Orochimaru's Deduction

The Little Rhino Dog and a few other Tailed Beast sensed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and then Little Matatabi was the first to speak, "It's Gyūki!"

Both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails are Tailed Beast from the Kumogakure. They have spent the most time together in recent decades, which is why Little Matatabi was the first to recognize them.

The process of waiting for the little Eight-Tails to be born took longer than Yichen had expected. Yichen injected four portions of the First Hokage's Cells before the Little Gyūki was successfully born.

Yichen didn't need to worry about what happened next; he simply handed over the process of shaping Little Gyūki's values to Little Rhino Dog.

Then, on the second day after his birth, the Little Gyūki, in a daze, willingly handed over his power to Yichen.

At this point, Yichen has a total of five small Tailed Beast: Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Eight-Tails.

As for the others, the Six-Tails is one of their own. So, if we calculate it this way, Yichen only needs the Chakra of the One-Tail, Three-Tails, and Nine-Tails to gather nine Tailed Beasts.

Snake Pit Village.

Orochimaru, who had spent more than ten days in Ryūchi Cave, finally returned to Snake Pit Village.

After Orochimaru left Konoha, he did not return to Snake Pit Village immediately because he was worried that Yichen would be lying in ambush there.

In any case, Orochimaru had already moved all the important items and experimental subjects from Snake Pit Village.

Only after more than ten days, seeing that the Iwa ninja had not made any move, Orochimaru returned to Snake Pit Village.

During his time in Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru was not idle. He first thoroughly removed the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal from Hyuga Hiashi's body.

Then they transplanted a White Zetsu clone's thigh onto him.

After making some preparations, Orochimaru then performed the Living Corpse Reincarnation.

Orochimaru spent his most dangerous period of weakness in Ryūchi Cave.

After returning to Snake Pit Village, Orochimaru also summoned Kabuto Yakushi back.

Returning with Kabuto Yakushi were Jugo and Kimimaro Kaguya.

Kabuto Yakushi left Konoha even earlier than Orochimaru. He took care of several Konoha Anbu before leaving.

After that, Kabuto Yakushi continued to gather various intelligence about the Ninja World.

Upon meeting Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi immediately reported to Orochimaru on the situation in the Ninja World that he had been investigating over the past few days.

"Lord Orochimaru, it has been confirmed that the Kumogakure has fallen, and the Fifth Raikage has been killed in action."

"Konoha, Mist ninja, and Iwa ninja are currently negotiating."

"None of the three parties intend to continue the war, and the Iwa Ninja Army has returned to its various branches."

"On the contrary, the Sunagakure actually mobilized the entire village to attack Konoha's branch in the Land of Wind."

"The Sunagakure acted decisively. There weren't many Konoha members left at the branch, and it seems like none of them escaped; they were all taken care of by the Sunagakure."

Jugo and Kimimaro Kaguya weren't interested in any of this; they simply stayed quietly to the side without interrupting.

Orochimaru frowned after hearing Kabuto Yakushi's report.

Seeing this, Kabuto Yakushi asked, "Lord Orochimaru, is there a problem with the information?"

Orochimaru didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment before slowly saying, "There is a problem!"

"Although the Tsuchikage is somewhat cautious, he doesn't hesitate to act decisively when necessary."

"Back then, he was just an Elite Jonin, yet he dared to enter Konoha and Kirigakure to steal children."

"Therefore, given the current situation, the Iwa ninja's retreat is not in line with his usual style."

Kabuto Yakushi and said, "Lord Orochimaru, do you mean that the Iwa ninja should take the initiative to launch a major war and attack Konoha at this time?"

Kabuto Yakushi is adept at espionage and experimentation, but when it comes to strategy, he's far behind.

So Kabuto Yakushi didn't realize anything was wrong at first, and only reacted after hearing Orochimaru's words.

Orochimaru, who intended to groom Kabuto Yakushi, said, "That's right, logically speaking, Iwa ninja should do just that."

"The reason I've stayed in Ryūchi Cave is precisely because of this consideration."

"I thought the final battle of the Ninja World was about to break out a few days ago, and I didn't want to get involved."

"Who knew that the Iwa ninja would do nothing, but instead incite the Sunagakure to wipe out the Konoha ninja?"

"The Iwa ninja are slowly wearing down Konoha."

