Orochimaru had mastered the art of Edo Tensei long ago. When he studied the Scroll of Seals, he made sure to record all of its secrets. The powerful technique, which allows one man to command an entire army, fascinated him. However, another crucial reason he focused on this jutsu was to use it as research material for his own work, particularly taking inspiration for his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.

Over the years, he traveled across the ninja world, from mountains to seas, in search of bodies that possessed strong Kekkei Genkai or family secrets. Along the way, he also looted numerous graves and collected the remains of many past warriors.

This time, he summoned three Uchiha clan members.

After making a deal with Uchiha Sougen, Orochimaru didn't leave the battlefield immediately. With countless fresh corpses scattered around, Orochimaru discreetly harvested bits of flesh from fallen ninjas, using these as the material necessary for Edo Tensei, which didn't require whole bodies.

The three Uchiha clan ninjas currently fighting Konan had all perished last year on the battlefield during a battle with the Cloud Village.

All three were Jōnin.

Each had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.

Even though Orochimaru had erased their intelligence, leaving them to fight purely on instinct, their undead bodies, immune to destruction, and nearly limitless chakra gave them an edge over Konan. Their continuous use of Fire Release techniques was particularly effective against her Dance of the Shikigami.

While the environment of the Rain Village helped her by making her paper techniques waterproof, she hadn't found a way to make them fireproof. The fire-style techniques severely restrained her, but what was most frustrating was the immortality of the Edo Tensei bodies—no matter how much she destroyed them, they couldn't be permanently taken down.

She had considered using sealing techniques, as her Dance of the Shikigami also included sealing abilities. But with Orochimaru constantly interfering, it was nearly impossible to seal all three at once. Sealing just one or two would leave them vulnerable to destruction by the others.

As for taking out the mastermind directly…

If she could, she wouldn't still be stuck fighting these three undead monsters.

Konan's mood was tense. There was no doubt that Orochimaru, who had once stood alongside Jiraiya as one of the Sannin, was a terrifying opponent. Although she had her own trump cards yet to reveal, Orochimaru, standing calmly on the head of a giant snake, clearly had cards up his sleeve too.

However, the longer the battle dragged on, the more it worked in her favor.

By her calculations, Pain should be arriving soon.

"Are you waiting for backup?" Orochimaru suddenly asked.

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

In the brief exchange, Orochimaru had already gauged Konan's abilities. Her paper manipulation was impressive—offensive, defensive, and capable of flight, with sealing techniques included. Besides her weakness to fire, he hadn't identified any other major flaws.

But his reason for speaking now wasn't because he had lost interest in probing her abilities.

"You're strong, no doubt about it. It's difficult for me to take you down alone. But invading Amegakure was your biggest mistake. If we had met outside the village, I might have considered retreating. But here, in Amegakure, Pain… is invincible."

Konan hovered in the air, her tone calm as she looked down at Orochimaru.

"Pain? You mean that long-haired guy?" Orochimaru looked up at a platform on the lower section of a tall tower. There stood a figure in the same robe as Konan, with long hair tied back in a ponytail, gazing down at them.

Those eyes…

Rinnegan?

Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat.

His eyesight was excellent, and even though he didn't have a dōjutsu, the distance between him and the figure wasn't far enough to hide those lavender eyes with ripple patterns. Normal people might have various eye colors, but eyes with patterns? That was a rare sight.

"Pain!"

Konan flew higher into the sky.

Orochimaru didn't stop her, but kept his focus on Animal Path. He sensed danger from this figure.

"Konan, if you're tired, take a break."

"I'm fine, just a bit of chakra depletion. No injuries," Konan replied with a shake of her head. "Those Uchiha were summoned. They walked out of coffins. I've tried, but conventional means can't kill them. Regular ninjutsu and taijutsu seem ineffective."

"Can't be killed?"

Even Animal Path was surprised.

How could they be unkillable?

"It's likely the Edo Tensei technique."

From behind Animal Path, Uchiha Obito appeared silently. "That's a forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It summons the souls of the dead from the underworld and forces them to fight. These resurrected individuals are effectively immortal—they can only be sealed or released by the one controlling the technique."

Obito deliberately mimicked the tone of the real Uchiha Madara when explaining complicated knowledge.

"Edo Tensei?" Animal Path furrowed his brow.

Glancing at Obito, Animal Path couldn't deny that having someone so knowledgeable on his side was useful. Despite having the Rinnegan and training under Jiraiya for three years, he still lacked certain historical insights.

"And who are you? You identified Edo Tensei so quickly… are you a Leaf ninja?" Orochimaru stomped his foot.

The giant snake beneath him lifted its body, bringing Orochimaru to eye level with Animal Path and Uchiha Obito. He smiled as he studied them, particularly the masked man's single red eye visible through the mask.

His heart pounded wildly.

