When Orochimaru and Kabuto walked over and saw that Sasuke and Izayoi's scuffle had ended, Orochimaru wore a wicked grin. "Izayoi-kun, Sasuke-kun, are you both satisfied with the surgery?"
From Orochimaru's demeanor, it seemed he had no fear that Izayoi might double-cross him now that the procedure was done. Maybe he had a way to resurrect himself if killed, or perhaps he simply realized he couldn't fight Izayoi and was betting on Izayoi being a man of his word.
"Not bad at all. In the end, you really do need a professional for a professional job," Izayoi replied with a nod of satisfaction. "The surgery is done, so it's time to fulfill our trade agreement."
"Trade?" Orochimaru blinked, nearly blurting out that the surgery itself had been the deal. But then, recalling Izayoi's earlier words—where the surgery for Sasuke came after what Izayoi wanted from Orochimaru—his smile stiffened.
Because of the Hashirama cells, Orochimaru had pushed aside that earlier part in his mind. Now Izayoi was tilting his head at him, coolly pointing out, "The surgery was just my gift in return for your 'welcome present.' Lord Orochimaru, you don't honestly think that one surgery clears our debt for that White Zetsu clone and the intel about the Shinigami Mask, right?"
"Heh heh… So what do you want, Izayoi-kun?" Orochimaru forced a laugh but cursed inwardly, This kid's cunning is on a whole different level. He was setting a trap from the start with how he phrased things.
Saying "I want a certain thing" and actually specifying that thing are two totally different things. By agreeing to do the surgery, Orochimaru had effectively agreed to the transaction.
Now Izayoi could make any exorbitant demand. Refuse, and that alone became reason enough for a falling-out. But if he gave it, and the demand was for something too valuable, then what?
In that moment, Orochimaru found himself cornered yet again. If he'd known in advance that Izayoi would show up here, he'd have sent Kabuto away with his most crucial possessions.
Then even if Orochimaru died, Kabuto could resurrect him. But now that he knew about the Shinigami Mask and had obtained a perfect body like the White Zetsu clone, Orochimaru had no wish to die.
Whatever Izayoi demanded, however extreme, Orochimaru had little choice but to grit his teeth and accept. Suddenly, a horrifying thought struck him:
Was this kid doing it on purpose the entire time?!
First, using the White Zetsu clone and the intel on the Shinigami Mask to lure him in, then using his greed and fears to lock him down? Could it be that Izayoi already had the Shinigami Mask in his possession?
Orochimaru's breathing grew rough and uneven. He started second-guessing everything.
Of course, Izayoi had no clue Orochimaru was busy spinning wild theories again. He cut straight to the point: "I want the Ryūchi Cave summoning scroll so Sasuke can make a contract there."
"Ryūchi Cave?"
Orochimaru hadn't expected Izayoi to ask for the summoning scroll. He glanced at Sasuke standing beside Izayoi, and his eyes once again flickered with excitement. If Sasuke signed a contract with Ryūchi Cave… maybe he, Orochimaru, could one day plant a Curse Mark on him?
But sensing Sasuke's current aura, Orochimaru immediately dismissed that notion. Unless he recovered the souls in his arms, he was no match for Sasuke in this state.
So Orochimaru tried some maneuvering of his own and smiled slyly. "I thought Izayoi-kun might want Edo Tensei, but all you want is Ryūchi Cave's summoning scroll? That's a rather small thing. However…"
He paused, staring at his hands with a troubled look. "My hands' souls were taken by the Reaper when the Third Hokage summoned it. Right now, I can't perform any summoning technique to bring out the scroll for Ryūchi Cave. If you can find me the Shinigami Mask, Izayoi-kun, then once I recover my hands, that scroll is yours to do with as you please."
Finishing, Orochimaru spotted Izayoi's faint smirk and felt a pang of unease. Sure enough, Izayoi turned to Kabuto and said, "If Lord Orochimaru can't form seals, we can just have Kabuto-senpai do it, right? Wasn't that how you three Sannin handled things during your little 'class reunion' in Tanzaku Town?"
"Heh… You really can't fool Izayoi-kun," Orochimaru muttered. Realizing his ruse was exposed, he dropped any pretense. "Izayoi-kun, the Shinigami Mask must be in your possession, correct? What price must I pay for you to hand it over?"
