On the other side, in a hidden cave within the mountains behind the Sound Village...
Orochimaru was conducting research on the Impure World Reincarnation.
This was especially true after he received word that someone claiming to be Uchiha Madara had appeared in the Cloud Village.
Even if the person wasn't the real Madara, they represented a powerful new faction emerging within the shinobi world.
Ordinary people wouldn't dare to claim that name for themselves.
He felt the shinobi world was beginning to descend into chaos, and he certainly couldn't afford to fall behind.
With his current strength, he was still far from being able to stir the winds and clouds of the world.
However, if his Impure World Reincarnation could be perfected to allow the summoned to possess their full strength from when they were alive, his combat power would skyrocket.
If the powerhouses of the past could be used by him, how many masters could he bring forth?
The mere thought of such a combat force was terrifying.
With enough summons, he could even subvert the entire shinobi world.
He had already collected the corpses of quite a few powerful ninja.
He had also attempted to summon some of them through the ritual, but their strength was nowhere near what it had been in life.
At most, they possessed sixty to seventy percent of their original power, and for the truly legendary figures, it was as low as thirty or forty percent.
Such a massive reduction in power rendered them useless.
He needed to summon warriors stronger than himself for the technique to be truly effective.
Otherwise, how could he hope to seize Uchiha Ryōsuke's eyes and body?
He was currently focused on researching how to make the reincarnated warriors exert their original, full strength.
At that moment, a subordinate rushed into the cave in a state of panic.
"Lord Orochimaru, things have taken a turn for the worse!"
"The Uchiha Madara who attacked the Jinchūriki in the Cloud Village has arrived at the village, and he is looking for you!"
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's slit-like eyes narrowed instantly.
He felt a flicker of genuine fear at the mention of that name.
Normally, no one should be able to live that long.
However, Orochimaru himself could obtain a youthful body through the Living Corpse Reincarnation. By his own estimates, he could live for a very long time using this technique, providing him with enough time to grow stronger and master even more ninjutsu.
If he could do it, then a man as terrifying as Uchiha Madara certainly could.
Madara was an existence far more powerful than himself; perhaps he had faked his death back then and was only now being resurrected.
The thought made his head reel, and a shiver of dread ran through his entire body.
He remembered back when he was in the village collecting the corpses of legends to use for his reincarnation research.
He had even managed to obtain the remains of men as powerful as Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.
Naturally, he had also desperately wanted Uchiha Madara's corpse.
That man's body held countless secrets.
With it, he could have summoned the legendary Uchiha Madara himself.
But he simply couldn't find it.
He had searched for a long time, scouring almost every corner of the village.
Now he finally understood; the man hadn't died at all, so how could there have been a corpse?
With his current abilities, he had no way of winning against such a monster, even if the rest of the world considered him to be a powerful ninja.
Orochimaru was well aware of the terror that was Uchiha Madara; as a former Konoha ninja, he had read many records concerning him.
Furthermore, he possessed Senju Hashirama's cells. Even after years of cultivation, they remained incredibly active and invasive.
That only emphasized how strong Uchiha Madara must truly be.
Besides, he had just recently completed the Living Corpse Reincarnation, leaving his soul far too fragile. He likely stood no chance against those eyes.
Genjutsu was his greatest weakness.
He wouldn't even be able to last very long against the power of those eyes.
Because Madara's eyes weren't just an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan, but the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
They were truly terrifying eyes.
While they were certainly captivating, he was not about to go looking for death.
His body dissolved into the form of a snake, darting straight toward another hidden passage within the cave.
He was ready to flee.
The reporting subordinate was even more shocked than his master.
Was Lord Orochimaru actually running away just at the mention of Uchiha Madara's name?
Was he even going to abandon the experimental equipment here?
These were things he had worked hard to collect for Orochimaru, and he couldn't help but ask.
"Lord Orochimaru, are we leaving all this experimental equipment behind?"
Orochimaru didn't look back as he retreated into the distance, but he still responded.
"Leave it."
Was this really the time to worry about equipment?
He could always collect more equipment later.
Besides, this wasn't his only base of operations.
Uchiha Madara was coming for him, and although he didn't know the reason, he had a feeling it wasn't for anything good.
Facing that man, he might not even be able to escape if he delayed.
He wondered when he would ever possess such overwhelming power.
Perhaps it would only be possible once he finally mastered Uchiha Ryōsuke's body.
At that point, he would not only have the Mangekyō Sharingan, but with his own abilities, he would surely be able to evolve those eyes to the level of the Eternal Mangekyō.
Furthermore, Ryōsuke's physical form was exceptionally powerful.
The prospect truly enticed him.
Only after reincarnating into Ryōsuke would he have the strength to face Uchiha Madara; with a Mangekyō of his own, he would naturally not fear the other man's eyes.
More importantly, through the ancient texts he had gathered, he knew that Uchiha Madara seemed to have some sort of nefarious plan.
The First Hokage thought he had killed Madara back then, believing the conspiracy had vanished with him.
But now that Madara had returned, he would certainly continue to implement his designs.
Orochimaru felt a slight thrill of excitement at the thought.
The plans of such a powerful individual had to be incredibly interesting.
The subordinate was stunned by Orochimaru's answer.
He had never seen Orochimaru like this—deciding to flee without even laying eyes on the enemy.
Since Lord Orochimaru had decided to run and was even abandoning the equipment, why should he stay?
He immediately hurried to follow after Orochimaru.
He had been the one to dig this secret escape route, so he knew it well.
Uchiha Madara would likely arrive here soon. If the man found him and realized he was the one who had tipped off Orochimaru, he would surely be killed.
When he was returning to the cave, he had seen the Otokage get taken out instantly by a single glance from Uchiha Madara, collapsing right there on the spot.
Facing a life-or-death crisis, there was a high probability that the Otokage would reveal Lord Orochimaru's location.
After all, he wasn't exactly a loyal subordinate of Lord Orochimaru.