Sage Sacred Water That Nourishes the Origin

The Body Flicker Technique was the signature ninjutsu of a Jonin!

"A nine-year-old Jonin, a nine-year-old Three-Tomoe Sharingan... What other surprises can you give me?"

"Offering a pair of Sharingan as my payment—what a generous move! He must have seen through my desire, right? Hehe... What a terrifying fellow!"

After leaving Orochimaru's residence, Katsuo let out a deep breath. The strain from the Body Flicker Technique left his entire body aching, while using the Golden Binding Technique had exhausted him mentally.

He was still too weak. Even against Orochimaru at this stage, he had needed to reveal all his trump cards. Even after defeating him, he had to make a promise and offer him a pair of Sharingan as payment...

While he feared Orochimaru might trick him, wasn't this also a move born of necessity?

He had only caught Orochimaru off guard and trapped him in a genjutsu tonight. If they clashed head-on, he would undoubtedly lose!

But even if he won, it would still depend on Orochimaru's attitude. If Orochimaru told the Third Hokage about tonight's events, Katsuo would likely have a hard time surviving. No one would fail to fear such an ambitious schemer...

Uchiha Katsuo's Will of Fire was highly likely to be a facade. Such a cunning ambitious man surely had some unspeakable objective. There was a high chance he would prove detrimental to Konoha, and eliminating such an uncertain factor would be Konoha's best choice!

Katsuo was gambling. He was betting that Orochimaru would keep tonight's events secret and be willing to cooperate with him!

In the Original Work, Orochimaru had been able to form a series of partnerships with the ambitious Shimura Danzō and keep their dealings secret. There was no reason he could not do the same with Katsuo. Though Katsuo was still far from possessing Danzō's resources... Orochimaru's reputation in the Original Work had been quite reliable. That was the greatest reason he had dared to risk his life tonight.

He was betting that Orochimaru would cooperate with him and keep silent. He was betting that Orochimaru would be satisfied with the payment. More than that, he was betting that Orochimaru could help him resolve the damage to his origin!

Late the next night, Katsuo jumped down from a towering tree, his expression weary. At last, the heart he had been holding in suspense settled.

Nothing had happened all day, which meant Orochimaru had indeed kept silent. Katsuo had won the first step of his gamble!

Five days later, Orochimaru came looking for him. At this point, only four days remained before the Chunin Exams.

"Well? Have you found a solution?"

Before Orochimaru could speak, Katsuo took the initiative to ask.

Orochimaru smiled, neither confirming nor denying it. His reaction made Katsuo's brows knit tightly.

"I spent the past few days consulting a great deal of medical material and texts, but I was never able to find a way to heal your origin. I even conducted an experiment for this..."

"What experiment?" Katsuo asked in a low voice.

"I wanted to see whether the First Hokage's cells could become medicine to heal your body... But the results showed that, for you right now, the First Hokage's cells would be poison. The difference between your cells and his is too great. There is a high chance you would be unable to endure it and die suddenly!"

"You came just to tell me this?"

Unable to hear the answer he wanted, Katsuo's expression became extremely grim.

"Hehe... Don't be impatient, Katsuo-kun. I didn't come up empty-handed. Yesterday, while reading an ancient travelogue, I discovered some particularly interesting rumors!"

Orochimaru said excitedly as he licked the corner of his mouth.

"Legend has it that there are three great Immortal Holy Lands in the distant Summoning World."

"The three great holy lands are called Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest. Each is a naturally blessed land. In the Toad Kingdom of Mount Myōboku, one of those holy lands, there is said to be sacred water that nourishes the origin of life—a Sage Dew capable of bringing the dead back to life!"

"Mount Myōboku? Impossible!"

Katsuo denied it in shock.

"???"

Orochimaru frowned in confusion and asked:

"How do you know it's impossible?"

"..."

Katsuo said nothing, but his mind was in turmoil!

There doesn't seem to be any Sage Dew or sacred water in the Original Work, does there? And it's supposedly inside Mount Myōboku. Naruto and Jiraiya went there to learn senjutsu, yet they never encountered it!

But that alone can't prove it doesn't exist... After all, there's too little description of the three great holy lands. All I know is that their histories predate even the Sage of Six Paths, and that the Natural Energy there is incredibly dense, making them ideal places to learn senjutsu!

Besides, it wouldn't be strange for an Immortal Holy Land to possess something like that... In the Original Work, Gamamaru, the Great Toad Sage, once gave the Sage of Six Paths a Sage Talisman that could heal all injuries...

Thinking of this, Katsuo sighed helplessly.

"Is that the only information you have? Is there anything else?"

Orochimaru took in Katsuo's appearance. He shook his head slightly, then chuckled.

"Rest assured, Katsuo-kun. This information is not worth the price of a pair of Sharingan. At the very least... it isn't worth it until its authenticity is confirmed..."

Katsuo's eyes gleamed as he asked:

"You have a way to verify it?"

"Hehe... Why not take a trip to Mount Myōboku with me? Whether it is true or false, we'll know once we investigate. I'm quite interested in that thing as well!"

"With pleasure!"

After seeing Katsuo nod, Orochimaru immediately took out a small bottle. It was filled with bright red blood!

"This is Jiraiya's blood. I drew it while he was drunk. He has signed a Summoning Contract with Mount Myōboku, so we can use his blood to summon a Mount Myōboku toad. Then you can use the Sharingan to control the Summoning Beast and have it return to Mount Myōboku..."

Orochimaru gave a rough explanation, and Katsuo barely understood his plan. He could not help but admire Orochimaru's quick mind!

After explaining some details, Orochimaru poured nearly half a bottle of blood into his palm, then stretched the blood into a thin line. His hands rapidly formed seals before he suddenly slammed them against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

Dense runes spread out like tadpoles, and a thick cloud of smoke burst forth!

As the smoke dissipated, a giant toad nearly five meters tall appeared before them. It was an adolescent Mount Myōboku toad!

Orochimaru had not supplied much Chakra. He had no intention of summoning a mature toad like Gamabunta—that would cause far too much trouble!

The dazed toad had just regained its senses and glanced around when it saw a sight that filled it with terror!

Katsuo stood before it with one hand forming a seal, his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan staring directly at the giant toad!

In a brief instant, the toad's horizontal pupils transformed into a pair of enormous Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

The control had succeeded!

And it had been effortless!

As Orochimaru watched this scene, he was shocked, but the greed in his heart surged forth as well!

He believed it was the Sharingan's powerful ability to control others, but he did not know that without the support of immense spiritual power, such effortless control would be utterly impossible!