Advancing to Third Level (3)

"Help me?" Danzo coldly, "Based on the abilities you've displayed, this is... Space-Time Ninjutsu?! Just who are you?"

Danzo Jōnin doubt and unease. The Jonin guarding the mansion were merely a show of force.

What truly confines him here is the barrier set up outside his residence, which was the work of Minato Namikaze.

After being in a coma for more than a decade, Minato Namikaze was no longer the junior who could be easily manipulated by the Third Hokage. He showed no mercy in his attacks.

Danzo is now truly all alone.

However, for Danzo, it was much better than staying in the Anbu's Death Cell. Being outside meant he could wait for the right opportunity to come.

"Does it matter who I am?" Obito mimicked Madara's deep voice.

"I remember now, you are the mysterious person who rescued Kakashi before!" Danzo frowned and suddenly spoke.

Danzo recalled that during the Konoha Crush Plan, the Third Hokage was killed by Kakashi. After the Four Violet Flames Formation failed, he and the Root Ninja rushed to the roof of the Arena platform, intending to kill Kakashi and turn their fortunes around with this achievement. However, they did not expect that Kakashi would be rescued by a mysterious person who suddenly appeared.

The way this Masked Man appeared was exactly the same as when Kakashi was rescued.

Only Space-Time Ninjutsu could bypass the barrier surrounding Konoha and the barrier outside his residence.

"That's right." Obito nodded.

"If you hadn't rescued Kakashi, I wouldn't be in this state!" Danzo's voice was filled with anger, but he was deliberately testing the waters by blaming the person in front of him to see if the other party was truly sincere in cooperating.

Anyway, his situation is already bad enough, it can't get any worse. If he can't turn things around, he might as well be dead.

"That ambush on the Uchiha Clan's junior, that wasn't something I asked you to do, was it?" Obito chuckled, his words laced with sarcasm, and continued, "Saving Kakashi was just to curry favor with Orochimaru."

"Junior? Favor?" Danzo was taken aback, then feigned realization and said, "So you came to me to get in touch with Orochimaru too?!"

These remarks actually made Danzo believe him a little more.

After all, he is now a 'prisoner' with no authority, and given the other party's unpredictable space-time abilities, he seems to have nothing that the other party would value.

The Third Hokage had long suspected that he was colluding with Orochimaru, but he had never been able to find any evidence against him.

Danzo never expected this would become his chance to turn the tide!

Before the Konoha Crush Plan was launched, Danzo originally thought that Orochimaru was simply seeking revenge against the Third Hokage and at the same time looking for an opportunity to release him, his 'ally'.

However, he never expected that Orochimaru's strength had improved beyond his imagination, reaching the level of the legendary First Hokage in his lifetime, or even higher.

The First and Second Hokage, summoned by Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu alone, were already enough to overwhelm a powerful force in Konoha.

If Might Duy hadn't suddenly unleashed the Eight Gates Formation, the Fourth Hokage alone probably wouldn't have been able to withstand Orochimaru's offensive.

"How about it? As long as you help me contact Orochimaru and gain his trust, I can help you escape this 'cage,' and even helping you become the Fifth Hokage is not impossible."

Obito's voice carried a seductive quality.

Danzo was indeed tempted, but he knew in his heart that Orochimaru was now a powerful figure he could no longer reach. The connection he had with Orochimaru in the past had probably been completely severed with Orochimaru's soaring strength.

Once the other party knows the truth, he loses his usefulness.

Even if the other party does manage to connect with Orochimaru through him, he will be abandoned very quickly.

Since Danzo himself has always treated everyone this way, how could others be any different from him?

We must seize this opportunity to turn things around!

Thinking this, Danzo said in a deep voice, "I know almost nothing about you now, so why should I trust you?!"

"You should be familiar with my name, Danzo," Obito said slowly. "I am Uchiha Madara!"

"Uchiha Madara?!" Danzo was shocked, his pupils contracting sharply. He immediately retorted, "That's impossible! Madara was already killed by the First Hokage. Do you think I would believe such nonsense?"

"Nothing is impossible." Obito said calmly, spreading his hands. Suddenly, he changed the subject and chuckled, "Even an outsider like you can use Izanagi, so why do you think I, with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, can't?"

