Yes, the Hokage

Orochimaru didn't confront him directly. Instead, he transformed his lower body into a snake tail and swam quickly towards the culture tank.

Although he wasn't against Shisui's Sharingan, he knew that time was of the essence. Even if Shisui was poisoned, it would take him some time to take him down. Besides, Shisui was a master of illusion. If he attacked him and fell into an illusion, he might be able to turn the tables on Shisui.

If we get caught up in a moment of impulsiveness here, everything will be over if we get blocked. It's better to grab Obito and run away as soon as possible.

Besides, Uchiha Shisui was a war hero after all. If I really did something to him here, the Third Hokage would really go berserk. Orochimaru hadn't yet achieved immortality, and the Third Hokage wasn't that old yet. He was still somewhat intimidated by his teacher.

"Don't even think about it!"

Shisui moved his wrist again: "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Red!"

Several small flames scattered and hurled at Orochimaru, blocking all his paths of advance. If he tried to disperse the flames, there were also shurikens hidden in the flames that could catch him off guard.

Orochimaru, however, didn't care about anything and let the flames hit him. His greatest advantage was his resilience; his recovery ability was amazing, and changing bodies was as easy as eating and drinking.

Therefore, his plan was meticulously crafted. First, he used poison gas to paralyze Shisui and limit his speed. Then, he didn't even look into Shisui's eyes, rendering his most proficient illusion technique useless. Finally, he used his powerful regenerative ability to directly steal Obito and escape.

Orochimaru rushed into the area covered by the red claws of the balsam flower in an instant. Shisui's ninjutsu was extremely powerful, and he was instantly blasted to pieces, with several places pierced by shuriken. For a ninja with high attack and low defense, who could be fatal even by being stabbed by a kunai, this was already a serious injury.

"Haa—!"

However, Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth, and his huge mouth split into an inhuman obtuse angle. Another Orochimaru, soaking wet, crawled out of it and continued to fly towards the culture tank in a serpentine manner.

This is Orochimaru's signature substitution technique. It feels completely out of place in Naruto; it's like it came from a horror movie set. Even the Slit-Mouthed Woman would have to admit defeat in front of him.

But it must be said that while it was truly disgusting, it was also incredibly useful. Orochimaru was able to get rid of his battered body and "reborn" through shedding his skin, continuing to do whatever he needed to do.

The only drawback is that it consumes a lot of chakra, but Orochimaru's Kage-level strength allows him to use it many times.

"what?!"

When Shisui first saw this move, he was stunned. Although he was a veteran of countless battles, Orochimaru's technique was clearly beyond the realm of humanity.

His chosen tactics were not wrong, but his opponent was utterly ruthless. In the time it took to use two ninjutsu, Orochimaru had already approached the cultivation tank, his face filled with greed and ambition as he reached out his hand: "Ah, my future... lies in this child!"

"Chidori!"

Kakashi and Rin were far from Shisui and had not yet been affected by the poison gas. How could they just watch Obito be taken away? Kakashi immediately used his strongest ninjutsu to rush forward, while Rin threw several kunai with explosive tags on them in an attempt to force them back.

"It's an eyesore!"

But how could these two children possibly fight Orochimaru? In just one exchange, Kakashi's Chidori was sent flying by a tail before it even touched Orochimaru, and his kunai was blown away by a casually thrown wind release, posing no threat whatsoever.

"Obito!"

Seeing that Orochimaru's hand was already on the culture tank, Rin gritted her teeth and, even though her body was trembling with fear, rushed over and hugged the other end of the culture tank with a firm determination on her face.

Despite being no match for her opponent in strength, she refused to let go, and even when bitten by Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hand, she did not yield an inch.

"court death!"

Orochimaru was extremely anxious at this moment, because one of the kunai he had casually blown away had stuck in the ceiling, and the explosive tag on it had detonated, causing half of the ceiling to collapse.

This huge noise will definitely attract the attention of the ANBU. If I don't run away quickly, I won't be able to leave once Minato Namikaze arrives!

