Chapter 157: Yakushi Kabuto and Shikamaru

Inside the building, Uchiha Itachi was freshening up, preparing for his meeting with Orochimaru.

If possible, he hoped to have Sasuke and Naruto back. According to Shikamaru’s original plan, they needed to instigate a division.

Now, that probably wouldn't be necessary; Orochimaru would handle everything.

Still, he needed to consult with Orochimaru for the specifics.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen those two rascals in a long time and missed them dearly.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Uchiha Itachi sensed two familiar chakra signatures rushing straight toward him. It was none other than Sasuke and Naruto.

"How wonderful."

He had just been thinking of them, and here they were back, saving him a lot of trouble.

At that moment, he felt no rush. He patiently and meticulously adjusted his clothes, planning to take the two boys along to meet Orochimaru.

They would definitely be pleasantly surprised, wouldn't they?

In reality, neither Sasuke nor Naruto felt any sense of closeness toward Orochimaru; on the contrary, to a certain extent, he was still an enemy.

However, in the face of the annihilation of Planet Earth, those past grudges amounted to nothing. They needed Orochimaru.

Their moods were, after all, quite joyful.

"Bang!"

The door flew open with tremendous force, and Sasuke and Naruto rushed into the room, panting heavily.

The fact that they were out of breath, given their immense strength, showed just how hard they had been running.

"What's with the panic? Look at your ages," Uchiha Itachi said as he straightened his collar in front of the mirror.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance, and at the same time, a bad feeling sank into their hearts.

Their older brother was paying this much attention to his appearance—he definitely had someone special!

"Brother..."

The two of them hesitated, not knowing where to begin.

Uchiha Itachi ran a hand through his hair, put on his Earth protector headband, and said, "You two returned just in time. I'm taking you to meet someone."

This is bad, this is bad! He's going to introduce a sister-in-law!

Wait, the sister-in-law is a man? What on earth are they supposed to call him?!

They were utterly confused.

Sasuke asked, "Brother, the person we're going to meet... is it a man?"

He wanted to confirm what the building guard had said.

Uchiha Itachi was momentarily stunned. Why would Sasuke ask such a question? But Orochimaru indeed was a man.

"He is a man, and a very formidable one at that."

At this, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help smiling. With Orochimaru around, nothing seemed quite so difficult anymore. Besides, this future would eventually be rewritten, and Earth would not be destroyed.

Orochimaru wasn't just a man; he was a remarkably powerful man.

This is terrible, terrible! Her older brother was actually smiling!

Sasuke and Naruto felt an indescribable complexity in their hearts. A man capable of stirring such deep emotions in their brother—there was no doubt about the nature of their relationship!

With utterly awkward expressions on their faces, Sasuke said, "Then let the two of us vet him for you, Brother."

Uchiha Itachi had no idea what they were talking about. "What nonsense are you spearing? Hurry up and tidy your clothes and hair; I'm taking you to see him."

...

Uchiha Itachi led the emotionally conflicted Sasuke and Naruto to the door of the basement in the building. It was cold, dark, and cast in gloomy tones.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

Uchiha Itachi knocked on the door.

Inside the basement, Orochimaru was researching the technique of time. Hearing the knock, he dismissed the energy in his palm and said, "Come in."

Uchiha Itachi pushed the door open and entered, with Sasuke and Naruto hurriedly following behind him. The two boys peeked their heads out from around Itachi's left and right sides, gazing at the man inside the room.

In an instant, both of them froze!

That familiar flowing dark hair, those golden slit pupils, and the purple eyeshadow!

It was... Orochimaru!

How was this possible? How could this be? Wasn't Orochimaru dead?!

The two stood rooted to the spot, their brains completely short-circuiting.

Uchiha Itachi said, "What are you dazing off for? Why aren't you greeting Lord Orochimaru?"

Prompted by Uchiha Itachi's reminder, the two snapped out of their trances as if waking from a dream and respectfully greeted Orochimaru.

Following that, Uchiha Itachi explained Orochimaru's origins and purpose.

Sasuke and Naruto listened with a mixture of shock and awe. From the past? Searching for a turning point in the future?

And then returning to the past to win?

They didn't fully understand it, but it sounded amazing!

