Orochimaru took matters into his own hands

For instance, he could activate Kāma's spatial teleportation right in front of Obito.

One wave of his sleeve, and he would teleport straight out!

Tuzige could say whatever he wanted if that didn't drive him mad. After all that scheming to catch him, Sixia could simply leave whenever he pleased!

But Sixia did nothing of the sort. Instead, he began leisurely exploring the Kamui Dimension.

The Kamui Dimension was an alternate space dominated by shades of gray, filled with gray rectangular blocks that gave it an artistic air.

Sixia wasn't an artist, though. The Akatsuki's artistic duo hadn't fully formed yet; only Sasori was studying art.

After looking around, Sixia found that the edges of the Kamui Dimension were pitch-black, like a void where nothing could be seen.

After Sixia wandered around for a while, Obito seemed to finish his preparations and entered the Kamui Dimension as well.

Sixia smiled when he saw Obito.

Then, without giving Obito a chance to spout nonsense about being Madara Uchiha, he spoke first.

Sixia cut straight to the point and exposed Obito's identity.

"Tell me, Obito. What did you drag me in here for?"

Obito: "???"

Sixia's words nearly made Obito's eyes pop out.

Sixia had predicted correctly. Obito really had intended to use Madara Uchiha's name to intimidate Uzumaki Shixia.

The words "I am Madara Uchiha" had already reached his lips, but he forcibly swallowed them back down.

Honestly, Obito didn't have many tricks in his normal state.

He really only used two skills.

Skill one: I am Madara Uchiha.

Skill two: Kamui.

Neither of those skills intimidated Sixia in the slightest.

Right now, for example, using his first skill would just be laughable.

But the real question was, how on earth did Sixia know his identity?

There was something else Obito didn't know, either.

If he dared solemnly declare himself Madara Uchiha in front of Sixia...

With Sixia's personality, he would absolutely reply with a straight face, "Long time no see, son. I'm Uchiha Tajima!"

Uchiha Tajima was Madara Uchiha's father.

Unfortunately, that honest boy Nagato didn't understand these things and had been thoroughly hoodwinked by Obito.

Sixia had another reason for exposing Obito's identity right away.

He wanted Obito to hurry up and get this over with.

Otherwise, if he stayed here too long, that red-haired beauty outside might get angry and start piloting her Gundam around in search of him.

Meanwhile, on another broad road...

Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki were on their way to carry out a mission.

These two were the ultimate environmentalists of the shinobi world, a genuine walking duo.

No matter how far away their destination was, they generally traveled on foot. They wouldn't even take a carriage. Zero emissions all the way.

As they traveled, Itachi was also learning more about Sixia from Kisame Hoshigaki.

After all, Kisame Hoshigaki had worked with Sixia when they captured Three-Tails Isobu.

Moreover, Kisame Hoshigaki had told Itachi that he had fought Uzumaki Shixia.

Thinking of this, Itachi spoke in an utterly calm voice, his face expressionless.

"When you fought Uzumaki Shixia, was he fighting seriously?"

Itachi brought this up again because something about Sixia had left him deeply puzzled.

Itachi paid close attention to every member of the Akatsuki.

From the day Sixia joined the Akatsuki, Itachi had carefully observed and recorded everything related to him.

He was certain that most of his observations and records concerning Uzumaki Shixia were accurate.

But comparing all that intelligence revealed something truly terrifying.

Sixia's first fight had been against Kakuzu.

Back then, although Kakuzu was no match for Sixia, he claimed he could have escaped easily.

That claim wasn't necessarily reliable, but Kakuzu had indeed fought Sixia.

It was also a fact that Kakuzu had survived that fight.

Yet judging by Sixia's recent strength, if he attacked with the intent to kill, Kakuzu would undoubtedly die!

How little time had passed for Uzumaki Shixia to grow this strong?

A few months ago, Sixia would have needed some effort to kill Kakuzu.

Now, however, Sixia undoubtedly possessed the terrifying strength to kill Kakuzu instantly!

Even to Itachi, Konoha's prodigy, this rate of growth was far too frightening, far too unbelievable.

In the shinobi world today, was there any shinobi who could match Sixia in a one-on-one fight?

Itachi felt he needed to take Sixia more seriously.

And investigate everything about him as thoroughly as possible without exposing his own identity as a spy.

Sixia's rate of growth was anything but normal!

Naturally, Kakuzu had no idea that Uchiha Itachi was using him as a benchmark for combat strength.

Still, when introducing himself in the future, he could say:

"I am Kakuzu. I once fought the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to a draw!"

"Later, I fought Uzumaki Shixia, the strongest shinobi of our era, whose strength surpasses Kage level, and emerged unscathed!"

"And when I withdrew, Uzumaki Shixia didn't dare pursue me!"

