Orochimaru: Don't Hurry, I'll Make My Move

Tsunade roared at Liao Wu, "Liao Wu, why did you help Madara Uchiha recover his strength?"

Liao Wu was stunned for a moment before reacting. "Tsunade, are you interrogating me now? You should know that you're the prisoner here."

Liao Wu charged forward and pinned Tsunade beneath him.

"You bastard! What are you trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do? Heh heh, a lone man and woman sharing a room—if nothing happens, it can only mean the man is gay."

Slug jumped onto Liao Wu's face and desperately tried to stop him.

"Lord Liao Wu, please don't do anything reckless."

Liao Wu grabbed Slug. "Slug, do you really think I can't deal with you anymore?"

Slug threatened him, "If you dare hurt Lord Tsunade, my main body in Shikkotsu Forest will descend here. Even if I have to fight Madara Uchiha until we both suffer grievous injuries, I'll still kill you."

Liao Wu immediately wilted and hurriedly kowtowed to Slug. "Lord Slug, please just treat this lowly one like a fart and let me go."

Only then did Slug relax.

Liao Wu suddenly froze. He sensed that his contract with Ryūchi Cave was being altered.

"Is that Miyang fellow modifying the contract?"

Leaf Village, Root Member Underground Base.

With Hiruko's help, Orochimaru crawled out of a White Snake's belly, his entire body covered in the snake's mucus.

Hiruko looked at Orochimaru, who was so weak he barely looked human anymore, and deep fear surfaced in his eyes.

"Orochimaru, is Madara Uchiha really that strong?"

Hiruko had previously been bound by Liao Wu's Pitcher Plant Technique. He had escaped by self-destructing and destroying the Wood Style restraints.

Later, he found Orochimaru unconscious in the wilderness and brought him back to the Leaf Village's Underground Base.

Orochimaru found a place to sit. He panted weakly and explained to Hiruko, "I didn't pass out because of Madara Uchiha. It was that bastard Uchiha Ryobu."

"I knew he couldn't be trusted. While he was signing the Summoning Scroll, I forcibly overtaxed my body, refined Chakra, and created a clone to escape."

Orochimaru's voice was weak, and resentment toward Liao Wu still lingered in his eyes.

Orochimaru had passed out because his body had been drained of Chakra. Fortunately, he had previously fused with Ryūchi Cave's White Snake Cells, giving him tremendous vitality.

Otherwise, he really might have lost his life from forcibly squeezing out his Chakra.

"Brat, do you really think I can't deal with you just because you signed Ryūchi Cave's Summoning Scroll?"

The more Orochimaru thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn't beat Madara Uchiha, but couldn't he beat Uchiha Ryobu?

Orochimaru opened his mouth and spat out Ryūchi Cave's Summoning Scroll. He then spread it open and stopped at the final row, where "Uchiha Ryobu" was written.

He formed a technique and wiped his hand across it, directly erasing Liao Wu's name.

Could a contract between a ninja and a Summoning Beast be forcibly terminated?

Yes. The Uzumaki Clan possessed a Contract Seal that could sever a summoner's contract with a Summoning Beast. In the Original Work, Minato had used a Contract Seal to remove Obito's control over the Nine-Tails.

The Contract Seal merely removed control; it did not permanently terminate the Summoning Contract.

To terminate it, one had to solve the problem at its source. Orochimaru had directly erased Liao Wu's name from Ryūchi Cave's Summoning Scroll at the source.

Of the four essential elements of the Summoning Technique, he had directly destroyed the first: signing a contract with the Summoning Beast on the Contract Scroll.

After getting a little revenge on Liao Wu, Orochimaru felt somewhat better. He then answered Hiruko's earlier question.

"Madara Uchiha's strength isn't the issue. He has already surpassed the very concept of a ninja. I think he has reached the level of the legendary Progenitor of the Ninja Sect, the Sage of Six Paths."

Hiruko was shaken. "The level of the Sage of Six Paths? Wouldn't that make him invincible?"

Orochimaru nodded. "That's right. Jiraiya was killed, Tsunade was captured, and I nearly died in the Land of Grass. Madara Uchiha is invincible."

