Houka answered as he walked toward Otogakure.
"Kabuto, that's because you don't yet know how powerful the enemy is. Otherwise, you'd understand just how weak this little bit of strength I painstakingly gathered truly is."
Yakushi Kabuto looked puzzled. "But even the leader of Akatsuki, that Pain with the Rinnegan, shouldn't be enough to make you think so... poorly of yourself, Brother Houka, should he?"
"Poorly of myself?" Houka shrugged and smiled. "Think whatever you like. Just remember one thing: even the leader of Akatsuki is merely a puppet."
"What?"
Yakushi Kabuto's expression changed slightly.
When he had worked under Sasori of the Red Sands, he had gathered quite a bit of intelligence on Deva Path Pain. He knew full well how powerful the man was, and had even concluded that Houka was no match for Pain!
A puppet...?
This world was becoming more and more interesting.
The shock in Yakushi Kabuto's eyes was quickly replaced by intense interest.
Houka glanced at him. "By now, you've more or less obtained all of Orochimaru's research materials and results. You need to master all of it in the shortest possible time, and then... help me research the Sharingan!"
"Huh?"
Yakushi Kabuto was somewhat bewildered. "Brother Houka, hasn't your Sharingan already evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan? Even Uchiha Madara back then only reached that level, didn't he?"
"Above the Mangekyō Sharingan lies the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan!" Houka said.
"Eternal Mangekyou?" Yakushi Kabuto's eyes lit up slightly.
"Above the Eternal Mangekyou lies the Rinnegan!" Houka added.
"What?!" Yakushi Kabuto was stunned again.
In the legends of the Ninja World, the Byakugan, Sharingan, and Rinnegan were collectively known as the three great dōjutsu. But now, that was simply absurd.
The Single Tomoe Sharingan evolved into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, then into the Mangekyō Sharingan, then the