"You're right." Uchiha An nodded calmly.
"The two great clans of Konoha are both descended from the Ōtsutsuki Clan."
"The ancestor of the Uchiha Clan was the Sage of Six Paths Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, while the ancestor of the Hyuga Clan was Ōtsutsuki Hamura."
"Search TWKAN on Google"
"The Hyuga Clan was once incredibly powerful. All they had to do was fuse the eyes of a large number of clan members, and they could naturally create the Tenseigan. But because it was so easy, it often led to internal strife within the clan."
"To prevent such tragedies from happening so often, the Hyuga Clan developed a seal called the Caged Bird Seal, which stopped their members from having their eyes forcibly taken."
"But if the clan ever faced the threat of extinction, the Hyuga Main Family could use the Caged Bird Seal against the Branch Family members and force them to surrender their eyes. They could then create the Tenseigan and turn the tide, resolving the crisis."
"The Tenseigan is incredibly powerful and has no side effects. It's even stronger than an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan, and can be compared to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Even the Rinnegan is hardly its equal."
"Otherwise, why do you think the Hyuga Clan is considered one of the two great clans alongside the Uchiha Clan?"
"Just because of their lousy Gentle Fist?"
"I see!" Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully, fully believing Uchiha An's words.
"So, Orochimaru, my goal really is what you said. But I wasn't lying about how to create the Tenseigan. You can try it and see for yourself."
"The problem is, I don't know how to undo the Caged Bird Seal. And without undoing it, the few Byakugan belonging to the Hyuga Main Family aren't enough to create the Tenseigan."
"Heh..." Orochimaru licked his lips greedily and smiled. "That won't be difficult to solve."
"I don't know how to undo the Caged Bird Seal either, but the Hyuga Main Family must."
"Now that I know it exists, I'll find a way to get my hands on it."
"Don't worry. Once I get it, I'll share it with you."
"That won't be necessary." Uchiha An refused outright. "My eyes will eventually evolve into the Rinnegan, like the one in Pain's eyes. The Tenseigan isn't right for me."
"I see!" Orochimaru nodded, even more satisfied, and found Uchiha An's words more credible.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan can evolve into the Rinnegan, too?"
"That's quite a remarkable piece of information!"
"But in that case, your goal conflicts with Pain's!"
"Pain wants to capture the Tailed Beasts and revive the Ten-Tails. I imagine he also wants to combine the Rinnegan with the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and attain the Sage of Six Paths' Art of Immortality."
"If he wants to dominate the Ninja World and bring it everlasting peace, immortality is essential. Otherwise, once he dies, his rule will end, and war will return."
"But there's only one Ten-Tails. So, who should get it?"
"That's a difficult choice to make!"
"Heh..."
Orochimaru made no attempt to hide his malicious grin as he studied Uchiha An with amusement.
"An, I can tell you're an ambitious man. There's no way you'll give up the Ten-Tails."
"That means you already have a way to deal with Pain, doesn't it?"
"Right. Your Mangekyō Sharingan has the ability to see Prophecy, letting you glimpse many things about the future. I imagine you know all about Pain's secrets, don't you?"
"That's not something you need to worry about, Orochimaru." Uchiha An shrugged indifferently.
Orochimaru's snake-like slit pupils fixed on Uchiha An's face as he studied him for a long while. Seeing how indifferent he seemed, Orochimaru flicked his long tongue over his lips and smiled again.
"Tsk, that Prophecy ability really is unreasonable!"
"Never mind. This is between the two of you, and has nothing to do with me."
Seeing that his probing had gotten him nowhere, Orochimaru stopped chatting and sat back down.
"Now, can we discuss my payment?" Uchiha An asked with a smile.
"Of course!"
Orochimaru nodded and said generously,
"An, tell me. What do you want from me?"
"Your information is valuable. If I can provide it, I won't refuse."
"Haha..." Uchiha An raised his head and laughed. "Orochimaru, you're certainly straightforward. Then I won't hold back."
"I need you to help me transplant Hashirama Cells."
"I also need the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, and I want you to make some modifications and improvements tailored to my needs."
"I also need the training method for the Snake Sage Art. You'll have to introduce me to the sages of Ryūchi Cave."
"I also need..."
Uchiha An asked for the moon, rattling off a long list. Orochimaru listened in silence, then nodded without hesitation.
"Fine. I can agree to all of those conditions. I can give you some things right now, but I'll need time to prepare others."
"No problem!" Uchiha An agreed just as readily.
A short while later, Uchiha An left Orochimaru's room, completely satisfied.
He didn't actually know whether there was a way to undo the Caged Bird Seal. But it didn't matter. It was enough that Orochimaru believed there was.
If Orochimaru couldn't get the method from Hyuga Hiashi or another member of the Main Family, that would only mean the Main Family was stubborn and refused to hand it over even at the cost of their lives. Uchiha An couldn't be blamed for that.
Orochimaru was satisfied, too.
Besides learning from Uchiha An about the Tenseigan and its Art of Immortality, he had also learned a great deal about his own future.
For example, the development of the Cursed Seal!
His research into the Cursed Seal was still in its early stages, but Uchiha An had told him that he would eventually turn it into an unconventional Art of Immortality through his research, and even use it to come back to life after dying.
That made him even more interested in the Cursed Seal, and he decided to devote more time to studying it in the future.
When conducting research, what people often lacked most was a sense of direction.
More often than not, after wasting a great deal of time and effort, the conclusion was that a certain path led nowhere!
Uchiha An could tell him which Ninjutsu he would eventually develop successfully and which ones he had never seen come to fruition.
With that information, Orochimaru could adjust the direction of his future research and avoid wasting time and effort.
However, Uchiha An hadn't told him about Karma. After all, Karma was also an Art of Immortality. If Orochimaru learned of it and decided to study Karma instead of slaughtering the Hyuga Clan, that would be a problem.
Uchiha An had just returned to his room with the rewards he'd gotten from Orochimaru when the corner of his eye caught a black-and-white figure emerging from the ground.
"Uchiha An..."
Before Zetsu could finish speaking, Uchiha An asked with a cheerful grin,
"Hey, Black Zetsu, do you want to save your mother?"
"I'll help you!"
Before you continue