"Are you sure?"
Obito asked with a dark face.
Orochimaru nodded and said, "I had contacted Ryosuke a long time ago. At that time, he promised me that he would not stop me from fighting Sarutobi-sensei. The price was that I needed to give him a scroll of Edo Tensei."
"I agreed, and the person who came to fetch the scroll from me was Menma."
"!!!"
Ryosuke knew in advance that Orochimaru was going to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen?
And didn't stop it on purpose?!
Obito was shocked.
That's the guardian deity of Konoha!
The idol worshiped by countless Konoha people!
And yet...
Ryosuke knew about the Konoha collapse plan back then.
But not only did he not stop it, he even extorted a scroll of Edo Tensei from Orochimaru in return?
This...
The entire perception of him has collapsed!!
What kind of guardian of Konoha is this?!
He's clearly a conspirator hiding behind the scenes!
Thinking about what Orochimaru said just now—that Menma and Ryosuke were working together.
The more he thought about it, the more things seemed off.
He carefully recalled his interactions with Menma.
Suddenly, many suspicious points became clear.
"So... Menma is actually from Konoha?"
"No! It should be said that he belongs to Ryosuke?!"
"I was tricked from the very beginning?"
Realizing this, Obito was dumbfounded.
At the same time, a wave of anger erupted within him.
He was deceived by Menma and Ryosuke!!
Menma had joined the Akatsuki on purpose. Looking back, it really had been too easy when he had invited him in.
Even if he had made an offer that no one from that bloodline could refuse at the time...
But now...
Considering Menma's recent actions, Obito was starting to suspect that this guy already possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
His so-called benefits...
Were they really useful to Menma?
"Damn it!"
Obito was seething with rage.
"Menma! Well played, really well played!!"
"You two have some guts!!!"
Though furious, Obito didn't let his anger cloud his judgment.
At the moment, he couldn't do anything against them. Dealing with one was already tricky enough.
Let alone the two together!
For now, there was no way to handle them.
But—
It wasn't a big problem!
As long as he successfully becomes the Ten Tails Jinchūriki, he will gain power on par with the Sage of Six Paths.
Forget Menma and Ryosuke.
Even if the entire world joined forces, they wouldn't be his match!
"I'll let you enjoy your little victory for now."
"But... your good days are numbered!"
Obito thought viciously.
While Orochimaru and Obito schemed against each other and formed an alliance—
On the other side, after taking Sasuke away, Menma let him go off on his own after giving him some instructions.
According to Menma, Sasuke's next task was to become familiar with his new Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Only when he could truly wield the power of these eyes, would he have a chance to kill his other great enemy—the masked man!
Menma also told Sasuke that the masked man was the true mastermind behind the Akatsuki and had taken Nagato's Rinnegan.
A masked man with the Rinnegan was obviously not someone Sasuke could take on right now.
Not to mention—
Sasuke didn't even know where he was.
Let alone exacting revenge.
So—
His most urgent task was to grow stronger and master his eyes.
Striving to unleash their true potential!
After explaining everything, Menma left.
After he was gone, Sasuke, now alone on the island, began training diligently.
His mind was consumed by only one thought—revenge.
Everything else was secondary.
Kill the masked man.
Eliminate Konoha's accomplices.
Once those goals were achieved, he would think about what came next.
"Maybe I should marry multiple wives and have several children?"
Sasuke inexplicably recalled his teacher's suggestion from their first meeting.
But—
Thinking about how troublesome women were, Sasuke shook his head.
"I'll think about that later."
Right now, focusing on getting stronger was the only thing that mattered.
Since he was left alone on this isolated island, Sasuke spent most of his time training.
Aside from fishing for food, his days were dedicated entirely to honing his abilities.
His training was straightforward—continuously using the power of the Eternal Mangekyō, testing the limits of his eyes over and over.
In this way, he could fully master their power.
Had it been an ordinary Mangekyō, he would have lost his eyesight in a matter of days.
But with the Eternal Mangekyō, that wasn't a concern.
Using his eyes wouldn't decrease his maximum potential—only his stamina, which would recover naturally.
So, even though Sasuke trained for more than ten hours a day, exhausting his vision completely each time, by the next day, his eyes would be fully restored.
In this way—
His experience with the Eternal Mangekyō grew daily, and the power he could wield increased exponentially.
On the tenth day—
Sasuke could use the complete body Susanoo for the first time.
The sheer overwhelming power only reinforced his determination to defeat the masked man.
Rinnegan?
So what?!
His teacher had told him that if an eye wasn't originally one's own, it couldn't be used to its full potential—even if the bloodline was compatible.
The masked man had merely borrowed another's eyes.
So what if they were a higher level?
Sasuke refused to believe that his Eternal Mangekyō would lose to him.
While Sasuke was training tirelessly on the isolated island—
Somewhere along the shoreline, a figure suddenly appeared.
"Hmm, that Sasuke should be here."
A woman with blonde curly hair, stunning beauty, and lips of the same golden hue murmured to herself.
