Chapter 111: Meeting Orochimaru
White Zetsu was stunned. "You actually lost to a little kid?"
Obito said grimly, "That guy is nothing like the other Hyūga. Don't underestimate him."
As he spoke, Obito dug the completely blind three-tomoe Sharingan from his left socket, took a spare one from a storage scroll, and pressed it into place.
White Zetsu looked at the ruined, discarded eye, swallowing the taunt he was about to make. To be able to kill Obito once... this Neji-kun was certainly no pretender.
Black Zetsu, however, was lost in thought. The Hyūga clan were descendants of Hamura Ōtsutsuki. Their Byakugan could evolve into the Tenseigan, an eye with power no less than the Rinnegan. Hyūga Neji defeating Obito meant he had almost certainly awakened the legendary Tenseigan.
At this thought, Black Zetsu became agitated. For over a thousand years, not a single Hyūga had awakened the Tenseigan. Not even the brilliant "Tenjin" from the Warring States period had managed it.
He had spent a millennium tracking the souls of Asura and Indra, finally seeing the possibility of reviving his "Mother" through Uchiha Madara. Although the plan hadn't gone smoothly, it was generally moving in the direction he'd intended.
The sudden appearance of the Tenseigan was completely outside his calculations.
Black Zetsu's raspy voice cut in, "We must raise the 'Star of the Cloud's' threat level. He could jeopardize our plan."
Obito nodded slightly, remaining silent. This defeat had hit him harder than his loss during the Nine-Tails attack. The loss of his Kiri operations was secondary; what truly terrified him was that this "Star of the Cloud" seemed to know all his trump cards.
In a battle between ninja, intelligence is paramount. How could he continue to use Madara's identity to intimidate the Five Great Nations? And Nagato... if he learned his true identity, would he continue to obey his orders?
Obito was involuntarily reminded of the moment Rin died. He felt just as powerless now as he did then.
Black Zetsu suddenly spoke, "Obito, the 'Star of the Cloud' is too great a threat. You must make a decision."
Obito paused, looking at Zetsu in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Go to Konoha," Black Zetsu rasped. "Take back what is yours."
"Zetsu, that's not mine anymore," Obito's pupil contracted sharply.
Black Zetsu stared at him with an expression of profound disappointment. "Take back that left eye, and you will gain double the dōjutsu and the Mangekyō's third power, Susanoo. Are you this reluctant? Have you forgotten that girl?"
"I have not!" Obito roared.
"Heh!" Black Zetsu sneered. "Look at this pathetic state you're in. You have no drive! Did that Hyūga brat make you feel fear? If so, then Madara was wrong about you. You're just a complete failure, a spineless rat that should have stayed hiding in the sewers."
Obito glared at Black Zetsu, his lips moving, but no words came out.
The island was dead silent, save for the whistling wind.
This wasn't the first time Black Zetsu had goaded Obito to retrieve his left eye. The "Star of the Cloud" had made him sense an unprecedented crisis, so this time he was much more forceful. He couldn't understand why Obito, a man who could kill his own master and master's wife, would be so hesitant when it came to Kakashi.
First, the eye belonged to Obito. Taking it back was only natural. Second, even if it wasn't his, it would help him. Stealing it was a perfectly justifiable act. Even the simple-minded White Zetsu couldn't understand Obito's hesitation.
Obito's gaze dropped. He was reluctant not just because he didn't want to face Kakashi. The bigger reason was that he didn't want to face his former self. That left eye was a gift from the Obito who wanted to be Hokage. If he took it back, it would mean Obito was personally burying the boy he used to be.
But Black Zetsu didn't care about Obito's feelings.
"Obito, you don't have a choice in this," Black Zetsu said coldly. "If necessary, I will go and take it myself."
"Zetsu, I will act when the time is right." Obito changed the subject. "Any news from Hiruko?"
"He has successfully hunted the Steel, Storm, and Dark Release users. He's only missing Swift Release and the Sharingan."
