Orochimaru's Desire

"Prepare ten ninjas for me. Prisoners or prisoners of war will do."

As Danzo worked through official business in the Hokage Office, Shiraishi's voice sounded beside him.

Danzo had grown accustomed to Shiraishi's sudden appearances, so he wasn't startled.

But Shiraishi's tone and attitude still angered him.

They were partners, not master and subordinate. Shiraishi's words sounded like an order, and Danzo was deeply displeased.

Danzo looked at Shiraishi, who stood beside his desk. Though anger and resentment stirred within him, his face remained perfectly calm, revealing nothing.

"What do you need them for?" Danzo asked.

"The nutrient solution Orochimaru has can't support the embryo's development. I need some ninjas to provide additional nourishment," Shiraishi replied evenly.

Danzo's brows drew together. He understood what Shiraishi meant, and a chill rose in his heart.

Use ninjas as nourishment? This man was a monster who brought calamity upon the world.

"I'll give you a written order. You can go straight to the prison and take them," Danzo said, taking out a scroll and beginning to write the order.

Before long, Danzo set down his brush, rolled up the scroll, and handed it to Shiraishi.

"With this order, you can take prisoners from the prison whenever you like."

Shiraishi took the scroll with a smile. "The day after tomorrow, I'll bring over some more Soul Banners. Arrange for them to be sent to the front lines. Once you're fighting Hidden Cloud, the souls of Konoha's fallen ninjas will all enter the banners and have a chance to be revived."

Danzo smiled at that. "Get them to me as soon as you can. The war is about to begin."

"I won't keep you waiting."

Shiraishi tucked the scroll into his inner pocket, walked toward the open window, and vanished in a Body Flicker Technique.

Less than an hour later, Shiraishi returned to Orochimaru's secret laboratory with ten heavily sentenced prisoners.

The ten followed behind Shiraishi with vacant eyes, like marionettes controlled by his strings.

Orochimaru, who had been waiting in the laboratory, saw Shiraishi return. His eyes filled with interest when he saw the prisoners obediently trailing behind him like puppets.

He was intensely curious about what Shiraishi would do to turn the ten prisoners into nourishment for the embryo's development.

Orochimaru stepped aside expectantly, leaving Shiraishi plenty of room to work.

Shiraishi glanced at Orochimaru but didn't tell him to leave. Instead, he made the ten prisoners form a circle around the cultivation tank.

"I told you that I'm the only one in this world who can give you hope of eternal life." Shiraishi wore a calm, confident smile, as if he held everything in the palm of his hand.

As his words fell, Shiraishi looked ahead, formed a hand seal, and sent his Yin Spirit Manifestation out of his body. It held the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and waved it.

Yin Wind swept through the laboratory. Countless Ghost Spirits within the banner let out soul-rending wails, and Black Mist surged out as the temperature began to drop.

Orochimaru, standing off to the side, stared unblinkingly at Shiraishi's Ghost King Dharma Form. His astonishment and longing were so intense they seemed almost tangible.

What an incredible soul. Calling it godlike, or demonic, would be no exaggeration.

The temperature in the laboratory kept falling, and dense Yin Evil Qi filled the entire room. Orochimaru felt so cold that even his soul seemed on the verge of freezing.

But he had no intention of retreating. His attention was fixed entirely on Shiraishi's Ghost King Dharma Form. He wanted only to uncover the secret behind such power.

Ten chains shot from the hands of Shiraishi's Yin Spirit Manifestation and pierced the prisoners' bodies, dragging their souls out.

The Ghost King Shiraishi had become opened its fearsome jaws and swallowed the ten souls.

The chains withdrew. Blood poured from the prisoners' wounds, but instead of falling, it rose in ten streams of crimson mist. Carrying their life force, the mist gathered in the air, swirling and coalescing.

At last, the crimson mist condensed into a fist-sized sphere of blood that glowed a faint, dark red and floated in the air.

Shiraishi's Yin Spirit returned to his body. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, his face visibly paler. He held out his right hand, and the sphere of blood fell into his palm.

"Put this in the cultivation tank." Shiraishi wrapped the sphere in a wisp of true essence to keep its energy from dispersing.

Orochimaru's body was so frozen he could barely move. He slowly approached Shiraishi, step by step, and reached out to take the sphere.

A faint black mist enveloped the sphere, which floated above Orochimaru's palm. A faint chill spread from his hand throughout his body.

"Don't hold it for too long. Your soul can't withstand this kind of Yin chill yet," Shiraishi warned him.

Suppressing his curiosity, Orochimaru looked at Shiraishi. "How did you do that?"

"You'll find out," Shiraishi said with a smile. "As long as you grow this body."

Orochimaru said nothing more. As his body gradually regained some warmth, he hurried to the cultivation tank and injected the sphere of blood through its injection port.

Shiraishi followed him. He extended his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together like a sword, and placed them against the glass wall of the cultivation tank. Though his fingertips had no visible wounds, blood began to seep from them.

Strange runes appeared beneath Shiraishi's fingertips. Circling the cultivation tank, he continuously drew them in his own blood until the glass was covered with runes.

When he finished, Shiraishi stepped back half a pace and formed a hand seal. A stream of true essence flew out and sank into the blood runes.

The blood runes on the glass wall flashed red, then settled back into stillness.

Shiraishi had drawn these runes to seal all the vital essence he had just extracted inside the cultivation tank, preventing its energy from dispersing and going to waste.

"These runes?" Orochimaru leaned in to examine the blood runes on the glass wall. He had never seen anything like them, and his eyes were full of curiosity.

"Want to know?" Shiraishi asked with a smile.

Orochimaru looked at Shiraishi without replying, but his expression and eyes brimmed with curiosity.

"If you satisfy me, you'll have a chance to learn all of this later." Shiraishi kept dangling enticing rewards before Orochimaru.

For a mad scientist like Orochimaru, ordinary favors and material rewards held no appeal. Only supernatural, arcane knowledge could attract him.

And as it happened, Shiraishi had more of that than anyone.

"Heh heh heh. I'm looking forward more and more to learning what you know once the experiment succeeds," Orochimaru said, looking at Shiraishi with feverish excitement.

"Then look forward to it, Orochimaru!" Shiraishi laughed too. "As long as you don't disappoint me, I won't disappoint you."

"Whether it's the secrets of the soul, the hope of eternal life, or these runes, I can teach you all of it—as long as you satisfy me."

At that moment, Shiraishi was like the serpent who tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The only difference was that this Eve was already a wanton man, more than willing to damn himself.