Whoosh!
A familiar space-time vortex appeared inside the underground cavern.
Kai returned to the hideout with Orochimaru and Kabuto.
Kamui’s space-time movement also required a form of marking.
Unlike the Flying Thunder God Technique, which used formula markings, Kamui marked locations with the eye itself.
In other words, once Kai had visited a place, he could use Kamui to travel back and forth from there whenever he wanted.
“This is…”
Standing before the Gedo Statue, Orochimaru was utterly stunned.
He had traveled across all five great nations and witnessed countless powerful shinobi and ninjutsu.
Yet this was the first time in his life that he had truly felt how insignificant he was.
“This power…”
“It doesn’t belong to this world!”
“Coming here was absolutely the right choice!”
Orochimaru’s eyes were filled with an almost fanatical desire to uncover the mysteries of creation and the truths of the world.
Kai had opened the door to an entirely new world for him.
“Orochimaru, see that Hashirama clone over there?”
“How do you feel about it?” Kai asked.
Orochimaru stared deeply at the body of the First Hokage mounted on the Gedo Statue.
His eyes were filled with fascination.
“It is truly remarkable…”
“It looks almost exactly like Lord Hashirama himself.”
“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would find it almost impossible to believe…”
“You have good eyes.”
Kai turned toward Orochimaru.
“I want to merge with it.”
“Completely.”
“Perfectly.”
“Do you have a way to accomplish that?”
Orochimaru’s vertical pupils lit up.
After thinking for a moment, he answered,
“The simplest method would be to graft it directly onto your body.”
“But just like an organ transplant, your body would reject it.”
“You wouldn’t be able to utilize its full power, and once your own strength was exhausted, Hashirama’s power could even consume you from within.”
“So that method can be ruled out immediately.”
“We’ll need something more sophisticated.”
Kai nodded.
Orochimaru wasn’t lying.
Danzō had used exactly this method.
During his battle against Sasuke, once Danzō had exhausted his strength, the Hashirama cells implanted within him began to overwhelm his body.
“So what exactly do you mean by a more sophisticated method?”
“Extract Hashirama’s original cells and implant them directly into your body.”
“The original cells would then multiply and divide, gradually replacing your existing cells.”
“But you would have to endure the pain of essentially breaking out of your own body.”
“The success rate is practically zero.”
Orochimaru’s expression was serious.
“Practically zero?”
“You’ve conducted an experiment like this before?”
“I once obtained some remaining bodily material from Lord Hashirama’s grave.”
“I tried to reactivate it and extract what I call ‘original cells.'”
“But too much time had passed.”
“From the remains, I could only extract degraded original cells.”
“I implanted those cells into sixty newborn infants.”
“Even with degraded cells, only one survived.”
“One out of sixty.”
“So, logically speaking, with complete original cells, the success rate would be infinitely close to zero…”
Kai already knew about the one surviving experimental subject.
Yamato.
Compared to other people who had been implanted with Hashirama cells, Yamato truly seemed like a normal person.
He could also use a relatively wide range of Wood Release techniques.
Of course, their power was nowhere near Hashirama’s level.
As the saying went:
Hashirama’s Wood Release conquered the world.
Yamato’s Wood Release did landscaping.
The difference was obvious.
“What if it succeeds?” Kai asked.
Orochimaru laughed as though he had become completely obsessed.
“The legend of the Shinobi God will be reborn!”
“Forget the risks for now.”
“Are you confident you can extract the most perfect original cells possible?”
Orochimaru’s expression became serious.
“The more perfect the source, the more perfect the original cells that can be extracted from it.”
“This Hashirama clone is already infinitely close to the original.”
“But there are still some flaws.”
“With just a small catalyst, it could become absolutely perfect.”
“Unfortunately…”
“That catalyst should no longer exist.”
There was deep regret in Orochimaru’s voice.
“A catalyst?”
“What kind of catalyst?”
“The only infant who survived back then.”
“I abandoned him in the laboratory.”
“He should have died a long time ago…”
Orochimaru sighed.
Hearing this, Kai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
So the catalyst he’s talking about is Yamato.
Kai knew what had happened to that infant.
By sheer coincidence, Danzō had rescued him and kept him under his control.
The boy had eventually joined Konoha’s Root, where he was given the codename Kinoe—more commonly known as Tenzō.
Danzō…
You’ve committed countless atrocities in your life, but at least you accidentally did one good thing.
“The matter of the catalyst can be put aside for now,” Kai said.
He had already decided to make a trip to Konoha and retrieve Yamato himself.
Gurgle…
A large number of White Zetsu suddenly emerged from all directions.
“Lord Orochimaru!”
Kabuto immediately drew a kunai and became alert.
“Relax, Kabuto.”
“Kai-kun is our partner. Don’t be rude.”
Orochimaru was completely absorbed in staring at the Gedo Statue.
Kabuto slowly lowered his kunai.
“These are Zetsu.”
“They’re my friends and assistants.”
