After Sailing with the Pirate King, I Returned to Konoha - 243

Chapter 243: Manda: Eats the Most, Gets the Worst Beating

"What are you talking about?"

Obito’s brow furrowed beneath his mask.

Seeing that Orochimaru’s expression was not feigned, Orochimaru’s thoughts slowly cooled.

It wasn’t this guy.

If he had already dealt with that Sand Village brat, there would be no reason to come here. He had just been blinded by anger.

Seeing Orochimaru’s silence, Obito did not have much patience.

His Sharingan slowly opened, locking onto Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, you’ve really caused us a lot of trouble."

The next moment, wooden spikes sprouted from his hand and stabbed toward Orochimaru.

Such an attack could not possibly catch Orochimaru off guard.

"To be honest, the Akatsuki are also on my list of potential allies."

Even as he said this, Orochimaru’s cold eyes did not stop observing his opponent’s movements.

The instant Obito moved, Orochimaru unleashed the Hidden Shadow Many Snakes Technique to hinder his advance.

Most of the time, Orochimaru was an objective, calm person. Unlike his teacher or classmates, he was not easily swayed by emotion.

From the beginning, what drove Orochimaru forward was his thirst for unknown knowledge.

Even immortality was only a means to have more time to master those things.

The swarm of snakes nearly flooded the small space. Kabuto, seeing the danger, had already slipped away in the chaos.

This guy really learned Orochimaru’s mindset almost perfectly.

Because Orochimaru was thinking the same thing.

First, restrict the opponent’s movement, then find a way to escape.

Orochimaru had a clear understanding of his own strength.

Even Uchiha Itachi was hard to handle, and this guy, though he was meeting him for the first time, he had already sensed something.

His opponent’s strength was likely even greater than Itachi’s.

The reality was close to Orochimaru’s guess.

Obito’s figure shot straight through the dense snake swarm, his speed not slowing as he closed in on Orochimaru.

What?

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, mentally considering the possibilities of his opponent’s ability.

Was it genjutsu, or—

Obito’s speed was not slow. Just a moment’s hesitation was enough for him to close the distance.

The wooden spikes produced by Wood Release stabbed straight into Orochimaru’s chest.

"Orochimaru, unstable factors like you should exit the stage early."

The next moment, countless sharp wooden spikes burst from every part of Orochimaru’s body, turning him into a porcupine.

"Is that all?"

Obito withdrew the spikes, looking at Orochimaru’s lifeless body on the ground. For some reason, he suddenly used Kamui on him.

Unlike Kakashi’s Kamui, Obito’s Sharingan was more defensive. Besides letting himself turn intangible, he could only use Kamui to pull others into another dimension if he was close enough.

Just as the space distortion was about to envelop him, Orochimaru’s body, which had just shown no sign of life, suddenly exploded.

Orochimaru, covered in slime, slid out like a snake shedding its skin.

He did not know what that strange technique did, but seeing half his body sucked into Kamui, he had a rough idea of what it was.

"Space ninjutsu?"

Before reaching a certain level, ninja battles were all about information warfare.

The one with more information held the advantage.

Now that he knew the masked man had space ninjutsu, Orochimaru naturally did not want to fight close-range.

"Summoning Technique: Snake Mouth Bind!"

The next moment, the walls around him turned into dark red flesh.

The space had been replaced by the stomach of the giant snake Orochimaru had summoned.

Obito’s feet touched the soft ground, and strips of flesh began to bind his body.

Worse, the stomach acid—just a drop, and his clothes were instantly eaten through.

Obito immediately turned intangible, effortlessly pulling his body free from the flesh.

The Rinnegan behind his mask opened, and Obito tried the Shinra Tensei that Nagato had used so often.

However, his body was unlike that of the Uzumaki. Even with transplanted Hashirama cells, he could not fully replicate it, at least not with only one Rinnegan.

He would have to settle for less.

"Summoning Technique: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

Instantly, the terrifying Demonic Statue appeared, bursting through the room and half of the Northern Secret Facility.

Since sealing the Three-Tails, summoning the Demonic Statue no longer required Obito to supply chakra.

Before Obito used the summoning, Orochimaru had a bad feeling.

He always trusted his intuition.

The appearance of the Demonic Statue destroyed his base. Most of the prisoners with "pseudo-sage" abilities inside were killed or injured.

But thanks to this, they also managed to escape from their cells.

However, these people, whose minds were affected and made extremely aggressive, were not normal. Even seeing the Demonic Statue’s terrifying form, they did not think of fleeing.

Instead, a few reckless ones attacked the statue’s ankles.

Their fate was obvious—they became human compression packs.

"Die."

Having apparently lost interest, Obito had the Demonic Statue begin indiscriminate attacks below.

Water gathered on the protruding branches on the statue’s back, then shot out like lasers, sweeping everyone.

Those hit by the high-pressure water died instantly. Maybe that was better—less painful.

Boom—the ground suddenly split, and a purple-black giant snake burst out, biting the Demonic Statue’s head.

At the same time, its body coiled around the statue’s limbs like shackles, tightening.

That was Manda.

"Orochimaru, give me—"

Manda’s fierce words ended before they began.

The Demonic Statue’s power was far greater, tearing Manda’s body apart.

The snake’s head and half its body fell to the ground, still writhing, then vanished in a puff of smoke.

Whether Manda could survive such a heavy injury was up to fate.

If he ever got summoned again, he might never agree to Orochimaru’s call.

Last time he came out, he got beaten. This time, he was nearly killed.

By then, Orochimaru, having escaped to a distance during the chaos, glanced at the Demonic Statue still showing off, and gave up on this base and everyone inside.

—Including Juugo, who possessed the Natural Sage Body.

The cursed seal was not reliable enough. Only finding a suitable body for reincarnation was the right path.

Thinking this, he turned to leave.

Thud—the next moment, Obito, who had somehow appeared behind him, pierced his heart, then decisively beheaded him.

Not satisfied, Obito used Fire Release to completely burn Orochimaru’s body, leaving only ashes.

Only then did he relieve the anger caused by his plans being ruined.

He could not do anything to that Uzumaki Naruto, but could he not deal with this old snake?

Damn it, how dare you interfere in my plans?

After using the Demonic Statue to destroy the Northern Secret Facility some more, Obito suddenly felt bored.

What was the point of showing off to these people? He needed to deal with Naruto Uzumaki.

Boom—the smoke cleared, the Demonic Statue’s summoning ended, and Obito stood high above, looking down at the Northern Secret Facility, now nearly lifeless. He sneered and turned away.

Half a day after he disappeared, a hand emerged from the rubble, pushing aside the debris.

It was Juugo.

"What—what happened here?"

His eyes were dazed.

He had been sleeping quietly in his cell, then suddenly the world collapsed.

If not for his sage body’s durability, he would have died under the rocks long ago.

He looked around, confused, not knowing where to go next.

At that moment, a white snake emerged from Manda’s remains, then opened its mouth and “spat” out Orochimaru.

"Juugo—"

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Seeing Orochimaru in such a pitiful state, Juugo rushed forward, pulling him out of the snake’s mouth, then supporting the still-weak Orochimaru to stand.

"Go—to Otogakure—"

Orochimaru’s voice was weak. Using this technique had cost him a lot of strength.

But was that the true power of the Demonic Statue?

Orochimaru thought to himself.

It seemed the pair of Rinnegan eyes had already been installed on this masked man.