"This..." Danzo looked at the single eye under Obito's mask, which had suddenly turned crimson, and suddenly felt that what the other party said was not entirely without credibility.

Although we've never seen Madara use the Mangekyō Sharingan, the sheer pressure he felt just from a single glance suggests that the eye's Eye Power is incredibly strong.

"Even if you are Madara, you're probably almost a hundred years old by now, right? What can you possibly do?"

Danzo countered with a question, and as soon as he said it, he suddenly felt as if he had grasped a key point.

The First Hokage is hailed as the God of Shinobi, and Madara is a powerful ninja of equal renown. After the First Hokage 'killed' Madara, he returned to the village and soon died from his injuries.

Even if Madara survived thanks to Izanagi, he would probably be covered in wounds like the First, and would have only survived by sheer luck.

"I have to thank Hashirama's cells for this. They not only allowed me to survive, but also, as a result, awakened the Rinnegan. Now I need to collect all the Tailed Beast to fully restore my vitality. Otherwise, I will perish completely within ten years."

"Obito said in a deep voice."

"The Rinnegan?!" Danzo in disbelief. "If you really possess the Rinnegan, why would you need to team up with Orochimaru?!"

Among the three great eye techniques, the Rinnegan is a legendary eye technique possessed only by the Sage of Six Paths is said to have created the world.

I thought it was just a legend, but now, according to Madara, the Rinnegan really exists in this world?

The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan is already beyond reason, and the power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan is comparable to the First's Wood Release. How strong must the Rinnegan be?!

Danzo couldn't imagine it.

Obito shook his head slightly. "You underestimate Yagami Shiraha and Kushina Uzumaki!"

Although the Rinnegan is powerful, in my current state, I cannot unleash Rinnegan full potential.

Whether it's Yagami Shiraha or Kushina Uzumaki, I'm no match for either of them right now.

Both the One-Tail and Kurama are now under the control of Uzushiogakure.

Without joining forces with Orochimaru, I have no way to seize the One-Tail, let alone the most important Kurama.

"Yagami Shiraha and Kushina Uzumaki are that strong?!" Danzo somewhat bewildered.

Before witnessing Might Duy's Eight Gates Formation and Orochimaru's terrifying strength, Shiraha and Kushina were indeed recognized as the two strongest in the Shinobi World. However, upon hearing Madara's words about how much importance he placed on Shiraha and Kushina, Danzo realized that he had underestimated the two.

Even Madara, who had awakened the Rinnegan, said that he would be no match for any of them.

Are there really such big differences in talent between ninjas?

"To deal with Yagami Shiraha and Kushina Uzumaki, we need Orochimaru's help, or Konoha's Might Duy can use the Eight Gates Formation again, but that's obviously unlikely."

Obito added.

"I can help you if you want, but what do I get in return?" Danzo didn't believe Madara's promise to help him become Hokage. After all, the difference in their strength was huge. Whether Madara would fulfill his promise once he regained his strength depended entirely on Madara's mood. So, for Danzo, gaining benefits was the most important thing right now.

"I can leave here. I also need you to take me to see Orochimaru." Obito stretched out his hand, and a white seed the size of a broad bean fell to the ground, then quickly grew into a White Creature in human form.

Immediately afterwards, the White Creature transformed into Danzo's appearance, even down to the exact same Chakra aura.

Even Danzo himself felt he couldn't tell the difference between the real and the fake.

"This is White Zetsu cultivated using Hashirama cells. It will stay here to serve your sentence without anyone noticing."

Obito added.

"Can you come with me now?"

Danzo fell into a brief silence before making his choice.

In reality, he had no choice. Regardless of whether the person in front of him was sincere or not, he had to choose to cooperate.

As for how to ultimately gain benefits from his relationship with Orochimaru, that requires careful planning, which happens to be his area of expertise.

Outer Sea Continent.

The main hall of the Underground Palace, surrounded by mountains.

It took Shiraha about a year to finally complete the Mental Power Crystallization, reaching the peak of the second level.

After making some preparations, he went all out to break through the Third Level bottleneck.

Similar to his previous two attempts to break through bottlenecks, this time, Shiraha once again traveled the world in his dreams.

The creatures he dreams of most are still snakes, but there are many other creatures as well, some strong and some weak, but none of them exceed his own bloodline level.