“They’ve already transferred all your experimental equipment from your various hideouts to this place.”
“You don’t need to worry about leaving anything behind.”
“If you need anything, just ask them.”
“Hehehe…”
Orochimaru gave a seductive smile.
“You really have thought of everything, Kai-kun~.”
The surrounding White Zetsu spoke up.
“During our reconnaissance, we’ve heard plenty of stories about you, Orochimaru.”
“Let’s make one thing clear from the beginning.”
“If you try anything funny, don’t expect to walk out of here alive!”
“My, my.”
Orochimaru smiled.
“I feel truly honored by such a warm welcome.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Before I uncover the veil concealing the truth, I have no intention of casually abandoning such an important laboratory.”
“So, you can rest assured, Kai-kun.”
He glanced sideways at Kai.
“Heh.”
Kai smiled faintly.
“Zetsu, take Mr. Orochimaru and his assistant to their rooms.”
“Your rooms are ready.”
“Please follow me.”
A White Zetsu stepped forward and led the two away.
As Orochimaru followed, he secretly observed the White Zetsu.
Interesting…
Every single one of these white creatures contains Lord Hashirama’s cells.
They’re degraded, but still…
Just how much does Kai know about the truth of this world?
Late that night.
Kai sat atop the enormous spine of a beast at the entrance to the hideout.
He gazed at the bright full moon hanging high in the night sky.
Madara’s gunbai rested beside him.
He sincerely felt that the moon in the Naruto world was rounder and brighter than the one he had seen in his previous life.
Before transmigrating, Kai had been an average student.
He didn’t have any particularly outstanding talents.
He was introverted and quiet.
He had never had anyone he could truly call a close friend.
His parents had divorced when he was in middle school.
After the divorce, both of them quickly started new families.
Neither wanted to raise him.
They simply left him the legally required support money every month and never bothered to care about how he was living.
I’m gone now.
They probably haven’t even noticed yet.
And even if they have…
At most, they’ll call the police and get it over with.
That’s the kind of people they are.
After entering high school, Kai developed depression.
There had even been a time when he considered taking his own life.
It was around then that he discovered the world of anime.
And once he did…
There was no turning back.
He became obsessed with those passionate, extraordinary adventure stories.
Naruto.
One Piece.
Dragon Ball.
Bleach.
Fairy Tail.
A Certain Magical Index.
One Punch Man…
And above all—
Naruto.
He had felt that as long as he had those stories, not having friends didn’t matter.
His classmates and teachers looked down on him.
They thought he had been poisoned by anime culture.
They thought he was a hopeless loser with no future.
They believed that sooner or later, the brutal competition of society would crush someone like him.
Maybe they were right…
But how could they possibly know?
It was anime that saved me.
It gave someone who had been abandoned by life a reason to keep going.
Kai had wondered more than once:
What if I could actually be born into one of those worlds?
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Perhaps his disappointment with reality, combined with his longing for the world of anime, had become the catalyst that brought him here.
If this is a dream…
I hope it’s a dream I’ll never wake up from.
He was genuinely grateful that he had transmigrated into the world of Naruto.
After all, there was nothing in his old life that he truly missed.
The shinobi world might be filled with war, and death could come at any moment.
Yet Kai sincerely felt that he was freer now than he had ever been.
Even the bloody wind blowing through the night carried a strangely refreshing feeling.
“This is where I belong.”
“I want to live however I want.”
“I don’t want to be bound by anything ever again.”
“I didn’t have the power to break free from reality before.”
“But now that fate has given me the chance to enter the world of Naruto…”
“I’ll seize every opportunity I can.”
“In this world, I don’t want to live according to anyone else’s expectations.”
“So I want power.”
“Power strong enough to face any challenge!”
Kai expressed his deepest ambitions toward the moon.
His only listener was Spiral Zetsu, who had never left his side.
Through the connection between their bodies, Spiral Zetsu could sense Kai’s emotions.
And those were the emotions of someone who had spent a long time alone.
He was completely different from the original Obito.
Before his descent into darkness, Obito had still possessed Kakashi.
Rin.
Minato-sensei.
Konoha.
He had people and things he cared about.
But Kai had none of that.
There was only his thirst for power.
And his longing for freedom.
Spiral Zetsu understood this perfectly.
The person it was wrapped around was no longer the Obito who dreamed of becoming Hokage, looked up to Kakashi, and loved Rin Nohara.
He was now Kai Uchiha—a man who knew the secrets of the shinobi world, yearned for power and freedom, and fought entirely for himself.
Spiral Zetsu genuinely wanted to see where this Kai would eventually end up.
The wind began to blow.
Kai picked up Madara’s gunbai and stood.
Snap!
Spiral Zetsu’s head twisted and transformed into a brand-new mask.
Two eye holes appeared.
Behind them, Kai’s eyes glowed brightly in the darkness.
“Let’s move.”
“It’s time to go to Konoha.”
Add to Collection.
Send some Power Stones.