The Blade Technique for Harvesting Leeks Grows Increasingly Refined

"I've said it before: as a Genie, I do not fight."

But you did fight, and you even held a sword, hacking down the Fourth Raikage. If you hadn't held back, a single slash would have cut him in half.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, staring at the Genie, suspecting that everything he had said before was complete nonsense.

"Don't be like that. Deceiving my host is something a proper Genie like me would never do."

At most, it was just some concealment and withholding, the Genie smiled. "The reason things are different this time is because you made a wish..."

"Wait, a wish?"

Orochimaru flatly denied it, raising an eyebrow as he said coldly, "Are you joking?"

It was no wonder he reacted so strongly; he had heard about the three types of Genies from the very beginning.

Fulfilling a wish required a price to be paid. The guy in front of him was clearly no fool who squandered his own power, and this incident had obviously gone beyond simple information sharing.

"Your wish was to 'hold off the Fourth Raikage single-handedly'."

Ignoring Orochimaru's rebuttal, the Genie continued, "To fulfill your wish, I utilized the authority of a Genie and some technical adjustments to refine and condense the combat experience and abilities of a previous host, forming a unique skill."

"This skill is no longer restricted by the Genie's authority; it is a power that belongs solely to me."

"A Character Card, that's what I call it. With it, I gained the ability to fulfill your wish."

The Genie waved his hand, and smoke condensed in the air into a square frame. On the photo was a young boy with a large forehead, smiling brilliantly.

"Ignoring the process, your wish was fulfilled, and I gained a new ability. This time, it really is a win-win."

"But the price has to be paid by me?" Orochimaru's voice rose an octave. "This is clearly the method of an Evil God."

"And what if it is?"

The Genie tilted his head, looking innocent. "If I didn't know the methods of an Evil God, what kind of proper Genie would I be?"

Hearing such a righteous declaration, the corner of Orochimaru's mouth twitched as he stared coldly at the Genie.

"Relax, I'm not actually an Evil God. As for this price..."

"I have to bear it myself?"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course it's you."

The Genie rolled his eyes, feeling disdainful. How could a mere Orochimaru make him run a losing business?

"I've prepared a debt-repayment package for you to replace the original price. In fact, after experiencing this mode, you might even enjoy it."

Saddled with a debt out of thin air, Orochimaru kept a cold face, showing not a hint of joy.

But since it concerned his own interests, he suppressed his annoyance and asked, "What exactly is the price?"

The Genie smiled. "What do you think could replace the price of a wish?"

"Jewels and money? Rare minerals? Beauties and fine wine? Wealth and power? Or perhaps your body and soul?"

"No, these are worthless to me. They cannot be taken out of this world. Even your most precious soul is nothing but scrap material."

The Genie said meaningfully, "To a Genie, the equivalent value of a wish can only be the wish itself!"

Orochimaru was slightly stunned, lost in thought.

He wanted to ask more, but the Genie said that when the time was right, he would naturally understand.

Since the creditor had said as much, Orochimaru cast the doubt to the back of his mind, though he secretly hoped that the time would never come.

In a cave on the border of the Land of Fire.

Obito, wearing a patterned mask, sat in the shadows, staring blankly at the sunlit ground at the cave entrance.

Just then, two large pitcher plant leaves slowly rose from beside him, revealing a strange face that was white on one side and black on the other in the center of the leaves.

Obito asked without turning his head, "Zetsu, what is the situation now?"

"The Kumogakure forces have completely withdrawn from the Land of Fire."

Keeping half his body underground, Zetsu replied, "They are currently resting in the Land of Hot Water and will return to the Land of Lightning soon."

"Is that so." Obito responded indifferently, seemingly unconcerned.

White Zetsu smacked his lips and said, "This is not what you expected."

Kumogakure had been defeated too quickly; from the start of the war to the withdrawal, it had been little more than a week.

Obito's eyes narrowed. "I didn't expect that guy Orochimaru to be so strong."

With Tsunade having left, Jiraiya gone from the village, and Orochimaru obsessed with ninjutsu, the activity of the Sannin in Konoha had greatly diminished since he could remember.

Moreover, Orochimaru had failed to become Hokage, looking like a man washed up by the tide, which made Obito look down on him even more. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to be able to turn the tide of the war almost single-handedly.

"What should we do now?" White Zetsu asked bluntly. "With Orochimaru there, this war cannot continue."

Obito was silent for a moment before saying, "Go and gather intelligence on Kumogakure. I already have a plan for our next move."

"Fine."

Zetsu retracted his leaves, preparing to sink into the ground, but heard Obito ask, "Have you found out who that Uchiha who used Susanoo was?"

Zetsu recalled for a moment, "His name is Shisui, though I also heard that something seems to have gone wrong with his eyes."

"Is that so?"

Obito's expression shifted; every pair of Mangekyo Sharingan possessed unique ocular techniques, and even he dared not ignore them.

But if the opponent had overused their ocular power, leading to failing eyesight or even blindness, "Keep an eye on news regarding that aspect as well."

Inside the Konoha fortress.

After a period of rest, the Uchiha who had summoned the giant snake on the battlefield earlier were summoned to the medical room.

Orochimaru undid the temporary contracts one by one and removed the cursed seals used to store chakra from their bodies.

As the chakra returned, Orochimaru's aura grew steadily stronger, while on the other side, the Uchiha found it somewhat unbearable.

Even though Orochimaru hadn't played any tricks and had merely withdrawn his own chakra, their spirits still suffered some trauma, causing them to collapse onto the floor.

They were then immediately carried onto hospital beds by the medical ninja waiting nearby.

After removing the final cursed seal, Orochimaru let out a long breath, his gaze shifting to the air as a semi-transparent light screen appeared before his eyes.

It listed in great detail the vast majority of the abilities he could use, as well as all of his passive skills.

It described his condition using multi-dimensional data such as strength, physique, intelligence, health points, and mana points.

This was an ability redeveloped by the Genie called a System Interface, and he was the first host to ever use such a thing.

After understanding the meaning of the terms, Orochimaru asked with his thoughts, "Is this data accurate?"

"It's the beginning, so there are bound to be some errors, but some values that are universal across worlds are still relatively accurate."

The Genie floated in the air, pointing to one of the items and saying, "Take soul strength, for example; among all my past hosts, your value is truly abysmal."

"And so what?" Without a universal standard, Orochimaru had no concept of this and simply assumed it was due to the differences between worlds.

"Let me think, low soul strength makes one easily charmed."

The Genie rubbed his chin and laughed, "In the terminology of the ninja world, I suppose you would call it being controlled by genjutsu."

"Regardless, I still feel your stats are far too low. How about it? Do you want to give it a try? For instance, by finding a few Uchiha jonin..."

Orochimaru's eyes flickered for a moment, and he nodded.

Thanks to "Changqing1040", "Zhuoluo C Yang", and "Strange Jiang Xiaobai" for the tips.