Obito: Sixia Was Nothing Special

After thinking it over, paying a hundred million ryo to hire Uzumaki Shixia to bring him a living Uchiha seemed to be his only option.

More precisely, after going around in circles for so long, Obito Uchiha was still his only option!

Seeing Orochimaru deep in thought beside him, Sixia was in no hurry. He planned to give Orochimaru time to digest all this information.

Meanwhile, he was also thinking, Surely Orochimaru can scrape together a hundred million ryo?

A hundred million ryo sounds like a lot, but it really isn't.

Sixia waited a while, but when Orochimaru's expression continued to shift, he could only speak up.

"Orochimaru, have you made up your mind?"

Orochimaru paused, then asked, "Are there really only three living Uchiha left in the Shinobi World?"

Sixia nodded solemnly. "That's right. Mercenaries don't lie. Everyone in the Akatsuki knows how honest and trustworthy I am. Don't tell me you haven't heard."

Orochimaru continued, "Is it true that you can't fully unleash the Sharingan's abilities unless you have an original, matching pair?"

There was no helping it. After careful consideration, he had concluded that Obito was probably his only option.

And there was an easier way to give Obito two eyes instead of one.

Sixia had a way to obtain Sharingan. Once they captured Obito, they could simply transplant another Sharingan into him.

But if it had to be Obito's original Sharingan, they would need to make a move against Konoha.

At present, he had no desire to confront Konoha head-on.

Sixia nodded without hesitation. "Absolutely. Don't question my expertise."

Hearing this, Orochimaru asked another question. "Do you have a matching pair of Sharingan? Why not transplant them into Obito Uchiha and replace his lone eye?"

Sixia realized that Orochimaru truly lived up to his reputation as a researcher. He certainly approached things from unusual angles.

In theory, if a matching pair of Sharingan were transplanted into Obito, he should be able to use their various abilities normally.

Sixia considered it, then explained, "Mangekyō Sharingan abilities vary wildly. Some are extremely useful, while others have limited applications."

At this point, Sixia thought of one particularly special Mangekyō Sharingan ability: the famous Amaterasu.

Judging by its description, this ability was incredibly powerful.

It could burn anything it ignited completely to ashes, only going out afterward.

But in actual combat, its greatest achievement had been costing Fourth Raikage A an arm.

Against other shinobi, this ability was often easily countered by something as simple as taking off their clothes.

After considering it carefully, Orochimaru did not make an immediate decision.

He looked at Sixia and said earnestly, "I need to carefully consider all the information I learned today before I can decide."

Orochimaru needed some time to analyze things seriously and weigh the pros and cons.

Sixia did not mind what Orochimaru said and replied casually.

"Take your time. Once you've decided, get the money ready. You pay, I do the job."

After quoting Orochimaru an astronomical price, Sixia left Orochimaru's base with Karin.

Orochimaru was an excellent researcher, but he had little interest in making money.

As a result, he rarely used his research findings to turn a profit.

Sixia did not know whether Orochimaru could afford the astronomical price he had quoted.

Probably?

This was Orochimaru, after all!

Once the two of them had left Orochimaru's base, Karin asked casually.

"Sixia, is there anything you really want to eat?"

"I can focus on learning how to cook it!"

Sixia shook his head.

"Karin, learning to cook is a long journey."

"For now, just learn to make simple things, like instant noodles."

Karin froze for a moment before realizing that Sixia was teasing her!

"Sixia, you're stifling a culinary genius!"

Karin folded her arms across her chest in a huff, pouting in obvious displeasure.

Seeing how adorably sulky Karin looked, Sixia only wanted to tousle her smooth red hair into a bird's nest.

Foolish little sister, tsunderes are already out of the meta!

The corners of Sixia's mouth lifted slightly as a brilliant idea suddenly struck him.

The "Surprise Apples" he had drawn earlier.

They would be perfect for cheering Karin up.

The "Surprise Apple" was a unique fruit from the world of Toriko.

When frightened, the face on the apple would change, and it would gain a level.

The greater the fright a Surprise Apple received, the more exaggerated its expression became, and the higher its level rose.

Surprise Apples capped out at level 100, and Sixia was curious about what a level 80 Surprise Apple tasted like.

With that thought, he took a Surprise Apple out of his system space.

The higher a Surprise Apple's level, the better it tasted.