If Kakuzu really said that, it wouldn't exactly be nonsense.

Sixia hadn't had a commission mission to capture him back then, so why would he chase him?

Once Sixia became truly famous throughout the shinobi world...

Adding those lines to his résumé would definitely make Kakuzu a hot commodity on the black market.

Beside Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki had been chatting with him on and off.

When Itachi asked about his battle with Sixia in Kirigakure, Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't help launching into a string of complaints.

"Itachi-san, I don't think Uzumaki Shixia was fighting seriously in that battle."

As an honest-to-goodness shark of a shinobi who dutifully formed all forty-four hand seals even for Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet...

Kisame Hoshigaki generally didn't lie.

His fight with Sixia on Kirigakure's great lake had probably been nothing more than a minor warm-up for Sixia.

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, then complained.

"That fellow Kakuzu has a habit of killing his teammates."

"Uzumaki Shixia was already a little eccentric, but after teaming up with Kakuzu on missions, Kakuzu led him even further astray."

"During that mission in Kirigakure, Sixia wanted to keep the target alive under my attacks so he could collect the bounty."

"He said the target wasn't worth much dead and told me to leave him alive."

"At the time, I'd heard Kakuzu say Uzumaki Shixia was very strong, so I wanted to test his mettle."

"But once we started fighting, he completely overwhelmed me from beginning to end, even without going all out."

"I nearly died in that fight."

Even though a long time had passed, Kisame Hoshigaki was still filled with emotion as he recalled that battle.

Moreover, Sixia had already been very strong back then.

But the Sixia of today was undoubtedly much stronger still!

During that battle on Kirigakure's great lake, if not for his tenacious vitality and the considerable recovery Samehada provided...

Sixia might very well have killed him outright!

Kisame Hoshigaki trusted Itachi deeply.

Among the Akatsuki's many members, Kisame Hoshigaki probably had the purest motives.

Unlike the others, he hadn't joined the Akatsuki with ulterior motives or merely as a temporary measure.

He remained with the Akatsuki because he believed in its principles and hoped its ultimate goal would be realized.

When Uchiha Itachi asked, Kisame Hoshigaki gave him a detailed, honest account of everything that had happened.

Itachi had already concluded that Sixia was a highly dangerous shinobi.

After hearing Kisame Hoshigaki describe his grueling battle with Sixia, Itachi rated Sixia's danger even higher.

Itachi even felt that if Sixia had been born a little earlier, the Uzumaki Clan's Land of Whirlpools would surely never have fallen.

Under Sixia's leadership, Uzushio Village might well have developed into a hugely influential shinobi village.

After all, Sixia not only possessed terrifying strength beyond Kage level, but also remarkable strategic vision.

Through his proposals and efforts, Amegakure and Kusagakure had formed an alliance, and both villages had developed exceptionally well!

Unfortunately, the Land of Whirlpools had already fallen, and Uzushiogakure had passed into history.

Otherwise, the shinobi world today would certainly have been even more exciting.

Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki continued onward.

But a figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, blocking their path.

Naturally, it wasn't Obito.

Obito was still with Sixia inside the Kamui Dimension, and their situation was unknown.

The man who appeared here to stop Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki was someone they both knew: their fellow Akatsuki member, Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was deeply conflicted. He desperately wanted a perfect vessel for his reincarnation.

But obtaining a perfect vessel was simply too difficult.

After Sixia left, Orochimaru pondered the matter for a long time.

After thinking it over repeatedly, he ultimately decided to test the waters with Itachi.

Orochimaru knew Itachi relatively well. At least for now, he didn't believe this junior could pose much of a threat to him.

When he became famous throughout the shinobi world as one of the legendary Sannin, Itachi hadn't even been born!

After all, Itachi's performance in the Akatsuki so far had been unremarkable. He had never displayed particularly formidable strength.

Under those circumstances, Orochimaru had an excellent chance of winning if he attacked Itachi.

Of course, Orochimaru's intelligence wasn't wrong.

After all, as a spy, Itachi was hardly going to work himself to the bone.

Wasn't it obvious? To slack off, he always traveled at a walking pace when going on missions with Kisame Hoshigaki.

Under those circumstances, how could he possibly reveal his true strength while working for the Akatsuki?

If he had always fought at full strength, Juzo Biwa would certainly still have been alive and well in the Akatsuki.

Orochimaru knew none of that, however. According to his intelligence, Itachi had once traded blows evenly with Kakashi during a mission alongside Juzo Biwa.

If that was all the strength Itachi possessed, why should he waste money hiring Sixia to capture Obito?

Besides, it wasn't that he couldn't bear to spend the money. Sixia was simply asking for too much!

He couldn't scrape together that much money anytime soon.

