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Back to Orochimaru.
Since that Uchiha ancestor was the first person ever subjected to the Impure World Reincarnation, it was only natural that Orochimaru had come here to search for that resurrected body.
Actually, at first, Orochimaru had also considered searching for the Uchiha ancestor's true corpse, then using a part of his body to perform the Impure World Reincarnation on him himself.
But that idea lasted only a few seconds before Orochimaru abandoned it.
Searching for a corpse from hundreds of years ago? Let alone a corpse—even related records were nearly impossible to find. To say nothing of the actual remains.
Besides, even if he found it, after hundreds of years, the body would have long since rotted away.
So, Orochimaru could only try his luck searching for the legendary body of that ancestor—the one that had been created through the Impure World Reincarnation.
A body created through the Impure World Reincarnation, once completed, would not rot. It could exist for eternity. Orochimaru didn't need to worry about the body decaying. He only needed to worry about whether that legend was true.
And fundamentally, Orochimaru's search for that Uchiha ancestor wasn't driven by any particularly clear purpose—it was simply curiosity.
Just like in the original story, Orochimaru had spent enormous effort researching the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, yet throughout the entire series, he had only used it once.
There were also other things—things Orochimaru had devoted himself to researching but had never once used.
So, when Orochimaru was interested in something, it didn't necessarily need a purpose. Pure curiosity alone was enough to drive him to research it.
Whether or not he found the Uchiha ancestor, Orochimaru wouldn't lose anything. At most, he would feel a little disappointed.
"Orochimaru-sama, how is the progress?" A bespectacled figure in white appeared beside Orochimaru and asked respectfully.
Orochimaru glanced at the newcomer and spoke flatly.
"We've only just begun. Don't be so impatient, Kabuto."
"Yes! Understood, Orochimaru-sama!"
The white-clad figure who had just appeared was, of course, Orochimaru's capable assistant—Yakushi Kabuto.
Come to think of it, the materials regarding the legend of this Uchiha ancestor had been stolen and given to Orochimaru by Kabuto precisely after the Uchiha's annihilation.
After all, Kabuto was currently a mole Orochimaru had planted within the Leaf Village.
Kabuto calmly gazed at the desert in the distance. Did he believe in the legend he had stolen? No one knew.
"Who's there?"
Within Kagaya's Impure World Reincarnation body, the giant beast opened its eyes.
A horse-like body. A dolphin-like head. And antlers resembling those of a deer.
Without a doubt, this was the Five-Tails.
In the ancient era, after Kagaya's death, a series of events had occurred. Ultimately, the Five-Tails had been sealed inside Kagaya's Impure World Reincarnation body, where it had remained until now.
Logically, with the Five-Tails' immense chakra residing inside this coffin, it should have been impossible for the coffin to remain undiscovered. But beside Kagaya's body, the two Rinnegan inside the small bottles continuously emitted a faint purple light. Someone had activated these two eyes so that they constantly masked the Five-Tails' chakra.
The Five-Tails ceaselessly supplied chakra to the two Rinnegan, and the Rinnegan used that chakra to perpetually maintain the function of concealing the Five-Tails' chakra.
Just now, the Five-Tails had sensed something unusual. Someone might have come nearby. But it didn't dare release its chakra to investigate carefully. It had to keep itself hidden.
"From that time until now... how many years have passed?"
The Five-Tails began to brood. For an immortal creature like itself, the concept of time was the most indifferent of all.
"It must have been over a hundred years. Maybe longer." The Five-Tails could only make such a conservative estimate.
"But, to be safe, I'll wait a few more years. At the very least, I need to make sure those Mangekyo shinobi are dead."
A small wisp of chakra surged out from Kagaya's abdomen, then passed through the coffin, gently pushing aside the sand and causing the coffin to sink further downward—as if it intended to bury itself beneath this desert forever.
Several minutes later, a small snake slithered past the spot where the coffin had just been. It paused, as if it sensed something, yet also as if it sensed nothing. In the end, it decided to continue forward, concluding that there was probably nothing unusual here.
And so, Orochimaru completely missed Kagaya's coffin.
Night fell.
One after another, the small snakes returned to where Orochimaru was. Without exception, none of them had found what they were supposed to find.
Kabuto looked at Orochimaru and spoke softly.
"Orochimaru-sama..."
Orochimaru furrowed his brow. "An entire day and still nothing? Forget it. Kabuto, head back to the Leaf first. I'll search for five more days. If I still can't find it, then so be it."
