A hoarse voice echoed from beneath the black cloak.
Orochimaru pulled down his hood, revealing his pale, decaying face. This body was reaching its limit—he'd have to switch again soon.
Su Mu took a sip of tea and sat upright, eyeing Orochimaru with interest.
"So, what kind of help do you want from me?"
Kabuto stepped forward from behind Orochimaru and bowed politely.
"Master Su, we ask if you would help Lord Orochimaru... achieve immortality."
Su Mu chuckled.
"What do you take me for? A god?"
He casually opened his folding fan and waved it a few times, then laughed heartily.
But Orochimaru's gaze remained locked—intense, unwavering.
He was sure Su Mu had what he wanted.
"Please, Master Su!"
Kabuto dropped to his knees with a loud thud.
Su Mu smiled faintly, refilling a cup from the purple clay teapot.
"I don't respond to that kind of plea. I could help... but nothing in this world is free."
Orochimaru's brow furrowed.
"Name your price. There's nothing more precious than my life at this point."
"It's not much," Su Mu said, lightly.
"You still have the Kusanagi Sword, don't you?"
Orochimaru's expression froze. Then he gave a bitter laugh.
"I didn't think you'd know about that blade."
"Of course I know. There are countless weapons in this world, but only a handful are worth my attention. That sword of yours—Kusanagi—is one of them."
The terms were clear. Orochimaru understood.
He opened his mouth wide, and slowly drew out the legendary sword—Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
"If you can truly free me from this curse of mortality, then this sword... is yours."
He wiped the blade clean and tossed it to Su Mu.
Su Mu caught it effortlessly, examining the legendary weapon closely under the light.
"Alright. Go back for now. I'll come to you tomorrow."
"What I've promised—I will deliver."
Kabuto's face darkened.
They'd just handed over an ancient divine weapon, and now this man was telling them to go home and wait?
"You—"
"Kabuto," Orochimaru cut in sharply."Master Su needs rest."
Kabuto clenched his fists but said nothing. The two left quietly.
After they disappeared, a pleasant ding echoed in Su Mu's mind.
Ding! Due to the successful projection of the side story "Gonggong Strikes Mount Buzhou" through the Memory Ink Painting, all viewers were left in awe. Rewards incoming…
Ding! Reward complete. Host has earned +30,000 Shock Points.
Current total: 36,500 Shock Points.
Ding! New feature unlocked: Item Recycling. Host may now convert items into Shock Points.
Ding! Two rare items detected on host. Would you like to appraise them?
Su Mu entered the System World, curious.
Opening the recycling interface, he saw the two items:
The First Hokage's Necklace (gifted by Tsunade)
The Kusanagi Sword (given by Orochimaru)
Click the appraisal button in the bottom-left corner to see their exchange value!
He tapped the button.
Beep–Beep–
Two values popped up beneath the items.
Appraisal complete.
First Hokage's Necklace: 40,000 Shock Points
Kusanagi Sword: 80,000 Shock Points
"Holy sh*t, that much?!"
Su Mu cursed aloud.
Honestly, the First Hokage's necklace was more trouble than it was worth.
In canon, it was basically cursed—whoever wore it died, unless they had a protagonist's plot armor like Naruto.
It only had a trace of Hashirama's chakra, useful for sealing the Nine-Tails, but otherwise... meh.
With that thought, Su Mu made up his mind.
"System, recycle the First Hokage's Necklace."
Ding! Recycling…+40,000 Shock Points added.Current total: 76,500 Shock Points.
"Seventy-six thousand… Nice."
Su Mu grinned and opened the Lottery Interface.
His eyes landed on the Silver and Gold 10-draw options.
Bronze? Please. I'm not poor anymore.
"Let's see. Silver draws are 1,000 each. I could do 76 of them, but gold draws guarantee a legendary reward."
"Gold 10-pull costs 100,000 Shock Points. I'm short by 23,500…"
He frowned.
I'd love to go straight for gold… but I'm not quite there.
Still, since telling stories meant earning more Shock Points anyway, he could afford to wait.
"No rush. Let's do a Silver 10-draw for fun."
"System—Silver 10-draw in the Immortality world!"
Ding! Silver 10-draw in progress…-10,000 Shock PointsRemaining: 66,500
Draw Results:
Youth-Retaining Pill x1
Gonggong Soul Fragment x1
Qi Refining Technique (manual) x1
Blueprint: Eight-Treasure Glazed Pavilion x1
Qi Refining Pill x1
Qi Refining Pill x1
Qi Refining Pill x1
Swordflight Technique (manual) x1
Beast-Summoning Banner x1
Heaven-Fated Artifact: Tai Chi Diagram (Gold!) x1
"What the hell?!"
Su Mu stared at the results.
Three Qi Refining Pills in one draw? He could create a whole sect at this point.
And then he noticed the gold-tier drop.
"The Tai Chi Diagram… a legendary Heaven-Fated Artifact!"
"Main function: Governs life and death. Can reflect attacks from any direction. A divine weapon."
With this in hand, Su Mu could literally walk sideways through the ninja world.
Even a full-powered punch from Hashirama wouldn't scratch him now.
The next day...
Across the Great Nations, Jiraiya's book—Immortality, featuring the side story "Gonggong Strikes Mount Buzhou"—exploded in popularity.
Within hours, 100,000 copies sold out.
Every corner of every ninja village was buzzing with chatter about the story.
Even kids in neighboring villages now treated Su Mu like a god who had walked out of an ink painting.
Those who couldn't afford the book gathered in circles just to hear others describe it.
Everyone was now waiting for Su Mu's next story.
Reader Comments Across the Nations:
[Land of Lightning, Kumogakure – Shinobi A]"Master Su's stories are god-tier! I'm addicted. When's the next one?!"
[Land of Fire, Konoha – Civilian B]"I loved the swordflight technique the most. You can fly across the world in a day? That's badass!"
[Land of Water, Kirigakure – Chunin C]"My cousin went to hear Master Su in person. Ever since he came back, he just sits with a fan, drinks tea, and keeps chanting about 'Qi Refining.' He's lost it!"