Strength Greatly Increased

In the dimly lit room, a half-burnt candle cast a dim yellow light, its flame flickering and illuminating Obito.

Kakashi lay unconscious on the soft mat on the ground.

His upper body was bare, and he was only wearing shorts. His entire body was wrapped in medical bandages, and he emitted a slightly pungent medicinal smell.

Obito quietly watched Kakashi's sleeping face, waiting for him to wake up.

"Kakashi, all these years have passed, and you're still the same."

"If I kill you, perhaps Lin will be mine."

"But you owe me two lives, you have to pay me back first."

"Otherwise."

Even though he knew Kakashi was unconscious and couldn't hear him, Obito still kept talking to himself, his eyes constantly shifting.

After an unknown amount of time, when the candle was almost completely burned out, Kakashi moved slightly.

Upon Obito, Obito's eyes narrowed slightly, and he subconsciously put on the mask placed beside him, covering his face.

"Am I not dead? Where am I?!" Kakashi slowly opened his eyes. He felt as if his whole body was about to fall apart, and there was no part of him that wasn't in pain.

In the dim light, Kakashi could only see the rough cave ceiling, but out of the corner of his eye he quickly noticed a masked ninja next to him.

"You... you saved me?" Kakashi asked in confusion. He only remembered that he had used all his strength to fight the Third Hokage with his last move. The Third Hokage stopped at the last moment, while the White Fang in his hand pierced the Third Hokage's heart.

Looking at the current situation, the outcome seems obvious.

Otherwise, his best outcome right now would be to be imprisoned in the Anbu's Death Cell awaiting trial, or to be torn to pieces by the Third Hokage Hokage's ninja lineage.

"I am someone who should have died, but I did not. As for saving you, it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision."

A deep voice rang out, Obito unconsciously adopted Madara's voice.

"Thank you." Kakashi paused for a moment upon hearing this, thanked him, and then didn't ask any further questions.

Overusing chakra, depleting the power of his Mangekyou Sharingan, and suffering from multiple fractures, the pain and weakness left him listless and unable to concentrate on the other person's riddle-like answer.

Obito noticed Kakashi's furrowed brows and the cold sweat beading on his forehead, and said softly, "Although you didn't suffer a fatal injury, your body is overloaded. You should rest well from now on."

As he spoke, Uzumaki patterns suddenly appeared in the space around Obito, and then he disappeared in front of Kakashi.

"This is..." Kakashi's expression changed slightly. The ability used by the person in front of him felt very familiar, and his Mangekyō Sharingan suddenly throbbed.

A short while later, the candles in the cave went out completely after shining their brightest light for a brief moment.

In the darkness, Kakashi felt drowsy.

At this moment, Uzumaki- like fluctuations reappeared in the space.

Obito's figure reappeared, holding several straw ropes with several cleaned fish strung on them.

At the same time, a pile of firewood appeared beside him.

He awkwardly started a fire and grilled the fish.

"I think it's okay for me to eat it myself, right?"

Obito frowned as he looked at Kakashi lying flat on his back.

"Okay," Kakashi said with some difficulty. His injuries left him with very little strength, but he was still able to sit up with difficulty.

Kakashi took the grilled fish from the Masked Man and took a small bite.

It was a bit burnt, and since there was no seasoning, the taste was just so-so.

However, Kakashi, who was already starving, still ate four grilled fish in a row.

Kakashi paused for a moment when the Masked Man handed him the last grilled fish. "Aren't you going to eat it?"

"No need," Obito replied calmly.

Kakashi lay in bed for three days before regaining his mobility.

"Now that you've recovered, you can leave on your own. Even if Konoha issues a warrant for your arrest, you should have somewhere to go," Obito said coldly, indicating that Kakashi could leave now that he was able to move.

Kakashi stared at Obito's Obito figure, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotions.

What are you still doing here?!

Seeing that there was no movement behind him for a long time, Obito turned around and looked at Kakashi.

"Who are you, and why did you save me?" Kakashi pondered.

"Saving you was just a spur-of-the-moment decision, so if you don't leave, I might kill you on a spur-of-the-moment decision as well."

A hint of coldness flashed in Obito's eyes beneath Obito mask. With that, he activated Kamui and left.

"Obito!" Kakashi suddenly blurted out.

However, Obito's figure had already disappeared into space.

Only one last cold gaze met Kakashi's eyes.

The next second, Obito's figure appeared in the forest.

Black and White Zetsu emerged from underground and appeared beside Obito.

"This is the best time to retrieve the Mangekyō Sharingan, why don't you make your move?"

Black Zetsu's hoarse voice rang out.