Orochimaru ultimately made this decision. After all, the desert was far too vast. He couldn't possibly search the entire thing. Five days was enough for him to cover the surrounding area. If he couldn't find it nearby, then there was no point continuing.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."
With that, Kabuto quickly vanished, leaving Orochimaru alone.
The morning sun rose in the east.
On the second day, Orochimaru continued his search.
Very quickly, another day passed. Orochimaru found nothing.
On the third day, still nothing.
On the fourth day, nothing!
On the fifth day, nothing!
"Sigh...."
Orochimaru let out a sigh. At this point, it seemed his expedition had ended in failure. He shook his head.
"A legend is, after all, just a legend. How unreliable. I gathered so much information, and yet ended up with nothing? Well... forget it."
Recalling his little snakes, Orochimaru left the area.
He had already concluded that the legend was false. He didn't want to waste any more time. Next, he needed to prepare for the invasion of the Leaf Village.
At the same time, deep within the desert, a coffin lay quietly. The chakra upon it had thickened slightly, protecting the coffin from being crushed by the sand.
After all, at the coffin's current depth, the pressure from the sand was already immense. If not for the Five-Tails' chakra protecting it, the coffin would have been crushed into fragments in an instant.
The Five-Tails' chakra continued to spread outward, burrowing deeper underground. It wasn't entirely sure whether the people outside had left yet. It could only bury the coffin as deep as possible to avoid detection.
Several days later, the Five-Tails finally confirmed that the people outside were gone. Only then did it bring the coffin back toward the surface.
After all, it had dug far too deep. The pressure was too great. It was best to return to its original position—the depth where the pressure was neither too great nor too small.
Thus, Orochimaru's little-known "treasure hunt" came to a complete close.
And a severely rotted coffin still lay quietly beneath this desert, undisturbed.
Time began to move forward.
Half a year later, Orochimaru launched the Leaf Destruction Plan.
After that, Sasuke defected. Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage. Naruto left to train.
Two years later, the Akatsuki began to move, capturing Tailed Beasts.
The Seven-Tails, Five-Tails, and One-Tail were captured one after another.
It should be noted here that this Five-Tails was the Five-Tails of this parallel world, not the Five-Tails within Kagaya.
After all, Kagaya had brought a Five-Tails with him into this parallel world. So naturally, this parallel world now had two Five-Tails.
However, because Kagaya's Five-Tails had been hiding inside the coffin all this time, no one in this era knew of its existence.
Afterward, Naruto went to rescue Gaara. Yamato and Sai joined Team Seven. Naruto went berserk and fought Orochimaru. Naruto and Sasuke met again. Asuma died. Hidan and Kakuzu were wiped out by Shikamaru's group. Sasuke killed Orochimaru, defected, and formed Team Hebi. Sasuke began hunting Itachi. Along the way, Sasuke fought and killed Deidara. Jiraiya infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village and died. Sasuke and Itachi had their final battle. Itachi died, and Sasuke joined the Akatsuki, preparing to capture the Eight-Tails. Naruto began training in Senjutsu. Pain invaded. Naruto defeated Pain and persuaded Nagato. Killer B faked his capture. The Five Kage Summit...
In this parallel world, without Kagaya's interference, everything unfolded methodically and in order.
Perhaps there were things Kagaya would have wanted to change. But right now, Kagaya's consciousness was still in the Pure Land. And the Impure World Reincarnation body prepared for him was still buried beneath the desert, unknown to all.
Very quickly, Uchiha Madara (Obito) declared war on the Five Kage.
The Fourth Great Ninja War... began!
"It's been about five years now." The Five-Tails murmured to itself within Kagaya's body. During this period, it hadn't slept, so it could remember clearly how much time had passed.
"Perhaps... it's time to go out and find someone to resurrect this brat."
The Five-Tails had hidden from Orochimaru earlier to be cautious and wait a few more years. Now that five years had passed, the Five-Tails felt the time was about right. It was time to go out and find someone to resurrect Kagaya. However, it wasn't sure whether it would succeed. It didn't even know if there was anyone left in the outside world who still knew the Impure World Reincarnation.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
It was the sound of footsteps—very light, because the one walking was traversing a desert.
Wearing a red hooded cloak with a pair of snake eyes on the hood, the figure's upper face was concealed, revealing only a pale white lower face.
This white wasn't the natural white of human skin. It was a white like milk—pure and thick.
The newcomer lifted his head, finally revealing his upper face. He had snake-like eyes and wore a pair of round-framed glasses.
This person was none other than Yakushi Kabuto!