"At a time like this, to still be planning a cautious, methodical approach is not in the Tsuchikage's nature."

After a pause, Orochimaru suddenly said to Kabuto Yakushi, "Kabuto, recall the situation in each village before the previous major battles."

Although Kabuto Yakushi didn't understand why, he did as instructed.

The two then conducted a detailed analysis of the various battles Yichen fought after becoming the Tsuchikage.

For example, the causes of each major war, and the strength of the various parties before and after the war. The two of them conducted a detailed analysis of these.

Half a day later, Kabuto Yakushi said in surprise, "Lord Orochimaru, does the Tsuchikage have some concerns about Konoha?"

"Several times, the Iwa ninja should have been targeting Konoha, but instead they attacked the Sunagakure and Iwa ninja Cloud ninja!"

"Does Konoha possess some Forbidden Technique or someone capable of inflicting heavy losses on the Iwa ninja?"

Orochimaru laughed and said, "It used to be there, but it's gone now!"

Orochimaru's expression was strange; he seemed to have grasped something crucial.

Kabuto Yakushi, noticing Orochimaru's strange expression, thought for a moment and asked, "Is Lord Orochimaru referring to Might Guy?"

Orochimaru laughed, "That's right, if I hadn't happened to see Might Guy opening the Gate of Death within Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyo Dōjutsu..."

"Having prepared in advance, we might really be doomed in Konoha that day."

It's hard to say whether Orochimaru could kill Might Guy with two kicks if he wasn't fully prepared.

But if he is seriously injured, will Yichen take advantage of his misfortune? The answer is yes.

Given the circumstances in Konoha at the time, if Orochimaru had been seriously injured, Kakashi might have joined in the attack.

In that case, even if Orochimaru thinks he has many ways to protect himself, he might still end up in Konoha.

Kabuto Yakushi reacted quickly, saying, "Now that Might Guy is dead, there shouldn't be anyone in Tsuchikage Konoha fear."

"Logically, he should be launching a full-scale attack on Konoha right now."

Orochimaru nodded and said, "That's right, this shows that the Tsuchikage's concern about something or someone isn't Might Guy."

"If I'm not mistaken, even Konoha itself probably doesn't know what they have that makes the Tsuchikage wary."

Orochimaru laughed again, "I'm curious too. The Tsuchikage should be the strongest person in the Ninja World. Perhaps only Nagato of the Akatsuki Organization could defeat him."

"But even Nagato wouldn't necessarily make the Tsuchikage so wary."

"Not to mention, the Tsuchikage and Nagato have always had a very good relationship."

Seeing Orochimaru smiling, Kabuto Yakushi tentatively asked, "Lord Orochimaru, do you already know who the Tsuchikage fears?"

Orochimaru laughed and said, "I'm not sure, but I have a guess."

He paused for a moment, then said, "During my battle with Itachi Uchiha in Konoha this time, I noticed that his eye power seemed inexhaustible."

"Itachi Uchiha was clearly at his limit long ago, but he managed to keep going."

"I even saw Itachi Uchiha's blindness through Fugaku Uchiha's Dōjutsu!"

"But in fact he didn't; it was as if he could keep going indefinitely!"

Kabuto Yakushi somewhat puzzled, not understanding what the matter between Itachi Uchiha and Yichen had to do with it.

Fortunately, Orochimaru didn't keep him in suspense. He continued, "Think about it, the Tsuchikage brought the entire Uchiha Clan to Iwagakure."

"Later, the Tsuchikage even ambushed Shisui Uchiha, so why did he leave Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha alive?"

"Sasuke Uchiha can be loosely explained by the fact that he was always in Konoha, under Kakashi's protection, and the Tsuchikage couldn't find an opportunity."

"But what about Itachi Uchiha? How did he manage to escape the Tsuchikage's pursuit after wandering the Ninja World for so long?"

Kabuto Yakushi said, "Could it be that the Tsuchikage couldn't find Itachi Uchiha? Or perhaps he didn't kill him because he was considering the feelings of the Uchiha Clan?"

Orochimaru shook his head and said, "Last time, the Tsuchikage took some Hyuga Clan marrow from me, and then accurately located all the Konoha Hyuga Branch Family members were on missions outside Konoha."

"He now controls almost the entire Uchiha Clan, how could he possibly not find Itachi Uchiha?"

