Otogakure, Orochimaru

The Land of Fields, Otogakure, was a village established by Orochimaru after he left Konohagakure, marked by an eighth-note symbol engraved on the ninja headbands.

Furthermore, the ninjas within the village all utilized sound-based ninjutsu for combat, though it was unclear which school of thought this originated from.

In the original plot, Otogakure had once joined forces with Sunagakure to attack Konoha, but the endeavor ultimately ended in failure.

"Shisui-kun, welcome to Otogakure. I have been expecting you for quite some time." Outside the village, Orochimaru, having long since received word from Danzo, greeted the travel-worn Shisui Uchiha at the entrance.

"Lord... Orochimaru."

Shisui noticed that Orochimaru was wearing a loose, grey kimono today, clearly indicating that the man was in a fairly good mood.

As one of the Sannin who had already made a name for himself during the Second Shinobi World War, Shisui did not mind showing the man sufficient respect.

"Shisui-kun, for someone as outstanding as you to be so humble—you are truly far superior to those clansmen of yours."

As one of the commanders for the Konoha side during the ninja wars, Orochimaru had naturally led many ninjas from the Uchiha Clan.

However, it was quite clear that his impression of Shisui's clansmen was not particularly favorable.

Yet, this was very much in line with the established reputation of the Uchiha Clan.

"Lord Orochimaru, I am feeling a bit hungry. I heard before coming here that the game in this area is quite delicious; I wonder if I might have the honor of tasting it."

When Shisui said this, he was truly hungry. Having traveled a long distance from Kirigakure to reach this place, he only wanted to relax properly now.

"My hospitality has been lacking. Please, Shisui-kun." Orochimaru immediately summoned a Sound Ninja and instructed him to go ahead and make arrangements.

At this point in time, although Orochimaru had begun his pursuit of the path to immortality, he had not yet experienced the various setbacks that would follow.

Not yet forty years old, Orochimaru had not yet performed the Living Corpse Reincarnation, and his mental state was not as extreme or twisted as it would later become.

"Lord Orochimaru, did Danzo tell you the purpose of my visit?" Shisui walked side-by-side with Orochimaru through Otogakure, chatting casually.

"That old man Danzo told me that you possess something I am interested in. In exchange, I also need to share the results of your experiments and research with you." Turning his head, Orochimaru's pale yellow slit pupils scrutinized Shisui carefully.

Since Danzo knew the direction of his current research, it meant that Shisui held something that could help him achieve immortality.

The reason Shisui asked a question he already knew the answer to was to test whether Danzo had developed any ulterior motives and to guard against him.

Although the effects of Kotoamatsukami were heaven-defying, Shisui never underestimated anyone's abilities; who knew if there existed something in this world capable of countering Kotoamatsukami?

Seeing the look of desire in Orochimaru's eyes, Shisui did not dawdle and directly produced the scroll sealing the White Zetsu.

"Poof."

As a puff of white smoke dissipated and the seal on the scroll was broken, the corpse of a White Zetsu lay revealed before the two of them.

To avoid leaking information related to himself, Shisui had chosen to terminate the life of this White Zetsu in advance.

"Truly, a body with such vigorous vitality." The moment he saw the White Zetsu, Orochimaru acted like a curious child, poking and prodding as he examined it closely.

"I suspect that Hashirama Cells exist within this body as well, am I right?"

As a key figure who had once worked with Danzo to research Hashirama Cells, Orochimaru was extremely sensitive to the aura of vitality they possessed.

"As expected of Lord Orochimaru. This creature, called a White Zetsu, does indeed have Hashirama Cells injected into it, but the secrets it holds go beyond that."

Shisui knew that the predecessors of the White Zetsu were actually humans who had been caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and through various coincidences, they had broken the human lifespan limit, with some surviving from the ancient era to the present day.

Having also discovered the anomaly, Orochimaru looked up at Shisui, a meaningful smile lingering on his face.

"So, Shisui-kun and I are cut from the same cloth." Orochimaru's gaze swept back and forth over Shisui, as if he were meeting him for the first time.

Shisui knew that Orochimaru had misunderstood him, but he had no intention of explaining, and instead proceeded to drop a bombshell on Orochimaru.

"This creature, called a White Zetsu, has already lived for over a thousand years. I hope to trade this for something of equal value."

"What? A thousand years? Are you certain?" Upon hearing this, Orochimaru was almost shocked out of his wits.

The gates to immortality had, at this very moment, cracked open a sliver for Orochimaru.

He gripped Shisui's shoulders tightly, his slit pupils staring fixedly into Shisui's eyes.

If Shisui showed even the slightest sign of deception, he would immediately launch an attack.

Facing the man on the verge of madness, Shisui maintained his calm expression and said, "Every word I speak is true, and I hope you can provide me with an equivalent exchange."

"Ha, haha, ahahahahahaha!"

After confirming the value of the white creature before him, Orochimaru could not help but burst into laughter, his unbridled mirth fully releasing the excitement he felt at that moment.

Having vented his joy, a gradually calming Orochimaru looked at Shisui with satisfaction and said, "Speak, what is your request?"

Having spent so much time and energy, Shisui stated his conditions.

"I need you to help me complete the transplantation of Hashirama Cells—not the grafting method used on Danzo, but a perfect fusion of the Hashirama Cells with my own body."

Indeed, Shisui looked down upon Danzo's body; the Hashirama Cells within it were unstable. He did not even think much of the state Obito had achieved in his previous life.

"Shisui-kun, since you have made this request, you should know that there is no one in this world capable of perfectly fusing with Hashirama Cells." Orochimaru subconsciously licked his lips; for a research fanatic like him, Shisui's request was extremely challenging.

In the past, with the tacit approval of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru and Danzo had conducted numerous experiments transplanting Hashirama Cells into members of the Senju Clan.

The result was that most of the test subjects exploded and died from the violent energy of the cells the moment they were implanted.

The only survivor, Yamato, could only use a half-baked Wood Release to build houses, falling far short of even one-thousandth of Hashirama Senju's power.

"If it weren't challenging, I wouldn't have come to Lord Orochimaru." Shisui answered confidently, which in turn infected Orochimaru.

"Hahahahaha, Shisui-kun, you are truly fascinating." If he stopped just because something was difficult, what kind of immortality would he, Orochimaru, be pursuing?

Orochimaru once again extended his long, slick tongue to lick his lips, looking at Shisui with intense interest.

Feeling Orochimaru's gaze converge upon him, Shisui felt a slight shiver in his heart.

It wasn't that Shisui lacked confidence in his own strength, but rather that Orochimaru's appearance just now was truly disgusting.