Her name was Delta, an internal member of the Kara Organization.
She was also a clone of Sanzo Amado, a core member of Kara, created by Sanzo Amado himself.
The Kara Organization was currently lying dormant in the world.
There were not many members in the organization, but each was an immensely powerful master.
And this time, Delta had appeared on this isolated island with the purpose of recruiting a new member—Sasuke!
Being chosen by Kara naturally meant Sasuke had exceptional qualities.
According to the intel Delta had gathered, this Sasuke had awakened the pinnacle of the Uchiha clan's dojutsu—Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
He possessed strength beyond Kage level.
However, Delta wasn't here to fight Sasuke today.
Though she believed that if she were to engage him in combat, she wouldn't lose.
After all, as a clone, she was incredibly formidable.
Not only was her body composed of advanced metal, but she could also transform and regenerate.
Her eyes could absorb and reflect ninjutsu, and she could launch deadly energy attacks.
Her methods weren't flashy, but they were more than enough to make her a serious threat.
Therefore, Delta wasn't the least bit worried about her safety.
"Sasuke, let me see where you are."
As she spoke, a panel on Delta's arm opened, and a small drone launched into the sky.
With her vision synchronized to the drone, Delta quickly located Sasuke on the other side of the island.
"Found you!"
The next second—
Delta's figure disappeared in an instant.
She became a blur, dashing toward Sasuke's location at high speed.
On the other side—
Sasuke, who was training, suddenly frowned and glanced up at the sky.
His Eternal Mangekyō allowed him to clearly spot the small drone hovering a thousand meters above.
"Some kind of machine?"
Sasuke had never encountered such a thing, but he could roughly guess what it was.
At that moment—
"Hm? Someone's here?"
He turned to look toward the forest.
Almost immediately, a lithe figure shot out from the woods and landed a short distance in front of him.
It was a woman with blonde curly hair.
Sasuke had never seen her before. No memory of her existed in his mind.
Saduke said, "Who are you? As far as I know, there shouldn't be anyone else on this island but me."
He suspected she had come for him.
After all, he had been the sole inhabitant of this island, and now, out of nowhere, this woman appeared and found him immediately.
If she wasn't here for him, then what was she here for?
"Sasuke, I'm Delta, and I'm here to extend an invitation to you on behalf of the Kara Organization."
Delta got straight to the point.
Kara?
Was it an organization similar to Akatsuki?
Sasuke wasn't interested.
He had only joined Akatsuki because his teacher had been a member, nothing more.
As for the ambitions and dreams of Akatsuki?
He couldn't care less.
And this Kara Organization that the woman spoke of?
Sasuke had no interest in it either. He only wanted revenge!
Sasuke glanced at the woman in front of him, then said, "I'm not interested in joining your organization. Don't disturb my training."
With that, Sasuke turned around, intending to continue his practice elsewhere.
"Wait a moment!"
Whoosh!
Delta's figure instantly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
This made Sasuke narrow his eyes in irritation.
"Move, or I'll kill you."
"Oh my, so aggressive. But don't you want to hear about the benefits of joining Kara?" Delta said with a teasing smile.
She wasn't the least bit intimidated by Sasuke's hostile demeanor.
"I said, I'm not interested in your organization." Sasuke's voice turned colder.
He was already running out of patience. If this woman continued to be this obstinate, Sasuke wouldn't hesitate to take her life.
Mercy?
He had none.
To Sasuke, men and women were equal.
"Don't be so hasty!"
Delta smirked and said, "If you join Kara, our leader will grant you even greater power. As far as I know, you've always sought revenge, haven't you?"
"But now that you've killed Itachi, your remaining enemy must be Konoha, right?"
"It's unfortunate, though—Konoha has Ryosuke. His strength is currently unmatched in the world. Even within our Kara Organization, aside from the leader, no one else is his equal."
"If you want to take revenge on Konoha, Ryosuke is an obstacle you'll have to overcome."
"But if you join us, the leader has promised to grant you the power of Karma seal, making you stronger than ever. Perhaps then, you'll have a chance to defeat Ryosuke and avenge yourself against Konoha."
Delta finished speaking in one breath and then looked at Sasuke with a grin.
"So? Are you interested in joining us?"
She extended her hand with a smile.
Sasuke ignored her outstretched hand and instead asked indifferently, "Is this 'Karma seal' you speak of really that strong?"
Delta didn't mind his cold response and replied with a smile, "Of course. It's an ultimate power beyond your imagination."
Beyond imagination?
Ultimate power?
Sasuke was skeptical.
"Then show me."
Wisps of purple energy surged around him as he prepared to summon Susanoo.
"Wait!"
Delta quickly raised her hand to stop him and said, "You don't think just anyone can wield such power, do you? It's not something easily obtained. If you truly want to experience it, you'll have to see our leader for yourself."
"Is that so?"
Sasuke nodded. It made sense that immense power wouldn't be so easily accessible.
If it were, it wouldn't be considered rare.
***
70 Advanced Chapters on
patreon.com/alex_1000