Chapter 71: The Invader
While Su Xiao was deep in thought, Obito, who was beside him, suddenly stood up.
"Someone has invaded the barrier."
"A ninja?"
Su Xiao immediately thought that Rose might have exposed this location.
"That's right, but it's only one person."
"One person..."
Su Xiao was somewhat puzzled. If Rose had revealed this place, the attackers wouldn't be a single ninja, but a group of them. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but suspect that the automatic alchemical creatures he had set up earlier were taking effect.
"There's an intruder~"
A weak voice came through. It was Karin, leaning against the wall and staggering.
"The enemy's chakra... is very abnormal, and... I feel a familiar sensation from this chakra."
Karin was clearly still recovering.
"Let's go take a look."
Su Xiao and Obito walked out of the base.
...
Above the underground base, inside a valley.
This valley was basin-shaped, with a large summoning beast's skeleton lying at the bottom. A figure wearing a dark red robe and a hood stood atop the skeleton.
"This is the place, isn't it? As expected of the Akatsuki, to set up such tight defenses in such a short time."
The figure in the red robe chuckled softly. He had already sensed the barrier around him. It was a small barrier, non-defensive, but it amplified his chakra fluctuations, making it impossible for him to remain hidden.
Whoosh~
Obito, wearing a spiral mask and the standard Akatsuki uniform, appeared out of thin air.
"Long time no see, Tobi."
The figure on the large summoning beast's skeleton spoke, looking down at Obito from a height.
"No, I should call you Madara now."
The red-robed man's tone carried a hint of mockery.
Obito stared at the figure. He was young, wearing glasses, with purple eyeshadow around his eyes and pale skin. Cracks could be seen on his pale skin, like shattered porcelain.
This red-robed figure was somewhat abnormal. He had a tail, and that tail was clearly a living snake, flicking its tongue in and out.
Obito's eyes narrowed. He recognized who this was, but he still couldn't be entirely sure.
"To think you could find this place."
Obito spoke, testing the waters.
"As a spy, I've moved between nations. I was once a member of the Akatsuki as well. Don't underestimate my information network."
The red-robed, bespectacled man's intentions were unclear, but he didn't seem to be invading.
"You were once Scorpion's spy, weren't you?"
This time, Obito confirmed the identity of the red-robed, bespectacled man. He had once been Scorpion's spy, then later defected to Orochimaru. The double agent: Kabuto.
Kabuto's childhood was spent in flight and betrayal. He was originally a spy for Konoha, but was captured by Scorpion, who left a deadly poison inside him. Thus, he became Scorpion's spy, tasked with infiltrating Orochimaru's side.
Because Orochimaru helped him remove the deadly poison from his body, he became Orochimaru's subordinate. Before that, he had been a spy for many other organizations. He had been a double agent, even a triple agent.
The former Kabuto always wore a fake smile, like a mask. After Orochimaru was 'killed' by Sasuke, Kabuto injected Orochimaru's blood into his own body. Through his own scientific research abilities and the materials Orochimaru left behind, he successfully gained Orochimaru's power.
Not only that, Kabuto visited the White Snake Sage, thereby obtaining 'Sage Art,' a technique similar to the one passed down from Mount Myoboku, which uses natural energy.
After that, the double agent Kabuto evolved into Snake Kabuto. He no longer wore that fake smile, because he realized that wasn't who he really was.
The current Kabuto was practically a replica of Orochimaru, with scientific research abilities on par with his. The only difference was their research focus, and he had mastered the Sage Art of the 'Ryuchi Cave.' It was now more than appropriate to call him Snake Kabuto.
After Obito identified Kabuto, he immediately knew things were bad. Having a spy like this discover the location of the Akatsuki's base was definitely a very unfavorable situation.
Thinking this, Obito stopped wasting words. He leaped onto the summoning beast's skeleton, intending to eliminate Snake Kabuto.
Snake Kabuto smiled. He immediately jumped down from the skeleton. As soon as he landed, he clasped his hands together.
Rumble...
The ground trembled, and four coffins rose from beneath the earth.
The coffins stood upright on the ground. Four coffin lids crashed to the ground, revealing their contents.
Inside each of the four coffins stood a corpse, dressed in the same dark red robes as Snake Kabuto. The four corpses were: Nagato, Kakuzu, Scorpion, and Uchiha Itachi.
"Impure World Reincarnation."
Obito's exposed eye widened. He felt the situation was even more dire. If Kabuto could truly reincarnate these people, he wouldn't even need to bring out 100% of their power. Even 70% would be enough to give him trouble.
Kakuzu and Scorpion were manageable, but Nagato and Itachi were terrifying.
Nagato's combat power was unquestionable, while Itachi's true strength had always been deeply hidden. When he fought Sasuke, not to mention he was already at death's door, just considering his powerful dojutsu, he hadn't even used 30% of them at the time. Techniques like Shisui's eye and Izanami were never used. If he had, Sasuke would likely have been defeated instantly.
Nagato, wary of Itachi, had never attacked Konoha. That alone speaks to Itachi's strength.
Back then, the three-tomoe Sasuke was at most around the level of a Jonin to Kage, and that was with the help of Orochimaru's power inside him. Without Orochimaru inside him, Sasuke at that time was only around the level of a Jonin.
Now, Snake Kabuto had actually reincarnated Nagato and Itachi, which made Obito very cautious.
"This is a forbidden technique known only to the Second Hokage and Lord Orochimaru. But now, including myself, three people have mastered it. And I, in my current state, have surpassed my teacher."
Snake Kabuto was no longer the Kabuto of the past. After gaining great power, his backbone had clearly stiffened considerably.
"This is just a small demonstration to make you believe in my abilities."
Snake Kabuto placed his hand on the coffin, looking at Itachi inside.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight. The one up there doesn't need to reveal such astonishing killing intent."
Snake Kabuto looked up at the high cliff wall, where Su Xiao was sitting.
"You little brat, you've grown quite capable."
Su Xiao, sitting on the cliff wall, was watching Kabuto. When he had seen Kabuto before, the man had been all fake smiles, and had tried to cooperate with Orochimaru to ambush Su Xiao. He was only captured by Su Xiao, who cut off one of his ears.
"You flatter me, Mr. White Night."
Snake Kabuto clearly had no malicious intent. Although Su Xiao's left arm was injured, Su Xiao's unpredictable personality from before was deeply etched in his memory. One moment the man was smiling, the next he had cut off one of his ears. Even though his ear had long since healed.
"Enough nonsense. What is your purpose here?"
Obito clearly wasn't going to let Snake Kabuto leave, but he wasn't sure if Su Xiao, up above, would lend a hand.
"I heard you declared war on the Five Great Ninja Villages and even killed the Fourth Raikage and the Fifth Mizukage. I want to join forces with you."
Snake Kabuto's intelligence network was no weaker than that of the major ninja villages, so he was well-informed about the Five Kage Summit. He was actually uncertain whether the Akatsuki would cooperate with him. Fortunately, he had a trump card up his sleeve. But the current situation was different from what he had anticipated. Besides Obito, there was someone else present. In that case, it would be best not to use that trump card.