---Third POV---
As the team disbanded, Ryouma intercepted Orochimaru in the corridor inside the Hokage Building.
"Is something the matter?"
Orochimaru's voice sounded as calm as ever, no different from usual.
"I have a project in mind. I wonder if it might interest you."
Ryouma felt that he wasn't really suited for recruiting others. As soon as he said that, he felt like a funding scammer trying to rope someone into a shady plan.
Fortunately, Orochimaru was a man of patience. Of course, when it came to Ryouma, perhaps no one in the entire shinobi world would be impatient.
"Hehe, if it's a project that caught your attention, it surely won't be simple. Let's talk in my lab."
With that, he stepped past Ryouma and took the lead.
---
Inside the Hokage's office, Minato was learning how to handle village paperwork under Hiruzen's guidance when a masked ANBU agent suddenly appeared in the room.
"Ryouma-sama and Orochimaru-sama have left together."
The ANBU's words were tactfully phrased, but everyone present could understand the underlying message.
"When did Ryouma start hanging around Orochimaru?"
Hiruzen frowned in thought. He didn't really believe the two would do anything to endanger Konoha, but he was concerned that Orochimaru might lead Ryouma astray. After all, strength was one thing, but there was a massive gap in age and experience between Ryouma and Orochimaru. As Orochimaru's teacher, he knew all too well how skilled he was at manipulating others.
"Where did they go…"
He had just started speaking when he suddenly remembered that he was about to retire, and right beside him was someone who understood Ryouma very well. He gave a light cough and turned to Minato, who looked like he had something to say.
"Ahem… Minato, how do you think we should handle this?"
"I don't know Orochimaru-senpai very well, but as for Ryouma, there's really no need to worry. He's a very decisive young man. I believe he must have his own reasons for doing this."
Minato spoke with confidence in Ryouma, which put Hiruzen somewhat at ease.
"Seems I was overthinking it."
---
At the entrance of an underground Konoha laboratory.
Orochimaru glanced back at Ryouma and kindly reminded him, "The sights inside may be unpleasant. I hope you won't mind."
"Human experimentation, right? I already discussed this with the Hokage."
After all, Ryouma was a ninja who had survived the brutal shinobi world war. A few corpses couldn't shake him anymore.
"Hehe, how composed you are."
Orochimaru gave a raspy chuckle. After entering a code, the laboratory door opened automatically.
This startled Ryouma quite a bit, technology in the shinobi world was truly bizarre. Kumo had chakra cannons, and Konoha wasn't far behind.
Following Orochimaru into the lab, the lighting was dim, but he could still clearly see his surroundings.
The first thing that caught his eye were large glass tubes filled with nutrient fluids, inside which floated all kinds of deformed biological entities, likely the results of failed Hashirama cell transplants.
Then there was an entire wall covered with storage cabinets, neatly organized with dozens of scrolls. Judging from the labels on the outside, these contained corpses of ninjas of various ages.
Of course, they were all from other villages. During the war, the one thing they had in abundance was bodies.
In addition to these, a few unconscious Iwa ninjas were bound and suspended in one corner of the lab. Living subjects were also an essential part of Hashirama cell experimentation.
After letting Ryouma observe for a while, Orochimaru took the initiative to ask, "So, what did you come to me for?"
Ryouma withdrew his gaze from the surroundings and took out a scroll, then unfurled it.
Poof!
A puff of smoke dispersed, and the corpse of a White Zetsu appeared on the lab table.
"This is a being called White Zetsu. Its body contains a large concentration of artificially cultivated cells of the First Hokage."
"I can definitely sense strong cellular activity from it," Orochimaru remarked. Having worked on Hashirama cell experiments for so long, he could immediately detect the unusual nature of this specimen.
Ryouma continued, "I'd like to ask you to conduct a transplant experiment using White Zetsu cells. I have a friend who needs the life force that these cells can provide."
