Immortal Arts

"I only need the cells; I don't need Mr. Orochimaru's help with the transplant."

Leaving the base and stepping outside, Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled.

He knew his own limits; Hashirama's cells were not something easily transplanted, and besides, he did not trust Orochimaru to perform the procedure for him.

However, now that the Hashirama cells were in his possession, a major burden had been lifted from his mind.

With Shisui's eyes and the Hashirama cells both secured, merging them was now just a matter of time.

"Kid!"

Orochimaru said indifferently, "I have given you the Hashirama cells. Now, you should tell me who that person is, right?"

Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded and said, "Uchiha Itachi."

Uchiha Itachi!

Orochimaru's pupils constricted as he remarked, "Fugaku's son? A rather impressive child, indeed!"

As he spoke, he extended his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth.

Back when he was still in Konoha, he had witnessed Uchiha Itachi's shuriken technique; it was at the level of a top-tier Jonin.

"Mangekyou Sharingan!"

A flash of fanaticism crossed Orochimaru's eyes.

He could hardly wait to head to Konoha.

Once the two had walked far away, a figure suddenly emerged from beneath the water—it was Hōzuki Mangetsu's Shadow Clone.

He had left a Shadow Clone behind when he exited the base; the Hozuki Clan were like fish in water, and even an elite like Orochimaru had failed to notice it.

Amachi!

Hōzuki Mangetsu's figure appeared once again in front of the base.

"Why have you returned? To mock me?"

Amachi looked at Hōzuki Mangetsu coldly, forming a seal with his hands to summon a strange water entity.

"Umi-bozu, finish him!"

Having just been abandoned by Orochimaru, Amachi was in a foul mood, and Hōzuki Mangetsu's arrival was the perfect opportunity to vent his frustration.

Hōzuki Mangetsu stepped back a few paces and laughed, "I'm not here to fight; I'm here to cooperate with you."

Having lost Orochimaru's funding, if Amachi wanted to complete his experiments, he would have to find his own way to solve the financial problem.

Although the Land of the Sea was weak, it was a vassal of the Land of Water, paying a large tribute every year in exchange for protection.

If Amachi intended to take action against the Land of the Sea, it would attract the attention of the Land of Water, and once discovered, it would mean the end of his base.

"Cooperate? How?"

Amachi was stunned, looking at Hōzuki Mangetsu in confusion.

Hōzuki Mangetsu's smile remained unchanged as he said, "It's simple. I provide the funds, you do work for me, and at the same time, you can continue your own research."

"I do work for you?"

Amachi suddenly sneered and said, "Sorry, you don't have the qualifications for that."

Although he had been abandoned by Orochimaru, he was not about to submit so easily.

Hōzuki Mangetsu sighed and said, "Then there's no other way. I'll just have to go back and report this to the Mizukage. I wonder if he would allow such a base to exist in the Land of the Sea?"

With that, he used a Body Flicker technique and vanished from the surface of the water.

Amachi gritted his teeth.

Although he didn't know if Hōzuki Mangetsu was telling the truth, he was indeed wary.

If Kirigakure truly took notice, everything here would be finished.

Lord Orochimaru had truly brought disaster upon him!

In truth, what Amachi did not realize was that Orochimaru and Hōzuki Mangetsu had some unspeakable dealings in private, so he didn't worry about Hōzuki Mangetsu leaking the secrets of this place.

Besides, since Orochimaru had already planned to abandon this place, he naturally wouldn't take it to heart.

"What do you want me to do?"

Amachi asked, puzzled.

Seeing that Amachi was so sensible, Hōzuki Mangetsu finally revealed a smile.

"Utilize your specialty to help me modify some people, but not right now."

"What?"

Amachi looked at Hōzuki Mangetsu in surprise.

This was not difficult; in fact, it was almost too simple.

He had been performing human modification for many years, and most of Orochimaru's modification experiments had been carried out by him.

"That's easy!"

Amachi nodded and said, "As long as you send the people over, I will certainly help you modify them."

Seeing that Amachi had agreed, a smile appeared on Hōzuki Mangetsu's face.

The reason he intended to create amphibians was inspired by Kisame.

It is said that the reason Kisame was able to capture jinchūriki alive, aside from Samehada, was primarily because he was an amphibian capable of breathing underwater.

If other ninja were equipped with gills to breathe, they could also utilize the techniques Kisame used to capture jinchūriki alive.

Although Orochimaru's body modifications each had their drawbacks, they also offered benefits if utilized properly.

It could be said that this fanatical scientist had always been using his own methods to help the underdog rise up against the elite.

Furthermore...

Hōzuki Mangetsu's tone shifted as he said, "I also want to obtain the Cursed Seal."

The Cursed Seal!

Amachi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I really cannot help you with that. Because I do not know the origin of such a thing."

Although he had participated when Orochimaru developed the Cursed Seal, he was not privy to the core components.

He only knew that Orochimaru used a mysterious liquid as a catalyst, combined with snake venom, to create a new type of cursed seal.

Categorized by type into the Heaven Cursed Seal and the Earth Cursed Seal, once implanted, the subject could never betray their master for the rest of their life.

The origin?

Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled faintly and asked, "Have you ever heard of Sage Mode?"

Sage Mode?

Amachi exclaimed in surprise, "Are you talking about the miraculous arts of the Three Great Sage Regions?"

He was, of course, aware of the Three Great Sage Regions.

"Correct!"

Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded.

The origin of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal was related to Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Regions.

The raw material for the Cursed Seal was extracted from Jugo, who possessed the ability to absorb natural energy, though Jugo could not control senjutsu chakra, which often caused him to go berserk and kill.

Orochimaru failed to learn Sage Mode because the bodies he plundered were not suitable for practicing it.

For years, he had been searching everywhere for a suitable body, implanting them with cursed seals.

Only a body compatible with the Cursed Seal could practice Sage Mode and serve as the optimal vessel for reincarnation.

In the end, he chose the young Sasuke, a body that possessed the Uchiha bloodline and could adapt to the Cursed Seal to practice Sage Mode.

It was evident that Orochimaru's ultimate goal was Sage Mode.

Besides Mount Myoboku and Ryūchi Cave, there was one other place to practice Sage Mode: Shikkotsu Forest.

Although the story did not explicitly introduce a sage from Shikkotsu Forest, it did reveal Hashirama's Sage Mode.

That was the Sage Mode that required no hand seals to absorb natural energy.

Even if Hōzuki Mangetsu could fuse with Hashirama's cells in the future, he certainly wouldn't obtain the full power of the God of Shinobi, so he needed another insurance policy.

That insurance was Sage Mode!

Shisui's eyes, Hashirama's cells, and the practice of Sage Mode—this was Hōzuki Mangetsu's true objective.

Now that Shisui's eyes and Hashirama's cells were in place, all that remained was the practice of Sage Mode.

As someone who was not a descendant of the Sage Body, if Hōzuki Mangetsu wanted to practice Sage Mode, he had to find another way.