Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 218 Orochimaru, Obito, and Yomi

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two companions entered the Land of Demons, they were in a narrow canyon within the Land of Demons.

The towering cliffs on both sides are jagged and steep, barren of any vegetation, and appear cold and dark blue-green in the almost dark night.

Looking up, the sky above is an irregular black night sky cut into a narrow line, stingy with the light of stars and moon, as if this canyon has been forgotten by heaven and earth.

On the right side of the canyon, right against the base of the cold stone wall, an ancient building built against the cliff face outlines a strange silhouette in the darkness.

Two lamps hung on either side of its low entrance, their flickering flames casting two warm, orange glows that seemed ready to be swallowed by darkness at any moment.

call!
Three figures, shrouded in wide hooded cloaks, silently drifted down from above the canyon.

Their movements were light and unpredictable, and they landed without making a sound.

"who?"

The four Oni Kingdom guards standing outside the building immediately became alert, their faces showing vigilance and seriousness as they held sharp longswords.

The leader shouted sternly, "This is a forbidden area! Retreat at once!"

However, the three figures seemed not to hear them and continued to walk towards them at a leisurely pace.

"Kill!" The captain of the guard's eyes flashed with cold light, and he suddenly pointed his sword forward.

"Kill!" The other three guards shouted in unison, instantly drawing their swords, the sharp blades gleaming coldly in the dim firelight.

The four of them shot towards the three figures like arrows released from a bow, carrying a sharp killing intent.

However, just as they took their first step...

puff!puff!
A dull, teeth-grinding thud sounded almost simultaneously.

Suddenly, without warning, four sharp, thick stone spears, like stalagmites, pierced the hard ground beneath the guards' feet, precisely piercing their abdomens.

"Ugh!"

The guards only had time to let out short, shrill screams as scalding blood gushed from the wounds in their abdomens, instantly staining the cold stone spears and the ground beneath their feet!

The three figures did not pause at all, and did not even glance at the four guards, but walked straight to the low and heavy stone door.

As they approached, the dim yellow light from the two faint lamps gradually illuminated their blurred silhouettes beneath their hoods.

The man in the middle, with a sinister face, black hair and beard, and eyes flashing with fanaticism and ambition, was Huang Quan, a worshipper of the demon 'Wang Liang'.

The person on the right wore an orange-red spiral mask, revealing only one blood-red Sharingan eye. His gaze was deep and cold; it was Uchiha Obito.

On the left was a pale-faced man with a pair of golden vertical pupils that gleamed coldly in the firelight. A chilling smile played on his lips. It was Orochimaru.

Orochimaru passed by the four wailing guards, casually extended his pale right hand, and gently stroked the bodies of the four guards.

Then, a horrifying scene happened.

Click, click, click!
The four guards' bodies began to twist and deform violently, their bones emitting a chilling, dense cracking sound, and their flesh writhing and squeezing as if being forcibly compressed!

In just a few breaths, the four guards disappeared, replaced by four hard, black objects, each only the size of a thumb, in Orochimaru's hand.

What's most unsettling is that on each of these four small objects, a distorted, painful, and empty face is clearly visible, much like the famous painting "The Scream".

This is a new ability that Orochimaru developed based on his Zanpakuto, 'Boa-hime'.

Human body modification.

Possessing the 'Snake Princess', he can transform other people's bodies into the form he desires by touching them.

If he wanted, he could release these four small modified bodies and turn them into four monsters.

Gulu...

Orochimaru opened his mouth and swallowed the four modified bodies, which exuded a strange aura, one by one. The slight swallowing sounds were particularly clear in the dead silence of the canyon.

Seeing this, the pupil beneath Obito's mask contracted almost imperceptibly, a deep sense of solemnity and apprehension flashing across his eyes, but he couldn't help but sneer:

"Hmph, you really don't discriminate between meat and vegetables now."

"Hehe, it's always good to have more options."

Orochimaru glanced at Obito and let out a low, hoarse chuckle: "So that you don't end up like someone else, all alone and helpless."

Obito's face darkened beneath his mask, a surge of intense anger welling up within him, but he forcefully suppressed it.

He recalled what had happened not long ago.

He, Zetsu, and Itachi Uchiha were searching for traces of "Hollows" in the ninja world when they unexpectedly encountered Orochimaru, who was also searching for "Hollows".

The two started fighting each other without saying a word. As a result, during the time Orochimaru disappeared, he somehow gained extremely strange and powerful abilities.

His prized ability to become intangible, while making him virtually invincible, left him helpless against Orochimaru's endless and unpredictable methods.

He couldn't kill Orochimaru, and Orochimaru couldn't do anything to him either.

Ultimately, the two individuals, each harboring their own secrets and harboring mutual suspicion, reached a cooperative relationship characterized by mutual distrust and a superficial harmony, all while sharing the common goal of searching for the 'Hollowfied'.

According to their speculation, the monsters that feed on darkness in legend are the most likely to become Hollows.

