Sharp Insight

Faced with what was practically a multiple-choice question with only one option, the original Orochimaru might have hesitated, but times had changed.

Having lived through the information age's explosion of knowledge in his previous life, Orochimaru did not feel much resistance toward something as minor as a kiss.

He had seen plenty of people who spent ten years simping for nothing, only to call someone "husband" after one night at a bar.

Besides, the reward was Hawk Eye's dynamic vision. Orochimaru had worked in biological research in his previous life, so he knew a thing or two about animals.

An eagle could spot prey moving from ten kilometers away. While flying thousands of meters above the ground at high speed, it could still easily notice prey beneath the grass. It was simply unbelievable.

An eagle's cone cell density was six or seven times that of a human's, and its optic nerves were far more agile as well.

For humans, clearly seeing an insect twenty meters away was fairly difficult, but for an eagle, it was easy.

They could easily observe tiny insects hundreds of meters away. Even while moving at high speed, they could continuously adjust the focus of their eyes and see even more details.

Those facts alone showed how extraordinary this reward was. It could rival both the Sharingan and the Byakugan.

These thoughts flashed rapidly through Orochimaru's mind before he said:

"I'll take care of you if I don't, then who will?"

Sudden concern was the scariest thing. Hearing those words come from Orochimaru's cold mouth left Tsunade stunned.

Was this really the Orochimaru she knew? Had he been possessed or something?

Tsunade's guess was actually very close to the truth, but Orochimaru ignored her shock and continued asking:

"Have you ever heard a saying?"

Without waiting for her reply, Orochimaru slowly moved close to Tsunade's ear and softly said:

"Good people die young, while scourges live for a thousand years!"

After saying that, Orochimaru ignored Tsunade's reaction, grabbed the pendant from her hand, and kissed her lightly on the cheek with lightning speed.

The instant he finished, Orochimaru immediately activated the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.

The entire sequence was completed in one fluid motion. Orochimaru put every ounce of strength into it, completely disregarding the Chakra consumption, and reached the outside of the cemetery in an instant.

Five or six seconds later, Tsunade finally came back to her senses and realized what had happened. A wave of embarrassed fury immediately surged into her heart.

"OROCHIMARU!"

Hearing the explosion from deep within the cemetery, Orochimaru could not help shuddering as his feet moved even faster.

Some unlucky bastard's grave must have suffered. Even in death, they could not rest in peace. They probably had not checked the feng shui properly when they were buried. Just thinking about Tsunade's Chakra-Enhanced Strength was enough to make one tremble.

Kissing a man's girlfriend right in front of her recently deceased lover's grave was truly thrilling. If Dan Katō knew, he would probably kick open his coffin and fight Orochimaru to the death.

The system notification had already sounded the moment he escaped the cemetery, and he hurriedly checked it.

"Congratulations, Host, for making a wise choice. You have obtained 'Hawk Eye.' Fuse it now?"

The moment he returned home, Orochimaru impatiently chose to fuse with it.

Unlike yesterday's painful constitution fusion, this fusion only affected his eyes, and it felt cool and comfortable.

Orochimaru quickly closed his eyes to keep them from being stimulated by the outside world.

A few minutes later, the system notification sounded again:

"Congratulations, Host. Fusion successful. You have obtained Hawk Eye's abilities. (Note: Any of your ninjutsu is meaningless before these eyes! What research can you do without good eyes?)"

That was quite the boast. Wasn't that Itachi's line? The system certainly had some style!

Orochimaru slowly opened his eyes, and a brand-new scene entered his vision.

Every object in the room was visible at a glance. He could even see the fine dust on the floor, while the ornaments in the dark corners were just as clear.

Orochimaru walked out of the room and leaped onto the roof, intending to test the abilities of these eyes more thoroughly.

Just as he had expected, scenery a hundred meters away appeared clearly before him.

Water dripped from the eaves after the recent rain. When he focused, the falling droplets suddenly became extraordinarily slow, and even the splashes scattering from them were perfectly clear.

When he looked at the pedestrians on the street, he could see the pimples, moles, and even pores on their faces.

Their movements were like slow motion. Every gesture was crystal clear, and he could even predict them.

Did that not mean that when facing enemies in the future, he could clearly see their attacks, predict them, and spot their weaknesses?

Orochimaru continuously adjusted the focus of his eyes, and his orange-yellow lenses kept changing as well.

Just as a dry feeling rose in his eyes, a surge of spiritual energy automatically flowed into them, changing the scene before him once more.

"Holy shit, infrared thermal imaging!"

Orochimaru was once again stunned by what he saw. No wonder eagles could discover hidden prey from several thousand meters in the air. The legendary infrared thermal imaging ability was real after all.

Extreme range, incredibly powerful dynamic vision, and infrared thermal imaging—he would not trade this for either the Sharingan or the Byakugan!

"Looks like my choice earlier was wise. Even if Tsunade beats me half to death, it'll be worth it. I didn't take such a huge risk for nothing."

At that thought, the corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled upward, and his tongue involuntarily slipped out to lick his lips again.

"Hmm? No, I need to change this disgusting habit. It would be bad if I scared the children."

Orochimaru quickly pulled his tongue back in, then spread open his palm. Resting there was the crystal pendant he had snatched from Tsunade earlier.

Everyone Tsunade had kissed, and everyone who had kissed Tsunade, had died. Add in this legendary Cursed Necklace.

Ordinary people probably would not dare court death like this, but what did this Uncle Snake have to fear? Pah... what did he have to fear?

If anyone went around saying Orochimaru was the hardest person in the Ninja World to kill, who would dare dispute it? He had plenty of lives to spare.

Of course, that was only after he developed Living Corpse Reincarnation, the Snake Clone Technique, and the Heaven and Earth Curse Mark.

The current Orochimaru still had a long road ahead of him.

With that thought, Orochimaru returned to the courtyard before his home and slowly spat a longsword out of his mouth.

The sword somewhat resembled the Taoist longswords Orochimaru remembered from his previous life. Its snake-scale hilt suited Orochimaru rather well.

There were three Kusanagi Swords in this world. One was the Sword of Kusanagi before him, another was the Sword of the Void that Uchiha Sasuke would use in the future. It was also the most handsome one, though no one knew whose hands it was in now.

The last was the Totsuka Blade, also known as the Sword of Totsuka. Its whereabouts were unknown as well.

Looking at the Sword of Kusanagi covered in saliva, Orochimaru's expression turned somewhat disgusted.

"Looks like the original owner really did like this sword, or he would not have hidden it in his stomach. Still, that habit is a little disgusting."

Orochimaru planned to make a sheath for the sword and wear it at his waist from now on. He could not keep putting everything into his mouth.

Scrolls were one thing, but stuffing a longsword into his stomach? Did he think he was some ninth-rank sesame official?

Without thinking further, Orochimaru picked up the longsword and began practicing. He needed to adapt to his newly acquired Hawk Eye ability as quickly as possible.

That way, he could avoid the awkward situation of his eyes keeping up while his body could not.