"Let's end it here."
Orochimaru's serpentine smile deepened. "Rokuro, I've seen enough of your strength. Why don't we form an alliance—share what we both have to offer?"
In many tales, Orochimaru was portrayed as a mentor or even a twisted friend to the protagonist. But Rokuro, who lived within this world, knew better—this man was a venomous snake through and through. A single careless moment, and you'd be bitten… fatally.
Only when one possessed power that made Orochimaru wary could cooperation exist between them.
In Orochimaru's eyes, so-called "geniuses" were never allies—only expendable resources.
"Orochimaru wants my ninja tools?" Rokuro thought for a moment, then replied calmly, "How about this—you provide me with any ninjutsu you wish to be turned into a tool. I'll do my best to forge it into a functioning ninja implement. Once it's done, you can simply pay a reasonable fee."
He paused, then added, "I doubt Orochimaru would be interested in anything below B-rank… so let's say: for an A-rank tool, the price is one kilogram of chakra metal; for an S-rank tool, ten kilograms. What do you think?"
"Deal."
Orochimaru agreed without hesitation—his tone almost gleeful. He'd already discerned from Rokuro's words that the young man could convert even high-level S-rank jutsu into physical tools. Even he needed long, grueling practice to master such techniques.
This was one of the reasons Orochimaru had developed the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique—to achieve immortality and thus master every jutsu he desired.
And now, with Rokuro's talents… he saw a new path forward.
As for chakra metal—it was indeed precious, but for someone like Orochimaru, who could establish an entire hidden village from nothing, a few thousand kilograms might be difficult, yet dozens or even hundreds were easily within reach.
With a puff of smoke, a small purple snake slithered to Orochimaru's feet, its jaw unhinging to spit out a massive scroll far larger than its own body.
"This is the Ryūchi Cave's Summoning Contract Scroll," Orochimaru said, spreading it open. "For convenience's sake, why not join the Ryūchi Cave as well, Rokuro?"
The scroll listed countless names—shinobi who had once formed pacts with the Ryūchi Cave. Among them were Orochimaru himself, and even Mitarashi Anko's name appeared last on the list.
Rokuro hesitated briefly, then nodded.
Though he had a mild aversion to serpents, the Ryūchi Cave was one of the Three Great Sage Lands—a place where Sage Arts were passed down.
In Rokuro's personal roadmap for power, senjutsu was a must-have. Compared to that, his dislike for snakes was a trivial matter.
He sliced his fingertip and pressed his bloody print onto the scroll—thus sealing the contract with Ryūchi Cave.
Of course, signing the pact alone wasn't enough to learn Sage Mode—he would have to travel there in person.
The small purple snake swallowed the scroll back down and vanished in a puff of smoke, returning to Ryūchi Cave. Orochimaru and Rokuro then went their separate ways—for now, there was no need to rush the exchange.
—
When Rokuro returned home, he found Uchiha Ashikaga and Uchiha Kei already cleaning up the place and arranging furniture.
As a family known for sealing arts, the Ashikaga's had an edge—every piece of furniture had been stored and transported through sealing scrolls, far more efficient than the average Uchiha household.
Even the placement process was simple: choose a spot, unseal, and the furniture appeared instantly.
Within an hour of Rokuro's return, the three had finished setting up their new home—ready for living.
"Rokuro," Ashikaga said, wiping her hands. "The clan head came by earlier to ask about the house. I explained briefly, and he mentioned wanting to purchase a batch of sealing scrolls. What do you think?"
Rokuro smirked. "Sure. One million per scroll—and tell him the minimum order is fifty. No discounts."
"Eh? Isn't that a bit steep?" Ashikaga blinked, uncertain.
Rokuro scoffed. "Steep? That's the friendship price—for fellow clansmen. Do you have any idea how much chakra paper costs per sheet? Or how much chakra is burned just drawing a single seal?"
He pointed at her. "Take you, for instance. Forget skill level—even if you had sealing abilities on par with mine, your chakra reserves wouldn't last. You'd barely manage two scrolls a day before exhausting yourself. And after a week of that pace, your chakra depletion would leave you bedridden for ten days, maybe half a month. You think one million per scroll is expensive? That's charity."
Ashikaga turned toward Ryouko for confirmation, and the older woman gave a nod.
"This sealing art," Ryouko explained, "is Rokuro's own improved version. Only he can draw them quickly and accurately. Even if I tried, my success rate would barely reach thirty percent. Fail once, and both the chakra paper and chakra used are completely wasted."
Hearing that, Ashikaga realized that one million per scroll was, if anything, underpriced.
"Alright then," Rokuro concluded. "Those are the terms. If the clan head wants to buy, fine. If he wants to haggle—forget it."
His voice dropped to a mocking sneer. "Because of his incompetence, the Uchiha have already lost tens of millions in potential income. He may be clan head, but he's not milking us for it."
Rokuro left the business side to his mother.
Rokuro returned to his room, immediately beginning to set up a sealing formation.
He knew that ever since the Uchiha had been relocated to their new compound, the entire area had become a major surveillance target for the Root Division. Cameras—both technological and jutsu-based—were everywhere, possibly even in the bathrooms.
With this sealing array active, not even Sarutobi Hiruzen's Telescope Technique could pierce the barrier.
As he drew, Rokuro quietly reflected on his earlier battle.
"In that fight with Orochimaru, I only used the Lightning Armor and Flying Thunder God. I didn't even touch Shinra Tensei or Banshō Ten'in. But then again, Orochimaru wasn't fighting seriously either. The fact that he only summoned an ordinary python instead of Manda says as much."
"In a battle where neither side went all out, I may have held the upper hand… but it also exposed some weaknesses. The biggest one—my inability to see through substitution techniques."