"As for those Uchiha in Iwagakure, they probably wish they could tear that traitor Itachi Uchiha to pieces."

Therefore, your second conjecture is even less likely.

After thinking for a moment, Kabuto Yakushi said, "Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha couldn't possibly be people the Tsuchikage fears."

"Then there's only one possibility: there's a powerful figure behind them?"

At this point, Kabuto Yakushi paused for a moment, then said, "Could it be Madara Uchiha? Madara Uchiha is still alive?"

After saying that, Kabuto Yakushi subconsciously looked at the operating table in the room, but it was empty; there was no White Zetsu clone there.

Orochimaru said, "The White Zetsu clone has been captured by Konoha."

Black Zetsu said: Madara Uchiha is dead, that's for sure, and before he died he chose a substitute, Obito Uchiha.

"If Black Zetsu wasn't lying, even Obito Uchiha would have been killed by the Tsuchikage by now."

Kabuto Yakushi puzzled. Besides Madara Uchiha, who else could be protecting Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke?

Orochimaru didn't answer this time, but said, "Let Black Zetsu tell us that!"

"Right, Black Zetsu, I don't think you'll refuse my request!"

Kabuto Yakushi narrowed his eyes slightly; Orochimaru's last sentence was clearly not directed at him.

His eyes darted around, cautiously observing his surroundings.

However, after looking around, he found nothing.

Just as Kabuto Yakushi was wondering where Black Zetsu was, a Yin-Yang Face suddenly emerged from the floor of the room—it was Black and White Zetsu.

After Black Zetsu emerged, he said to Orochimaru, "As expected of Lord Orochimaru, you are the first person in the entire Ninja World, besides the Tsuchikage, to discover this secret."

Black Zetsu still maintained an expression and tone that said, "I know a lot."

Actually, he was almost scared to death when he heard Orochimaru's analysis underground.

Because he had also guessed who Orochimaru was referring to as the person protecting Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke.

Who else could it be but the Sage of Six Paths?

The thought that the Sage of Six Paths was constantly watching the Ninja World sent chills down Black Zetsu's spine.

Had I already been exposed?

Was the Sage of Six Paths too disdainful of dealing with me, or had his power weakened to the point of being insufficient to fight me?

Thinking carefully about what Orochimaru just said, Yichen's fear of the Sage of Six Paths, Black Zetsu felt that the former was more likely.

After all, for the past ten years or so, he had been active in the Ninja World under the name Black Zetsu. If the Sage of Six Paths hadn't died, he would definitely have been able to find him.

But if the Sage of Six Paths disdains to deal with me, does that mean my efforts are doomed to fail?

Thinking of this, Black Zetsu's mind was completely thrown into turmoil!

Just then, Orochimaru suddenly said, "Black Zetsu, tell me about your origins again!"

Black Zetsu snapped out of his daze upon hearing this; he knew Orochimaru no longer trusted him. No, Orochimaru had never trusted him at all.

This was only the first time Orochimaru had formally brought it up.

However, Black Zetsu's determination to save his mother remained unwavering, and he had no intention of telling Orochimaru the truth.

He then said, "Lord Orochimaru, I was created by Madara Uchiha using Yin-Yang Release."

"However, your guess is indeed correct; Madara Uchiha also sensed that person's presence."

"Furthermore, it was under that person's instructions that Madara Uchiha Rinnegan."

Black Zetsu wanted to use Madara Uchiha and the Rinnegan to confuse the situation.

Seeing that Black Zetsu didn't intend to tell the truth, Orochimaru wasn't angry. He just wanted to verify whether his guess was correct through Black Zetsu's answer.

He has now gotten the answer he wanted.

As expected, Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha had someone backing them.

Based on the truth about the Ninja World that Yichen had once explained to him, Orochimaru had basically confirmed that the person was the Sage of Six Paths!

Orochimaru felt a surge of excitement at the thought that he had discovered a real connection between the mythical Sage and reality.

However, as Black Zetsu said, he wasn't the first to notice something was wrong.

Yichen was the first one!

Orochimaru felt that, given Yichen's personality, he certainly wouldn't be held back solely by the existence of the Sage of Six Paths.

Yichen may have already used this matter to his own advantage!

Thinking of this, Orochimaru asked Black Zetsu, "Black Zetsu, do you have a way to make the Sage of Six Paths show himself?"

