Chapter 173: Orochimaru in a Parallel Universe

The Orochimaru of this world summoned Yakushi Kabuto and said, "The other me has appeared."

He wore a smile, his gaze flashing with a profound and meaningful light.

Kabuto’s pupils dilated slightly before returning to normal. He pushed up his glasses and said, "Lord Orochimaru, are you speaking of yourself from another world?"

Previously, Orochimaru had spoken to him about parallel universes, and they had already begun conducting research into the matter.

The corners of Orochimaru’s mouth split wider as he said, "Indeed, he has arrived."

The Orochimaru of the prime universe had arrived in the future universe. Because of this variable that should not have existed, countless possibilities for the future were spawned, causing parallel universes to be continuously generated.

The prime universe and the parallel universes had no absolute subordinate relationship; they belonged to an equal hierarchy.

Even if the prime universe were to perish, the other universes would still continue to exist and proliferate.

The reverse was equally true.

Under normal circumstances, none of them affected the others.

Light gleamed in Orochimaru’s eyes as he said, "Kabuto, go make arrangements. I am going to meet him."

Kabuto hesitated and said, "Even if the other you is still you, after all, you are two distinct individuals. He possesses the exact same strength and wisdom as you. Might he—"

Kabuto did not finish his sentence, but his implication was clear: with the arrival of an Orochimaru from another world, possessing identical strength and wisdom, would he be friend or foe?

If he were an enemy, that would indeed be a deeply undesirable situation.

There was one more thing Kabuto left unsaid: since the Orochimaru from the other world could arrive in their universe, he must have mastered a far more advanced space-time technique.

From this, it could be deduced that the Orochimaru of that world might possess even greater strength.

All of these were entirely plausible scenarios.

Orochimaru shook his head slightly and said, "Are you worried that I will be at odds with my other self?"

He laughed, as if Kabuto were worrying over a terribly foolish question, causing the latter to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Nevertheless, Kabuto’s gaze remained resolute, hoping that Orochimaru would carefully weigh the pros and cons involved.

Orochimaru said, "As for this matter, I considered it long ago. Do you still remember our 10,86th experimental project?"

The 10,86th experiment utilized genjutsu to alter the memories of test subjects and endow them with specific lives.

This experiment involved hundreds of thousands of subjects. First, they were given an entirely identical set of memories, and then they were imbued with different memories regarding minor details in order to create divergence.

This experiment simulated the state of multiple versions of oneself across parallel universes.

In the end, Orochimaru placed them all together, making each of them believe they had encountered themselves from another world.

Subsequently, the vast majority of them cooperated with tacit understanding. Their thoughts and ideas were strikingly similar; the other party was them, and they were the other party.

Cooperation meant mutual benefit.

Only a tiny fraction of them killed each other, and those individuals had been deliberately instilled with the belief that "killing your self from another world will make you stronger."

Therefore, when versions of oneself from parallel universes met, the very first thing they would do was certainly not slaughter each other.

Kabuto shook his head; he truly knew nothing about this experiment, having only heard whispers of it.

He was primarily responsible for the development of space-time techniques.

Orochimaru briefly explained the experiment to Kabuto and said, "Just like those test subjects, I understand myself. I know what I care about most and what I want, so I will undoubtedly choose to cooperate with myself rather than make an enemy of him."

Kabuto lowered his head in silence. After a moment, he understood.

In Orochimaru’s world, utility had always reigned supreme; the more valuable a person was, the more heavily they would be employed.

Even an enemy could potentially be put to use.

Needless to say, the value of the other Orochimaru was outrageously high. Therefore, when the Orochimaru of the parallel universes met, they would certainly not be hostile, but rather engage in cooperation for mutual benefit.

Orochimaru said, "Go make preparations."

Kabuto nodded, understanding completely. He turned and left to arrange the matters concerning the meeting with the other Orochimaru.

Only, a sudden question arose in his mind: when the two Orochimarus stood side by side, how was he supposed to address them to tell them apart?

...

Within the Aurora Base, the Orochimaru who had arrived from the prime universe was still conducting research in the laboratory.

The space-time technique had already taken shape, but improving it would still require some effort.

However, the most crucial task was to build the apparatus for the space-time technique; this instrument was of the utmost importance.

The Orochimaru of this universe had not yet created a space-time technique, so Orochimaru intended to use this as a welcoming gift for his self in this universe.

Time flew by, and several days passed. Suddenly, the skies above the Aurora Base became overcast with dark clouds, and violent bolts of lightning flashed furiously.

The Aurora Base was situated in outer space, and those dark clouds were clearly not ordinary clouds, but rather nebular smoke-like matter from the universe—billowing black smoke, massive and boundless.

Within these endless dark clouds, white lightning flashed from time to time. The blinding glare of those lightning strikes reached the ultimate intensity, and the light even caused a stinging sensation when cast upon one's body.

The billowing black smoke surged forward and then roiled above the Aurora Base. The boundless black smoke began to contract toward the center, and during this process, the thunder and lightning grew even more rapid.

The rapid flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder brought a terrifying pressure and momentum. This pressure and momentum crashed toward the Aurora Base, filling the people inside with apprehension and even causing their souls to tremble.

It was as if they were facing a being of boundless terror.

The black smoke continuously contracted down to human size, forming a silhouette of black smoke. The next moment, the figure stepped forward, and the swirling black smoke around it began to transform, taking on flesh and clothing.

Finally, it turned into a complete human being.

At this moment, the momentum radiating from him became even more terrifying. Everyone in the base felt as though they were facing a supreme entity.

It felt as if they were carrying a hundred thousand mountains upon their backs, leaving them unable to breathe.

Some people had even collapsed flat onto the ground.

Orochimaru had already walked out of the laboratory to look up. Upon seeing the human figure transformed from the black smoke, a look of astonishment crossed his face.

The person transformed from the black smoke turned out to be none other than the Sage of Six Paths.

What on earth had the Sage of Six Paths experienced over the past thousand years? How had he turned into black smoke?

Suddenly, Orochimaru recalled that the Sage of Six Paths seemed to have unleashed a technique that devoured the souls of everyone in the entire universe.

The Sage of Six Paths in this current state must be the strongest Sage of Six Paths possible.

Just at that moment, another formidable aura flew over. That aura was much weaker than that of the Sage of Six Paths, yet the Sage of Six Paths looked toward it with an extremely solemn expression.

A flash of golden light suddenly appeared at the edge of the universe. Brilliant and dazzling, it spanned the ends of the heavens in an instant, traveling straight from the edge of the cosmos to the side of the Sage of Six Paths.

When Orochimaru looked closely, he saw that it was a foot.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Several more streaks of golden light appeared at the edge of the universe, all carrying formidable auras. They appeared one after another, turning out to be limbs, hands, a waist, a head, and other body parts.

All of these body parts were extraordinary, possessing powerful auras. Together, they formed all the exact components of a human body.

Upon their arrival, they began to assemble.

With every part that successfully combined, their auras superimposed upon one another, growing increasingly powerful, until they finally formed a complete person whose aura was by no means inferior to that of the Sage of Six Paths.

Orochimaru roughly guessed the identity of this person.

The words spoken next by the Sage of Six Paths confirmed Orochimaru’s conjecture.

They heard the Sage of Six Paths say, "Clan Head Ōtsutsuki, you have come as well."