"That friend of yours isn't you, is it?" Orochimaru asked suspiciously.
Ryouma twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth. "Of course not. If you're willing to help me, I'll naturally introduce him to you afterward."
"And what do I get out of this?" Orochimaru licked his lips, clearly ready to name his price. "You should know I'm currently working with Danzō. One's time and energy are limited, after all."
Naturally, Ryouma hadn't come expecting Orochimaru to work for free. He was well-prepared. But instead of immediately naming his offer, he countered with a question.
"Then, what do you want in return?"
"Heh… Not naming your price and instead asking what I want? Well, if it's you asking, I suppose you're qualified to do so."
If it were anyone else talking this boldly, Orochimaru would have long blacklisted them. Squinting in thought, he finally said, "I want your support in becoming the Fourth Hokage."
"Are you testing me?"
Ryouma's voice wasn't loud, but Orochimaru felt as if the air around them had thinned with the weight of that question.
Taking a slightly deeper breath, he chuckled, "Just a joke. Since Hiruzen-sensei has already made his decision, as his student, I'll naturally respect it."
"Then that's for the best."
Ryouma let out a soft laugh, and the thick tension in the lab instantly lightened.
"I've also heard a bit about your past from Tsunade. You place a great deal of importance on life, don't you?"
Orochimaru wasn't surprised that Ryouma had pinpointed his deepest desire. After all, he had never hidden his twisted obsession with life. It was precisely because of this that Hiruzen had refused to choose him as the Fourth Hokage.
Ignoring Ryouma's comment, he launched into his own monologue.
"Did you know, life is a fragile thing? A homeless orphan can die from a common cold. Even the most renowned ninja can die from a kunai to the throat. And even if nothing unexpected happens, people still die once they reach a certain age. The first person to mix blue and yellow named the resulting color 'green.' Ninjutsu is the same. Just like there are countless shades of color, there should also be countless kinds of ninjutsu. I want to learn every ninjutsu in existence, to become the one who comes closest to the truth of the world. But human life is limited. It's impossible to achieve that goal within a normal lifespan. So my purpose has always been simple: to attain immortality."
In the end, perhaps influenced by the atmosphere on the rooftop of the Hokage Building today, Orochimaru appeared a bit manic. He spread his arms wide and looked intently at Ryouma.
"So, my condition is to help me achieve immortality. Can you do that?"
Ryouma didn't mind Orochimaru's current crazed appearance at all. After all, he was a genius scientist, this was normal. It would be strange if he didn't go mad.
"I can."
"What?"
Orochimaru doubted his ears for a moment.
As one of the Sannin, he naturally had his pride. That condition, while indeed his ultimate goal, was something he had thrown out mainly as a way to counter Ryouma's lofty attitude. After all, it sounded like an impossible demand, but unexpectedly, Ryouma gave such a response. Orochimaru couldn't help but confirm:
"Did you really hear my condition clearly?"
"Of course. You want eternal life and immortality, right? It's not that difficult for me. The only thing is that the price is a bit steep, I mean, the price after achieving immortality."
"What's the price?"
Orochimaru's voice sounded a bit urgent. Ryouma didn't keep him in suspense.
"The main thing is that you'll lose the ability to reproduce. Other effects like losing your sense of taste, you probably wouldn't care about those, right? Besides, this technique still has room for optimization, and the side effects could potentially be reduced further."
Unintentionally, he had mastered the art of painting an alluring picture. But this particular one was just too tempting, Orochimaru was immediately sold.
"Hehe, if such a price can really grant immortality, then it's worth it. So, you plan to offer this jutsu as my payment for being hired?"
"Exactly."
Ryouma handed a prepared scroll to Orochimaru, who immediately unrolled it upon receiving it.
"Yomi no Tsurugi…? This technique seems somewhat similar to Edo Tensei."
"Well, both are forbidden jutsu involving manipulation of souls, and both were invented by the Second Hokage."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Invented by the Second Hokage?"
