Chapter 47: Orochimaru Takes Matters into His Own Hands

For example, activating the space-time teleportation ability of “Kamui” right in front of Obito. With a flick of his sleeve, he could transport himself away instantly! And then, no matter how much Obito might lose his composure or protest, after all the effort it took to catch him, Shisui would just run away as he pleased!

But Shisui didn’t do that. Instead, he leisurely began to explore the Kamui dimension.

The Kamui dimension was an alternate space dominated by a gray tone, filled with numerous gray rectangular cubes, exuding an artistic atmosphere.

However, Shisui was not here to indulge in art. The Akatsuki’s artistic duo hadn’t fully formed yet, with only Sasori currently studying art.

After some observation, Shisui noticed that the edges of the Kamui dimension were pitch black, resembling a void, where nothing could be seen.

After wandering for a while in the Kamui dimension, Obito seemed ready and also entered the space.

Seeing Obito, Shisui smiled but did not give him the chance to spout nonsense about being Uchiha Madara.

Instead, Shisui straightforwardly called out and exposed Obito’s identity.

“Speak. Obito, why did you bring me here?”

Obito was stunned, nearly blinking his eyes out in surprise.

Actually, Shisui’s prediction was correct. Obito really intended to intimidate Shisui by invoking the name of Uchiha Madara.

The words “I am Uchiha Madara” were on the tip of his tongue but were swallowed back forcibly.

To be honest, normal Obito didn’t have many tricks.

He basically had two skills:

Skill One: “I am Uchiha Madara.”

Skill Two: Kamui.

Neither of these skills posed any real threat to Shisui.

It was almost laughable if he dared to use Skill One now.

But the key question was: how exactly did Shisui know his identity?

Even Obito himself didn’t know.

If he dared to seriously claim before Shisui that he was Uchiha Madara, knowing Shisui’s character, he would surely be met with a deadpan response like, “Son, long time no see. I’m Uchiha Tajima!”

Uchiha Tajima being Madara’s father.

Unfortunately, Nagato, that honest boy, didn’t understand these things and was fooled by Obito.

Shisui’s straightforward exposure of Obito’s identity also had another purpose: to urge Obito to finish things quickly.

Otherwise, if he lingered too long here, the red-haired beauty outside might impulsively rampage around searching for someone.

...

At the same time, on another broad avenue, Itachi and Kisame were on a mission.

These two were environmental pioneers in the ninja world—a true walking duo.

No matter how far the mission location was, they usually traveled on foot, refusing even horse-drawn carts, embracing zero emissions.

While traveling, Itachi was also gathering more information about Shisui through Kisame.

After all, Kisame had acted alongside Shisui during the capture of the Three-Tails Isobu.

More than that, Kisame had even fought Shisui once.

Recalling this, Itachi’s expression remained calm as he asked, “When you fought Shisui, did he fight seriously?”

Itachi brought up this matter again because something strange had happened with Shisui that puzzled him deeply.

He had been carefully observing every Akatsuki member since Shisui joined the group, noting everything related to him.

He was certain that most of his observations and records about Shisui were accurate.

Yet, when comparing all the information, some terrifying facts emerged.

Shisui’s first strike was against Kakuzu.

At that time, Kakuzu wasn’t a match for Shisui, but according to Kakuzu, he could have escaped easily.

That statement might not be fully reliable, but the fact that they fought was true.

Kakuzu didn’t die after the fight, also true.

But judging from Shisui’s recent strength, if he had attacked with intent to kill, Kakuzu would have been dead without a doubt!

And all this happened in such a short time—Shisui had grown to this level?

A few months ago, Shisui would have had to make some effort to kill Kakuzu.

Now, Shisui had the terrifying power to kill him instantly!

Such rapid growth was unbelievably frightening even to Itachi, a Konoha genius.

In today’s ninja world, in a one-on-one fight, is there any ninja who could still stand against Shisui?

Itachi felt it was necessary to pay more attention to Shisui and investigate everything about him as much as possible, without exposing his own undercover status.

Shisui’s growth speed was abnormal!

Naturally, Kakuzu didn’t know he had become a benchmark for measuring combat power in Itachi’s eyes.

