Chapter 469: The Obedient Raiko
As Uchiha Madara's soul was extracted, the Impure World Reincarnation body in Shishou's grasp dissipated, revealing the sacrificed body within. It was none other than Kimimaro!
"Kimimaro..."
Seeing this, Shishou was taken aback. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to use Kimimaro as the sacrifice for Uchiha Madara, which explained why Madara's Impure World Reincarnation was so powerful.
Yes, with transplanted Hashirama cells, it made sense.
Shishou stored Kimimaro's body in a scroll and turned to Konan and the others.
"I have something to attend to. I'll leave now."
With that, Shishou disappeared from the spot. He needed to deal with the threat of Orochimaru.
"Phew!"
After Shishou left, Konan let out a long breath.
With the menace of Uchiha Obito resolved, there was virtually no one in the ninja world who could oppose Shishou.
Tsunade sighed, feeling somewhat dejected.
"I thought that after training so hard for so long, I could finally keep up with Shishou, but just now I realized how vast the gap between us still is."
Rimei Hyuga, Kushina, and Konan all nodded in agreement.
Among the women around Shishou, they were the strongest, yet the gap between them and Shishou was still insurmountable.
Though they were top-tier shinobi in the ninja world, the disparity between them and Shishou made them feel like mere decorations.
This realization was quite a blow.
After a while, Konan spoke up:
"We should continue to train diligently. Shishou mentioned that powerful enemies from outside the ninja world would appear in a decade or so. We must be able to share his burden."
Hearing this, Tsunade and the others nodded in agreement.
They had long heard from Shishou about the Ōtsutsuki clan, where every member was at least Six Paths level.
"Let's go back and continue training," Kushina said, transforming into Shishou's appearance and using the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Rimei and Tsunade back to Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest, respectively.
Konan headed back to Amegakure to inspect the damage.
Although their battle took place over the sea outside the village, Amegakure's outskirts were still affected. Fortunately, Konan had evacuated the populace in advance, so there were no casualties.
...
Elsewhere.
In the forests of the Land of Bears.
Shishou arrived at the location of his shadow clone and saw the barely alive Orochimaru and the three dissipating Impure World Reincarnation bodies.
At this moment, Orochimaru was imprisoned in a water prison filled with sealing techniques by Shishou's clone. He looked weak, clearly having his chakra continuously drained by the clone.
Seeing the relatively unchanged environment, Shishou deduced that the battle between his clone and Orochimaru must have ended quickly.
This was expected, as a shadow clone with a quarter of his chakra at the Six Paths level was not something Orochimaru could handle.
After glancing at the clone, Shishou delved underground towards Orochimaru's base in the Land of Bears.
His clone followed, dragging Orochimaru along.
Upon reaching Orochimaru's base, Raiko appeared before Shishou, respectfully reporting:
"Master, I have destroyed all of Orochimaru's transformation vessels."
Hearing Raiko address Shishou so subserviently, Orochimaru, imprisoned in the water prison, looked incredulous, his world view shattered.
He hadn't expected one of the Three Great Sages of the ninja world to be so subservient to a user of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Learning that Raiko had destroyed all his transformation vessels, Orochimaru felt a chill run down his spine.
"Come here," Shishou called Raiko over.
Raiko hesitated but ultimately knelt before Shishou.
Shishou placed a hand on Raiko's head and closed his eyes.
After a moment of tense waiting, Shishou opened his eyes and released Raiko, saying, "Well done!"
He had used the Human Path to check Raiko's memories regarding Orochimaru and found that she had indeed destroyed all of Orochimaru's transformation vessels.
Moreover, Shishou discovered from Raiko's memories the timing and location of the Myōbokuzan barrier activation, a pleasant surprise.
With this information, Myōbokuzan would be within his grasp.
Hearing Shishou's praise, Raiko breathed a sigh of relief.
Shishou glanced at Orochimaru and asked, "Have you mastered Orochimaru's scientific techniques?"
Based on Raiko's memories, Shishou saw that she had studied Orochimaru's scientific techniques.
Raiko respectfully replied, "Master, I have mastered most of Orochimaru's techniques."
In Raiko's eyes, Orochimaru had no secrets, and many of his scientific techniques had been improved by her.
"In that case, there's no need to keep him around," Shishou said, walking to the water prison holding Orochimaru, looking down at him.
He reached into the water prison, placing his hand on Orochimaru's head, and directly extracted his soul.
After verifying Orochimaru's memories and confirming they matched Raiko's recollections, Shishou sealed Orochimaru's soul in a scroll.
He had promised Anko he would bring her to Orochimaru, and he intended to keep that promise.
Initially, Shishou had considered keeping Orochimaru to work for him, but with Raiko mastering his techniques, it was unnecessary.
Moreover, if he ever needed Orochimaru's services, he could wait for Anko to kill him and then use White Zetsu to resurrect him via Impure World Reincarnation.
After dismissing his shadow clone, Shishou instructed Raiko, "Secure all of Orochimaru's bases and deal with Kabuto. Recruit the Sound Four and others."
He didn't want a future Sage Kabuto appearing after Orochimaru's death.
"Yes," Raiko replied respectfully.
"Very good," Shishou nodded and disappeared.
With Orochimaru's base under control, it was time to inspect Uchiha Obito's base.
He hoped Obito left something useful.
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POWER STONE!!!!
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek.
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