Forced Cooperation

Orochimaru watched Danzo put on such a righteous act and inwardly sneered.

"You keep talking about doing it for the village. If you have the guts, sacrifice yourself. Instead, you're putting me over a fire. So you only talk about dedication and never about compensation, is that it?"

Faced with Danzo using righteousness to morally coerce him, Orochimaru's expression darkened.

"Lord Danzo, neither of us is a fool. I can continue researching Hashirama Cells, but why should I risk defying the Hokage's orders to do so?"

Meeting Danzo's somewhat threatening gaze, Orochimaru continued.

"Lord Danzo, there is no need to look at me like that. I'm not some madman who disregards everything for the sake of research!"

Orochimaru did not know why the Orochimaru in the Original Work had cooperated with Danzo. Experimental materials? Test subjects? Or perhaps the research into Living Corpse Reincarnation required it?

None of those were issues for the current Orochimaru. What did Danzo have that could attract him? Or rather, was there anything in Konoha that he wanted?

"What do you want? If it is not an excessive demand, this old man can agree to it."

Noticing the softening in Danzo's tone, Orochimaru no longer pressed him aggressively. Danzo was the one asking him now; it was not as if Orochimaru were begging for funding.

"What if I refuse?"

Orochimaru looked at Danzo with a faint smile rather than immediately taking the bait, throwing the question back at him. He wanted to see what Danzo would do.

As soon as the words fell, before Danzo could give any signal, twenty or thirty Root ninja emerged from the shadows.

"I advise you to think carefully before you speak!"

Looking at the people surrounding him, with quite a few more outside the door, Orochimaru guessed that all the Root ninja had already gathered here. Was this meant to intimidate him?

Orochimaru was not afraid of these people. Even with Danzo added in, he was confident he could escape alive. No one in Konoha knew that he could use Space-Time Ninjutsu.

But what would he do after leaving? Go complain to the Third Hokage? Defect?

Neither option was what Orochimaru wanted. He did not believe the Third Hokage would truly punish Danzo. At most, he would give him a warning, and Danzo might even turn the tables and accuse Orochimaru instead.

Against a powerful and influential man like Danzo, he was merely a tool with few choices!

After a moment of silence, Orochimaru finally spoke.

"The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan!"

He was not afraid that asking for too much would make Danzo back down. He knew this condition would be somewhat difficult for Danzo, but it was not impossible.

As far as he knew, Danzo had personally handled the Uchiha Clan massacre and collected quite a few Sharingan then. As for Byakugan, they should not be a problem either.

"This old man can agree to that condition. Even if you had not asked, this old man would have found a way to obtain them!"

Hearing Orochimaru's request, Danzo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought it would be some outrageous demand. Who would have thought that Orochimaru would still be unable to escape his grasp?

But before he could think further, Orochimaru's voice rang out again.

"Not for research. They are to belong to me!"

"What? Impossible!"

Danzo could no longer remain seated when he heard Orochimaru's demand. If they were only to be used for research, he would have had no objections. But giving them to Orochimaru was entirely different.

Not to mention that after Hyuga Clan ninja died, the Caged Bird Seal would automatically destroy their eyes, making it difficult to successfully remove them in the first place.

As for Sharingan, he did not have many himself. Even after collecting them for so many years, he had only acquired a few.

"Compared to Hashirama Cells, this demand is not excessive, is it? Besides, if the research is to succeed, these two Kekkei Genkai are essential. I am merely asking for a few more."

Hearing this, Danzo fell into thought. Even if he gave those two pairs of eyes to Orochimaru, it would not matter. When the time came, he could simply shift all the blame onto him.

Besides, as Orochimaru had said, if the Hashirama Cells research succeeded, such a price would be nothing.

"Fine! This old man can agree, but this matter must remain confidential until it succeeds."

Orochimaru knew what the old man was plotting. Once his research succeeded, his good days would likely be over. The sudden discovery of Orochimaru's experiments in the Original Work had not been an accident.

Danzo could not keep a bomb that knew his greatest secret at his side, not even in Konoha.

Orochimaru wanted the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan not because he intended to use them himself. He already possessed eyesight no worse than those two Kekkei Genkai.

He was collecting these eyes for independent research in the future, to see whether he could evolve or fuse the two types of eyes.

And if he encountered Kimimaro in the future, he could see whether he could make up for his congenital genetic deficiency.

The two reached a preliminary agreement, and Orochimaru was forced to sign an unequal treaty. After that, Orochimaru made several more demands of Danzo.

They were all about test subjects. He could not be made to do everything himself and harm people from his own village as in the Original Work.

He could not allow Danzo to hold such leverage over him. Besides, Root ninja were more suited to this sort of dirty work.

This was not a problem for Danzo. Not to mention the impending Third Great Ninja War, which would provide countless enemy ninja as materials, Konoha's prisons already held quite a few spies and death-row prisoners from enemy nations.

The Orochimaru of his previous life had no concept of good or evil, no moral bottom line. To him, everything was merely a means to achieve his ends.

But since he had transmigrated here, even if he could not be a good person, he at least could not lay hands on innocent civilians.

As for reaching into the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Clan, what did that have to do with him? Those were all the personal actions of that old thief Danzo. They had nothing to do with him, a man wholeheartedly devoted to research. Had anyone ever dragged out a scientist who researched nuclear bombs and beheaded him?

"This old man will provide you with laboratory equipment, materials, and the information required for your experiments. However, you must conduct them under this old man's watch!"

Orochimaru was not surprised by this. Danzo would never allow him to act as he pleased. After all, he did not want anyone besides himself knowing about such shady dealings.

"Of course. However, I will only be responsible for the research. Root ninja will be responsible for laboratory security and confidentiality."

If something happened, it would first be Danzo's problem. Just like in the Original Work, Danzo would probably sell him out as well.

However, before Danzo completed his Sharingan arm research, Orochimaru's personal safety would not be an issue.

He could wait and see when the time came. If he wanted to leave, no one could truly stop him.

"Fine! I have already prepared the experimental base. You can begin your research immediately!"

With that, Danzo took the lead and walked ahead, leaving Orochimaru somewhat surprised.

It seemed that the old man had prepared for this long ago. Perhaps he had only brought Orochimaru in because he himself could not produce any results.

Before long, Orochimaru followed Danzo to a research base belonging to Root.

Quite a few researchers in white lab coats were already there. When they saw Danzo arrive, they respectfully bowed and scraped.