Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

[Chapter 250. Orochimaru VS Animal Path]

Orochimaru had already achieved some success in mastering the Impure World Reincarnation Technique long ago. When he was reviewing the Scroll of Seals, he carefully recorded all the information about it. He was not only attracted by the powerful ability of the Impure World Reincarnation Technique to create an army by himself, but also by the fact that he wanted to use this technique as research material for reference. For example, he drew a lot of inspiration from the Reanimation Jutsu.

Over the years, he has traveled all over the mountains and rivers of the ninja world, searching for containers with powerful bloodline limits and family secret techniques. Along the way, he has also raided many graves and collected the remains of many powerful figures from the past.

Like this time,

He summoned three Uchiha clan ninjas.

After making a deal with Uchiha Munen, he didn't really leave. There were plenty of fresh corpses on the battlefield, which were all necessary materials for the Impure World Reincarnation technique. In order not to attract attention, he only took a portion of the flesh and blood tissue from the corpses of those dead ninjas. After all, the Impure World Reincarnation technique did not require complete corpses.

The three Uchiha clan ninjas currently fighting Konan died on the battlefield last year when they fought against the Cloud Ninja.

All three were Jonin.

They all have Sharingan with three tomoe.

Even though Orochimaru had erased his intelligence and left him to fight only on instinct, he still gained a certain advantage in his battle against Konan thanks to the immortality of his reanimated body and his almost inexhaustible chakra. His continuous fire-style techniques were quite effective against Konan's Shikigami Dance.

Because of the environment of the Land of Rain, she was able to develop waterproof paper, but not fireproof paper. She was temporarily restrained by fire-style techniques. Of course, what was most frustrating was the indestructibility of the reanimated body. No matter how she tried to destroy it, she could not completely destroy the three dead people.

She had also considered using sealing techniques, as her Shikigami Dance secret technique included sealing methods. However, with Orochimaru interfering from the side, it would be difficult to seal three targets at the same time. If she only sealed one or two people, they would be destroyed by the flames in the blink of an eye.

As for the saying "to catch the thief, catch the king,"

They attacked Orochimaru directly.

If that were possible, there would be no need to get entangled with these three unkillable monsters.

Konan's mood was quite heavy at this moment. As expected of a monster who was one of the Legendary Sannin alongside Jiraiya, although she herself had some trump cards she hadn't used, looking at Orochimaru standing leisurely on top of a giant snake's head, it was clear that the other party also had trump cards that he hadn't revealed.

but,

Delaying the process would be to her advantage.

Judging by the time, Payne should be arriving around now.

"Are you waiting for backup?"

Orochimaru suddenly spoke.

As he spoke, the three resurrected beings slowed their attacks under his control.

In this short period of time, he had roughly figured out Xiao Nan's methods and background. Her ability to manipulate paper was quite good, combining offense and defense. She also had the ability to fly and included sealing techniques. Apart from being relatively afraid of fire, he had not found any other weaknesses.

However, the reason he spoke at this moment was not because he felt there was no need to test him anymore.

"That's right, you are indeed very strong. It would be difficult for me to defeat you on my own. However, invading Amegakure was the biggest mistake you made. If I had encountered you outside Amegakure, I would probably have already been considering retreating. But this is Amegakure, and Pain... is invincible."

Konan flew in mid-air, calmly watching Orochimaru.

"Pain? You mean that long-haired guy?"

Orochimaru looked up at a platform on the lower part of the tower above. A woman wearing the same robe as Konan, with her waist-length hair tied in a ponytail, was standing on the edge of the platform, looking down at what was below.

Those eyes?

Is it the Rinnegan?

Orochimaru's heart suddenly raced!

His eyesight is very good.

Although he didn't possess any special eye techniques, the distance between him and the Beast Path standing at the edge of the platform wasn't so great that he couldn't clearly see the pair of blue-purple eyes with wavy patterns. It's not unusual for normal humans to have eyes of various colors, but having patterns is quite rare.

"Pain!"

Xiao Nan took off.

Orochimaru did not stop them, but stared warily at the Animal Path, sensing a threat emanating from it.

"Xiao Nan, if you're tired, go and rest for a while."

"It's not a big problem. I just used up a little chakra. I wasn't injured."

Konan shook her head, indicating that she was fine. "Those Uchiha clan members were summoned out of their coffins. I tried to kill them using conventional methods, but they didn't work. Regular taijutsu and ninjutsu probably won't be effective."

"Can't be killed?"

The animal realm was also somewhat surprised.

How could it not be killed?

"It should be the Impure World Reincarnation technique."

Behind the Animal Path, Obito Uchiha also appeared quietly. "That's a forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It can summon the souls of the dead from the underworld back to the mortal world and make these dead people fight. Moreover, these summoned dead people cannot be killed. They can only be sealed, or the caster can actively release the forbidden technique. Otherwise, there is no way to deal with these undead."

When he said this, Obito Uchiha tried his best to imitate the tone of Madara Uchiha when he taught Madara Uchiha his vast knowledge.

"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique?"

The animal's brow twitched slightly.

He glanced sideways at Uchiha Obito, who had followed him, and had to admit that it was indeed nice to have a companion who possessed a lot of knowledge that he himself did not know. Although he had the Rinnegan and had studied with Jiraiya for three years, he still lacked the accumulation of similar knowledge.

"And who are you? You recognized the Impure World Reincarnation Technique so quickly... Could you be a Konoha ninja?"