The last time he had come to this place had been five years ago. Five years ago, he had been nothing more than a tagalong following behind Orochimaru—not even worthy of being called a "snake."
But five years later, by his own account, he was now a snake. In fact, he had already transformed from a snake into a dragon!
Kabuto smiled eerily and spoke toward the desert.
"The great war is about to begin. Although I've already prepared an extraordinarily powerful Uchiha ancestor as my trump card... somehow, it feels like it's not quite enough. Isn't that right? That Uchiha ancestor who created the Impure World Reincarnation? Could you make it a little easier for me to find you?"
Yes. Five years ago, Orochimaru had already concluded that the Uchiha legend was false. But what Orochimaru didn't know was that Kabuto—the one who had brought that legend to Orochimaru—had always believed it was true.
Now, at this moment, having already obtained extraordinary power, Kabuto had returned to search for the legend Orochimaru had abandoned five years ago.
Unlike Orochimaru, the current Kabuto—having mastered Senjutsu—had experienced an immense leap in his sensory abilities. One could say that, as long as he was willing to spend the time, as long as there was chakra or any trace of a coffin beneath this ground, it could never escape him!
Inside the coffin beneath the desert, the Five-Tails also froze. It sensed a Senjutsu aura very similar to Kagaya's. Without hesitation, the Five-Tails closed its eyes and fell into a deep slumber. It cut off the chakra supply to the Rinnegan, completely sealing itself away, making it utterly impossible for the outside world to sense its existence. Of course, there was a price: the Five-Tails itself could no longer wake up. It could only wait for Kagaya to awaken it in the future—or forcibly awaken if Kagaya's body faced a tremendous crisis.
The reason it did this was because the Five-Tails knew very well how powerful the sensory ability granted by Senjutsu was. Although it couldn't achieve the terrifying range of someone like Karin, within a certain radius, Senjutsu's sensory power was immensely formidable. It was basically impossible to hide from it.
So the Five-Tails gave up on evasion and began concealing its own existence. It couldn't allow itself to be discovered before Kagaya woke. Because if it were discovered, it might be captured by humans. And it was the last line of defense protecting Kagaya's body. It could not afford to fail.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Kabuto strolled leisurely across the desert, his sensory perception spreading outward, searching for anything suspicious in his surroundings.
He wasn't in a hurry, because he believed in the powerful sensory abilities granted by Senjutsu.
Tap. Tap.
Kabuto's footsteps suddenly paused for two seconds. Then, in the very next second, Kabuto resolutely took his final step.
Tap!
A smile surfaced on Kabuto's face.
"Found it!"
The sand was excavated. Very quickly, Kabuto discovered a coffin on the verge of rotting beneath his feet. A faint trace of chakra still lingered upon it, maintaining the coffin.
Kabuto's eyes widened.
"Truly astonishing. After hundreds of years... chakra can still persist? Magnificent! Truly magnificent!"
Kabuto, of course, had no idea that a Tailed Beast inside Kagaya's body had been supplying chakra for hundreds of years. He assumed that this chakra had been left behind by Kagaya centuries ago and had persisted until today.
Reaching out, Kabuto easily suppressed the chakra on the coffin. Then, with a single motion, he flipped the lid open.
The lid left the coffin. Without the protection of chakra, it almost instantly crumbled into a pile of dust, scattering onto the ground.
And inside the coffin lay a man whose face was full of cracks, dressed in black clothing, eyes closed, lying still.
Beside him were two small bottles containing a pair of Rinnegan.
Kabuto subconsciously held his breath.
"The Rinnegan... th-this isn't a fake pair from the Impure World Reincarnation... these are the genuine article! Ha... hahahaha... I've truly... truly drawn a trump card! I originally thought that no matter how strong he was, he couldn't possibly surpass my other trump card. But now... it seems that's far from certain."
Kabuto clasped his hands together and summoned a brand-new coffin.
"Sir... allow me to provide you with a more comfortable dwelling."
Reaching out, Kabuto picked up the bottles containing the Rinnegan and placed them on his person. Then, he lifted Kagaya's body and moved it into the brand-new coffin.
After that, Kabuto clasped his hands together again. The coffin containing Kagaya closed and slowly sank back into the earth.
"Alright. With this... all my preparations are complete."
Kabuto paused, then continued.
"That was the plan, anyway. But now, it seems there's an unexpected bonus. Let me take a look..."
Two small bottles appeared in Kabuto's hand, containing a pair of Rinnegan.
"Let me see... the power of the Rinnegan."