And so, another year and a half passed.

Shiraha woke up from her dream.

His eyes were somewhat unfocused, and his expression was somewhat confused.

This time, it felt like he had spent a day in a dream, or perhaps decades or even centuries, to the point that he couldn't distinguish between reality and dreams for a moment.

Several times during this time, he dreamed that he had returned to his first life. Being killed by a dump truck was just a dream. When he woke up, he was lying in a hospital bed, completely paralyzed.

In addition, there is a dream in the second life in which he obtained the treasure "Book of the Ancient Warlock", but it was stolen by someone else.

At this moment, within Shiraha's Soul Space, three Mental Power model crystals were arranged in a triangular pattern.

A deep blue light pierced the darkness, and a blue-gold metal book appeared in his sight. The "Book of the Ancient Warlock" shone brightly.

Shiraha's body jolted, and his eyes finally regained their clarity.

"This time, it feels like so much time has passed." Shiraha looked at his hands, still feeling a little unreal.

"Mental alienation? Or inner demons?"

Recalling the state of mind in the dream, Shiraha still felt lingering fear; the feeling was truly strange.

No wonder there are so few high-level Wizard!

At this moment, a large amount of knowledge from the "Book of the Ancient Warlock" was unlocked and flooded into Shiraha's mind.

If it weren't for his greatly enhanced Mental Power, Shiraha wouldn't have been able to digest so much knowledge so quickly.

After a long while, when Shiraha came to his senses, a relieved smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Finally, I've reached Third Level!"

At this level, one is already a top-tier powerhouse in the Wizarding World, and even within those major powers, one could be considered a high-ranking member.

Third-Level Wizard is called Great Wizard, and this title is not given lightly. It signifies a significant improvement not only in the power of their spells and the strength of their soul, but also in all other aspects.

In an era when "Star-Level" and higher-level Wizard wouldn't easily take action, Third-Level Grand Wizard were the representatives of many factions.

Third-Level Wizard is a powerful being who can attempt to explore different planes. Although they cannot physically traverse the universe like "Star-Level" wizards, they are only one step away from immortality.

There are many civilizations in the universe that may not excel in combat and research, but whose vitality is beyond imagination.

Just like the Otsutsuki Chakra Civilization Shiraha is currently in contact with, their combat power at the Fourth-Level of life force is only comparable to that of Third-Level Wizard, but the Otsutsuki Clan Member have lived for a long time.

Any Otsutsuki Clan Member who has consumed the Chakra Fruit can easily live for thousands of years. As long as they have a constant supply of Chakra, living for tens of thousands of years is not a problem at all.

In any case, it is very difficult for an ordinary "Star-Level" Wizard to live for several thousand years.

This is why the higher-ups in the Wizarding World generally don't stay in their own plane.

Unless one continuously masters the rules and achieves another qualitative change, there will eventually come a time when the end comes.

If, when you hit a bottleneck, you obtain the achievements of other civilizations during your Plane Exploration and are able to extend your lifespan, that would be a tremendous opportunity.

Wizard ' research often takes decades or even centuries, so a thousand-year lifespan is not enough for a "Star-Level" Wizard.

Although warlocks of the same level can live longer, they cannot overcome the unbreakable shackles of their bloodline. Almost all Bloodline Warlock will never be able to break through the level of their bloodline source in their entire lives. Even if they are lucky enough to break through, there will be another bloodline shackle.

Only by coming into contact with the power of the rules can one have the opportunity to completely remove the restrictions of bloodline.

Sensing the two additional solidified models of Innate Spell in his Soul Space, Shiraha clenched his fists.

[Promoted to Third Level Spirit Summoning Warlock]

[Gained the Innate Spell: "Dream Projection"]

[Gained the Innate Spell: "Astral Gate"]

At the same time, a large amount of heat flowed into Shiraha's eyes, and an indescribable feeling of comfort appeared on his eyeballs.

Shiraha gently tapped his right hand, and a large amount of water gathered in the space in front of him, eventually condensing into a water mirror.

"The Rinnegan also Tomoe?"

Silver-white concentric circles filled Shiraha's entire eye socket, with three black Tomoe near the pupil.

When the Eye Power operates automatically, one can sense faint spatial fluctuations.

"Space?"