The Akatsuki was short on manpower, and hunting Tailed Beasts was difficult. That was why Nagato, with a 'let's see what happens' attitude, had agreed to Hiruko's absurd Chimera plan.
Knowing Obito was dodging the topic, Black Zetsu nonetheless answered, as Hiruko's plan was still important.
"If I remember correctly, Hiruko and Sasori were responsible for hunting the Swift Release and Sharingan users, right?" Obito asked.
White Zetsu giggled. "Heh heh! Hiruko and Sasori ran into an elite Suna team! The hunt for the Swift Release user failed. Hiruko escaped alone and returned a while ago, but Sasori is still missing. It's not looking good for him!"
Obito's face darkened. Not only had the Chimera plan failed, but they had also lost a key member.
"Don't provoke Suna for now. Find new targets elsewhere," Obito said after a moment.
White Zetsu giggled again. "My clone on the Land of Hot Water battlefield found a Kumo-nin with Swift Release. And the Uchiha are almost all on that front, so a suitable Sharingan won't be hard to find."
"This time," Obito said, "I will hunt the Swift Release ninja and the Uchiha myself." He swirled into his Kamui vortex and disappeared.
An island in the Land of Water's seas.
"Why isn't he here yet? Am I going to have to go to the Land of Sound and bust up his hideout?"
Neji-kun looked at Hikari and Izumi, who were squatting on a reef, and muttered to himself. He had instructed Kurosuki Raiga to request a meeting with Orochimaru. As expected of the cautious snake, there had been no reply.
However, Neji-kun had specifically mentioned the "Sharingan" in the message. Given Orochimaru's obsession, he would definitely come to investigate. Neji-kun had brought his team to this nameless island, outside of Kiri's influence, precisely to bait the snake into coming to him.
Orochimaru's modified body was resistant to most physical damage, but it was incredibly weak to Sharingan genjutsu. Back when he was in the Akatsuki, he likely hadn't perfected his Living Corpse Reincarnation yet, but Itachi still easily subdued him with a simple paralysis genjutsu. It's possible that back then, Orochimaru, trapped in the genjutsu, had unconsciously revealed all his secrets, but woke up only remembering that Itachi had cut off his hand.
How else could Itachi have known all of Orochimaru's trump cards? The Eight Branches Technique and the Cursed Seal of Heaven were his unique secret techniques. Itachi, as if he could see the future, had lured out Orochimaru's true form and sealed him with one blow of the Totsuka Blade.
Neji-kun's own genjutsu skills were average. But he had Uchiha Hikari—a "better Itachi," who could subdue Orochimaru in seconds. Most importantly, Neji-kun knew all of Orochimaru's abilities, while Orochimaru knew nothing of Hikari's Marking Tsukuyomi.
Information was vital. Of course, information was only decisive when the power gap wasn't too large. If you told the five Kage all of Madara's abilities, they'd still get stomped.
Neji-kun coveted Orochimaru's black-market tech. But how to make him cooperate was the real problem.
Use the Cursed Mandala Sealing Heart? He quickly dismissed the thought. Orochimaru wasn't Hiruko. Hiruko's Chimera Technique was already complete, but its flaws were beyond his ability to fix. He only wanted the power, not to pursue the Kekkei Mōra.
Neji-kun wanted Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven and his cloning tech, but more than that, he wanted his research capabilities. Neji-kun had several critical theories to test: cloning the Byakugan to create an artificial Giant Tenseigan; even cloning the Sharingan, "stacking" dōjutsu to mass-produce Mangekyō and build a Giant Mangekyō.
He needed Orochimaru's hands for that. But the Cursed Mandala Sealing Heart would destroy Orochimaru's independent personality, which defeated the purpose.
Just as Neji-kun was growing impatient, he sensed one of his perimeter seals being triggered.
"He's finally here." A smile touched Neji-kun's lips.