Orochimaru stomped his foot.

The giant snake beneath his feet raised its body, lifting Orochimaru to the same height as the Animal Path, Obito Uchiha, and the others. He smiled as he looked at the Animal Path and the masked Obito Uchiha, and then he saw the scarlet single eye revealed through the mask.

My heart suddenly started pounding.

"My ancestor, Uchiha Madara, might still be alive." These words, spoken by Uchiha Sogen, resurfaced in his mind at this moment. Could it be that Uchiha Madara really didn't die? But since even something like the Rinnegan, which exists only in mythology, actually exists, it's not impossible for Uchiha Madara to still be alive...

"I guess I used to be!"

Obito Uchiha replied calmly.

"Once? So you're a rogue ninja like me? But... as far as I know, there aren't any Uchiha among the rogue ninja wanted by Konoha?" Orochimaru asked with great interest. He didn't even need to pretend; he was genuinely interested in the masked man's identity.

"You infiltrated Amegakure just to find out my identity and background?"

Obito Uchiha asked in return.

"No, that's not it. It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. The reason I came to Amegakure is because I heard that the legendary Rinnegan is here." Orochimaru thought for a second, and then directly revealed his true purpose without any attempt to hide it.

"Rinnegan?"

This answer was clearly unexpected.

But upon closer reflection, it doesn't seem so far-fetched. In the ninja world, the Rinnegan symbolizes the divine power of the Sage of Six Paths in creating the world in mythology. If someone knows that there is a Rinnegan somewhere... even if they know that there is a greater than 99% chance that it is a fake news, it will still attract a large number of busybodies who are hoping for that one in ten thousand chance.

Orochimaru apparently defected from Konoha because his research into forbidden techniques was discovered.

It's understandable that they would come to investigate after hearing that Amegakure had the Rinnegan.

The only problem is—

"Where did you hear that Amegakure has the Rinnegan?" the beastman asked.

"So, your eyes really are the Rinnegan?"

Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, his excitement clearly visible. It really was the Rinnegan! He never imagined that the Rinnegan, which only existed in mythology, actually existed! Did this mean the Sage of Six Paths was real? Was the myth of the creation of the world also real? And were the demons who were subdued by the Sage of Six Paths and nearly destroyed the world also real?

In that instant,

His mind was filled with thoughts.

The world... expanded in that instant. After traversing nearly eighty percent of the ninja world, he thought the world was only this big. However, he now discovered that those mythical stories, which seemed like the ramblings of a madman, were not just stories, but possibly ancient history.

The world in his eyes underwent a dramatic change at that moment, and he became increasingly overjoyed!

That's what makes the world more interesting!

"Tell me, how did you learn about the Rinnegan?"

The Beast Path asked again, expressionless.

He didn't care that his answer might have helped Orochimaru confirm the existence of the Rinnegan, because he had already decided that he would either recruit Orochimaru into Akatsuki or let this member of the Sannin rest in peace in this weeping country.

"Let me see the power of the Rinnegan, and I'll tell you the answer."

Orochimaru stared wide-eyed at the Animal Path, his pale golden vertical pupils brimming with greed, as if he wanted nothing more than to tear the Animal Path apart, skin it alive, and devour it completely, leaving not a single trace behind.

The moment he finished speaking,

The animal realm has stirred!

He clapped his hands together, and incantations quickly appeared on the rows of tightly packed drainpipes behind him. "Spirit Summoning!" With a cloud of smoke, a huge, dark red-furred dog with drool dripping from its mouth appeared in mid-air.

However, unlike ordinary fierce dogs, this fierce dog summoned by the animal realm has three heads and a pair of short, fleshy wings on its back!

"This is······"

Orochimaru was not given time to think.

The three-headed ferocious dog bared its fangs and claws as it pounced on Orochimaru below.

Seeing this, Orochimaru remained calm. He lightly stomped his foot, giving a signal to the giant snake beneath him. The equally enormous python raised its head and leaped into the air, fearlessly meeting the charging three-headed dog. It opened its massive jaws and precisely bit the neck of the dog's middle head.

but--

To Orochimaru's astonishment, the three-headed dog split apart.

The other two heads, located on the left and right respectively, split off and transformed into three ferocious dogs. They pounced again from the left and right, opening their massive jaws to bite into the python's body. Sharp fangs pierced the scales and penetrated deep into its flesh, causing blood to gush out like a fountain.

The enormous python released its grip, letting out a bloodcurdling hiss.

And in the next second, it turned into white smoke with a "bang" and disappeared back to Ryuchi Cave.

"Spiritual communication!"

Orochimaru, standing on the drainpipe, used the summoning jutsu again.

Three more enormous pythons, no less massive than the previous one, appeared and, under Orochimaru's command, fiercely confronted the three vicious dogs. Then... the vicious dogs, tightly bound by the pythons, split once again, becoming six. Relying on their numerical advantage, they once again defeated the three giant snakes summoned by Orochimaru.

"Infinite division? No, impossible! There must be a limit, but that limit might not be a small number..."

Orochimaru quickly made a judgment.

He couldn't let these vicious dogs continue to split. Although he didn't believe they could split indefinitely, to be honest, they didn't need to split indefinitely. Just growing to a massive scale of twenty or thirty or more would be enough to cause a headache. He had to get rid of these things before they split into more vicious dogs.

"Fire Escape·Tou Ke Ku!"

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"