Chapter 210: The Key Person
Not necessarily.
Those few simple words rekindled the light of hope in Uchiha Obito's eyes.
He stared expectantly at Uchiha Dali, eager to know the answer.
Konan, the newly revived Yahiko, and Uzumaki Nagato were also watching Dali closely.
Dali smiled faintly. "That guy Orochimaru should have already slipped away by now, right?"
The question left everyone slightly bewildered.
They exchanged glances. Yahiko asked curiously, "Who's Orochimaru?"
"He's a man who was once invited to join our organization. He used to be one of Konoha's famous 'Three Legendary Ninjas.'"
Nagato replied.
Hearing that, Yahiko immediately turned back to look at Dali. From Konan and Nagato, he had already learned that Uchiha Dali was a formidable ninja from Konoha in the Land of Fire.
Now that Orochimaru was also from there, he wondered—could it be that Dali intended to take care of that rogue ninja before helping Obito?
Obito answered at this point, "That guy joined our organization with ulterior motives. Now that he's seen us at a disadvantage, he's definitely run off already."
"But why ask about him? Are you planning to clean house first?"
It seemed his thoughts weren't far from Yahiko's and the others'.
They all assumed Dali was seeking Orochimaru now in order to deal with him.
"There's something we want from him," Dali said with a smile.
He had just said earlier that reviving Nohara Rin didn't necessarily require her original body.
As long as there was a suitable vessel, her soul could be fully brought back.
So if Rin's original body had completely decayed, he could use the body from an Impure World Reincarnation as a substitute.
The problem now was that they first had to find Orochimaru.
Only he possessed the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
Hearing this, everyone's gaze instantly shifted to White Zetsu.
This guy had witnessed everything that had just happened and now knew Black Zetsu's secret.
At the moment, he stood frozen in place, awkward and unsure whether to stay or go.
"Orochimaru—you can track him, can't you?" Dali asked with a half-smile.
In the Akatsuki, the fused form of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu was mainly responsible for intelligence gathering.
Their ability to sneak up on targets or infiltrate certain areas without being noticed came largely from their special ninjutsu and White Zetsu's unique chakra.
His chakra could perfectly merge with the natural environment, granting him exceptional camouflage.
And if he could merge with natural energy, he could also use it to his advantage.
"Don't look at me like that… you guys' stares are scary…"
White Zetsu immediately raised both hands in surrender.
"Find Orochimaru and we'll let you go," Dali said with a smile.
"I'm just an innocent bystander! I've got nothing to do with Black Zetsu…" White Zetsu began to ramble.
"Sounds like you're looking for death."
A short blade appeared in Dali's hand, its cold gleam making White Zetsu instantly behave.
"Alright, alright, I'll start tracking him right away—but you have to promise not to hurt me."
"If you keep babbling, I'll show you what it really means to hurt you," Dali warned.
"What a violent man…"
"Fine. I'll let you see my technique now."
White Zetsu began forming hand seals.
In fact, he had already planted spores from his Spore Technique on each member of the Akatsuki.
As long as those spores remained on the target, White Zetsu could pinpoint their location precisely—no matter where they were.
In just moments, he had found Orochimaru.
"Found him," he said excitedly.
"Where?" Dali asked immediately.
Everyone else's attention was on him.
"That guy's fast, but he hasn't left the Land of Lightning—not even the Hidden Cloud Village…" White Zetsu grinned.
In his sensory range, Orochimaru was still inside the village, moving about.
He was at least ten kilometers away from them.
"The Hidden Cloud Village, huh?"
Hearing this, Dali activated his Observation Haki.
Unfortunately, his range was still limited, and he couldn't sense Orochimaru within it.
Just as he was feeling disappointed and dissatisfied with the limits of his sensory range, a notification suddenly rang in his mind.
[Ding! You have reached the limits of your Observation Haki detection. You have gained a large amount of training experience. Your Observation Haki has broken through! You have attained Top-Level Observation Haki!]
[Top-Level Observation Haki: A form of Observation Haki surpassing all other levels, granting the ability to lock onto targets' positions, numbers, and strength, predict enemy attacks, read their thoughts, and foresee the future. Its range is proportional to the user's power.]
Talk about perfect timing.
Hearing the voice and feeling the influx of new information, Dali's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his Observation Haki again.
This time, his perception extended endlessly outward, instantly locking onto Orochimaru's position.
Just as White Zetsu had said, Orochimaru was inside the Hidden Cloud Village.
It made perfect sense—he had joined the Akatsuki to acquire more experimental material and further his goal of becoming the ultimate being.
Now that a war was raging in the village and the Akatsuki was launching a full-scale invasion, Orochimaru, though unwilling to oppose Dali directly, wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity.
Most of the Cloud Village's ninja had been mobilized to resist the Six Paths of Pain, leaving both the battlefield and normally restricted areas unguarded.
At this very moment, Orochimaru had infiltrated one of those forbidden zones, searching for secret techniques passed down through the generations.
He was in the Hidden Techniques Chamber, delighting in his haul—completely unaware that Dali already had him in his sights.
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