Is this a bowl you can just jump into?

"It seems you have a misunderstanding."

Orochimaru curled his lips into a mocking smile. "Setting aside the danger, the physical enhancement surgery I perform can drastically increase a ninja's strength. Did you think this was something you could just ask for and have handed to you?"

Shinsuke Uchiha's face stiffened. He sobered up from his self-sacrificial fervor, his burning passion cooling instantly.

But before he could speak, Orochimaru continued, "You should know that, excluding my surgical fees, the cost of the materials alone is as high as 35 million ryo."

Hearing this, Shinsuke Uchiha's eyes widened in shock.

Thirty-five... million ryo? How could it possibly cost that much?

A single S-rank mission only paid one or two million ryo. Even in the current war against Kumogakure, the number of people earning S-rank rewards could be counted on one's fingers; most elite jonin only received A-rank or B-rank compensation.

Thirty-five million ryo was just about enough to hire the entire Konoha Military Police Force.

Fugaku frowned as well. If 35 million ryo could guarantee a clan member with a Mangekyo Sharingan, he wouldn't be opposed, but as a mere experiment, 35 million was far too exorbitant.

The air in the medical room grew still. Everyone was stunned by the astronomical price, except for the medical ninjas.

They were experts in the field and knew that Orochimaru had certainly factored in the cost of some rare equipment.

But knowing was one thing; they chose to keep their mouths shut.

On the other side, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged glances and let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

Although the process had been unpleasant, the result was acceptable. They hadn't ignored a hero of the Uchiha, nor had they given away any real benefits. All the necessary procedures were followed, which was enough to appease the Uchiha.

"Do you understand now?"

Orochimaru glanced at Shinsuke Uchiha. "If it weren't for Shisui's significant contributions, and the fact that the advisors told me not to hold back, why would I ever perform surgery for free?"

Shisui offered a faint, bitter smile, not knowing what to say.

Utatane Koharu's face darkened. Knowing Orochimaru was deliberately digging at her again, she simply turned her head away to avoid looking at his detestable face.

On the hospital bed, Shinsuke Uchiha's face alternated between pale and flushed. He had originally come with a spirit of selfless sacrifice to restore Shisui's sight, only to be crushed by Orochimaru's words.

Money, favors... it was all so realistic. Shouldn't they be talking about something more metaphysical at a time like this?

Something like the 'Will of Fire'?

Orochimaru licked his lips with a smirk.

He did need an obedient Uchiha elite jonin to accelerate his research on the First Hokage Cells.

But as he had said before, the physical enhancement surgery was extremely risky—a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

What if he accidentally killed him?

Using a village ninja for human experimentation and having them die on the table would have unimaginable consequences, even for someone like Orochimaru.

Not to mention, it would be impossible to get another test subject to volunteer again.

Orochimaru still valued his reputation, at least for now, and didn't want to ruin it in the village.

Therefore, he had to change his approach regarding the surgery for the Uchiha jonin.

The surgery itself was fine; how could a procedure costing so much be anything but perfect?

If something went wrong, it could only be because the patient had a problem. He was doing it for free—what more could they want?

After all, this was something they had begged him to do!

Tsk, tsk, tsk... how truly despicable.

A smile tugged at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth. After being played by the Genie for so long, he had learned a thing or two.

"Thirty-five million ryo. I can come up with it."

Shinsuke Uchiha gritted his teeth and forced the words out.

With the stubbornness of youth, he refused to let his wish fall through because of money; that would be too pathetic.

Of course, Shinsuke Uchiha wasn't a fool. Thinking about how to scrape together such a massive sum, he turned his gaze toward his clan leader.

For the sake of Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan, he believed the clan leader wouldn't let him bear the cost alone.

Fugaku gave a subtle nod in response to Shinsuke Uchiha's hopeful look.

Fugaku was indeed unwilling to lose the Mangekyo Sharingan. Furthermore, if the surgery cost this much, the results should be equally impressive.

Shinsuke Uchiha was already an elite jonin of the clan; if he improved further, even if he didn't awaken a Mangekyo Sharingan, he would at least become a Kage-level powerhouse.

This deal wasn't actually a loss.

Before Orochimaru could speak, Utatane Koharu shouted, "I do not agree to this."

She turned to look at Orochimaru, her expression stern. "The risk is too high. This is no longer just a simple surgery. Orochimaru, you surely understand the consequences if Shinsuke Uchiha dies on that operating table."

As if that weren't enough, she added, "Orochimaru, Hiruzen would not agree to this surgery either."

Orochimaru looked displeased, his gaze turning cold as a chilling aura radiated from him.

Utatane Koharu's breath hitched, but she furrowed her brows and refused to look away, her eyes full of warning.

This wasn't just about preventing Shisui from regaining his sight; it was also for Orochimaru's own sake.

She knew very well—or rather, most of Konoha's top brass knew—that Orochimaru was obsessed with pursuing immortality, and his moral bottom line was constantly sinking.

Conducting human experiments on ninjas from other villages was one thing, and could be turned a blind eye to, but if a precedent were set using their own village's ninjas, heaven only knew how far things would escalate.

What was worse, if an incident occurred where the "surgery failed and Shinsuke Uchiha died suddenly," rumors would inevitably spread throughout the village.

Having experienced the Hatake Sakumo incident, Utatane Koharu was firmly convinced of this.

And Orochimaru was different from Hatake Sakumo; he was not the type of person to let others criticize him, and in the end, the best-case scenario would be him defecting from the village.

In the midst of this war, after learning of Orochimaru's astonishing strength, how could Utatane Koharu sit by and watch all of this happen?

The two stood in a standoff for a while until Shisui suddenly spoke up, his words earnest, "My lords, there is no need to go to such trouble for my sake."

As he spoke, he turned his head toward the direction where Shinsuke Uchiha had spoken, "Shinsuke, Lord Orochimaru also said that perhaps in two or three years, when the technology is more mature, I will be able to undergo the surgery. I cannot let you risk your life for the sake of a mere few years."

"But..." Shinsuke Uchiha tried to speak again, but was interrupted by Shisui. Even though his eyes were closed, he could feel the other's pleading gaze, "Do not make things difficult for me."

Shinsuke Uchiha opened his mouth, then slumped his head in defeat.

Since the person at the center of the topic had said as much, Orochimaru naturally lost his standing to insist; he looked at Utatane Koharu, let out a cold snort, and strode out of the medical room.

Fugaku Uchiha handed Shisui over to the medical ninjas and hurried to catch up.

"Lord Orochimaru, is there really no way at all to save Shisui's eyes?"