"The Uchiha Obito of our timeline died at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge."
Orochimaru's voice was calm, but his golden eyes gleamed with calculation as he paced slowly through the dim lab. His thoughts drifted back to the soul he'd seen during the Edo Tensei ritual. That face… he remembered it well.
"And before he died," Orochimaru continued, "he gave his Sharingan to Hatake Kakashi."
He turned to his assistant, Yakushi Kabuto, and let the implication hang in the air.
"So if the person I encountered recently—someone with the Mangekyō Sharingan and the ability to use Susanoo—was Uchiha Obito… how is that possible?"
Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His mind raced alongside Orochimaru's.
The figure they'd seen in battle was undeniably a powerful Uchiha, one who wielded techniques far beyond the abilities of anyone currently alive in their world—save for those long dead.
"If such a person existed in our world," Kabuto muttered, "how could we have no record of him? It defies all logic."
He paused. Then, slowly, he voiced the most logical—if outlandish—conclusion.
"Unless… that person is Uchiha Obito from another world."
Orochimaru gave a faint smirk, as though Kabuto had simply caught up with his thoughts.
"Exactly," he said. "If he comes from another world, it would explain how he's still alive… and how he's become so powerful."
But then the question remained—what kind of world would give rise to such a version of Obito?
Kabuto furrowed his brow, trying to reconcile that thought with the information he'd gathered recently. He had done a thorough investigation into their world's Obito—a mediocre ninja at best during his academy days. Despite being Minato's student and bearing the blood of the Uchiha clan, Obito had shown little talent.
"In what sort of alternate world," Kabuto wondered aloud, "could someone like him rise to that level of power?"
"It would make sense only if something drastically different happened in that world," Orochimaru responded.
But there was another puzzle piece—the forest.
The mysterious, vast sea of trees that had erupted in the middle of the Wind Country's arid desert during the Loulan ruins incident. That alone defied the natural laws of their world.
"I believe we must consider that forest as part of the anomaly," Orochimaru said. "Its scale… its energy. It cannot be ignored."
Kabuto thought for a moment, then asked, "Could it have been created with Wood Style?"
That alone was an unsettling proposition. To conjure such a massive forest in the heart of the Wind Country's desert? That would require immense chakra—possibly something only one man in history possessed.
"No one knows more about the First Hokage's cells than I do," Orochimaru said smugly. "Even if someone had implanted Hashirama's cells and mastered Wood Style, they couldn't possibly generate a forest of that magnitude."
Kabuto's eyes narrowed. "So it is Wood Style… but not from a mere transplant?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"The only one in our history capable of such a feat is the First Hokage himself. And we both know he's long dead."
Kabuto's mind raced. "Unless… someone summoned him through Impure World Reincarnation!"
"Exactly." Orochimaru grinned. "That's one of the two possibilities: either a Wood Style master of that caliber exists in another world… or someone here has reanimated Hashirama."
"To confirm which is true…"
"…We summon him ourselves," Orochimaru finished.
Without hesitation, he turned toward the experimental table, where a fresh sacrifice—just brought in by Kabuto—lay unconscious. Next to him sat preserved First Hokage cells.
The preparations were complete.
Orochimaru placed the cells into the host and performed the ritual. A sudden chill swept through the room as spiritual energy surged. The seal glowed. Paper talismans erupted, dancing around the host like spirits whispering from the afterlife.
The boy convulsed, letting out a scream that morphed into a guttural growl.
And then it happened.
The host's features began to change—his face reshaping, hair lengthening and darkening until it was unmistakable. Red armor manifested over his body, heavy with ancient chakra. The chakra signature was immense, practically overflowing.
"Senju Hashirama…" Kabuto whispered in awe.
Orochimaru immediately suppressed the summoned soul's consciousness with a hand seal. The First Hokage fell into a blank, obedient state—an empty shell with godlike power.
"There. That proves it," Orochimaru said grimly.
"If we can summon him here, then it wasn't someone in our world who used Edo Tensei to unleash Hashirama in the desert."
"That means…"
Kabuto's voice trembled.
"The one who created the forest at Loulan was a different Impure World Reincarnated First Hokage—from another world."
"And that's not even the worst part," Orochimaru growled. His usually composed face twisted with fury. "I finally understand why the Akatsuki are hunting me down like wild dogs!"
"What do you mean?" Kabuto blinked in confusion.
Orochimaru slammed his palm on the table, rattling equipment.
"In the Kazekage's office, I saw it. Before Rasa died, he had dispatched his three children to investigate the Loulan ruins. Among them was Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchūriki."
Kabuto's eyes lit up. "And the tailed beasts are Akatsuki's targets…"
"Exactly!" Orochimaru snarled. "Someone—likely Obito of that Otherworld—used Edo Tensei to summon Hashirama and captured Gaara in the chaos."
"And Akatsuki assumed you were behind it…"
Kabuto's voice trailed off as the realization hit him like a punch to the gut.
Orochimaru was livid. "I've been blamed for something I didn't even do! They've destroyed my bases, ruined my operations, chased me across the continents—because of someone else's mess!"
He was shaking now, filled with rage.
"This is what it feels like to be Danzo," he muttered. "Being framed and pursued while the real culprit walks free!"
He inhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down. "We now have evidence that at least two individuals from the Otherworld have entered our reality—Obito Uchiha and the reanimated First Hokage."
Kabuto tilted his head. "There may be more?"
"Possibly," Orochimaru muttered. "There's no telling how many slipped through the dragon vein. But what matters now is that we clear our names."
He formed a hand seal and summoned a tiny white snake, which slithered toward him and opened its mouth. Inside, it held a single item: a silver ring engraved with the kanji for "Empty"—the ring he had stolen when he left Akatsuki.
"I'll make sure they know I'm not their enemy this time," Orochimaru said darkly. "Let them hunt their real targets."
Meanwhile, in Amegakure…
In the shadowy tower at the center of Rain Shinobi Village, Pain sat in meditation.
His eyes suddenly snapped open.
Someone was trying to contact him through one of the Akatsuki rings.
"Hmph." Pain focused. "Which member is reaching out now?"
As he extended his senses, his expression turned cold.
"…Orochimaru."
His voice was like ice.
"That bastard actually has the nerve to contact me?"
Pain's hand trembled with barely suppressed fury.
"When I get my hands on him, I'll erase him from existence!"
Nevertheless, he allowed the connection to go through.
At the same time, in Konoha…
Inside Naruto's room, the young shinobi was in distress.
"Aaaargh!"
Naruto screamed as he pulled his hair. His desk was a mess, covered in books—strange books.
Political theory textbooks. Foreign history. Principles of unfamiliar ninjutsu systems.
Each one was marked with a golden imperial seal and printed in a language that Menma and Black Kakashi were helping him learn.
"These are all from that Otherworld?!"
His fingers twitched.
"I'm a ninja, not a professor!"
But deep down, he knew this wasn't just random knowledge. Menma had told him clearly—this information was essential. Understanding the ideology and techniques of that foreign empire might be the only way to uncover what was truly happening.
Somewhere out there, powerful enemies were infiltrating their world—strong enough to crush villages, summon legends, and twist fate itself.
And Naruto would be ready for them.
To be continued…
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