A New Snake In The Shinobi World

Because White Zetsu's body can merge with the earth, his tracking and perception abilities are extremely strong.

However, he never approached Orochimaru directly and relied solely on clones to follow him.

As a result, he couldn't copy Orochimaru's chakra or use long-range perception on him.

To ensure he could track him effectively, White Zetsu had no choice but to deploy several clones to tail Orochimaru around the clock.

At this moment, the closest clone to Orochimaru was five kilometers away.

Five kilometers was a relatively safe distance. Most ninjas' perception abilities extended only a few hundred meters, and even a one-kilometer range was considered exceptional.

From this perspective, five kilometers seemed perfectly secure.

But White Zetsu wasn't aware of Orochimaru's Sage Mode or his unique ability to detect the presence of Wood Release cells.

While White Zetsu remained underground, focusing on tracking Orochimaru, he suddenly noticed Orochimaru's chakra signature vanish.

"What's going on?" White Zetsu was startled.

"Did his chakra just disappear? Is he using the Flying Thunder God technique to travel?"

It was well-known that Orochimaru could use the Flying Thunder God technique, so White Zetsu wasn't too surprised.

But why would Orochimaru activate such a technique in the middle of the night?

With a bit of hesitation, White Zetsu decided to concentrate his perception abilities again to determine Orochimaru's exact location.

Suddenly—

Earth Release: Earth Fracture!

Boom! The ground trembled as a large amount of chakra was injected into it, forcibly splitting it apart.

White Zetsu's clone was immediately exposed to Orochimaru's sight.

"This guy…"

The sight of Orochimaru using Earth Release Ninjutsu left White Zetsu completely confused.

It was already too late to react.

Latent Shadow Snake Hand!

Hiss!

Countless snakes slithered out of Orochimaru's sleeves, darting toward White Zetsu at an incredible speed.

White Zetsu, being a perception type, lacked the speed to evade such an attack.

Faced with Orochimaru's sudden and precise strike, he had no chance of escape.

Bang! Bang!

The snakes coiled tightly around him, binding him completely.

Orochimaru applied force, dragging White Zetsu forward until he was directly in front of him. With a smirk, Orochimaru grasped White Zetsu by the neck.

"You've been following me for months. That must've been hard work. Did Obito send you?"

White Zetsu, still in shock, stammered, "So… you've known I was here all along? Your perception ability… it's really something…"

"Spare me the flattery," Orochimaru said coldly. "Go tell Obito to come see me."

He released his grip and allowed the snakes to unwind, freeing White Zetsu.

Still processing Orochimaru's actions, White Zetsu was thoroughly bewildered.

"You… do you really know who he is?"

"Of course. Don't you want Nagato's cooperation? I'm offering you a chance," Orochimaru replied with a sly grin.

White Zetsu's eyes widened in disbelief.

After a moment, he chuckled. "Orochimaru, you really are an interesting guy."

"Am I?" Orochimaru dismissed him with a wave, turning to leave. "Enough talking. Let me know when he arrives. And remember, don't let anyone else notice you."

"Understood."

With that, White Zetsu smiled faintly, sank back into the earth, and disappeared.

---

Unification.

Every time Orochimaru thought about that word, his mind wandered to the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya Otsutsuki.

During Kaguya's reign, there hadn't been so many countries in the ninja world. The entire world was under her rule.

People revered her as the Goddess of the Moon.

Though she demanded annual sacrifices of a hundred people to the God Tree, the world itself was free of war.

Aside from natural causes like aging or illness, very few people died during her era.

However, the Sage of Six Paths, in his so-called moral righteousness, criticized his mother's methods, branding them as unethical.

Not only did he seal her away, but he also extracted the Ten-Tails and distributed chakra to others under the guise of founding the Ninja world.

At first glance, it appeared noble, but in reality, it sowed the seeds of chaos in the ninja world.

Ordinary people, given power far beyond their comprehension, inevitably fell to greed and conflict.

After the Sage's death, his sons, Indra and Asura, descended into a cycle of bitter conflict. The Ninja world splintered into factions, and the various nations were plunged into war.

In the end, the number of deaths caused by war far surpassed the mere hundreds sacrificed to the God Tree each year.

Thousands, if not tens of thousands, perished annually.

Though Orochimaru utilized the chakra the Sage had passed down, he couldn't help but look down on both him and his ideals.

He also despised the First Hokage's methods.

In Orochimaru's view, an era of chaos could only be ended through absolute power. Morality and kindness were luxuries reserved for times of peace.

---

"Lord Orochimaru, where did you go so late?"

As soon as he returned to the cabin Mikoto, her pregnant belly visibly round, greeted him.

"Nowhere. I just went out for some fresh air," Orochimaru replied casually, still unwilling to share the details of his movements.

Hearing this, Mikoto walked over and placed her hands on his shoulders, gently massaging them.

"Forgive me, Lord Orochimaru. I was supposed to take care of Kushina during this time, but I didn't expect…"

"It's fine." Orochimaru smiled faintly and pulled her into his arms. "You've worked hard enough lately. Make sure to rest whenever you can."

After sending Mikoto off, Orochimaru calmed himself.

Lying in his room, his thoughts turned to potential problems.

Kaguya and Uchiha Madara could be controlled to a degree through the timing of their resurrections.

But the Otsutsuki clan members who might arrive on Earth in the future? They couldn't be dealt with using schemes alone. Only overwhelming power could stop them.

Considering the changes he'd already made to history, there was little chance Naruto or Sasuke, the saviors of the world, would exist.

That left only himself.

At the very least, Orochimaru knew he needed to master the power of the Six Paths.

As this thought crossed his mind, his golden pupils darkened into scarlet.

His gaze shifted to a bottle in another space, the one containing the sealed Chōmei.

***

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