"What makes Lord Orochimaru so sure I've got the Shinigami Mask?" Izayoi asked, wearing an amused expression.
Seeing that smile, Orochimaru felt a jolt of relief. He laughed. "A moment ago, I wasn't sure. Now I am. Because…Izayoi-kun, you're far too 'steady.' Even the Nara clan can't match you in brains and scheming."
"Thanks for the compliment, Lord Orochimaru. You're quite impressive yourself for figuring it out so quickly that I have it."
Orochimaru's face lit up with barely concealed delight, only for Izayoi to name his price: "You can have the mask, but in return, you have to help Sasuke learn Sage Mode from Ryūchi Cave."
Sasuke, who'd been listening quietly, froze in surprise at Izayoi's statement. Though he didn't really know what "Sage Mode" was, using an item powerful enough to break the Third Hokage's life-sacrificing Seal in exchange for an even greater strength for him—clearly that item was unimaginably precious.
Possibly on the level of a village's secret heritage. Yet Izayoi was using it just to help him get stronger.
Sasuke felt a sudden rush of warmth, an odd sting at the corners of his eyes. Maybe having a "foster father" wasn't so bad after all.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru stared at Izayoi in shock. "You even know about Sage Mode?"
"If you had my abilities, you'd know even more," Izayoi answered coolly.
"True enough…" Orochimaru mumbled, recalling the Uzumaki clan's Mind Eye of the Kagura and the First Hokage's Wood Release. He soon nodded briskly. "No problem. I can introduce Sasuke-kun to the White Snake Sage and help him learn Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode."
"In that case, let's see the summoning scroll."
"Kabuto…"
Orochimaru glanced at Kabuto. The latter quickly understood, smeared Orochimaru's blood to form seals, and knelt down to slap his hand against the ground. "Summoning Technique!"
Poof! A cloud of white smoke appeared, revealing a white snake about the size of a grown man. Seemingly on a mission, it opened its mouth wide the instant it showed up, spitting out a large scroll with the words "Ryūchi Cave" on the seal.
Izayoi gave Sasuke a pat on the shoulder. "Go ahead—use your blood and sign it."
"All right."
Sasuke nodded, went over, unrolled the scroll, and bit his finger to write his name in blood on the blank section.
"Pleasure doing business, Lord Orochimaru," Izayoi said.
"Heh heh… Likewise. Whenever Sasuke-kun wants to learn Sage Mode, just let me know via a snake from Ryūchi Cave," Orochimaru replied, clearly a bit impatient. He was sick of being without his arms. For a scientist and a Kage-level shinobi, losing the ability to use ninjutsu was like torture worse than death.
And right now, Orochimaru had far too many enemies—Akatsuki's S-rank rogues, plus Konoha and Sand. If Izayoi hadn't come for a deal, Orochimaru might already have been dead.
Now that Izayoi knew his location, the Konoha side had surely learned it from the Sound Four's and Kimimaro's brains by now. Their shinobi could be on the move toward the Land of Fields at this very moment. Orochimaru had to relocate soon.
"Since our deal is done, we won't bother you any longer," Izayoi said.
"I look forward to our next meeting, Izayoi-kun."
"Heh heh, me too."
After Sasuke signed the contract, Izayoi exchanged a few more polite words with Orochimaru and turned to leave. But a few steps later, he paused as if remembering something and faced Orochimaru again. "By the way, Lord Orochimaru—don't you have two Kusanagi Swords? How about selling me the other one?"
"Izayoi-kun…you're remarkably well-informed," Orochimaru replied in a low voice, wariness flickering deep in his eyes. Indeed, he had two Kusanagi blades and had scoured the world for a third. But not even Kabuto knew this. How did this kid manage to learn such things? Creepy.
Still, Orochimaru parted his jaws, coughing up a scroll slick with mucus. "Here—this Kusanagi Sword is yours, Izayoi-kun."
"Sasuke, go pick it up," Izayoi told him.
"Me?"
Sasuke eyed the slime-covered scroll with distaste.