"That's right. Since it was a theoretically viable but practically failed prototype, he eventually abandoned it. But don't worry, I possess a special energy source that can drive this technique perfectly."
"Is that so?" Orochimaru studied some of the annotations on the scroll and asked tentatively, "Can I see a demonstration?"
"Of course. Trust is the foundation of cooperation, after all." Ryouma pointed to a fainted Iwa ninja slumped against the wall. "May I borrow him?"
"Certainly."
With Orochimaru's permission, he walked up to the unconscious ninja, who was wearing nothing but a pair of black shorts. He took out a prepared scroll from the ninja tool pouch on his back and pressed it to the man's forehead.
Black markings rapidly spread from the point of contact between the scroll and the man's forehead, covering his entire body within seconds.
Ryouma discarded the now-useless scroll and used the dark chakra within his body, forming hand seals at high speed.
A black, fluid-like energy drifted out from him and was slowly absorbed by the black markings on the Iwa ninja's body.
In less than a minute, the technique was completed, and the black markings faded beneath the ninja's skin.
"That's it?"
Orochimaru felt like it all seemed a bit too hasty. Shouldn't a forbidden technique that reverses life and death summon a Shinigami or something dramatic like that?
"Of course," Ryouma shrugged. "Since you've heard of Edo Tensei, you should understand, once the technique is mastered, even seemingly absurd jutsu like this can be used repeatedly, depending entirely on the user's intent."
Orochimaru wasn't sure how to respond. No matter what he said, it would make him seem inexperienced.
Using a water jutsu, he splashed water on the Iwa ninja to wake him up. He wanted to see if Yomi no Tsurugi was really as miraculous as described in the scroll.
---
"Cough… cough…"
Kura was startled awake by a splash of cold water. He felt as though he had just emerged from a long dream, though he couldn't remember what had happened in it.
As his consciousness slowly returned and his blurred vision refocused, he finally took in his surroundings.
"You're awake," Ryouma said with a soft chuckle. "The operation was a success. You're now immortal."
"Huh?"
Still not fully understanding the situation, Kura instinctively tried to move, only to realize he was firmly chained to the wall. He turned toward the source of the voice, and in an instant, his pupils shrank in shock.
"You're… Orochimaru?!"
Only then did he remember, he had been patrolling outside a stronghold in the Land of Grass when he suddenly blacked out. It seemed he had been captured alive. But he was just an ordinary genin with no bloodline limit. Why would someone as high-profile as Orochimaru be involved in interrogating him?
"Wait, am I really that unremarkable?"
"Maybe because you haven't spent much time on the Iwa frontlines."
Indeed, in terms of iconic appearance, Orochimaru left a far stronger impression.
Licking his lips, he grew visibly excited and spat a sword out of his mouth, gripping it in his hand.
Kura pressed his lips tightly together. He was mentally prepared, no matter what kind of torture they subjected him to, he wouldn't reveal a thing. Not that he actually knew any valuable intel as a genin...
Slick!
A flash of brilliant silver sliced through the air, and Kura's head instantly parted ways with his body.
Orochimaru didn't bother with testing on arms or legs first; he went straight for decapitation.
Blood gushed from the now-headless body. As he looked down at the rolling head, he was still filled with doubt, until the severed head suddenly opened its mouth and started to speak.
"Ow! That hurts! You guys don't even interrogate first? Just straight to decapitation?"
He had mentally prepared himself so much, did Konoha catch the wrong guy and now just want to get rid of him?
"I don't wanna die yet… I have family waiting for me to come home… Why is this happening to me…? Sob sob…"
Apparently overwhelmed with emotion, Kura began crying heavily, big tears streaming down his face.
"All right, stop crying. You're not dead, and honestly, you'll probably have a hard time dying ever again. You should be counting your blessings."
Ryouma crouched down and poked the crying Iwa ninja gently on the forehead with his finger.