However, he could add the following to his personal record:

“I, Kakuzu, have fought the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to a stalemate!”

“And later faced the strongest modern-level ninja, Shisui Uzumaki, and walked away unscathed!”

“Moreover, when retreating, Shisui Uzumaki did not dare to pursue!”

If Kakuzu said that, it wouldn’t be a lie.

At that time, Shisui had no mission to capture him, so why chase?

When Shisui’s name became famous throughout the ninja world, adding these to his resume would make him a hot commodity on the black market.

Beside Itachi, Kisame was casually chatting with him.

When Itachi asked about the fight between Shisui and Kisame in Kirigakure, Kisame couldn’t help but complain.

“In the fight against seven opponents, I don’t think Shisui fought seriously.”

Kisame, a straightforward ninja who used Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet, obediently forming all forty-four hand seals, hardly ever lied.

Their battle on the big lake in Kirigakure was likely just a warm-up for Shisui.

Grinning, Kisame added, “Kakuzu has a habit of killing teammates.”

“Shisui was already a bit unpredictable, and partnering with Kakuzu only led him astray.”

“During that mission in Kirigakure, Shisui wanted to earn the bounty by keeping the target alive under my watch.”

“He said dead targets weren’t valuable and told me to keep them alive.”

“At the time, I heard from Kakuzu that Shisui’s strength was very high, so I wanted to test his capacity.”

“But after the fight started, even though he didn’t go all out, I was overwhelmed the entire time.”

“I nearly died in that battle.”

Recalling the battle, Kisame still sighed deeply despite the time passed.

Moreover, Shisui was already very strong back then.

Now, he was undoubtedly much stronger!

If it weren’t for Kisame’s strong vitality and the considerable healing provided by his sword, Shark Skin, he might have been killed outright in that fight.

Kisame trusted Itachi deeply.

Among the many Akatsuki members, Kisame’s motives were probably the purest.

Unlike others who joined with ulterior motives or temporary convenience, he stayed because he believed in the organization’s ideals and hoped for its ultimate goals to be realized.

After Itachi’s questions, Kisame detailed the events to him.

Itachi had already judged that Shisui was a very dangerous ninja.

Hearing Kisame’s account of the tough fight, Shisui’s danger level rose significantly in Itachi’s mind.

Itachi even thought that if Shisui had been born earlier, the Uzumaki Clan’s Whirlpool Country might never have fallen.

Under Shisui’s leadership, Whirlpool Village might have developed into an influential ninja village.

After all, Shisui not only possessed terrifying strength at the Chōhai level but also had strategic vision.

Thanks to his proposals and efforts, Amegakure and Kusagakure formed an alliance, both achieving significant development.

Sadly, Whirlpool Country was already destroyed, and Whirlpool Hidden Village had become history.

Otherwise, the ninja world today would be even more fascinating.

Itachi and Kisame continued forward.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the path, blocking their way.

It was not Obito, who was still in the Kamui dimension with Shisui, their situation unknown.

The one blocking Itachi and Kisame was another familiar Akatsuki member—Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was conflicted; he desperately sought a perfect vessel for reincarnation.

But obtaining such a perfect vessel was incredibly difficult.

After Shisui left, Orochimaru pondered for a long time.

Finally, he decided to test the waters by approaching Itachi.

Orochimaru knew Itachi relatively well; at least now, he didn’t consider this junior a serious threat.

When Orochimaru rose to fame as one of the legendary Three Legendary Sannin, Itachi hadn’t even been born!

Besides, Itachi’s performance in Akatsuki had been mediocre so far, showing no overwhelming strength.

Given that, Orochimaru believed he had a high chance of victory against Itachi.

His intelligence was not wrong.

After all, as an undercover, Itachi obviously didn’t work hard.

Hadn’t Kisame noticed that whenever they took missions, Itachi always traveled on foot, strolling casually?

In such circumstances, how could he reveal his true power to serve Akatsuki?

If he had always fought at full strength, Tenzō would surely still be alive in the organization.

Orochimaru didn’t know these things.

According to his intelligence, Itachi had fought Kakashi evenly during a mission with Tenzō.

If Itachi’s strength was only at that level, why would Orochimaru spend extra money to have Shisui capture Obito?