His eyes flashed with murderous intent, his hands were holding the culture tank, but his mouth was still free, so he suddenly used his signature move that had been criticized by netizens for a long time - I spit out snakes and swords!

He opened his mouth, and a large, dark brown snake emerged from his throat. Then, the snake opened its mouth again and spat out an extremely sharp sword, which pierced directly through the girl's body!

"Lin!"

Kakashi and Shisui roared at the same time, but their voices were completely suppressed by the third voice.

"Lin—!"

A heart-wrenching roar came from inside the culture tank, followed by an ominous crackling sound, as an object encased in culture medium and wood surged violently.

"This brat... he actually woke up at a time like this?!"

Orochimaru was startled, but in that half-second of surprise, the tree branches in the cultivation tank suddenly grew wildly, shattering the outer shell containing multiple sealing techniques!

The mass of flesh lunged forward with a beast-like expression and roar; it was Obito. Countless tiny wood fibers emerged from beneath his skin, intertwining, tangling, and growing...

He punched Orochimaru right in the face!

The punch was so powerful that Orochimaru was sent flying with a comical facial expression. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just his fist; a wooden stick was also sticking out of his cheek.

While Orochimaru was still in mid-air, Obito formed a hand seal, and the wooden stick bloomed like a flower, piercing outward from inside Orochimaru's brain. Countless sharp wooden sticks spread from his head to his chest, neck, thighs... covering his entire body, turning him into a hedgehog.

"Obito..."

This sudden turn of events left both Shisui and Kakashi stunned.

Anyone else would have been instantly killed by that stab, but Orochimaru, being the Hokage's longest-living character, quickly spat out a wet Orochimaru from his mutilated mouth, excitedly licking his lips: "He actually mastered Wood Release: Wood Spike Technique without a teacher, hehehe, I'm getting more and more excited..."

He didn't finish his sentence because everyone could clearly see that through the shattered ceiling, the bright moonlight shone down, but when it fell on Obito, it covered him with a layer of blood.

In the blood-red moonlight, two black magatama in his pupils spun rapidly in his crimson irises, coalescing and taking shape... The magatama were no longer independent, but attracted each other, connected, merged, and transformed into a complete pattern—the pattern looked like three curved blades joined end to end, with an ethereal circle in the middle, which looked like a spinning shuriken from afar.

The Mangekyou Sharingan... was born.

Chapter 26 Divine Might!

It's done!

Feng Lan, who was lying in wait near the base, suddenly opened his eyes. He had already sensed Obito's awakening through his sensory abilities. He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. In that case, Orochimaru would no longer be of any use to him.

"Surround the base, don't let this snake escape!"

"Yes!"

Then, with a swift movement, he vanished into thin air.

Inside the base, Orochimaru keenly sensed Obito's danger, and having studied the Sharingan for a long time, he knew the conditions for activating the Mangekyou Sharingan, which was clearly due to the girl he had just pierced.

"Hidden Shadow Serpent Hand!"

Therefore, taking advantage of Obito's pain when he activated the Mangekyou Sharingan, he decisively pulled Rin in front of him as a hostage: "Kid, if you don't want this little girl..."

Before he could finish speaking, a golden light flashed by, and a lithe figure suddenly appeared in his sight. A ball of hair, shimmering with a dark blue light, came hurtling toward his head.

As mentioned earlier, Feng Lan spent several years during the Third World War cultivating his perception abilities and the Flying Thunder God Technique, but he kept this trump card hidden from everyone.

"Feng Lan!" Orochimaru exclaimed in shock and anger, "You can actually use Flying Lightning..."

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Feng Lan unceremoniously hurled a ball at him.

"Rasengan—!"

The highly concentrated, spinning, azure chakra sphere emitted a sharp, piercing sound, distorting and warping the surrounding air, let alone Orochimaru, who was hit squarely in the bullseye.

The terrifying impact exploded in all directions from his cheek. Orochimaru's entire head was swallowed by the Rasengan, and the spinning chakra tore at his face like a drill. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and his entire head collapsed and shattered at a visible speed. The scene was somewhat inhuman.

