Chapter 74: Orochimaru: I Want to Witness Sasuke's Mangekyou Abilities

Chapter 74: Orochimaru: I Want to Witness Sasuke's Mangekyou Abilities

"Of course, but not yet. To reach the Empire, we still need the power of the tailed beasts."

The Emperor Obito said.

"The power of the tailed beasts? Is Mudboy currently gathering the tailed beasts?" Orochimaru's eyes flickered.

"Something like that."

"Do you need help? If the three of us work together, even if the target is within a hidden village, with proper coordination, I believe we can capture it," Orochimaru smiled, confident.

"Work together? Orochimaru, what are you talking about? Do we need to work together to capture those beasts?"

Emperor Obito frowned, looking at Orochimaru with a strange expression.

Orochimaru, who had just been full of confidence, was taken aback.

"What do you mean, Mudboy?"

"Those insignificant hidden village ninjas are nothing but ants under our feet."

Emperor Obito scoffed, disdain clear on his face:

"If I weren't worried about causing a disturbance and killing too many people, which would incur the wrath of the Empire's citizens, I would have taken action already."

"So... that's what you were concerned about, Mudboy... What a pity..." Orochimaru's eyes twitched.

In his heart, he cursed the man before him for his pretentiousness and forced a smile, "By the way, Mudboy, I also received some information about the Three-Tails. It is currently a tailless beast. Once we confirm its location, we might be able to take action."

"A tailless beast? That's good; we won't have to worry about too much resistance or bloodshed during the capture. Very well, leave this task to me."

Emperor Obito nodded, then paused as if remembering something. "Oh, and... can you handle it alone?" he asked, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Of course... it's just the Three-Tails," Orochimaru replied, gritting his teeth and licking his lips.

"As expected of one of the Legendary Sannin, capable of capturing tailed beasts single-handedly during the era of the hidden villages. You are indeed a formidable opponent," Emperor Obito complimented, a rare occurrence, which eased the tension on Orochimaru's face.

He turned his head back towards Sasuke, "By the way, what's your Mangekyou ability?"

"Mangekyou ability? Aside from that thing called Susanoo, are there other Mangekyou abilities?" Orochimaru asked curiously, not waiting for Sasuke's response.

"Of course, the Mangekyou Sharingan is an eye that harbors divine power. Susanoo is just a standard ability for every Mangekyou. Additionally, it is also known as the Eye of Heart Reflection! Depending on the original desires and dreams of the owner, both the left and right eyes gain corresponding powerful abilities after evolving into the Mangekyou."

The Emperor Obito explained.

"Amazing... so this is the true meaning of the Mangekyou Sharingan... the Eye of Heart Reflection," Orochimaru exclaimed, licking his lips in excitement.

"So... was Mudboy's ability to materialize his body and bring us into this alternate space also a Mangekyou ability?"

"You can understand it that way," Emperor Obito nodded.

"Wow... that's impressive," Orochimaru said, licking his lips again as he looked at Sasuke.

"I wonder what ability you've awakened, Sasuke. It's really intriguing," he said, his sinister snake-like eyes filled with unrestrained greed and desire.

"Hmph!"

Sasuke, feeling Orochimaru's gaze, coldly hmphed, then suddenly hooked his lips into a smirk, "If you want to know, why don't you experience it for yourself, Orochimaru?"

As his words fell, Sasuke glared at Orochimaru.

WHOOSH!!

Black flames suddenly appeared and engulfed Orochimaru, causing him to scream in pain, "Ah! Sasuke! Stop! Stop now! Do you want to kill me? Owwwwww!"

Orochimaru's body was enveloped in black smoke, and he rolled on the ground in agony.

"Muhahahaha! Orochimaru, you wanted to know my ability? Well, this is it! Amaterasu! How does it feel?"

Sasuke laughed loudly with his hands covering his eyes.

"No! Stop! Owwwwww!" Orochimaru continued to scream and roll on the ground.

The Emperor Obito frowned, "Sasuke, your other ability should be Kagutsuchi, right? Dispel the black flames; after all, Orochimaru will be our companion from now on."

"Hmph! I hate the way Orochimaru looks at me. He's always been eyeing the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. Are you sure you want to let him off that easily?" Sasuke asked in return.