A Surprise Apple at such a high level would surely be an unparalleled delicacy.

Without exaggeration, even Danzo would want to defect from his village after tasting one!

After taking out two level 80 Surprise Apples, Sixia approached Karin with a smile.

"Karin, I've got some delicious fruit for you. Want some?"

Karin turned her little head away.

Then she said in a soft voice, "Since you've gone that far, I suppose I'll reluctantly give it a try."

Her words left Sixia amused, and he handed her a Surprise Apple.

At first, Karin assumed that the delicious fruit Sixia had mentioned was just an apple.

But when she reached out and took the apple from Sixia, she nearly jumped in fright, her face full of disgust.

"Ah!"

"Ew, Sixia, this fruit is really ugly!"

"This fruit looks so creepy!"

"It doesn't look edible at all!"

Sixia was thoroughly entertained by Karin's expression.

This was something good that could only be obtained from an intermediate draw. How could it possibly taste bad?

So Sixia chuckled and said, "Karin, you can't judge an apple by its looks, just as you can't measure my good looks."

As he spoke, he raised the ugly Surprise Apple in his hand and took a bite.

Crunch!

The moment he bit into it, something like an electric current flashed through Sixia's mind.

A fresh, sweet apple flavor burst across Sixia's taste buds.

A wonderfully refreshing sensation filled his entire body.

Every cell in his body seemed to be saying, Delicious. Delicious. Absolutely delicious!

Then Karin watched as Sixia began savoring the strange-looking fruit with genuine enjoyment.

An indescribable fruity fragrance also wafted through the air.

Karin could not help swallowing.

After spending so much time with Sixia, Karin was certain that he was enjoying delicious food, not putting on an act.

Besides, in Karin's eyes, Sixia really was the most handsome.

If he was staking his good looks on it, he probably wasn't messing with her.

With that thought, Karin licked her rosy lips and took a bite.

Crunch!

In an instant, an electric current raced through her mind.

The delightful flavor traveled from the tip of her tongue to its root, then spread throughout her body, making every cell in Karin seem to freeze in place!

"This..."

"How can fruit taste this good?"

"This apple-like fruit is unbelievably delicious!"

Karin was utterly stunned!

Just like Sixia, she ate the extremely odd-looking Surprise Apple clean.

Even after finishing one Surprise Apple, Karin still found herself wanting more.

Sixia smiled at Karin. "Well? I wasn't lying, was I?"

"No!"

Karin savored the lingering taste with satisfaction.

"Sixia, I'm going to work hard to cook delicious food too!"

Hearing Karin say this, Sixia immediately answered in his mind, There's really no need.

He had never met anyone from the Uzumaki Clan who could cook well.

He even suspected that the reason Naruto had suffered no serious consequences from drinking expired milk...

...was very likely that Minato Namikaze had eaten so much of Kushina's disastrous cooking that he developed a degree of "poison resistance," then passed that resistance on to Naruto.

Of course, he would not discourage Karin's enthusiasm for learning to cook.

Karin was still young. There was hope for her yet.

Just then, someone suddenly blocked their path, and Sixia casually glanced over.

One look made him grin. It was actually someone he knew!

On the Shaded Path stood a figure in a gray robe, his face covered by a tiger-striped mask.

It was none other than Tuzige, Obito Uchiha, who had thoroughly duped Nagato while posing as Madara Uchiha!

Sixia was pleasantly surprised.

His luck was pretty good today!

He had only just talked Orochimaru into capturing Obito, and now the man had delivered himself to his doorstep?

Upon seeing him, Sixia did not expose his identity. Instead, he gave a sly smile.

"Oi, if it isn't the Mysterious Masked Man. Why are you blocking my way? Looking to hire me for a mission?"

Across the Shaded Path, Obito chuckled at Sixia's words. "That's right. I have quite a few commissions that only a shinobi as powerful as you could handle, Sixia."

As Obito spoke, he approached Sixia at an unhurried pace.

If Shimura Danzō had been here, he might have said, "You evil Uchiha brat, stay away from me!"

But Obito was facing Sixia, so Sixia paid no mind to his approach.

Hearing Obito's obviously suspicious words, Sixia asked with interest.

"Let's hear it. What kind of commission?"

Obito did not answer directly. Instead, he kept walking and spoke casually.