At the same time, Hikari and Izumi, who had been chatting, also sensed the intruder. Hikari immediately ran to Neji-kun's side, while Izumi drew her blade, warily watching the bushes.
Rustle...
"My, my, so cautious." A raspy voice sounded, and Orochimaru emerged from the trees. He had just settled Haku into a new base when he received the black market message. After some consideration, he'd come. As a top-tier ninja, the only person in the world he feared was that man in the Akatsuki. After Itachi's unexpected death, Orochimaru had been in a slump. Now, with a new Sharingan right in front of him, he had no reason to hold back.
"Orochimaru, you're late," Neji-kun said with a light chuckle.
"Neji-kun." Orochimaru crossed his arms, his golden, slitted pupils glancing at Neji-kun, then at Hikari, before finally locking onto Uchiha Izumi.
Neji-kun was a Hyūga. His ability to capture the Six-Tails Jinchuriki proved his strength, but Orochimaru had no interest in the Byakugan. Hikari hadn't activated her eyes, so he just assumed she was a follower.
Only Izumi, with the Uchiha fan on her clothes and the three tomoe in her eyes, advertised her identity.
"Such beautiful eyes. I wonder what their power is." Orochimaru licked his lips, his gaze filled with naked greed.
Neji-kun returned the stare with an equally undisguised, greedy look of his own. "Orochimaru," he said excitedly, "I have something even more beautiful."
Their eyes met. Orochimaru paused. "Interesting. Are you treating me as the prey?"
"It seems Kumo is a better place for a Hyūga genius to grow than Konoha." Orochimaru stuck out his tongue, "washing" his face. "I'm curious... how exactly do you plan on keeping me here?"
Hikari, watching this, wrinkled her nose in disgust and was about to attack, but Neji-kun stopped her.
"Hikari, to ensure this guy shows me the proper respect, I should go first."
With that, Neji-kun's Byakugan instantly transformed into the Tenseigan.
Orochimaru stared, mesmerized, at the sapphire-blue eyes that seemed to glitter with a galaxy of stars. "Such beautiful... eyes..."
"The Tenseigan," Neji-kun explained. "The evolution, or perhaps mutation, of the Byakugan. Its dōjutsu surpasses even the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan."
To get Orochimaru to cooperate, there was no better way than to ignite his insatiable curiosity.
"Kukuku... Surpasses the Mangekyō? You're quite the kidder, Neji-kun," Orochimaru hissed, his face a mask of doubt. The Sharingan was the strongest bloodline, an indisputable fact.
"Hmph." Neji-kun snorted, his voice cold. "It seems I'll have to teach you a lesson."
"Then by all means," Orochimaru's smile turned savage, "show this ignorant fool... the power you claim surpasses the Mangekyō!" His mouth gaped open, and a longsword, gleaming with cold light, shot out, striking at Neji-kun with lightning speed.
Neji-kun simply raised his left hand. An invisible wave of repulsion washed over them, swatting the Sword of Kusanagi aside, shattering the earth wall Orochimaru had summoned, and slamming him into the distant sea.
Izumi, who had just processed what was happening, stared at the deep trench carved into the ground, and at Orochimaru's... pulverized... remains floating on the water.
"Neji-kun... you... you just killed Orochimaru?!"
Neji-kun glanced at her, his face twitching. "Orochimaru's life force is stubborn. He can shed his skin and reincarnate like a snake. He's not that easy to kill."
"Kukukuku... Now this is interesting, Neji-kun." Orochimaru, using his Oral Rebirth Technique, slithered out of the mouth of his old body. The fanaticism in his golden eyes was so intense it made Izumi take a step back.
That repulsive force... it reminded him of Pain's Deva Path, of Shinra Tensei. That was the power of the legendary Rinnegan. Could it be that Neji-kun's Tenseigan was on the same level?
"????"
Nearby, Uchiha Hikari, seeing the lecherous, obsessed look Orochimaru was giving Neji-kun, almost lost control. 'This... this thing... is trying to steal my Neji-kun?!'