The White Zetsu Original quipped, "Of course it's because you can't bear to part with your friendship with Kakashi. After all, he was your former comrade, right, Obito?"

"I have my own plans," Obito said in a deep voice, without directly answering Black and White Zetsu's question.

Because the Konoha Crush Plan was too big a deal, news that Orochimaru had joined forces with Sunagakure to attack Konoha and that he had teamed up with the missing-nin Kakashi to kill the Third Hokage had spread throughout the Shinobi World in a very short time.

This naturally attracted the attention of the Akatsuki.

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu also arrived in the Land of Fire immediately.

Obito's initial desire to acknowledge Kakashi as his father wasn't strong. Later, when Black Zetsu Black Zetsu White Zetsu arrived, it became even less likely that he would reveal his identity and arouse their White Zetsu.

Furthermore, both Black and White Zetsu possess the ability to merge with plants and the earth, so Obito was unaware that they had been following him.

Now we'll see what tricks he has up his sleeve for Kakashi.

"Kakashi does have one of your Mangekyō Sharingan. He's desperate now. If you don't invite him to join Akatsuki, he'll definitely go and join Yagami Shiraha, which is a big problem! Hopefully, he won't become our enemy and affect the Eye of the Moon Plan."

Black Zetsu said meaningfully.

He doesn't trust Obito and has even begun to suspect Obito, but Obito doesn't seem to have any obvious ulterior motives at the moment, and there aren't many Uchiha Clan he can use, so he can only turn a blind eye.

"Shouldn't we be more concerned about Orochimaru than this? Why has his strength become so great! Moreover, Konoha is hiding a ninja like Might Duy, with the Eight Gates Formation and Taijutsu that can even affect space. These are the key factors that will affect the plan."

"Obito said in a deep voice."

"Orochimaru's strength has almost caught up with Madara's peak, and may even be stronger! This is a big problem." The White Zetsu Original, who was standing to the side, became serious for once and analyzed with a solemn expression.

Obito to Konoha alone, but White Zetsu actually left spores on him.

Although the White Zetsu spores did not directly transform into clones to avoid being discovered by Obito, they left traces in every place Obito visited, and even watched the final battle of the Konoha Crush Plan from a distance away from Obito. Therefore, there is a relatively intuitive assessment of Orochimaru's combat strength.

Unfortunately, none of the spores outside Konoha manifested as clones before they were all destroyed.

Only a monster like Yagami Shiraha could possess such perceptive abilities.

"The biggest problem right now is still Uzushiogakure. We can use Konoha and Orochimaru to deal with Shiraha and Kushina respectively."

Obito said calmly, but only he knew his true thoughts.

However, Black Zetsu nodded. "That's the only way."

"Should we go and make contact with Orochimaru first?" White Zetsu suggested.

"Orochimaru was seriously injured in this battle, and it will probably be difficult to find him. Leave it to me," Obito said.

"That's the only way," Black Zetsu replied. "Let White Zetsu help you."

"Hmm." Obito nodded. He knew that even if he didn't agree, Black Zetsu would have White Zetsu secretly follow him, and he would definitely be even more suspicious, so he agreed directly.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely find Orochimaru!"

The White Zetsu Original said confidently.

Uzushiogakure.

An open space Back Mountain.

Shiraha stood with his hands behind his back, his entire body covered in white scales, and a pale red flame enveloped his body, with the center of the flame faintly white.

Kashin Koji is summoning a large amount of Samadhi Fire to temper his Mental Power.

After Orochimaru chose to join forces with Shiraha, he directly absorbed a large amount of Shiraha's blood and became Shiraha's direct bloodline.

Later, Orochimaru was easily suppressed by the Shiraha bloodline. While entrusting his life and death to the Shiraha, Orochimaru also gained great benefits. The rich bloodline power enhanced Orochimaru's physique, amplified his Mental Power, and allowed his injuries to heal rapidly.

Orochimaru also shared a wisp of his Otsutsuki Original Chakra with Shiraha.

The reason for giving only a small amount was that he was still recovering from serious injuries, and in order not to affect his recovery, it was Shiraha who took the initiative to offer it.

After obtaining the Otsutsuki's Original Chakra, Shiraha felt that the time for a breakthrough had come, and in just one night, his Mental Power successfully entered the Second-Level Crystallization Stage.

Because of the refined Gelel Stone that enhanced his vitality and recovery ability, coupled with another breakthrough in his Mental Power, Shiraha asked Kashin Koji to summon the Samadhi Fire, which had a higher temperature, to train his Mental Power.

The effect was just as obvious as at the beginning, and the process of materializing Mental Power was even faster.

