The Deal

"Heh... What do I get in return for giving you all this?" Orochimaru asked, his mind finally at ease.

"I already told you: a large amount of funding, technology, and equipment..."

"Besides, I just got my hands on two pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan. I'm sure you're interested, aren't you?"

"After all, as someone living in Konoha, you should understand the power and potential of the Sharingan better than most."

"Because, in a sense, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan is only the beginning..." Souya said meaningfully.

"You..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

Of course he knew the Sharingan's capabilities better than anyone. After all, he had witnessed the abilities of Body Flicker Shisui with his own eyes.

And he had naturally learned a thing or two, through various means both overt and covert, about the next stage beyond the Three-Tomoe Sharingan—the Mangekyō Sharingan.

But what puzzled Orochimaru was how a shinobi from Sunagakure could know so many of Konoha's secrets.

Not only the Forbidden Jutsu he had been researching in secret, but also the secrets of Konoha's prestigious Uchiha Clan—Souya seemed to know everything.

Compared to all that, the Summoning Contract didn't seem so important anymore...

"You can sign your name on the Summoning Contract, but you can't summon Manda to fight. You can summon any of the other snakes."

"Also, you can't use snake summons when fighting Konoha!"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and spoke in a sinister tone.

"Who would've thought that you, who experiments on the corpses of your own village's people, would still have such pointless qualms?" Souya said flatly.

"But if you defect from Konoha in the future and become its enemy, will I still have to keep this agreement?" Souya asked as if the matter were of great importance.

"If I ever do become Konoha's enemy, then I won't care what methods you use against its shinobi!" Orochimaru said, looking displeased.

"Fine! I agree!" Souya readily accepted.

Orochimaru stared at Souya, and Souya met his gaze without flinching.

They remained locked in a standoff for a while. Sasori, standing nearby, began to look rather strange; after all, he hated waiting for others more than anything.

"Crackle!"

The massive purple Lightning Ball outside Orochimaru's barrier shifted slightly. Arcs of electricity crackled violently, pale purple light flared in every direction, and a terrifying aura seemed ready to erupt.

Orochimaru looked at the blatant threat and urging, then suddenly opened his mouth, stretching it to an inhuman width.

He spat out two scrolls: one about a foot tall, the other only half that size.

Orochimaru set the scrolls on the ground, then spread his hands, inviting them to inspect the contents.

Souya didn't stand on ceremony. He controlled a stream of Gold Sand and sent it outside Orochimaru's barrier.

"Sasori!" Souya signaled to him with a glance.

Sasori gave a subtle nod, then swung his hands. Nine shimmering Chakra Threads shot out from in front of him and extended beyond the barrier.

As Sasori moved his fingers, the Chakra Threads danced and twisted outside the barrier, winding around one another.

Slowly, the threads converged into an oval opening.

The opening clung to the surface of the barrier. Orochimaru saw it and was once again secretly astonished.

He couldn't help thinking that geniuses had become far too common...

Minato Namikaze and Shisui Uchiha of Konoha...

The Perfect Jinchuriki of Kumogakure—the AB Brothers...

And these two young men from Sunagakure...

With Orochimaru's mastery of Sealing Techniques, he could tell at a glance that they had woven the Chakra Threads into a "controllable opening."

The technique demonstrated Sasori's superb skill in manipulating puppets and his mastery of Sealing Techniques.

And now, with two Kage Level opponents who were both highly skilled in Sealing Techniques before him, even Orochimaru had no choice but to put aside the schemes he had been hatching.

That was why Souya had made a point of seeking out Sealing Techniques to study ever since he was old enough to understand things.

Because once the battles reached the godlike level, Sealing Techniques were the only jutsu that wouldn't be weakened.

The other five elemental transformations would all be reduced to mere scratch-inducing techniques.

After all, even Kaguya, as powerful as she was, could only lament before the Six Paths seal and once again become the moon that lit up the night sky.

Souya unrolled the Summoning Scroll. It was covered in names, but he recognized only the last one.

He turned to the final page and focused Chakra in the tips of his five fingers. Instantly, beads of bright red blood began to seep from them.

Souya wasn't going to use the crude method of biting his finger. As far as he was concerned, that served no purpose beyond looking cool.

As long as you knew the body's pressure points and controlled the strength of your Chakra, piercing a finger with Chakra was very simple.

Satisfied after successfully signing his name on the Summoning Scroll, Souya opened the other scroll.

Its cover was dark gray, like the soil in which corpses were buried.

The six characters "Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu" came into view.

He skimmed the materials, hand seals, and various instructions for the jutsu. Finding no major differences from what he remembered, Souya gave Sasori a slight nod.

Sasori's face also lit up with delight, and his hands had clenched into fists without him even realizing it.

Souya took three scrolls from his back. Along with the Summoning Scroll, he used the Gold Sand to carry all four scrolls outside Orochimaru's barrier.

"Release!"

Souya clasped his hands together and formed a sword-finger seal.

A mass of black bubbles suddenly appeared on the barrier's surface. The viscous black liquid flowed back into the Starfall Rod hovering in midair.

Crack! Crack...

The barrier, no longer reinforced by the black runes, developed countless fine cracks. They quickly spread, widening into conspicuous fissures.

Crash!

In the blink of an eye, the barrier surrounding Orochimaru had vanished.

Orochimaru glanced at the dissipating purple Lightning Ball, then at Souya and Sasori standing side by side.

The two were holding the scroll containing the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and talking quietly.

"Heh! I never thought anyone besides me would be so interested in this Forbidden Jutsu."

"But techniques that venture into forbidden territory like this incur the wrath of the Shinigami..."

Orochimaru's chilling laughter rang out. It was unclear whether he meant it as a warning or was just trying to save face.

He reached out with his right hand. His arm transformed into a snake, which opened its mouth and swallowed the four scrolls.

"You're not even going to check them?" Souya asked. He patted Sasori on the shoulder and put the scrolls away.

Indeed, in the history of the Ninja World, Orochimaru was the only one who dared not only to court the Shinigami's wrath, but also to exploit a bug in the Shinigami's rules...

"Now that we've agreed to work together, I should at least show you that much trust!" Orochimaru's hoarse voice somehow carried an inexplicable sense of trust.

Perhaps that was simply his unique charisma...