"Eyeing the Sharingan? Once he witnesses the might of the Empire and learns about more paths to power, he will no longer have such thoughts. Dispel Amaterasu," the Emperor Obito ordered.

Sasuke remained silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing once more.

The black flames clinging to Orochimaru suddenly came to life, slowly detaching themselves from his body.

Free from the scorching flames, Orochimaru opened his mouth and spat out another clone of himself. Covered in viscous fluid, he breathed a sigh of relief and, with a face full of cold sweat, stared at Sasuke. "That black flame... it's a ability that's condensed and released through eye contact? What a terrifying Mangekyou ability... Amaterasu, Kagutsuchi."

As he spoke, his tongue unconsciously licked his lips again, and the desire in his eyes intensified.

The Mangekyou Sharingan was indeed powerful!

Not only did it possess unique abilities, but it could also unleash Susanoo.

If only I had that power...

Tsunade and Jiraiya would no longer be worthy opponents; I would far surpass them!

I might even be stronger than all the Kage combined...

But alas, the current Sasuke might be beyond my capabilities.

Orochimaru's heart ached as he realized the duck he had been so close to capturing was now truly going to fly away.

"Alright, what needed to be done is done. Orochimaru, you can go and gather information on the Three-Tails. Sasuke, you will stay by my side for now."

Emperor Obito, seeing that the timing was right, spoke up.

Orochimaru's eyebrows shot up at his words. "I understand, Uncle."

"I'm going to stay in Konoha with you? But I'm a missing-nin now; it'll be troublesome if I'm discovered." Sasuke's expression changed as he hesitated.

"Rest assured, you won't be found out," Obito replied calmly. He then added, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, Sasuke. You want to kill Itachi, but that's not an option. He's not only our target, but many others want him dead as well. It would be too easy to just kill him. That scum! I want him to know what despair and cruelty truly are."

"Hmph... So my thoughts were seen through... But aside from us, who else wants to kill Itachi?" Sasuke asked, a mix of reluctance and confusion in his voice.

"Of course," Emperor Obito said. "Within the Empire, there are far too many who want to make him suffer."

"The Empire... What exactly is this Empire? Why do they hate Itachi so much? What has he done?" Sasuke asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Explaining what the Empire is would be a bit complicated. You'll understand gradually if you just stay by my side," Obito replied. "Come, I'll take you to meet my two partners."

With that, Emperor Obito placed a hand on each of Sasuke and Orochimaru's shoulders and disappeared into a vortex.

The trio reappeared in a forest that was in disarray. Orochimaru took one last deep look at Sasuke before turning away. With a few leaps, he vanished from sight.

As they watched Orochimaru's retreating figure, Emperor Obito tossed a disguise mask and a set of clothes to Sasuke.

Soon, Sasuke transformed into a man with the face of a passerby.

The two then boldly made their way towards Konoha.

They hadn't gone far when a somewhat familiar voice rang out from a distance.

"Come on, everyone! Feel the flow of your inner qi and adapt to it! Try to reduce your fatigue! This is the last lap! If you endure, you can rest afterward!"

"That voice..."

Sasuke paused and turned towards the direction of the voice.

There, a pink-haired girl with hair cut to her ears was leading a group of people on a jog.

This group numbered at least ten people, each of them looking pale and exhausted, their eyes glowing with exertion as they gritted their teeth and followed closely behind the pink-haired girl.

"So it's Sakura. Why is she leading so many people on a run? What's Konoha up to?" Sasuke muttered in surprise.

He found the scene before him a bit incomprehensible.

Three years ago, the only ones doing this kind of training were Might Guy and Rock Lee, master and student.

Why were so many people from Konoha now practicing taijutsu?

"This is the Hokage's order. These people are training in the martial arts under Haruno Sakura," Emperor Obito swept a glance back and replied.

"Martial arts? What's that?" Sasuke furrowed his brows.

"The Empire, or the organization, has developed a training system distinct from chakra. It can drastically increase the practitioner's strength. As one of the first beneficiaries, Naruto's strength has already reached a level comparable to the Hokage," Emperor Obito explained.

"This new training system has allowed Naruto, the dead last, to grow so strong that he's now comparable to the Hokage... No wonder the people of Konoha value it so highly," Sasuke said, his brows knitting together even more. "But why would the organization teach this important technique to Konoha?"