Orochimaru moved into the underground laboratory of Uzushiogakure and stayed next to the room where Shiraha usually rested.

When Orochimaru saw the various advanced experiments in Shiraha's laboratory, he exclaimed that if Shiraha had told him these things earlier, he would have come to join him long ago.

Of course, Shiraha knew that Orochimaru was exaggerating. After all, if possible, no one would want to completely entrust their life and death to someone else.

Orochimaru has now incorporated a large amount of his blood, and will need even purer blood for his future advancement. He can essentially be considered a bloodline vassal of Shiraha.

Unless Orochimaru is willing to give up the Shiraha bloodline within him after recovering.

But doing so is almost tantamount to suicide.

A small amount of bloodline can be removed, but removing a large amount of bloodline is a devastating blow to the very essence of the soul, which would reduce lifespan by more than 90%. At that point, even if Orochimaru wanted to pursue the path of Chakra, he wouldn't be able to.

The bloodline struggle among Bloodline Warlock is a life-or-death war.

Unless one party is willing to submit.

However, after Orochimaru was saved by Shiraha, he seemed to have made up his mind to follow Shiraha.

Therefore, before he went into seclusion to recover from his injuries, he asked Shiraha for more pure blood, intending to advance directly to the First-Level Bloodline Warlock after recovering.

Shiraha readily agreed and even gifted Orochimaru a high-purity Gelel Stone.

This will not only allow Orochimaru to recover quickly, but also make him even stronger after his advancement.

For Shiraha, a subordinate whose strength is equal to his and who would never betray him is better than a thousand troops.

In particular, Orochimaru was able to provide Shiraha with tremendous assistance in scientific research, which was something that no other assistant could match.

"Are you tickling me?!"

Feeling the Samadhi Fire rapidly weakening on his body, Shiraha came to his senses and looked at Kashin Koji.

Kashin Koji's face twitched, and he immediately unleashed his full power of Chakra, summoning even more Samadhi Fire.

"Hiss~!" Shiraha enjoyed the supreme pleasure of training his Mental Power with the Samadhi Fire. Looking at the increasingly strained Kashin Koji, he felt more and more that it was necessary to go to Flame Mountain when he reached Third Level. Whether it was the bloodline of the toads there or the Samadhi Fire of Flame Mountain, they were things that Shiraha was determined to obtain.

The bloodlines of the two great Sage from Shikkotsu Forest and Mount Myōboku are very strong, but they do not have a significant effect on improving Shiraha's bloodline.

If he wants to advance to Fourth-Level as soon as possible, he will need a higher-level bloodline source.

However, he has already reached Third Level, so there's no need to rush to reach Fourth-Level; he can take his time to plan ahead.

Bang!

After Shiraha finished absorbing the Samadhi Fire from his body, a cloud of white smoke suddenly appeared on the open ground in front of him.

A gigantic white figure appeared.

"Lord Shiraha, the person has been brought." The White Serpent spoke through ventriloquism, lowering its proud head.

The White Serpent opened its mouth, and Kakashi stood inside it.

Kakashi, his face pale, emerged, supporting his sharp, white teeth that were taller than a person.

After much deliberation, Kakashi decided that joining forces with Shiraha Yu was the only option, so he contacted Shiraha through a scroll.

Who would have thought that the Summoning Beast sent by Shiraha would be so particular, not letting him touch its body at all. In order to be able to transfer together, it swallowed him whole. Although the White Serpent did not have bad breath, being in the mouth of such a giant Summoning Beast was not a good experience for Kakashi.

"Senior Shiraha."

Kakashi staggered over to Shiraha.

"I'm a little sorry I didn't get to see you before. Welcome to Uzushiogakure. From now on, you'll be my direct Anbu!" Shiraha smiled. He had seen Kakashi being taken away by Obito, so he was certain that Kakashi was safe and left Konoha.

"Thank you." Kakashi was about to express his gratitude when he suddenly realized that his Mangekyō Sharingan had broken free of its seal and was releasing its Eye Power.

The sudden turn of events startled Kakashi; he had no intention of attacking Shiraha.

"It's alright, don't be nervous." Shiraha helped Kakashi up, and then without resistance, his Mental Power was pulled into an Genjutsu space.

A few seconds later, Shiraha came to his senses.

"What is this, Senior Shiraha?" Kakashi asked, puzzled.

Shiraha smiled and said, "Soon, one of your old friends will join us."

"You mean...?" Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Go and rest first, otherwise Lin will definitely worry." Shiraha didn't continue.

"All right."

Kakashi hesitated for a moment, but then obediently went to the Land of Whirlpools Hospital.