"…Could it be that Uchiha Madara, our clan's ancestor, is still alive?" The words of Uchiha Sougen echoed in his mind. Could Madara really still be alive? Given that even the Rinnegan, a legendary dōjutsu, existed, the possibility that Madara still lived seemed less far-fetched.

"I was once, yes," Obito replied coolly.

"Once? So, you're a rogue ninja like me? But… as far as I know, there's no Uchiha among the rogues listed by Konoha," Orochimaru continued, genuinely intrigued by the masked man's identity.

"Did you infiltrate Amegakure just to figure out who I am?" Obito asked in return.

"This isn't really the case. I just acted on a whim. The reason I came to the Hidden Rain Village… is because I heard rumors about the legendary Rinnegan." Orochimaru thought for a second before revealing his true motive without any hesitation.

"The Rinnegan?"

This response was certainly surprising. However, upon closer thought, it didn't seem entirely unreasonable. The Rinnegan in the ninja world symbolizes the god-like powers of the Sage of Six Paths in ancient myths. If someone heard that the Rinnegan existed somewhere—even if there was a 99% chance it was false—they would still attract a lot of curious people hoping for that 1% chance.

Orochimaru was discovered for researching forbidden jutsu, which led him to flee from the Leaf Village.

It made sense that he would come to investigate after hearing rumors about the Rinnegan in the Hidden Rain Village.

The only question is—

"Where did you hear that there's a Rinnegan in the Hidden Rain Village?" the Animal Path asked.

"So, you're saying those eyes of yours really are the Rinnegan?"

Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, visibly excited. Could it really be? The Rinnegan, which only existed in myths, actually exists! If that's true, does that mean the Sage of Six Paths also existed? And were the legends about him splitting the heavens and the earth also real? What about the demons he defeated that nearly destroyed the world?

In that moment, Orochimaru's thoughts raced.

The world… expanded before his eyes. After traveling through 80% of the ninja world, he had thought he had seen it all. But now he realized that what seemed like crazy myths might actually be the distant history of the world.

His perception of the world was completely turned upside down, and he couldn't help but feel a growing sense of exhilaration!

Now this was a world worth exploring!

"Tell me, where did you hear about the Rinnegan?" the Animal Path asked again, expressionless.

He didn't care that his previous response may have confirmed the existence of the Rinnegan to Orochimaru. He had already decided that he would either recruit Orochimaru into the Akatsuki or make sure the Sannin member would sleep forever in this weeping nation.

"Show me the power of the Rinnegan, and I'll tell you."

Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with greed as he stared at the Animal Path, barely containing his desire to tear him apart on the spot.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Animal Path made his move!

He clapped his hands together, and a series of intricate symbols appeared on the water pipes behind him. "Summoning Jutsu!" With a burst of smoke, a massive, dark red-furred dog with drool dripping from its mouth appeared in midair.

But this wasn't just any ordinary dog. It had three heads, and on its back were small, stubby wings!

"What the…"

Before Orochimaru could react, the three-headed dog lunged at him with its fangs bared.

Orochimaru remained calm. With a light stomp, he signaled to the giant snake beneath him. The massive serpent launched itself into the air, fearlessly meeting the three-headed dog head-on, its jaws locking onto the middle head.

However—

To Orochimaru's shock, the dog split apart.

The two heads on either side separated and became two new dogs. They attacked from both sides, their sharp fangs sinking into the snake's body, piercing its scales deeply. Blood spurted out like a fountain, and the giant snake let out a pained hiss before vanishing in a puff of smoke, returning to the Ryūchi Cave.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Orochimaru quickly performed the jutsu again.

Three more giant snakes appeared, just as large as the first one. Under Orochimaru's command, they charged at the dogs. But once again, the dogs split into even more, overwhelming the snakes with their sheer numbers.

"Infinite division? No, that's impossible! There must be a limit, but it's probably not a small one…"

Orochimaru quickly assessed the situation.

He couldn't let the dogs keep multiplying. Even though he didn't believe they could divide endlessly, they didn't need to. Once their numbers reached 20 or 30, it would be enough to become a serious problem. He had to deal with them before they multiplied further.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Three reanimated Uchiha clan members, under Orochimaru's control, unleashed their combined attacks. The high-level Wind Style and Fire Style jutsu created a devastating combination, sending a torrent of scorching flames upward like a reverse waterfall, engulfing the six dogs climbing up the side of the tower.

Their pitiful cries were brief.

The nearly infinite-dividing dogs were burned to ashes.

Their ability to divide relied on having a physical body, and with their bodies reduced to nothing but ashes, they could no longer split. However, the battle was far from over. As the flames died down, the sound of screeching birds filled the sky.

Orochimaru looked up.

A grotesque bird flew overhead, dropping egg-like projectiles from the sky like a hailstorm. The orange-yellow eggs glowed as they fell, and Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. He could sense that these weren't ordinary eggs—they had some hidden power.

And in the next moment—

A series of explosions erupted!