The man in front of them, named Huang Quan, was someone they found after reaching a consensus, based on information provided by Bai Jue. He was someone who knew the location where the demon 'Wang Liang' was sealed.

It can be said that although the three of them traveled together, they each had their own ulterior motives.

The purpose of the Yellow Springs is to release the demons, destroy the five great nations, and rule the ninja world.

Orochimaru's goal was to kill Moryo so that his Zanpakuto, "Snake Princess," could absorb Moryo's power and evolve. Obito, on the other hand, coveted the power of the Hollows and wanted to control Moryo and make it his own.

Therefore, when faced with Orochimaru's provocation, Obito's face under his mask was so gloomy it could drip water, but he suppressed his anger and did not make a move, only letting out a cold snort.

Now is not the time to turn against each other.

Huang Quan was completely oblivious to the undercurrents between the two, or rather, all he saw was the door to power and destruction.

Squeak!

Huang Quan stretched out his hands and forcefully pushed open the heavy, dusty stone door. A chilling current of air, mixed with decay, dust, and an ancient aura, instantly rushed towards him.

Behind the door was a dark, bottomless staircase leading downwards.

"Let's go."

With barely suppressed excitement, Huang Quan stepped into the deep darkness first.

Orochimaru and Obito exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with wariness and calculation. Then, one after the other, they silently followed inside.

Tap...tap...tap...

The sound of the three people's footsteps echoed clearly in the empty and deathly silent stairwell.

As they ventured deeper, the oil lamps on the stone walls on both sides of the passage lit up automatically, emitting a dim and flickering light that barely illuminated a short section of the downward-sloping stairs ahead.

The scene was eerie and mysterious, as if welcoming their arrival, yet also as if warning them of something.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the passage ahead suddenly opened up.

A huge, empty underground space appeared before the three of them.

At the end of the space was a circular sealing array that shone with a strange light. In the center of the array was also a door, which seemed to seal away some kind of indescribable terrifying existence.

Even from this distance, one could feel the chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

On both sides of the only road leading to the sealing array, thousands of tall and majestic stone statues stand in neat rows.

They stood silently in the darkness, as if gazing at the intruders, exuding a cold and murderous aura.

"Finally found!"

Huang Quan looked at the enormous sealing array, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

But soon, as he approached the door, which was weighed down by a boulder and bound by ropes, the excitement on his face gradually turned into doubt.

Orochimaru licked his lips and asked, "Is this the place where the demons are sealed?"

“Only the souls of demons remain here; their physical bodies are sealed in the Swamp Country,” Huang Quan murmured, shaking his head. “But even though the seal hasn’t been broken yet, this aura…”

At the edge of the stone gate, wisps of purplish-black mist were seeping outwards.

This situation was different from what he had expected.

Without a physical body, the soul of a 'wraith' cannot exist in the outside world and will dissipate in an instant.

Huang Quan originally intended to let the soul of the 'Wangliang' reside in his body.

Then, using the power of 'Wangliang', he drove those immortal stone statues called the "Ghost Legion" to break through the Swamp Kingdom, retrieve its body, and kill the priestess Miroku.

but now……

"Hehehe".

Just then, a chilling, hoarse laugh echoed from within the stone gate: "What a nostalgic atmosphere, Huang Quan. I didn't expect you to still be alive."

Upon hearing this voice, Huang Quan's expression changed instantly. Without hesitation, he knelt down on one knee, bowed his head, and said, "Lord Wangliang, I didn't expect you to be so close to breaking the seal."

"No, it's the rules of death that have changed, and the power of my soul has become stronger."

The voice of the demon was like sandpaper rubbing against dry bones, hoarse and deep, sending chills down one's spine, as it echoed from behind the heavy stone door: "Yellow Springs, open the seal."

"Yes, Lord Wangliang!"

Huang Quan stood up without hesitation and strode toward the stone door.

He stretched out his hands and pressed them against the cold, rough stone door, and began to chant an ancient, obscure incantation in a low, rapid voice.

Click! Kaka!

As the incantation continued, fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the stone gate, and a chilling, bone-chilling airflow, accompanied by purplish-black mist, surged out from those cracks!

boom! !

A deafening, terrifying roar suddenly erupted, and the incredibly heavy stone door shattered into countless fragments that shot out in all directions under the violent energy impact.

An even more powerful and chilling purplish-black mist, like a burst dam, swept out from the deep darkness inside the stone gate, enveloping Huang Quan, Orochimaru, and Obito!

The fog swirled, carrying a biting chill and a nauseating, malevolent aura.

boom!
A hand made entirely of thick, purplish-black mist suddenly emerged from the churning darkness and gripped the edge of the broken door frame tightly!
Immediately afterward, under the fervent and expectant gaze of Huang Quan, a blurry figure with only a rough human outline slowly emerged from the deep darkness!

It was the demon 'Wangliang'.

No, or rather, it was its soul that broke free from its seal.

(End of this chapter)