Hiruko said angrily, "Damn it, Uchiha Ryobu has Madara Uchiha backing him. We'll never be able to kill him now."

Orochimaru glanced at Hiruko. "Hiruko, you were beaten by Liao Wu before."

"This—"

Hiruko immediately became tongue-tied. He had fused with White Snake Cells and could transform into a White Scaled Serpent, yet he had actually lost to Liao Wu?

"By the way, Orochimaru, I discovered a secret. Liao Wu knows the Wood Style Secret Technique!"

"What?!"

Orochimaru was startled. It made sense that Madara Uchiha knew the Wood Style Secret Technique, but what was the deal with Liao Wu?

Hiruko was certain. He told Orochimaru about how he had previously been restrained by the Giant Pitcher Plant. Plant-based attacks that could absorb Chakra—this was genuine Wood Style Secret Technique.

Orochimaru stroked his chin and analyzed the situation. "If that's the case, then when Madara Uchiha fought the First Hokage in the Valley of the End, he must have obtained the First Hokage's Cells."

"After decades of research, he overcame the compatibility issues with the First Hokage Cells and mastered them."

"Madara Uchiha even understands science!"

Orochimaru became interested. He admired anyone who had grasped the truth.

What he despised most in life were those empty-headed people who constantly spouted grand words about doing everything for the Leaf Village.

"Wood Style, Sharingan! I have to find a way to obtain these two powers."

Ambition showed in Orochimaru's eyes.

Hiruko reminded him, "Orochimaru, I have to warn you. The problem of Madara Uchiha is pressing. He'll destroy the entire Ninja World."

The end of the ninja world was practically upon them, yet Orochimaru was still focused on leveling up. Did he have no sense of the situation at all?

Orochimaru waved his hand. "Don't hurry. I'll make my move."

Hiruko looked at Orochimaru in confusion. "Orochimaru, how are you going to make your move? Madara Uchiha beat you like a dead dog before."

Orochimaru pointed at Hiruko. "Hiruko, how did you come to be?"

"Impure World Reincarnation?!"

Hiruko immediately realized. "Orochimaru, you're planning to use Impure World Reincarnation on the First Hokage?!"

The logic was simple. In the Ninja World, only Hashirama Senju could resist Madara Uchiha. So why not revive Hashirama Senju?

Orochimaru nodded. "Come on, we're going to the Leaf Village Cemetery!"

Hiruko hurriedly said, "Orochimaru, do you know what you're doing? You're offending the heroes who died for the village."

Although Hiruko was evil, he had grown up listening to stories about Hashirama Senju. Deep down, he revered the First Hokage's achievements.

Orochimaru was going to disturb the tomb of the Previous Hokage. He was practically committing ritual suicide before the entire Leaf Village.

Orochimaru looked at Hiruko. "Hiruko, if we don't summon the Previous Hokage, do you think you have any way to deal with Madara Uchiha?"

"..."

Hiruko suddenly fell silent. As things stood, Orochimaru's method really was the optimal solution.

Liao Wu sensed that his Summoning Contract with Ryūchi Cave had been terminated. He hurriedly bit down on his finger, drew blood, and activated the Summoning Technique.

With a bang, what Liao Wu summoned wasn't a snake but a cat—a white short-haired cat.

It was Fried Rice, the Ninja Cat Liao Wu had once adopted. True to its name, Liao Wu had named it Fried Rice because he used to make it cook.

At that moment, Fried Rice was still wearing a chef's uniform and holding a spatula.

It seemed to have been cooking when it was summoned.

Liao Wu stared at Fried Rice with wide eyes, his mouth full of disbelief. "Impossible, impossible! Where's my Great Snake? Where's the Great Snake that big?"

"I don't believe it. Summoning Technique!"

Unwilling to believe that his Summoning Contract with Ryūchi Cave had been forcibly terminated, Liao Wu tried again.

Fried Rice was still a little dazed. He had been cooking for the Ninja Cats in the Empty Zone, but in the blink of an eye, he had been summoned to this place.