All they knew was that Earth was saved.

Naruto sat in a chair and muttered, "So it's Lord Orochimaru. I thought Itachi-niisan had found himself a man as a..."

Before he could finish, Sasuke hurriedly snapped, "Idiot!"

Uchiha Itachi said, "Sasuke, don't speak for a moment. Naruto, what were you just saying you thought I found a man as... what?"

Naruto panicked...

After the commotion subsided, Sasuke spoke up, "I can get in touch with Yakushi Kabuto."

Originally, Sasuke only had a one-way communication channel with Yakushi Kabuto; Kabuto could contact him, but Sasuke couldn't reach Kabuto.

This time, however, with the changes on Uchiha Itachi's side, Yakushi Kabuto had chosen to contact Sasuke to prevent any accidents, instructing Sasuke and Naruto to investigate what was going on.

He had even left behind a special communication gas cloud, a customized tool capable of delivering a single sentence one-way. It would self-destruct after delivery and was not to be used unless in an emergency.

Surely, this qualified as an emergency, right?

Sasuke took out the communication gas cloud and sent a single sentence: "Lord Orochimaru is with my brother."

Then, the communication gas cloud self-destructed.

...

On a pitch-black planet, Yakushi Kabuto and Shikamaru were temporarily residing alongside other survivors of Earth. This barren planet was completely isolated from the outer realms.

Shikamaru had matured significantly. He had walked the path of light and shadow, controlling light with his left hand and shadows with his right, the two complementing each other perfectly.

At that moment, Shikamaru was with Yakushi Kabuto.

Yakushi Kabuto asked, "Can you pull it off?"

Shikamaru replied, "Yes."

Before them hovered a large mass of black gas—the heavily modified communication gas cloud. Shikamaru was busy manufacturing digital armies online, attempting to manipulate the voting for the duel format.

Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses, a flash of light reflecting across the lenses. "If we manage to fix the duel format and subsequently ignite a full-scale war between the two universes, leave it to me."

The Six Paths Universe and the Otsutsuki Universe peacefully coexisting was disadvantageous to them, so the two of them were attempting to use the modified communication gas cloud to create a flood of fabricated opinions, heavily lobbying for a specific duel format.

The two universes had agreed to let the netizens decide the duel format via a public vote.

This gave Yakushi Kabuto and Shikamaru an opportunity to manipulate the outcome.

Their proposed recommendation was for the two universes to engage in an all-out, head-on war!

By pushing this suggestion, combined with the several major incidents Yakushi Kabuto was intentionally orchestrating, there was a genuine chance they could spark a cosmic war.

Yakushi Kabuto asked, "Shikamaru, are you certain that the Sage of Six Paths' future-prediction technique has malfunctioned?"

Their entire plan was predicated on the assumption that the Sage's precognitive technique had gone wrong. If it hadn't failed, attempting this would be equivalent to infuriating the Sage of Six Paths.

The Sage could easily wipe them out of existence, no matter where they hid.

Shikamaru replied, "Rest assured. Although I can't deduce the exact reason for the malfunction, based on my understanding of the Sage, his technique has definitely failed. From here on out, it depends on everyone's individual schemes—only the strongest survive."

A look of hesitation flickered across Yakushi Kabuto's face. "Do you think it could be because of him..."

Shikamaru let out a cold snort. "Don't be naive, Kabuto. Orochimaru has been dead for nearly a thousand years; he won't appear again. In other words, even if he weren't dead, remaining absent for nearly a millennium is no different from being dead."

Yakushi Kabuto said angrily, "You have no right to insult Lord Orochimaru!"

Shikamaru retorted, "Did I insult him? Fine then. If he were to appear right now, I, Shikamaru, won't just apologize—I swear I'll never style my hair in a pineapple top again!"

Bip, bip!

Right at that moment, Yakushi Kabuto's communication gas cloud chimed—it was the message sent from the cloud he had left with Uchiha Itachi.

Yakushi Kabuto opened it to look, and inscribed upon it were the words: "Lord Orochimaru is with my brother," meaning with Uchiha Itachi.

Yakushi Kabuto showed the message to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru: "..."

"Fake, it has to be fake. How could Orochimaru possibly show up for real?!"