed again. It was a cold, high, echoing sound, carrying profound mockery.
"Hahahahahahaha! Settle it yourself?"
"Orochimaru, you really are… delusional. Utterly, tragically naive."
Obito leaned closer, his voice a malicious whisper. "You wouldn't actually think that in your last battle with Uchiha Akira in the Uchiha Clan Territory…"
Obito deliberately drew out his words, savoring the cruel cut of the truth.
"…he used his full power against you, would you?"
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's face, already pale, twisted into an expression of profound, soul-shattering denial.
"No… impossible!" Orochimaru roared internally!
It can't be! We fought back and forth! I forced him to use his Mangekyō! I caused him great trouble!
How could he have been merely toying with him?
"Impossible?"
Uchiha Obito scoffed again, his laughter filled with devastating pity.
"Orochimaru, you are truly blinded by your own arrogance and inflated ego."
"Open your eyes and see clearly! This is reality!"
"Just look at what I'm doing to you right now! I'm pinning you completely with a single Mangekyō! You can't even move a finger! You are completely powerless to resist!"
The cold, brutal, and undeniable truth hit Orochimaru like a physical hammer blow. He wanted to refute it, but he found his mind utterly incapable of forming a coherent defense.
He's right. I can't resist. I am completely dominated.
Uchiha Obito's voice grew even colder, gaining authority.
"Now, think carefully. You know my reputation. You know what I'm capable of. Kamui is absolute."
"Now, tell me truthfully. What do you think of my strength, Uchiha Obito?"
Orochimaru remained silent, his pride warring with his intellect.
But he knew very well in his heart that he was being utterly crushed, completely unable to resist the ocular power.
"Then let me tell you one more, simple fact to complete your enlightenment."
"That Uchiha Akira's power… is far above mine!"
"You think, a prodigy who can activate the Mangekyō Sharingan... an Uchiha Akira whom even I find troublesome to confront directly…"
"Why, Senior Orochimaru, do you think you could possibly fight him back and forth? Why do you think you were qualified to make him use his full, devastating power?"
Orochimaru froze completely. His eyes glazed over.
So… that's how it is?
From the very beginning… I was just a fool? A dancing clown on a string?
He was just… toying with me? Practicing?
Memories flooded back like a torrent. That night, in the Uchiha Clan Territory, Uchiha Akira had indeed appeared at ease, calm, and utterly in control from start to finish.
That composure. That unnerving calmness… now that he thought about it, it was not the demeanor of evenly matched opponents at all! It was the demeanor of a hunter playing with his wounded prey.
"It seems you've finally figured it out, Senior." Uchiha Obito's voice resonated with cruel satisfaction.
"While you were hiding in your hole, licking your wounds and playing with corpses, what has Akira been doing?"
"During this time, Uchiha Akira personally killed Fourth Kazekage Rasa, annihilated the entire Hidden Sand Village, and over two thousand Sunagakure ninja are now working as slaves at Konoha's construction sites."
"The Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers have now been annexed by the Land of Fire."
"Oh, right. And the Kirigakure has also just been annexed by Konoha. A single man defeated an entire Great Nation without losing a single soldier."
"Now, tell me, Senior."
"A person who, by his own singular power, has utterly suffocated the entire Ninja World…"
"An Uchiha Akira who is only stronger, faster, and more terrifying than he was when he humiliated you…"
"You, Orochimaru, the pathetic outcast…"
"Why would you possibly go looking for trouble with him by yourself?"
Orochimaru stared intently at Obito. In his eyes, the previous arrogance was completely gone, replaced by a nearly insane, consuming obsession—the sheer, unquenchable desire for vengeance and the desperate need to dismantle the power that had humbled him.
"Heh… heh-heh…" Orochimaru suddenly chuckled softly, a dry, unsettling sound.
"Well said, Obito."
"Truly well said. Your words have indeed... convinced me."
"How do you want to cooperate, Uchiha?"
Uchiha Obito nodded slightly. He knew it. For someone as profoundly arrogant and scientifically obsessed as Orochimaru, only a more cruel reality, a complete shattering of his pride, could force this alliance.
"It's very simple, Senior." Uchiha Obito slowly turned his back to Orochimaru, the sign of his trust, and said in a cold, condescending manner.
"I want you to push that specific Ninjutsu of yours to its absolute limit."
Orochimaru's eyelids twitched violently. "That Ninjutsu…"
Uchiha Obito's voice came chillingly, filling the silent lab.
"Use the Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) Ninjutsu that you possess."
"Use it to completely disrupt the situation of the entire Ninja World! Create the chaos necessary for my plan."
Then, to show his good faith, Uchiha Obito voluntarily released his powerful Genjutsu restraint on Orochimaru.
"Ugh!"
With control of his body returning, Orochimaru stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He leaned heavily on the metal table.
He gasped desperately for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat, as if he had just been pulled back from the brink of drowning.
That feeling of complete powerlessness, of being utterly dominated by a younger Uchiha, left Orochimaru with a deep, festering, psychological fear.
Orochimaru leaned on the cold laboratory table, slowly straightening his body. His hands, though free, still trembled slightly.
Looking at Obito's broad, challenging back, he asked, his voice returning to its characteristic serpentine hiss:
"Edo Tensei… Who exactly do you need me to revive first?"
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