Ryūchi Cave Contract

When Uchiha Feiyu entered the Command Post, he saw Orochimaru handling a mountain of scroll documents with a serious expression.

Most of the several thousand people on the entire Ninja Front had been divided into squads of four to a dozen members to carry out all kinds of interspersed operations. The actual work was far more cumbersome than that of an ordinary army.

Compared to Jiraiya and Tsunade, setting personality aside, Orochimaru was undoubtedly much more conscientious and responsible on the front lines than those two. No wonder that, despite his poor image, he had always been considered the ideal candidate for Hokage.

Hearing Uchiha Feiyu enter, Orochimaru raised his head. His pale face, long hair, purple eyeshadow, and snake-like pupils instantly made one think of some cold-blooded creature staring at them.

Fortunately, shinobi of the Shinobi World had seen all sorts of things, so such a chilling aura was nothing unusual. An ordinary person would probably have been frightened weak in the knees already.

"Lord Orochimaru, I'm here to report for duty!"

Uchiha Feiyu naturally did not care about Orochimaru's stare. He spoke casually, and Orochimaru nodded slightly, his voice hoarse.

"I welcome an expert like Feiyu-kun coming to support the front lines. Right now, the front lines are most lacking in sharp-blade shinobi like you."

Uchiha Feiyu blinked, immediately sensing trouble.

"Lord Orochimaru overestimates me. I'm merely a young Chunin, at most with a few minor strengths..."

"Feiyu-kun need not be modest. Sensei already wrote to tell me that even among elite Jonin, Feiyu-kun stands among the best. Aside from me, Feiyu-kun may be the strongest person on the current front lines!"

That old Third Hokage really sold me out completely. From the sound of it, he wants me to take a Chunin's pay while fighting elite Jonin-level battles?

Uchiha Feiyu cursed inwardly, but he had long been prepared. His relationship with the Konoha High Command was not close, yet he was also quite strong. Once he came to the front lines, they would definitely work him to the bone.

They probably would not assign him those overly difficult, obviously dangerous major missions—they were afraid he might simply run away—but he would definitely be their emergency responder.

"Lord Orochimaru thinks too highly of me. I'm only a fourteen-year-old shinobi, after all. I still lack experience in many areas..."

"It doesn't matter. Experience cannot bind a genius. I believe you will adapt to the battlefield very quickly."

"Uh... the key issue is that, as a Chunin, it probably isn't very appropriate for me to keep carrying out missions beyond my rank, right?"

"If you want to become a Special Jonin, I can promote you directly right now. As the Front Commander, I still have that little bit of authority!"

Orochimaru said with a smile at the corner of his mouth. Seeing Uchiha Feiyu's speechless expression, he continued.

"Don't worry. The Sand Shinobi are not particularly strong. The only one who could threaten a shinobi of your level is probably the Fourth Kazekage."

"The Fourth Kazekage has to remain in the camp and will find it difficult to act personally. Your safety is absolutely guaranteed."

"Lord Orochimaru knows me quite well."

"Sensei mentioned your characteristics in his letter to me. Cherishing one's life is hardly difficult to understand."

When Orochimaru spoke of cherishing one's life, his expression grew slightly more serious. If it came to fearing death, Orochimaru, who crazily pursued immortality, was not much better than Uchiha Feiyu.

"I reviewed your records and learned that you have studied the White Fang Sword Style. In that case, your mission will be the same as White Fang of Konoha's: act as a sharp blade to harass and inflict casualties on Sunagakure's combat squads. This mission should suit your tastes, shouldn't it?"

"Assign me a reconnaissance-type shinobi as well, preferably one with large-scale detection abilities."

"No problem. I can assign a Yamanaka Clan shinobi to operate with you. Not only can they make up for your weakness in reconnaissance, their Mind Body Technique can also help you interrogate for intelligence and contact headquarters."

"Then thank you, Lord Orochimaru. Oh, right, Lord Orochimaru, I have a method for breeding a type of poisonous snake. I wonder if you would be interested?!"

Uchiha Feiyu took out a scroll. It was the method for breeding Silver Scaled Poisonous Snakes that he had obtained from the Demonic Path Inheritance Compendium.

"A method for breeding poisonous snakes?"

The corner of Orochimaru's mouth curled slightly. As a contractor of Ryūchi Cave, he did not believe any method for breeding poisonous snakes could exceed the scope of his knowledge. Still, out of politeness, he reached out and accepted the gift Uchiha Feiyu offered him.

After opening the scroll and glancing through it, Orochimaru was slightly startled. He quickly became absorbed in reading. Compared to the Chakra giant pythons he had raised himself, the Silver Scaled Poisonous Snake followed an entirely different path.

More venomous, faster, more agile, more deadly!

Furthermore, this Poison King Snake, which required countless highly venomous creatures to devour one another before it could finally be produced, did not involve Chakra interference at all. It followed an entirely different path. After merely reading a few lines, Orochimaru felt countless ideas spring up in his mind.

But Uchiha Feiyu was certainly not giving Orochimaru a free gift. The scroll contained only one-third of the Silver Scale Snake breeding method. After reading it, Orochimaru still wanted more. He raised his head and looked at Uchiha Feiyu.

"Very well, this gift is indeed quite good. What does Feiyu-kun intend to exchange it for?"

"I want a Ryūchi Cave Contract!"

Uchiha Feiyu spoke with a slightly excited expression. Orochimaru frowned slightly, then nodded after considering it.

"I can help you form a contract with Ryūchi Cave, but your contract rank cannot be equal to mine."

"Oh!? What are the consequences of having a lower contract rank? Is it possible for the contract to be sealed off?"

"Not at all. So long as you satisfy those poisonous snakes' desires, even if you summon them to deal with me, there would be no problem."

"However, with an ordinary contract rank, you cannot summon Ryūchi Cave's contract scroll. In other words, aside from yourself, you cannot allow anyone else to form a contract with Ryūchi Cave."

Uchiha Feiyu nodded. This restriction made little difference to him. He had no intention of spreading Ryūchi Cave's contracts around. Even he himself only regarded Ryūchi Cave as an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The deal complete, Uchiha Feiyu handed over the latter portion of the Silver Scale Snake breeding method without hesitation. He believed Orochimaru would not do something as low as reneging on the deal.

And indeed, after receiving Uchiha Feiyu's scroll, Orochimaru did not even look at it. He directly summoned a white poisonous snake. The snake opened its mouth and spat out a huge scroll—the Ryūchi Cave contract scroll.

Right inside this Command Post, Uchiha Feiyu signed a contract with Ryūchi Cave.