Of course, Feng Lan knew that his newly learned Rasengan would definitely not be able to defeat Orochimaru. His purpose in using this move was to knock Orochimaru away, then catch Rin as she fell from his hands, and leap towards the door.

Meanwhile, Obito charged straight at Orochimaru like a wild horse. Seeing that the other party had no time to pursue, Feng Lan hurriedly tore open Rin's clothes and saw that the wound on the girl's stomach was slowly healing. He breathed a sigh of relief.

The A-rank ninjutsu, Yin Healing and Destruction, involves knowing the enemy's attack points in advance and healing them before the attack, thus minimizing damage. In the original work, Kabuto used this technique before being hit by Naruto's Rasengan, while Fenglan used it to save Rin's life.

He deliberately provoked Orochimaru, driving him to a desperate act, all so that he would target Obito. This way, Kakashi and Rin would fight desperately to protect their comrades. Once Orochimaru killed one of them, he could awaken Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan.

This was what Fenglan had discussed with Jingyin before. After all, he wasn't the kind of person Ban, so he had to find a way to protect the two children. As expected, Jingyin strongly opposed putting the two children at risk. It was only after he used sweet words and promised her something that she finally agreed.

As a medical ninja, Shizune proposed using a ninjutsu scroll to replicate Yin Healing and Destruction and activate it remotely as a means of survival. However, she also stated that the limitation of this ninjutsu is that it cannot be activated too early or too late. Activating it too early will waste the effect of the ninjutsu, while activating it too late will leave no time for treatment.

But Shizune didn't know that Fenglan was a sensory ninja who couldn't possibly misjudge the timing; Yin Yu Shang Mie was exactly what was needed for his plan.

"Bam—!"

With a muffled thud, the base gate was blasted open, and Daohuo and Tiehuo rushed in shouting "Zhishui-ge!" while Jingyin followed closely behind them, immediately spotting Lin in Fenglan's arms.

She hurriedly used her palm magic to heal Lin, while checking her condition with her other hand. Half a minute later, she breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, Yin Yushangmie's treatment was timely enough to save her life. Was all of this... really worth it?"

"It's worth it as long as she didn't die." Hearing that Lin had survived, Feng Lan breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the battle inside the base.

At this moment, Obito did not hear the conversation between Fenglan and Shizune. In his mind, Rin was already dead (in reality, she was dead without Yin Healing and Destruction). So he immediately turned into a furious child, roaring like a beast as he charged at Orochimaru, who had just molted and recovered.

Seeing Feng Lan rush in with his men, Orochimaru knew that the situation was hopeless and it was impossible to abduct Obito, who had already awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. Naturally, he decided to retreat.

"Hidden Shadow Serpent Hands!"

He once again unleashed his signature ninjutsu, summoning even more and stronger snakes this time. He didn't intend to harm anyone; he only needed to briefly hinder the opponent before escaping unscathed.

A dozen or so ferocious serpents bared their fangs and charged forward, but Obito showed no sign of stopping. However, the instant the serpents touched his body, something miraculous happened...

The snakes passed straight through Obito's body without affecting him at all, as if the two were not even in the same dimension!

This is Obito Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan ability, hailed by countless Naruto fans as the strongest Mangekyou ability with a bug-like quality...

Kamui!

"This is……"

Shisui's pupils suddenly contracted. Apart from Fenglan, who knew the plot, only he realized what was going on: "The power of the Mangekyou Sharingan?!"

The giant snake did not affect Obito's speed at all, which was something Orochimaru did not expect. Before he could retract his arm, Obito had already reached him. Caught off guard, he only had time to raise his arm before Obito pressed him to the ground and began to tear him apart in the style of Iori Yagami's Explosive Eight Maidens.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

As Obito tore at the rocks, several huge logs spiraled up, causing near-devastating damage to the surrounding area, and Orochimaru's entire body was completely torn apart.

This kid is too dangerous!

He felt extremely troubled, as he was no longer truly immortal. If he repeatedly used Orochimaru-style substitution techniques and exhausted his chakra, he would truly die.