Besides, it wasn’t that he was unwilling to spend; Shisui’s demands were simply too high.

He couldn’t arrange such a large sum quickly.

So he decided to try his luck with Itachi first.

If successful, he would save a fortune and obtain the perfect vessel he longed for!

But because Shisui was too strong, Orochimaru didn’t want to completely sever ties with Akatsuki just yet.

Otherwise, Akatsuki wouldn’t need to send others after him; Shisui alone could spell his doom.

Therefore, his initial plan was to strike Itachi suddenly and capture him.

But reconsidering, he decided to challenge Itachi under the pretext of sparring.

If he won, he would abduct Itachi to a secret base for the forbidden reincarnation technique.

The Uchiha body was a perfect vessel; with it, Shisui’s threat to him would be greatly diminished.

After blocking Itachi and Kisame, Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and gave what he thought was a friendly smile.

“Weapon Ha One-to-Seven, I have a favor to ask!”

“I developed a new technique and need to test it against you in a sparring match.”

Itachi’s face remained expressionless.

He had no interest in fighting Orochimaru.

At this point in his life, only two things mattered: the growth of his foolish little one and his undercover work.

Nothing else interested him.

Kisame, however, was curious about how a fight between these two rogue ninjas from Konoha would unfold.

He smiled and said, “Orochimaru was once ranked as one of the Three Legendary Sannin by the demi-god salamander Hanzo of the ninja world. Mr. Itachi is one of Konoha’s top geniuses.”

“Who between you two is stronger is truly intriguing.”

“How about a sparring match?”

As he spoke, Kisame tactfully cleared a place for them to fight.

On the shaded path, Itachi looked at Orochimaru without expression.

Honestly, he had no desire to fight him.

But judging by Orochimaru’s demeanor, if he didn’t act today, Orochimaru wouldn’t let it go.

Itachi stood still, gazing casually ahead, not even bothering to draw his hand from his robe.

“Arrogant!”

Seeing this, Orochimaru thought Itachi was courting death.

Today, this senior would teach this ignorant and fearless junior a proper lesson.

“Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!”

“Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique!”

Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals, intending to use the Impure World Reincarnation to distract Itachi.

Then he planned to rush forward and capture this arrogant Uchiha.

But the scene in the forest left Kisame puzzled.

After shouting “Arrogant!”, Orochimaru did nothing further.

Kisame scratched his head and muttered uncertainly, “Could Orochimaru have been caught in a genjutsu?”

He thought that possibility was unlikely.

After all, when he teamed with Itachi, they often exchanged blows with enemy ninjas.

Well, to be precise, their strength was unclear—sometimes they held back, but they always completed the mission.

Surely, Orochimaru, the legendary Sannin, was not on the same level as the small fry they usually encountered.

Kisame didn’t know that when Itachi fought the strongest genjutsu master Nara Shikaku or Sasuke, he often held back to give them some fighting experience.

But today, against Orochimaru, that was unnecessary.

Before Orochimaru spoke, Itachi had already cast a genjutsu on him.

Now, he had dragged Orochimaru into the genjutsu space.

In the blood-red world filled with countless irregular black cubes...

“Caw—”

The cries of many crows sounded as they appeared one after another, gathering near Orochimaru to form Itachi’s figure.

“Damn! When did this happen?”

Orochimaru was shocked to realize he had fallen into a genjutsu.

He hadn’t even noticed when Itachi had cast it!

“Puchi!”

One by one, giant iron nails appeared, pinning Orochimaru firmly.

This was Itachi’s genjutsu: Phantom Shackles, which immobilized the trapped ninja, leaving them almost helpless.

Itachi stared expressionlessly at the bound Orochimaru and then vanished, turning into a flock of crows.

Clearly, Orochimaru was instantly subdued by the Phantom Shackles as soon as he made a move.

After breaking the genjutsu, Orochimaru lay on the ground, exhausted, hands propping himself up, gasping heavily.

He was now more convinced than ever that the Uchiha were perfect vessels.

If he managed to carry off Itachi, he might stand a chance even against Shisui’s pursuit.

But reality was harsh—he was not a match for Itachi at all.