Black Zetsu didn't react to Orochimaru's question, but Kabuto Yakushi's body trembled first.

The Sage of Six Paths? Does Lord Orochimaru mean that the Sage of Six Paths is behind Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha?

How is that possible? Isn't the Sage of Six Paths a figure from mythology? How could he be related to Konoha?

Could the Sage of Six Paths have truly existed? But what shocked him most was that, according to Lord Orochimaru, the Sage of Six Paths was still alive?

Black Zetsu naturally didn't want to have any contact with the Sage of Six Paths; he didn't even dare to mention the name.

When Orochimaru mentioned the Sage of Six Paths, Black Zetsu instinctively controlled half of White Zetsu to burrow halfway into the ground.

It seemed that this gave him a sense of security.

Little did he know that his actions would arouse some suspicion in Orochimaru.

Orochimaru knew from the different expressions of the Black and White Zetsu that at least this White Zetsu clone did not know about the Sage of Six Paths.

However, Black Zetsu knew, and not only knew, Black Zetsu was also extremely afraid of the Sage of Six Paths.

So, Black Zetsu's existence, or rather, what Black Zetsu is trying to do, goes against the will of the Sage of Six Paths.

What exactly is going against the will of the Sage of Six Paths? Interesting.

At this moment, Black Zetsu answered Orochimaru's question, "That one is related to the Uchiha Clan."

"If you do something to Sasuke Uchiha, it should attract his attention."

After listening, Orochimaru tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, pondered quietly for a long time, and then came to a conclusion.

The reason why Yichen did not attack Konoha might be because he had promised the Sage of Six Paths that he would not attack Sasuke Uchiha, who might be a direct descendant of the Sage of Six Paths.

Orochimaru, though having no descendants himself, could understand this.

Orochimaru also guessed that Yichen might have already met with the Sage of Six Paths.

Furthermore, given Yichen's personality, he wouldn't easily compromise. The Sage of Six Paths probably bribed Yichen with something.

Thinking about this, Orochimaru immediately felt a strong urge to try it.

He had Kabuto Yakushi summon Sakon Ukon, and the others, and gave them a mission: to go to Konoha and bring back Sasuke Uchiha.

Black Zetsu, seeing that Orochimaru was really about to attack Sasuke, was startled and ran off, uttering the words, "Lord Orochimaru, don't play with fire!"

Black Zetsu has decided never to come to Snake Pit Village again. Orochimaru, that idiot, actually dared to provoke the Sage of Six Paths!

The Sage of Six Paths was Sage who could even seal away his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki Chakra Progenitor!

Black Zetsu thought Orochimaru was courting death, so he ran as far as he could.

When the Sage of Six Paths was alive, Black Zetsu dared to actively seek out Indra because at that time, he was in the shadows while the Sage of Six Paths was in the open.

However, he was surprised to discover from Orochimaru's analysis that, without him noticing, the overt and covert relationship between the two had changed.

This made the already cautious Black Zetsu even more hesitant.

No, I can't keep following Orochimaru to my death. I need to find a new master quickly.

In this Konoha Collapse Plan, not only Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation, but Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi also used it.

I've secretly witnessed the White Zetsu clone several times already, and more importantly, the Mist ninja have also been Impure World Reincarnation.

As long as you infiltrate Kirigakure, you'll eventually learn the Impure World Reincarnation.

Once I've mastered the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, I'll resurrect Madara Uchiha Impure World Reincarnation.

Let Madara Uchiha all the trouble!

It seems like only the Uchiha Clan's fools in the Ninja World are easy to fool; people like Yichen and Orochimaru are too difficult to get along with.

It would be better to prepare properly for Impure World Reincarnation Madara Uchiha technique.

Black Zetsu's swift departure further solidified Orochimaru's suspicions.

"Hehehehe, hahahaha!" Orochimaru felt he was getting close to the truth, so he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Seeing Black Zetsu leave, Kabuto Yakushi couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Lord Orochimaru, is the Sage of Six Paths really still alive?"

Orochimaru's smile gradually faded, and then he slowly said, "It shouldn't be wrong."

"The Tsuchikage once told me a lot of truths about the Ninja World related to the Sage of Six Paths."

"This includes the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan, who are his descendants."

"Both sides inherited the ultimate Yang Release and the ultimate Yin Release from the Sage of Six Paths, respectively."

