Chapter 213 – The Gathering of Shadows
Far from the center of the Shinobi world, in a hidden mountain range obscured by clouds and chakra-repelling barriers...
Space rippled violently.
Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu stepped out into a desolate forest path, where the terrain twisted unnaturally. This was no ordinary land. This was the outer perimeter of Otogakure, the Sound Village—Orochimaru's domain.
"This place reeks of snake chakra," White Zetsu muttered with a crooked grin.
"Disgusting... but familiar."
"Orochimaru has always liked to play god," Black Zetsu replied coldly. "Let's hope he's smart enough to cooperate."
Madara didn't speak. His Rinnegan gleamed under his long fringe, quietly observing the terrain, sensing every flow of chakra across the area.
"He knows we're coming," Madara said after a pause.
"He's watching. Testing us."
"Then let him watch," Obito added, activating his Mangekyō Sharingan. "We didn't come here to negotiate."
A moment later, a fissure of space cracked open again—and the four vanished.
Inside Otogakure, deep within its underground maze...
Orochimaru stood in front of a giant chakra monitor, the screen flickering with distorted imagery. Even with his talent for research and surveillance, he could barely track the aftershocks left behind by the recent battle between Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, and Uchiha Yuta—the Fifth Hokage.
It had been brief.
But decisive.
Orochimaru's serpent-like eyes narrowed. He licked his lips in fascination.
"To kill two Ōtsutsuki like that... What kind of monster have you become, Uchiha Yuta?"
Behind him, Kabuto Yakushi finished adjusting the controls of the monitor and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Lord Orochimaru... I fear even the likes of Uchiha Madara may not be able to match him."
"He's no longer a mere shinobi," Orochimaru muttered. "He's become something more. Something divine... or perhaps demonic."
A sudden ripple surged through the chakra barrier around the Sound Village.
Kabuto flinched.
"Lord Orochimaru! Four massive chakra signatures have breached the outer ring!"
"Hmph." Orochimaru's lips curled into a slow, wicked smile.
"They're early."
Meanwhile, back with the four shadows in motion...
The group had reached the final threshold. Before them lay the massive, snake-themed gates of Orochimaru's laboratory—an entrance few had ever walked through and returned alive.
"Step aside," Madara said quietly.
He raised a hand.
With the mere fluctuation of his chakra, the gates burst open—metal tearing like paper.
"Subtle," White Zetsu said with a laugh.
As they stepped into the dim corridor, lined with glowing green tubes filled with failed clone experiments, Kabuto's voice echoed faintly through the passageway.
"Please, come in. Lord Orochimaru is expecting you."
Madara's only reply was silence.
Inside the main hall, Orochimaru sat calmly at a long table, a flask of red potion swirling in his hand. Kabuto stood beside him, visibly tense.
"It's been a long time, Madara-sama," Orochimaru said with a sly grin.
"Not long enough," Madara replied coldly.
"I didn't come here for pleasantries. Are you ready to serve?"
Orochimaru laughed softly, but his expression remained unreadable.
"Let's not pretend I have a choice."
As the four figures stepped into the flickering light, Kabuto instinctively stepped back. Madara's presence was crushing, his chakra leaking into the air like black fog.
"So be it," Orochimaru muttered. "Just know this: if your plan fails... I'll have no part in the cleanup."
"It won't," Madara said, voice calm, but absolute.
"You will revive my chosen pawns using Impure World Reincarnation. Your lab will serve as our base. Your village will mobilize."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, but he nodded slowly.
"Understood."
And thus, the darkest alliance in the ninja world tightened its grip. As Madara made his next move, and the Fourth Great Ninja War edged ever closer...
None of them realized that far beyond their schemes, the true storm—the one named Uchiha Yuta—was already watching everything unfold.
From the shadows.
With power that no one, not even the Ōtsutsuki clan, had been prepared for.
To be continued...