Trading Hashirama Cells

As Qiuyang followed Orochimaru toward the base, he didn't forget to introduce himself to the five of them.

The only response was a collective silence, punctuated only by the tap-tap-tap of footsteps, as if to say he wasn't welcome.

"Oh, come on, I'm actually quite friendly. You don't need to be so tense and sensitive."

Seeing that the Sound Four were still maintaining their rather hideous Cursed Seal state along the way, Qiuyang couldn't stand it and couldn't help but speak up again.

"..."

The Sound Four felt that they had never seen a "friendly" person who could burn a Rashomon to nothingness with a Fire Style jutsu.

If they hadn't dodged in time back then, they would have at least lost a layer of skin under that technique.

Orochimaru had just lost the hands he relied on for survival and had been struck by Qiuyang's Golden Binding Genjutsu; his mood was anything but pleasant.

Hearing Qiuyang's constant chatter, he decided against taking him to the base to talk. With a cold face, he ordered his subordinates to release their Cursed Seal states and asked:

"I wonder what kind of cooperation you have in mind, Qiuyang-kun? And what do you mean by a temporary solution to my arm problem?"

"Why don't you take a guess, Lord Orochimaru?"

Who was Orochimaru? Being able to suppress his temper and call him "Qiuyang-kun" at a time like this was the height of politeness.

Seeing Qiuyang still acting so flippant, he stopped in his tracks.

This was simply bullying a snake... no, going too far.

"Ahaha, just kidding, Lord Orochimaru. It's just that the atmosphere here is too tense."

Qiuyang hurriedly tried to soothe him, but seeing Orochimaru still looking stern, he had to pout and gesture toward him.

The meaning was clear: with your subordinates watching, I can't exactly say it out loud!

Being so mysterious?

Orochimaru became increasingly curious about what kind of tricks Jiraiya's disciple was up to, so he ordered his subordinates in a low voice: "You four, go ahead and clear the path."

"Lord Orochimaru, this person is too..."

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

The aura of pure killing intent made the Sound Four tremble, and they had no choice but to walk forward until they were out of earshot.

The terrifying killing intent Orochimaru had just released also startled Qiuyang, causing him to instinctively put some distance between them.

So this is what they call the materialization of killing intent, he thought. No wonder it scared Sasuke, who had such strong mental fortitude, into immobility in the Forest of Death.

"You're quite trusting of me. Aren't you afraid I'm here to drag you back?"

"Then you underestimate my abilities, Qiuyang-kun. Don't think that because I fell for your Golden Binding Genjutsu it means anything; if I want to leave, no one can stop me... Now, can you tell me what you want to cooperate on?"

Qiuyang stopped beating around the bush and took a sealed glass tube from his robe, which contained his own cell samples.

He then stated his purpose, word for word.

Hearing that this Uchiha actually wanted him to engineer Hashirama Cells that could adapt to the cells in the glass tube, the scientist Orochimaru's long tongue flicked out excitedly, licking the air.

His previous displeasure was swept away, and he even temporarily forgot the pain of losing his hands.

Very few people knew about his research into Hashirama Cells back then, so he asked Qiuyang with great interest:

"How did you know I possessed the First Hokage's cells, Qiuyang-kun?"

"That's because I... I learned it from Danzo's intelligence reports."

Qiuyang almost let it slip that he knew because he had read the original work, but after realizing his mistake, he cleverly thought of the old man Danzo.

He remembered that Danzo's right arm, made of Hashirama Cells and embedded with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, was likely Orochimaru's handiwork.

Although it was only a semi-finished product of Hashirama Cells that had to be sealed, the reduction in the cooldown time for Kotoamatsukami was real.

Qiuyang also guessed that Orochimaru must have done something underhanded when handing over the results to Danzo, which was why that arm had to be sealed in the first place.

To ensure Orochimaru would work seriously, Qiuyang knew he had to offer enough sincerity:

"I am well aware of Lord Danzo's situation, which is why I hope you can cultivate a more perfectly adapted version for me, Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru: "I don't think there is anything that can tempt me right now, except for these eyes of yours... hehe..."

The Sharingan, or perhaps a fresh Uchiha Clan body capable of awakening the Sharingan.

Seeing the sickening, lingering gaze in Orochimaru's eyes, Qiuyang knew this guy was fantasizing about obtaining his fresh Uchiha Clan body.

He couldn't help but step back a few paces:

"I say, Orochimaru, don't you already have a target? Besides, I am not someone you can covet, just based on these eyes of mine."

As he spoke, Qiuyang activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan as a threat, inwardly lamenting that dealing with a tiger was truly dangerous—one wrong move and he might be swallowed whole.

If he hadn't clearly sensed the Flying Thunder God Kunai markers he had secretly placed along the way, he would have kept at least a thirty-meter safety distance from Orochimaru.

"What beautiful ocular power... hehe... unfortunately, as you said, I can't do anything right now. My hands were taken by the Third Hokage..."

Orochimaru glanced at his limp arms, his brows furrowed as he suddenly looked up at the sky.

Whether he was mourning his soulless arms or his teacher... who was no longer in this world, it was hard to say.

Qiuyang didn't care about Orochimaru's sentimentality; he rolled his eyes and stated the exchange conditions he had prepared:

"In exchange, I will provide you with an excellent body perfectly suited for your reincarnation."

That bastard Danzo, did he even tell him the secret of my reincarnation jutsu?

Orochimaru's face turned sinister as he agreed to the deal.

It wasn't that the conditions Uchiha Qiu Yang proposed were truly tempting; after all, what kind of perfect body for reincarnation couldn't Orochimaru find on his own?

He simply wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of Uchiha Qiu Yang.

As long as he provided him with sufficiently volatile Hashirama Cells, Uchiha Qiu Yang would be consumed by them during the fusion process, eventually dying just like his other test subjects.

However, for now, this transaction was considered complete.

Seeing that Orochimaru had absolutely no intention of inviting him to sit down at his secret base, Uchiha Qiu Yang did not force the issue.

After placing the glass bottle into Orochimaru's pocket, he didn't forget to issue a warning before leaving:

"I advise you to handle this carefully, Lord Orochimaru. If I discover the goods are not as promised, you are going to suffer greatly, and furthermore..."

As Uchiha Qiu Yang spoke the next sentence, his expression became just as gloomy as Orochimaru's:

"You will definitely go to find Tsunade to heal your arms, but you will inevitably fail. You can verify my words in the future."

Orochimaru was truly stunned by these words, unable to comprehend how Uchiha Qiu Yang could possibly know his plans.

Could he have mind-reading powers? That's impossible!!

"Uchiha Qiu Yang, you are far more interesting than that fool Jiraiya."

"May I take that as a compliment, Lord Orochimaru?"

Uchiha Qiu Yang formed a sword-finger seal and vanished before Orochimaru using the Flying Thunder God, showing off one last trick to the snake.

"You lot, come here. Take me back to the base immediately."

Hearing the order, the Sound Four in the distance hurried over to escort Orochimaru away from the scene.

Upon returning to the secret base, Kabuto, who had been waiting for a very long time, rushed up to greet him: "Lord Orochimaru..."

"Kabuto, restart Laboratory No. 6 for me immediately."

Kabuto stood frozen in place. He remembered that laboratory... wasn't it for researching the cells of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama?

Moreover... after all the test subjects died back then, only a few samples of Hashirama Cells had been kept there.