"The Tsuchikage subtly told me that Madara Uchiha was a combination of Yin and Yang, which awakened the Rinnegan."

Kabuto Yakushi; Orochimaru had told him about this. Moreover, what Orochimaru was doing now was similar to what Madara Uchiha was doing.

But this seems to have nothing to do with the Sage of Six Paths being alive and protecting the Uchiha brothers.

Unexpectedly, Orochimaru said, "With the ultimate Yin-Yang Release combined, how powerful must the Sage of Six Paths be?"

"How could such a powerful Sage of Six Paths have such a short lifespan?"

Orochimaru is an expert in this field; his research on immortality is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

His Yin Release certainly can't compare to the Sage of Six Paths, but he can survive indefinitely by changing bodies. So what about the Sage of Six Paths?

Kabuto Yakushi was startled. "That's right," he thought, "the Sage of Six Paths is Sage after all; isn't it normal for him to live a long life?"

The White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave has lived for countless years, hasn't he?

Orochimaru shared many speculations with Kabuto Yakushi, ultimately concluding that the Sage of Six Paths was alive and had been keeping an eye on the descendants of the Uchiha and Senju clans.

As for why the Sage of Six Paths was so concerned about his descendants, Orochimaru couldn't find a reason yet, and could only temporarily understand it as: concern for his own bloodline.

After that, Orochimaru gave Kabuto Yakushi another mission: to gather information about Tsunade in the Ninja World.

Besides the Uchiha, the Sage of Sage of Six Paths also had the Senju.

Apart from Tsunade, all the other members of the Senju Clan have perished among the masses.

Orochimaru wanted to find Wind Release: Breakthrough by working with Tsunade, hoping to find a way to lure out the Sage of Six Paths.

The situation in the Ninja World has been changing very rapidly recently. The Joint Chunin Exams, which was supposed to be a rare and grand event in the Ninja World, has been marred by so many incidents.

The once-thriving Kumogakure has vanished without a trace; this is the second Great Ninja Village to be breached in recent years.

Moreover, while Sunagakure was able to remain in a corner of the world, Kumogakure was completely wiped out, which is even more unbelievable.

The destruction of the Cloud ninja took only one day. Yesterday they were one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and today they're gone!

This is so different from what everyone remembers about the Ninja World War.

Didn't previous Ninja World War always last for several years, with both sides slowly reaching a stalemate?

I don't know when it started, but the Ninja World has become increasingly unfamiliar to everyone.

Just as everyone was lamenting that the Five Great Ninja Villages had become Four Great Ninja Villages, the Sunagakure, which was living in seclusion in a corner of the country, reclaimed a large area of territory from Konoha.

Then, Sunagakure miraculously became one of the Five Great Ninja Villages again.

Life is unpredictable; things change far too quickly.

These two scandals were so big that the fact that the Iwa ninja stole the show during the Joint Chunin Exams, and Konoha was thoroughly humiliated, was hardly discussed anymore.

Of course, that Joint Chunin Exams, a competition between a group of Genin, wasn't discussed much anymore.

However, the several battles between Kage Level still spread throughout the Ninja World as these celebrities dispersed and the Iwa Village Bi-Monthly Report covered the events.

The Tsuchikage fought two opponents single-handedly, overwhelming the Hokage and Mizukage to the point that they had virtually no chance to retaliate.

After the Hokage left, the Mizukage left alone to face the Tsuchikage and was quickly defeated and forced to flee in disarray.

In the end, they had to rely on their men risking their lives to rescue them in order to escape.

Even so, Mizukage still lost an arm!

Yichen's strength seems to be just as the Iwa Village Bi-Monthly Report said—he is the strongest Ninja World! He is a figure comparable to Hashirama Senju his prime.

In addition, the Uchiha's reputation spread throughout the Ninja World once again.

Although Susanoo Sokai, did not achieve much, it still left a deep impression on the audience.

As for Might Guy's final burst of power from the Gate of Death to defeat several Jinchuriki, most people didn't really understand it.

Furthermore, since Might Guy was already dead, there wasn't much discussion about it.

Afterwards, the outcome of the negotiations between Iwa ninja and Konoha and Mist ninja sparked heated discussions among onlookers.

The Iwa ninja actually handed over Konoha's territory in the Land of Wind to the Sunagakure!