"Why don't you take a guess, Sixia? After all, the mission I want to commission is..."

By now, Obito was already very close to Sixia.

So before he even finished speaking, he struck!

Whoosh!

Upon reaching Sixia, Obito suddenly thrust out his hand to press it against him.

Obito let out a triumphant Uchiha laugh.

"Got you!!"

Obito's attack came out of nowhere.

Who could have imagined that he would be smiling and discussing business one moment, only to turn hostile the next?

His attack was utterly sudden, and its speed was astonishing.

He worked tirelessly toward his clear goal of creating a world with Rin in it, so his actions were not only decisive but ruthless.

If he said he would wipe out an entire clan, he would wipe out the entire clan!

Yet when Sixia saw Obito's movement, he merely gave an amused smile.

The instant Obito attacked, he noticed.

He was now at Super Kage Level, and there was a vast gap between Obito's strength and his own.

For an ordinary Kage Level shinobi, Obito's surprise attack might catch them off guard.

But in his eyes, Obito's attack was no faster than a turtle.

The trajectory of Obito's attack looked like slow-motion footage playing frame by frame.

He could easily dodge it now, or slap Obito straight into the ground.

But when he saw Obito reaching toward him, he did not resist. He simply watched Obito with interest.

He did this for two reasons!

First, there was no need. He was very familiar with Obito's techniques.

Obito's sudden attack was clearly an attempt to transport him into the Kamui Dimension.

Wasn't it just teleportation? As if no one else could do that.

Besides, a guy playing with colored contacts actually dared to pick a fight with him, a guy playing with tattoos. He really had no idea what he was getting into!

Second, Sixia wanted to see why Obito had suddenly attacked him.

Logically, Obito should have had no reason to make a move against him.

What he was doing now did not seem to seriously conflict with Obito's plans.

Not only that, he had even captured Three-Tails Isobu ahead of schedule.

It was one thing for Obito not to bring gifts and thank him, but to suddenly attack him on the road was truly baffling.

Since Sixia had no intention of resisting, Obito planted his hand firmly on Sixia's shoulder.

Once his hand landed on Sixia's shoulder, Obito was delighted, even a little smug.

He had read the intelligence on Sixia and estimated that even with a surprise attack, his chances of success were less than ten percent!

But he had Kamui at his disposal. Sixia was a Taijutsu ninja who used Lightning Release; even if Obito couldn't beat him, his intangibility would easily keep him from losing.

That was why he had come!

But he had never imagined he would succeed so easily!

As he activated his ocular technique, Obito couldn't help musing to himself.

Heh!

Looks like the intelligence I got from Nagato and the other sources was flawed.

Every last report went on about how powerful Uzumaki Shixia was.

According to those reports, I had practically no chance of pulling this off.

But now that I've actually faced Uzumaki Shixia, he's nowhere near as strong as they claimed. He fell for it without a fight!

At least for now, Obito thought Sixia's strength was nothing special.

What he didn't know was that another thought had actually flashed through Sixia's mind a moment earlier.

He had considered grabbing Obito by the throat and imitating the tone of the Second Hokage and Shimura Danzō as he said:

"Evil Uchiha brat, is that all you've got?"

Obito was lucky. Sixia was in a good mood that day and had no intention of crushing his confidence.

After Obito activated his ocular technique, transparent, spiraling ripples instantly enveloped Sixia.

The next moment, Obito transported Sixia straight into the Kamui Dimension.

"Bzz-"

A swirl of transparent ripples appeared inside the Kamui Dimension.

Sixia landed on a cube.

There was no denying that the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was truly remarkable.

When they awakened their eyes, they gained some truly extraordinary abilities based on their own condition and state of mind.

With enough luck and a wild enough imagination, awakening the Sharingan might grant them some outrageously overpowered abilities.

Tuzige's Kamui had still been formidable in the age of fancy contact lenses.

But once the age of tattoos arrived, Kamui's prospects became rather worrying.

That was because any ninja with a "Kāma" could teleport through space, going wherever he pleased.

Tuzige had only gained Kamui after watching someone dear to him die right before his eyes.

Yet any guy with a tattoo could teleport through space. How was Tuzige supposed to hold his own in the Shinobi World?

And so.

Even after Obito brought him here, Sixia remained perfectly composed, without the slightest trace of panic.

If he wanted to, he could even give Obito a little scare.