He recalled his first encounter with Naruto and his poor performance.

That level of strength was already flattering him to call Naruto an average jonin; now, he had become so powerful that he was comparable to the Hokage?

"If I hadn't unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan, dealing with him would've been troublesome. But now... it doesn't matter. With my Mangekyo Sharingan, I'm invincible!"

"Without the Mangekyo, that talentless fool is not even worth mentioning in the same breath as me!"

"Why teach Konoha? It's because Konoha will eventually belong to the Empire, of course."

Emperor Obito replied nonchalantly.

"So, you're planning to bring Konoha under your control, huh..."

Sasuke's expression turned solemn.

"That's no simple task. The number of ninjas in Konoha is not insignificant."

"Numbers hold no meaning before true strength. Once you attain the complete Susanoo, you'll understand everything. Ninjas are merely ants, some stronger and some weaker, but they're all just ants that can be squashed underfoot by a superior power."

Emperor Obito replied with an indifferent expression.

Sasuke's expression froze for a moment as he heard this:

"The complete Susanoo?"

"Indeed, this is the true power of the Uchiha clan! A divine power that mortals can't hope to attain!" Emperor Obito whispered, his face filled with pride.

"Oh... that's something to look forward to." Sasuke also showed a hint of curiosity and longing.

Sakura led the group of ninjas past the two of them. She glanced at Obito and smiled.

"Hello, Brother Obito! Is this your new friend?"

"Ah... something like that."

Emperor Obito nodded, looking somewhat disinterested.

Sakura didn't say anything further. She simply smiled and nodded at Sasuke before leading the group away, soon disappearing from view.

"Let's go." Sasuke didn't linger his gaze on Sakura for more than a second before turning back to Emperor Obito.

"Don't you want to meet Naruto and Kakashi?"

"No, those useless bonds will only make me weak."

Sasuke shook his head.

Emperor Obito and Sasuke returned to the apartment. Obito closed the door and then threw a book to Sasuke.

"The Uchiha Spiritual Martial Arts? Is this the so-called martial arts that Naruto and Sakura are practicing?"

Sasuke asked, looking at the large characters on the book.

"They're practicing the Six Styles of Martial Arts. It's a physical-based martial art. This one is a spiritual-based martial art unique to the Uchiha clan. Practicing it enhances the Sharingan's abilities and increases Yin-attribute chakra, among other benefits. You can read it first, and ask me if there's anything you don't understand."

Emperor Obito said as he took out a flower and started plucking its petals, murmuring, "Love, don't love, love, don't love, love..."

"..."

Sasuke couldn't understand Emperor Obito's strange behavior, but he was interested in the Uchiha Spiritual Martial Arts, which seemed to be designed specifically to enhance the power of the Uchiha clan. So, he started flipping through the book slowly.

Of course, what interested him the most was how this 'Empire', and Obito, had obtained knowledge of this Uchiha-specific art when even the Uchiha clan themselves didn't have it. The organization known as the 'Empire' became even more mysterious in Sasuke's eyes.

Time passed, and the sun outside the window soon set.

A man with an abnormally sturdy build, standing at over 6'3", and another man who seemed relatively 'weak' and short in comparison, opened the door and walked in.

Sasuke looked at them and asked, "Are you two Emperor Obito's teammates?"

"Hmm? There's an extra person... Aren't you going to introduce him, Obito?"

Emperor Neji looked at Emperor Obito without any hesitation and addressed him by his real name.

"Obito?"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed.

"Love 187 times, don't love 198 times... Just 11 more to go, damn it!" Obito scowled as he put the flower away. "This guy is the Sasuke of this world."

Sasuke, hearing his identity revealed, took off his disguise mask, revealing his familiar face.

Seeing that face, Emperor Neji was surprised. "He's the Sasuke of this world? I thought he was with this world's Orochimaru. How did you get him to join you?"

"Oh ho ho! The Sasuke of this world!"

Emperor Lee's eyes sparkled, and in an instant, he appeared in front of Sasuke, grabbing his hands.

Caught off guard, Sasuke's pupils contracted: "So fast... As expected, anyone who can become Obito's partner is definitely not weak."

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Sasuke-kun, do you want to train in our martial arts with me? I guarantee that your strength will become super powerful if you do!

Come on! Let's burn with passion and youth!"

Emperor Lee couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end