"Quit whining. It's for you," Izayoi retorted, rolling his eyes. "If it's in Lord Orochimaru's private collection, it's bound to be a real treasure. You've heard the legends of the Kusanagi Sword, haven't you?"
"Heh heh… Izayoi-kun certainly knows his stuff," Orochimaru said with a smile. "There are three Kusanagi blades in total, each with different powers. The strongest is the Totsuka Blade, which can change form and trap whoever it pierces in a dreamlike illusion world forever. I've been searching for the Totsuka Blade's whereabouts all these years, but I still haven't found it."
At that, his tone brimmed with regret.
Hearing there was such a miraculous weapon out there, Sasuke's eyes lit up. He no longer cared about the slime on the scroll, quickly picking it up and wiping it clean.
"All right, we'll get going now, Lord Orochimaru," Izayoi said, waving. "Oh, one more thing: I recommend you pack up and relocate. The Interrogation Unit will have already extracted this base's location by now."
"Thank you for the warning, Izayoi-kun."
They spoke with a politeness and warmth like old acquaintances. In truth, both had gained tremendously from the exchange.
Sasuke had successfully changed his own fate. His strength soared, and his "drop rate" (so to speak) rose. Once he mastered the "Super Typhoon Serial Spheresq" and learned Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode, he'd be among the ninja world's elite.
At that point, his potential would spike again. Before Izayoi's Tenseigan reached its final evolution—unlocking Tenseigan Chakra Mode plus Silver and Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosions—there was a real chance Izayoi could earn another red-tier "Sage's Eyes" from him.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru had acquired the White Zetsu clone and a shot at undoing the Reaper Death Seal. Everyone walked away a winner.
…
Half a month later, at the Naka River…
"Hahahaha…!"
Thick branches sprouted from the riverbank, arching across like a bridge to the opposite side. Standing atop them, Sasuke laughed triumphantly, gazing down at Hinata and Karin, who stood on the river's surface below. His face radiated smugness.
"Nanda…? Is that the best you two can do? Come on, show me what you've got! I'm only just getting warmed up!"
Seeing how cocky Sasuke was acting, both Hinata and Karin got veins popping on their foreheads. They exchanged a quick glance and nodded in unison.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Wall Palm!"
Taking a stance reminiscent of Tai Chi, Hinata thrust her palms forward. A massive surge of chakra—far beyond that of an ordinary Vacuum Palm—launched toward Sasuke on the branch.
"Too slow!" Sasuke jeered, three tomoe swirling in his Sharingan. He simply hopped into the air, effortlessly evading Hinata's Vacuum Wall Palm.
Flipping twice midair, Sasuke finished forming hand seals and spewed a tiny flame downward. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
That small flame instantly swelled, transforming into a roaring inferno, crashing down like a falling meteor.
"Water Release: Rising Water Slicer!" Karin clasped her hands, causing water from the Naka River to spiral upward in a massive vortex, colliding with the meteor-like fireball.
A harsh hissing noise echoed as white steam spread out in a thick mist.
"Crap!"
Sasuke, overconfident a moment ago, instantly realized his blunder. His face changed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
He heard the sound of multiple objects piercing the mist, seeing a barrage of blue chakra needles heading right for him.
Quickly drawing the Kusanagi Sword at his waist, Sasuke channeled Lightning Release's nature and shape transformations into it, slashing at high speed to deflect the oncoming needles.
So those lumps of chakra turned out to be water needles—Water Release: Heavenly Weeping.
Whoosh—
Just as he parried that technique, another rushing sound came from his left. Sasuke spotted Hinata clinging to the rock face and bounding straight at him. Panicking, he thrust his hand out and shouted, "Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
His arm transformed into multiple wooden vines, like octopus tentacles or a swarm of snakes, shooting toward Hinata to bind her mid-flight.
But Hinata simply gave a shout and punched one of the incoming wooden vines. An explosion of huge chakra shattered the tough wood into countless fragments. The resultant shockwave hurled Sasuke all the way to the far bank.
Though Sasuke wasn't actually injured, he had barely landed when a teasing voice sounded behind him.
"Nanda…? Is that all you've got, Sasuke-kun~~?"
A single palm pressed against Sasuke's back, frog-like markings of a sealing script spreading across his skin.
The battle was over!
~~~
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