Orochimaru's desperate struggle against Jiraiya had left him battered and on the brink of defeat. He flickered consciousness and unconsciousness, gasping for breath as he lay bleeding on the riverbank, his once pristine white clothes now stained with mud and blood. The battle had been fierce, and Jiraiya's Sage Mode had proven too much for him to handle. That failure had managed to overpower him, to defeat him. Half of his internal organs had been destroyed. He could not help but snarl as the light slowly faded from his eyes. "I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you Jiraya!" It would not be a stretch to claim that the snake sannin was still alive through nothing but sheer hate and rage. "I can't die like this!" He coughed as he tried to move his arm, only to find a stump, the final Rasengan had ripped his arm right off, along with half his respiratory organs.
As Orochimaru lay there dying on the riverbank, his vision blurred, he thought his time had come. And he was scared. He denied his fear, his hatred and anger fuelling him. But even that would only last so long. Just when he felt the icy fingers of despair creeping in, a shadowy figure appeared before him. A lone Shinobi, wearing a mask with a design unlike anything he had ever seen.
Obito knelt down beside Orochimaru, his mask concealing his face but not his intent. "You're in bad shape," he said, his voice a cold whisper. "But I can help you, if you're willing to make a deal."
Orochimaru was desperate. Death was right before him and he had no other options. With nowhere else to turn, he managed to croak out. "Anything."
Obito smirked and activated his Kamui, transporting Orochimaru straight to his hideout, but winced as pain flared. "That damn bastard Fugaku nearly burned my entire eye off! If I had not activated Kamui in time, the damage would have been irreversible!"
Fugaku had managed to land the Amaterasu on Obito's Kamui Sharingan eye, burning off most of his cornea and iris, but he had activated Kamui just a second later, and had prevented major damage to the rest of his eye. Even then, the damage was significant, and he required Orochimaru's scientific expertise. Obito growled under his breath as the thought of his injury and the reminder of his carelessness caused his eye to throb in pain. "And I exposed myself to leaf Shinobi unnecessarily! Nobody was supposed to be aware of my existence! No one! Now that little Uchiha brat is going to report to the old Hokage and ARGH!" Obito slammed his fist into a nearby tree, causing the tree to crack as the trunk burst, the tree flying back and crashing in the distance.
"I need to do damage control.' Obito muttered. "I need someone to-" Then his lips curved into an evil smile as he had an epiphany. "It seems that the Snake bastard is the gift that just keeps on giving." Yes, this plan would work. He would make sure of it.
Orochimaru awoke to dim light and the constant sound of water droplets. Groaning, the snake sannin sat up straight as he surveyed his surroundings. He was in a cave, he noted, the torches on the wall illuminated the room enough for him to realise that much.
"You're awake." A deep voice reverberated from the darkness of the cave behind him.
Orochimaru spun around, his hand already in the hand sign for his shadow snake hands jutsu.
The voice chuckled as a masked figure emerged from the darkness. "If I wanted to kill you, you would be lying dead on that riverbank."
Orochimaru winced as he remembered the event, before narrowing his eyes. Not many could make one of Konoha's legendary sannin nervous, but this masked man made his instincts scream DANGER! "So who are you? What do you want? You said you wanted to make a deal."
Obito turned and walked back into the darkness with a single instruction. "Follow me." He then melted back into the shadows, and Orochimaru followed, limping after him.
"Do you notice anything different about your body?" The masked man questioned Orochimaru as they walked.
"Hashirama cells. But only enough to keep me alive." Orochimaru concluded as he continued to cycle his Chakra through his system. "You must need me, but seeing as how I can't perform a single jutsu, you are after my scientific expertise."
"You will see."
Orochimaru squinted as they entered a brightly lit part of the cave. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he gasped as he gazed upon the horrible sight before him. Or to him, the beautiful sight of multiple dead Uchihas, their Sharingan already extracted, and something that stood out even among the treasure trove of Uchiha bodies.
"What is that?…" He gasped as his eyes widened. "That thing. I MUST STUDY IT!" His mouth began to water as he heard Obito's answer.
"That," He began, 'Is Zetsu. Half white and half black, both separate entities." He continued as Orochimaru stared at him in shock. "Black Zetsu is a physical manifestation of my rage."
Obito chuckled as Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "Ah. I haven't introduced myself yet have I? I am Uchiha Madara."
"Uchiha…Madara." Orochimaru's eyes widened before he smirked, showing off his cracked fang. "I expected you to be taller, perhaps with more hair."
Obito ignored him. "White Zetsu on the other hand, is more straightforward. I made him with 3 different cell structures. He's a 3 layered being." Obito picked up a scroll and threw it at Orochimaru, who caught it out of the air.
"White Zetsu's base are the cells of the sage of six paths." Orochimaru's neck almost snapped off with how fast his neck jerked up. Obito smirked behind his mask as two coffins rose from the ground behind him, their lids popping open to reveal the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the legendary Sage of six paths.
"Where did you…How did?" Orochimaru was at a loss for words.
Obito slipped back into his Madara persona, recalling what his master had told him when he had asked the same question. "At the center of the world. I stumbled upon his tomb at the top of Qingyun peak."
Orochimaru's eyes widened. Qingyun peak was the tallest, and most likely the oldest mountain in the elemental nations, located in the land of fire. The tomb of the legendary Sage had been right above his head this entire time!
