Orochimaru's body was in critical condition. A regular person would have died a thousand deaths by now with wounds like these.
But his body, after undergoing Soft Physique Modification, was incredibly unique — completely beyond the realm of human anatomy.
Under Kei Yamanaka's Medical Ninjutsu, Orochimaru's natural healing abilities were fully activated.
Thick, layered white scales erupted across his skin.
As his wounds rapidly regenerated,
Orochimaru's body morphed entirely into a several-meter-long, glowing white serpent.
It was a full morphological transformation of both flesh and form.
Did he actually turn himself into a snake?!"
"White Snake Sage?"
Recalling Orochimaru's [Child of the White Snake] ability, Kei furrowed his brows slightly and questioned him.
"Hsss… A serpent that's lived for over a thousand years — doesn't that intrigue you, Kei-kun?"
Orochimaru's serpentine body still lay sprawled on the ground.
The constant cell division and regeneration drained enormous amounts of life energy.
Even with his modified physiology, recovering from near-death left him in a prolonged state of weakness.
"…Fine."
Kei nodded slightly. A monster who had lived for over a millennium probably did hold strong appeal for someone obsessed with immortality like Orochimaru.
However, maybe because he'd subconsciously already accepted this concept,
he had never seriously considered studying them — at best, he merely lusted after their Sage Mode.
Noting Kei's indifferent tone, Orochimaru easily saw through it.
A sharp glint flashed in those serpentine eyes as he asked cautiously,
"Where exactly did you obtain your Wood Release, Kei-kun?"
Isn't the very act of discovering and researching far more valuable than just being handed the answer?
Kei couldn't exactly tell him it was thanks to his system cheat.
He gave a vague reply and quickly brushed past the topic, then re-buried both the wooden dragon and giant beneath the earth, tidying away the flowers from Bloom of the Forest Tomb as well.
Then, using Flying Thunder God Technique, he immediately returned underground to Bone-Erosion Plain's Experiment Site Seven together with Orochimaru.
Removing a palm-sized scroll from the pouch strapped to his Jonin flak vest,
Kei casually undid the first seal at the top.
The sealed White Zetsu materialized before Orochimaru amid rising chakra mist.
As if awakening from a long hibernation like a dormant plant,
the White Zetsu stretched its limbs and shifted about briefly before scanning its surroundings warily.
At the sight of Kei Yamanaka, it shuddered visibly,
instinctively attempting to escape beneath the ground.
Before it could act, however, countless Wood Release tendrils shot up from beneath, pinning it down.
"A species that can survive dormant within storage seals…"
The weakened Orochimaru, now in his massive white serpent form, pushed himself upright and approached the White Zetsu,
ignoring its frantic babbling altogether.
Orochimaru's sharp fangs sank directly into White Zetsu's neck.
A vivid green liquid gushed out—nothing like human blood. This substance overflowed with vitality, yet carried a grotesque essence unlike anything found in humans. The strange sensation sent a gleam through Orochimaru's serpentine eyes.
"Be careful—it can use Wood Release too. And watch out, it might try to escape underground. Let me know when you're done playing around—I'll send another one over."
At the beginning of their collaboration, Kei Yamanaka wasn't ready to hand Orochimaru too many White Zetsus at once.
Even though it wasn't strong in battle, this creature could still cause serious trouble.
Only God knows what Orochimaru might do if one of his wild ideas struck him and he used the Zetsu to stir up chaos.
Thinking further, he spoke again.
"Orochimaru, how is your research on Impure World Reincarnation going?"
"It's not possible to completely preserve the deceased's original power, and there are still major flaws in control. The Scroll of Seals' records are missing a lot of key information—the Second didn't leave behind the full jutsu."
Orochimaru pulled his mouth away from White Zetsu's neck but kept watching the wound closely, observing how quickly it healed.
"Keep researching it. Later, we'll use Impure World Reincarnation on a few people."
Kei wasn't surprised that Tobirama Senju hadn't left behind a complete version of the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
After all, with that man's intelligence, it was impossible for him not to prepare contingencies.
"Oh? So this is the correct path you mentioned earlier, Kei?"
"Not exactly, though... have you ever thought about bringing in Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha to join your research efforts?"
Kei Yamanaka casually pulled up a chair and sat down.
In his opinion, using Impure World Reincarnation merely for battle was somewhat wasteful.
Sure, Hashirama doesn't look like much when it comes to research ability, but could anyone who developed Wood Release to such an extreme truly be said to understand nothing about ninjutsu?
Tobirama Senju was even more of a research fanatic—how many forbidden jutsus in Konoha were his creations?
And then there was Madara Uchiha, who independently completed the cultivation and transplantation of Hashirama Senju's cells and successfully cultivated the Rinnegan.
If those three teamed up with Orochimaru for collaborative research…
Hell, even the Otsutsuki would cry!
Moreover...
For the price of just one White Zetsu, you'd get a tireless worker who eats nothing, sleeps never, and demands no pay!
A hundred kilometers' worth of energy and a tiny bit of chakra?
Where else could you find such a deal?
"...Kei, you're genuinely insane."
Orochimaru finally looked away from the White Zetsu.
Recruiting former Kage who knew everything, plus that legendary figure, for joint research—was that even the kind of idea a sane person would have?
Still, imagining such a scene...
The bizarre lifeforms, teaming up with the last generation of legends in research, the chance at real immortality, and nearly equal footing...
Maybe working with Kei Yamanaka wasn't all that bad after all?
[Beep! Major advancement in a key character's fate line. World line progression has been accelerated. Rewards obtained: Keyword Draw opportunity x3, Keyword Gift opportunity x2, Blue Keyword Upgrade opportunity x1, Keyword Detach opportunity x1, Keyword Reset opportunity x1.]
A sudden system notification rang out.
Kei Yamanaka raised an eyebrow slightly, his lips curling into a faint smile.
He had just been wondering whether his influence on Orochimaru even counted as changing his fate.
After all, in the original storyline, Orochimaru was always going to end up conducting research anyway.
He simply skipped the middle part.
Who would've thought things could work out like this!
Man, Orochimaru really is a gold mine of rewards!
No need to kill him or completely change his fate—just fast-forwarding the timeline and accelerating its progression—and the reward is already this good.
Hmm...
These rewards aren't quite as valuable as taking down Madara early, but they're way better than anything Danzo ever gave.
The First Kage's face is utterly ruined.
"Orochimaru definitely owes me big time here! I just saved myself twenty years of detours!"
Kei muttered inwardly.
Glancing at the still-oblivious Orochimaru beside him, Kei turned away in disgust.
While briefly zoning out, he noticed that Orochimaru had nearly licked every inch of White Zetsu from head to toe with that serpentine tongue of his.
The scene...
even the pervs would call this too freaky!
And that White Zetsu himself was no better—he was actually directing Orochimaru—"Up, down, left, right!"—like some kind of instructional guide.
Judging from his blissful expression, he was clearly immersed in that grotesque sensation beyond self-control.
Seriously! Do you even have any shame? You're supposed to be the test subject!
You could get dissected any second, pieces of you scattered all over the place!
You're enjoying yourself way too much!
"...Orochimaru, how about you send me to Ryuchi Cave first? Then you can go back to your research at your own pace?"
Kei really couldn't stand being there any longer.
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