Transaction

Orochimaru extended his long tongue to lick his lips, his gaze sweeping greedily over the eyes of Hikari and Yue. "Your courage is far greater than I imagined. Are you intending to present these enchanting eyes to me as collectibles?"

He possessed his own intelligence channels and knew that a Three Tomoe Sharingan could not possibly reach such heights.

"Collectibles?"

Hikari's gaze turned cold, her killing intent erupting instantly as the aura of a red Susanoo faintly manifested. "Are you even worthy?"

"Hikari, stand down."

Yue reached out to stop Hikari, who was preparing to draw her blade, and looked at Orochimaru with a smile.

"Senior Orochimaru, don't use that kind of killing intent meant to scare children. You know that for those of us who possess the Mangekyō Sharingan, this level of probing is meaningless."

Yue pulled a scroll from his robes; it was his research notes on Yin Release and the soul, compiled during the Warring States period.

"I have come to discuss a trade regarding the flaws of Living Corpse Reincarnation and the rejection reactions of soul containers."

Upon hearing the words "Living Corpse Reincarnation," the playful expression on Orochimaru's face instantly froze.

His golden pupils contracted into pinpricks, and a terrifying, tangible killing intent locked onto Yue.

This was his most core and top-secret forbidden jutsu research.

Aside from himself, it was impossible for a second person to know!

"How do you know about that?"

Orochimaru's voice became incredibly dangerous, and dozens of Hidden Shadow Snake Hands were already poised to strike from his sleeves.

"I am an Uchiha, Senior Orochimaru."

Yue pointed to his own eyes and began to spout nonsense with a straight face: "These eyes can see things that ordinary people cannot, such as... the future."

"Although your body is powerful, your soul is restless. You are attempting to transfer your soul to achieve immortality by switching containers, aren't you?"

Yue stepped forward, ignoring Orochimaru's killing intent.

"However, you have hit a bottleneck. The 'rejection' between the soul and the new container leads to a rapid weakening of spiritual power. If you don't solve this problem, even if you switch bodies, you will only be a defective product that could collapse at any moment."

Orochimaru fell silent.

Indeed, this was the exact point where he was currently stuck.

Although he had developed the prototype for Living Corpse Reincarnation, the wear and tear after the soul transfer was severe.

Of course, he did not yet know that this was the reason he would repeatedly fail against the Uchiha Clan in the future.

As for Yue's claim of seeing the future, he had no way to verify it for the time being.

"It seems you came prepared."

Orochimaru retracted his killing intent, the greed in his eyes intensifying. "Since you have pointed out the problem, you must have brought a solution?"

"Of course."

Yue tossed the scroll in his hand over to him.

Orochimaru caught it, opened it, and glanced through it; his golden pupils instantly lit up.

"Yin Release... Spiritual Molding... Soul Anchor?"

What was recorded in this scroll was Izumi Uchiha's most profound understanding of Yin Release, combined with the "Soul Digitization" theory Yue had proposed based on his knowledge as a transmigrator.

In this ninjutsu system, Yin Release represented "creating form from nothing," which was the materialization of spiritual energy.

If one could use Yin Release to construct a "deception layer" on the surface of the soul, it could trick the immune system of the new container!

"A genius idea... truly a genius idea!"

Orochimaru acted as if he had found a treasure, a sickly flush appearing on his pale face. "The Uchiha Clan's application of spiritual energy is indeed the best in the Ninja World. The techniques recorded here are truly useful to me!"

He closed the scroll and looked at Yue with a changed expression.

He was no longer looking at prey, but at a partner worthy of standing on equal footing.

"Speak, Yue Uchiha, what do you want?"

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Since you have given me something so precious, the things you want must not be simple. Do you want forbidden jutsus? Or something else?"

"I want the cells of Hashirama."

Yue said calmly, as if he were asking for a glass of water.

"And they must be the stable version you have cultivated, with the unstable factors removed."

"It would be best if you also included your complete experimental data on human genetic modification."

Orochimaru was stunned for a moment, then let out a low, strange laugh.

"Hehehe... interesting. You don't intend to conduct the research yourself, do you?"

"That is no concern of yours, Senior."

Yue did not deny it. "A trade is about getting what one needs. I give you something, you give me something. As for the purpose, what does it matter whether you know or not?"

"Indeed."

Orochimaru turned and walked toward a row of cold storage units deep within the laboratory.

"Although Hashirama Cells are precious, I do have some in stock. However, Yue Uchiha, I must warn you: that stuff is extremely corrosive. Even with an Uchiha body paired with your terrifying mental energy, there is no guarantee you will be able to withstand it."

"That is not something you need to worry about."

A moment later, Orochimaru walked out holding a culture tank filled with green liquid and a massive sealing scroll.

"This is the third iteration of my refined Hashirama Cell serum. Its activity is much milder than the kind Danzo uses, but it remains dangerous. The scroll contains the data you requested."

The two completed the exchange.

Yue inspected the culture tank; the dense fluctuations of life force within caused the chakra in his own body to stir slightly.

"Many thanks."

Yue stowed the items away and prepared to leave with Hikari.

"Oh, right."

Reaching the cave entrance, Yue paused and looked back at Orochimaru.

At this moment, Orochimaru was staring obsessively at the Yin Release Scroll in his hands, as if it were the most wonderful lover in the world.

"Senior Orochimaru, the great tree of Konoha has rotted from its very roots. If there comes a day when you can no longer stay in the village... the gates of Rōran will always be open to you."

"Although there will be some restrictions regarding human experimentation, I can guarantee you the freedom to pursue the truth."

Orochimaru looked up, a strange glint flashing in his golden vertical pupils.

"Rōran, is it... I will consider it."

Stepping out of the sewer, they bathed in the moonlight once more.

Hikari took a deep breath of fresh air and brushed off her clothes with a look of disgust.

"That long-tongued guy's gaze is truly nauseating. If you hadn't stopped me, I really would have cut him down."

"Bear with it. That guy is the number one scientific talent in the Ninja World."

Yue patted the Hashirama Cells in his arms, his mood excellent.

With this, combined with the energy of the Dragon Vein, he would have the chance to unlock the true Sage Mode, and perhaps in the future... touch the threshold of the Rinnegan.

"Research on the soul is underway, and the research data for the physical body has also taken shape."

Yue looked toward the distant Hokage Building, his eyes flickering with the light of ambition.

"Next, all that remains is the chakra of that fox and the verification of a few hypotheses."

"Hikari, are you ready? The stage for this grand play has been set, and the actors are almost in position."