His tomb had gone undiscovered due to the unending snowstorm at the top of the mountain, and the sheer height of Qingyun peak, which rose to touch the heavens.
Obito continued to recall his master's tale of how he found the stone doors hidden in the snow and ice of the mountain peak, and how Madara had spent an entire year exploring the tomb after opening the stone gates. He had wandered the vast cavern of ice that existed beneath the mountain, avoiding traps and blasting his way through defences before finally finding the Sage's final resting place.
Orochimaru, for the first time in his life, was rendered speechless. His analytical eyes took in the sight of the legendary sage, noting that his body had not decomposed in the slightest. He noted that both the Shodai and the Sage's bodies had not rotted or decomposed, likely due to the ability to absorb natural energy. The Sage's long white beard distracted him for a moment, before he noticed something strange about the corpse.
"Where are his eyes? He is said to possess the legendary Rinnegan."
Obito's voice became deeper as he growled at Orochimaru. "That is a secret for now."
Orochimaru relented, shifting his attention to the Shodime Hokage and the white Zetsu. "So that thing was created with Hashimara cells, cells from the legendary Sage of six paths, I'm guessing you're the third."
"Correct. As a result, every white Zetsu is an immortal being."
"Immortality…" Orochimaru breathed. His quest. His life's very purpose.
"In terms of ageing." Obito said as he stabbed a white Zetsu, causing it to crumple to the ground.
It did not matter, Orochimaru decided. This was what he had dedicated his life to finding. He could not let this chance go!
"What is it you need me to do?"
Before Obito could respond. Orochimaru continued, "I'll do whatever you want. Just let me study this 'White Zetsu!'
Obito gestured to the table in the far corner of the room. "Let's discuss our deal then."
As they both sat down, Obito unrolled another scroll and placed it on the table for Orochimaru to read. Holding up 3 fingers, Obito began his sales pitch.
"I have but 3 requests, Snake sannin. Fulfil them, and everything listed on that scroll is yours."
He curled one finger. "Heal my Sharingan eye. It was damaged during the recent rebellion in the leaf, and while not completely destroyed, it sustained severe damage." Obito said as he cracked a portion of his mask to reveal his Sharingan eye, glowing a deep red. "There are more than enough Uchiha cells and DNA in this lab, as well as dozens of Sharingan. You should have no problem healing me."
Orochimaru smirked. "The great Uchiha Madara was so terribly hurt? I expected more from the leaf's founder."
At Obito's glare, Orochimaru sighed. "Yes. I believe that I can fix your eye."
"Good. Complete this task and you can have the remaining Sharingan and Uchiha bodies." Orochimaru's eyes widened as he grinned in anticipation.
"Second, join my organisation, the Akatsuki. We are a mercenary group of S ranked nukenin, and I require your strength. Our main goal is to capture all the tailed beasts, as well as raze the hidden villages to the ground." Orochimaru had heard enough.
"I'll join. But just to be clear, I'm nobody's lackey."
Obito nodded. "The organisation requires you to utilise the vast resources that you have accumulated to create a new hidden village."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed in understanding. "I see. You require my network of informants and agents to create a new force that upsets the existing balance of the hidden villages. But why?"
Obito tapped one finger on the table. "For war."
Spreading his hands, Obito continued. "Kiri is already a year into its civil war, Konoha and Kumo are at each other's necks, the rest of the Akatsuki will take care of the hidden stone, but I need you to take the centre stage with your village and keep their attention on you, so that we may operate from the shadows."
"Conflict means that more of the hidden villages will have to rely on us for firepower. Already the hidden stone is highly dependent on my Akatsuki. With your hidden village added to the mix, and a little influence from me here and there, we will have the fourth great ninja war on our hands. And once we have the tailed beasts, we will be able to create chakra weapons of mass destruction, on a scale hitherto undreamt of. With another great war, all villages will fall, and the Akatsuki will be able to recreate the world in its image."
Orochimaru could care less about the grand ambitions of who he thought to be Uchiha Madara, all he gave a shit about was the very generous employment benefits. "Fine. I'll do it."
Obito then threw a ring to Orochimaru. "Welcome to the Akatsuki."
In just 3 days, Orochimaru had kept his word. His damaged cornea and iris had been replaced using components from other Sharingan eyes. Orochimaru was called a genius for a reason. He had figured out how the Sharingan worked and managed to not only heal his eye, but made his eye even more efficient.
Orochimaru had performed surgery on Obito's eye, and due to his insistence on perfection, he had replaced other parts of his eye that were not damaged, but 'were not optimal' according to him. But the mad scientist had played his part. Obito's Sharingan eye felt stronger than ever before, and it glowed brighter as well.
"Excellent. As promised, your payment."
Orochimaru sealed everything promised to him into storage scrolls before leaving, obviously anxious to start experimentation. He had taken almost all the Sharingan and Uchiha bodies, Hashirama cells, cells of the Sage of Six paths, Madara's cells, as well as a single white Zetsu body.
Obito chuckled as he rose to his feet. His previous plans may have fallen through with his loss to the Yondaime, and now with the failed rebellion, but he learned from his mistakes, and he would fulfil his role. He would usher in a new era of peace, no matter how many people he had to slaughter and kill to achieve it. Whatever it takes.