So he decided to try taking on Itachi himself first.

If he succeeded, he would save a hundred million in funding!

And obtain the perfect vessel he had always dreamed of!

Still, because Sixia was simply too powerful, Orochimaru didn't want to openly break with the Akatsuki just yet.

Otherwise, the Akatsuki wouldn't even need to send anyone else after him. They could simply throw some money at Sixia, and Orochimaru would probably be doomed.

His original plan had therefore been to launch a sudden sneak attack and take Itachi down.

But with that concern in mind, he decided to fight Itachi under the pretext of sparring.

If he won, he would sling Itachi over his shoulder and flee to a secret base to perform Living Corpse Reincarnation.

An Uchiha Clan body was an excellent vessel. Once he possessed a perfect vessel, the threat Sixia posed would undoubtedly shrink to almost nothing.

Thus, after stopping Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki, Orochimaru flicked out his tongue and gave Itachi what he thought was a friendly smile.

"Uchiha Itachi, there's something I'd like your help with!"

"I've developed a new jutsu, and I need to test it by sparring with you."

After Orochimaru finished speaking, Itachi's face remained expressionless.

He didn't want to bother with Orochimaru. Only two things mattered much in his life right now.

The first was his foolish little brother's development; the second was his undercover work.

Nothing beyond those two things interested him.

Kisame Hoshigaki, however, was very curious about what would happen if these two Konoha rogue shinobi fought.

So Kisame Hoshigaki smiled and said, "Orochimaru was once named one of the Sannin by Hanzo of the Salamander, the Demigod of the Ninja World, while Mr. Itachi is one of Konoha's greatest prodigies."

"It really does make one curious which of you is stronger."

"Why don't the two of you have a spar?"

As he spoke, Kisame Hoshigaki tactfully stepped aside to give them room to fight.

On the tree-lined path, Itachi stared expressionlessly at Orochimaru.

Honestly, he had no interest in fighting Orochimaru.

But judging by Orochimaru's demeanor, he wouldn't let the matter rest unless Itachi fought him today.

Itachi stood where he was, gazing casually ahead, not even bothering to take his hands out of his cloak.

"Arrogant!"

Seeing this, Orochimaru felt that Itachi was courting death.

Today, as his senior, he would teach this ignorant, fearless junior a proper lesson.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!"

Orochimaru rapidly formed hand seals, preparing to use Impure World Reincarnation to draw Itachi's attention.

Then he would rush up to Itachi, bundle up that arrogant Uchiha brat, and carry him off!

But the scene in the woods left Kisame Hoshigaki, standing nearby, rather baffled.

After Orochimaru had called Itachi arrogant, nothing else had happened.

Kisame Hoshigaki scratched his head, then muttered uncertainly, "Don't tell me Orochimaru's caught in a genjutsu?"

He felt that was pretty unlikely.

After all, when he and Itachi went on missions together, Itachi often traded blows back and forth with their targets.

Of course, to be precise, his strength was unclear, and he rose to match stronger opponents. Either way, they always completed their missions.

But surely Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, wasn't on the same level as the small fry they encountered on those missions?

Kisame Hoshigaki didn't know that when Itachi fought the ultimate genjutsu endurance champion Lao Ka, Sasuke, and the others, he held back.

He generally had to adjust how much he held back to suit the circumstances. Often, he had to hold back so much it was absurd, or his opponents wouldn't get to experience a fight at all.

But against Orochimaru today, there was no need for that.

Before Orochimaru had spoken, Itachi had already activated his genjutsu and begun influencing him.

Now, he had dragged Orochimaru into a genjutsu dimension.

The blood-red world was filled with countless irregular black cubes.

"Caw-"

Amid the cries, crow after crow appeared, then gathered a short distance from Orochimaru and took Itachi's form.

"Damn it! When did you do this?"

Orochimaru was utterly shocked. He had actually fallen under a genjutsu.

He hadn't even noticed when Itachi had activated it!

"Shunk!"

Huge iron spikes appeared one after another, pinning Orochimaru firmly in place.

This was Itachi's Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique. It could immobilize a ninja caught in the genjutsu, leaving them unable to move and almost incapable of responding.

Itachi gazed expressionlessly at the immobilized Orochimaru. Without a word, he dissolved into a flock of crows and vanished.

Clearly, Orochimaru had been instantly defeated by the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique before he could even get started.

After Itachi released the genjutsu, Orochimaru collapsed onto the ground, bracing himself with both hands as he gasped for breath, utterly drained.

Now, he was more certain than ever.

The Uchiha Clan made perfect vessels!

If he could successfully carry Itachi off, he would stand a fighting chance even if Sixia came after him.

But reality was cruel. He couldn't even last a single exchange against Itachi.