Obito at this moment clearly made Orochimaru feel that his life was in danger.

So he stopped lingering and opened his shattered head, spitting out a new body, which then charged straight at the broken ceiling created by the explosive tag.

However... the two of them had already been lying in wait there.

"Gentle Fist - Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Then, Riji leaped down from the gap in the ceiling, his white eyes wide open, and unleashed a flurry of blows with both hands.

Orochimaru's chakra was almost depleted, and he was caught off guard. He had no time to defend himself and was hit squarely by the sixty-four palm strikes. His pressure points were instantly sealed, and he would not be able to activate his chakra for a while.

Dai then leaped high behind Richi and delivered an elbow strike to the chest of the snake.

Of course, given his personality, he would definitely give this elbow strike a name: "Konoha Destroyer Rock Rising!"

"Buga!"

Orochimaru's chakra was currently sealed, and he couldn't use his substitution jutsu. He was nearly killed by a series of elbow strikes and flew backward in the same pose as Dio. Unfortunately, he didn't have the ability to shout, "You've been tricked! This is my escape route!"

"Whoa—!"

Obito, impatient as ever, pounced on Orochimaru, about to tear him to pieces.

Feng Lan immediately raised an eyebrow. Orochimaru certainly deserved to die, but he couldn't die at this time. A living Orochimaru was far more valuable than a corpse.

Based on what Orochimaru has done so far, he can keep the Third Hokage entertained for quite some time. If Orochimaru dies, what will we eat?

He didn't shout any nonsense like "Stop!", "Calm down!", or "Spare her life!" Instead, Feng Lan shouted, "Obito! Rin can still be saved!"

"Lin!"

Obito instantly regained his senses, flashed to Rin's side, and seeing the girl's complexion slightly restored under Shizune's healing, tears welled up in his eyes: "That's wonderful, that's truly wonderful..."

Yes, that's really great.

Although it was already apparent in the original work, Feng Lan breathed a sigh of relief after confirming it herself. As expected of the heroine who couldn't hide her tears even when Obito had turned evil, she was able to pull him back.

Just as Itachi said, he never felt that Obito's trust and admiration for him were important, because as soon as Rin died, all of these things would vanish in an instant.

The corrupted Obito even tried to kill Minato, but he had an extra testicle!

Therefore, his view of Obito was the same as that of Madara: he could not be a confidant, but only a pawn.

The idea that Madara would kill Rin to completely corrupt Obito and then brainwash him is clearly not feasible. The original plot has already fully demonstrated that Madara will eventually betray him. And frankly, even if the plot hadn't reached the point of betrayal, Obito never intended for Madara to be resurrected. He was always thinking about activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi himself.

Therefore, Fenglan's chosen solution was to maintain Obito's humanity through Rin, so that her and Minato's influence would remain effective. In this way, although Obito, as a pawn, would not completely obey orders, he could still do many things.

He then went over and carried Kakashi, whose ribs had been broken by a tail strike, to his side. After confirming that Shisui, who was being supported by Tetsukasa, was unharmed, he smiled and walked up to Orochimaru, who was lying motionless on the ground: "We meet again~"

"You despicable scoundrel..." Orochimaru was furious when he saw Feng Lan. He knew perfectly well that he had been completely used by the other party. This whole group of people were just waiting to catch snakes tonight.

"Sigh, all you're good for is being stubborn." Feng Lan shrugged and patted Orochimaru on the back of the shoulder. "Even if I admit that 99% of the blame lies with my despicable behavior, doesn't your greed account for even 1%?"

"My provocation was so obvious before, do you dare say that before you made your move, you didn't suspect that this was a trap I deliberately set for you?"

Orochimaru's expression was contorted, and he couldn't utter a single word. Feng Lan was right; he had indeed considered that Feng Lan had deliberately come to provoke him into attacking. However, Orochimaru was extremely arrogant and believed that he could quickly finish the battle and escape with his men.

Another point is that he was too greedy and too eager to improve. Obito's physical excellence made Orochimaru determined to give it his all, otherwise he would die with regrets.